Nocturnal Book Reviews

Guys, gals, this book was wonderful! Somewhere between middle grade and YA, sci-fi, steampunk and just pure delightful time travel, it's a must read for all your teen adventurers with vivid imagination. And just look at these illustrations! This book is full of them:





I don't know why I'm so surprised if I loved Andy Gavin's first book just as much. Also, everything he does is meticulous - the text, the covers by fab Cliff Nielsen, the sheer research for each book.

Untimed is not a silly, fluffy light read. Charlie and Yvaine come from different eras and it shows. If he is a teen from our present, she is a Scottish lass from 17th(?) century just couple of years older but she already has a baby and uses all her wit and pragmatic optimism to survive on the streets. They are very different but at the same time they have similar views on what's right or wrong, and I had to admire the fact that they both managed to keep their integrity through the darkest times.

And there is darkness in this book. Plenty of it. Greed, selfishness, conspiracy of clockwork men, constant pursuit and desperate fight for survival. There is a mention of sexual relations, but it's not shown in any way, so I would still recommend it to younger YA readers, because it's scant.

The characters are really bright and distinctive, their development is gradual and goes really well with the world-building.

Untimed is a complex and immensely entertaining read which gallops through different eras and really emphasizes the butterfly effect and how everything Charlie and Yvaine do in the past inevitably reflects in the future.

Gorgeous, exciting book, highly recommended.