Why You Should #ReadInvictus

Item: Invictus
Rating: 4
Author: Emily

Posted September 21, 2017 by Emily in review / 0 Comments

I received this book for free from NOVL in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

TITLE: Invictus
AUTHOR: Ryan Graudin
PUBLICATION DATE: September 26th 2017
Source: NOVL
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RATING: 4 Stars

Time flies when you're plundering history.

Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far's birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he's ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past.

But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with knowledge that will bring Far's very existence into question, she will lead Far and his team on a race through time to discover a frightening truth: History is not as steady as it seems.

In this heart-stopping adventure, Ryan Graudin has created a fast-paced world that defies time and space.

Setting the Scene:

5 Word Summary

Unique time travel and characters.

Mood Before Reading

EXHAUSTED!!! In desperate need of some alone time.

Review:

Even though I love sci-fi and fantasy, time travel and I just don’t click. Out of the many time travel books I’ve read, I can count the amount the ones I’ve enjoyed on one hand. Invictus happens to be one of them.

What did I love about this book? Take your pick. Great characters and relationships. Action and adventure. A dash of mystery. A hint of romance. Twists upon twists that I genuinely did not see coming. The way it manages to be sincere and yet comedic at times. A perfect balance between light and dark. I could go on and on.

Invictus is unique in the way it manages to blend genres – it uses the futuristic elements of science fiction but also incorporates the new take on history that historical fiction offers. And unlike many other time travel books, I feel like Invictus does a great job explaining the whole concept of time travel. It’s very well thought out and the world building is thorough and very descriptive (not to mention scientific).

Aside from the phenomenal way time travel was described, I thought that the characters were the highlight of the book. Getting to see them grow and connecting to them throughout was one of the main reasons I couldn’t stop turning the pages (that and all the action and twists). I liked how we got to see the point of views of every character at some point in the whole adventure. It was interesting to see how differently each one of them thinks and processes information and how they all balance each other out.

The relationships between characters and group dynamics were also really fun to read about. From the banter between cousins to exchanges of friendships to unanimous voting. That being said, my one big critique about Invictus is that I feel like a lot of the relationships were developed off the page. I wish I got to see more development instead of just the near final product.

In Conclusion…

Invictus stands out from other time travel books by blurring the lines between science fiction of the future and historical fiction of the past. There’s a little bit of everything from great characters and group dynamics to action, adventure, and mystery. And twists you won’t see coming. But while it succeeds in many areas, it falls short in the development of the relationships between its outstanding characters.

I highly recommend Invictus to fans of science and historical fiction.