Format: Kindle edition, 412 pages
Published: January 1st 2015 by John A Heldt
Genre(s): Sci-Fi
Rating: ★ ★
Synopsis
When unemployed San Francisco reporter Chuck Townsend and his college-dropout son, Justin, take a cruise to Mexico in 2016, each hopes to rebuild a relationship after years of estrangement. But they find more than common ground aboard the ship. They meet a mysterious lecturer who touts the possibilities of time travel. Within days, Chuck and Justin find themselves in 1900, riding a train to Texas, intent on preventing a distant uncle from being hanged for a crime he did not commit. Their quick trip to Galveston, however, becomes long and complicated when they wrangle with business rivals and fall for two beautiful librarians on the eve of a hurricane that will destroy the city. Filled with humor, history, romance, and heartbreak, September Sky follows two directionless souls on the adventure of a lifetime as they try to make peace with the past, find new purpose, and grapple with the knowledge of things to come.
Review
A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.
I would like to preface this by saying that perhaps I wasn’t the best candidate for reading this novel. My review could potentially be biased as I don’t often read books of this genre, so maybe I’m not as appreciative of Heldt’s writing as much as someone else would be.
Let’s start with the positives. This novel is certainly the work of creativity unparalleled in a field where there is an abundance of recycled plots and ideas. It’s very refreshing being presented with Chuck and Justin’s antics, and this novel certainly challenged my perception of the world, both in terms of historical contexts and modern day too. Heldt has a lot of potential as an author to expand on his ideas and take them to the next level. But there were also some points to consider for the next novel Heldt writes.
This novel doesn’t really start until a quarter of the way through. I wouldn’t recommend this novel to someone with pea-sized patience like myself. The other thing that really bugged me was the characters. I didn’t really have much of a problem with Justin, but Chuck somehow felt too wooden to me. In spite of the novel practically surrounding him, with his perspectives, his history (both recent and ancestral), Chuck never came to life for me. For me, this was the most off-putting thing. Whether this is down to the writing or how the story turned out, it’s difficult to ascertain. But this novel remains a strong indication of Heldt’s superb writing abilities!
Beauty and the Bees 