This Is My Last

Just Finished Reading: The Everlasting

I love a good time-traveling story, although I don't think time-traveling will ever be possible in this universe except for traveling one-second-per-second into the future.

Even if time-traveling is possible, it will probably be very dangerous. Even if you can control the when aspect precisely -- already not an easy task; just search for leap seconds and time zones -- you still don't know where you may end up. You may end up in the middle of an ocean, and drown immediately. You may end up in a zoo, and be eaten immediately. You may end up in a witch-trial execution in progress, and burned up immediately.

And then there is this problem with the what: do you know what is happening at the when and where? Can you trust historians and their stories? Can you trust the victors and their narratives?

Alix E. Harrow's beautiful The Everlasting started seemingly a simple time-traveling meet-your-hero kind of story, about myths and lies. However, after a time loop or two, it developed into a complex, intricate, and layered examination of stories and history. (Okay, not exactly loops, but that will be spoiler territory.)

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