Roar Cat Reads

Tag: Time Travel

  • Alice Payne Rides by Kate Heartfield

    Alice Payne Rides by Kate Heartfield

    Alice Payne returns in the thrilling sequel to Kate Heartfield’s Alice Payne Arrives.

    After abducting Arthur of Brittany from his own time in 1203, thereby creating the mystery that partly prompted the visit in the first place, Alice and her team discover that they have inadvertently brought the smallpox virus back to 1780 with them.

    Searching for a future vaccine, Prudence finds that the various factions in the future time war intend to use the crisis to their own advantage.

    Can the team prevent an international pandemic across time, and put history back on its tracks? At least until the next battle in the time war…

    Goodreads

    Whereas the first novella in this series focused primarily on two alternating threads featuring Alice Payne and Prudence Zuniga respectively, the sequel has much more of an adventure team feel. I loved getting more time with Jane Hogdson and Constable Wray Auden. They’re all in the know where time travel is concerned, and I found it uniquely delightful to read about time travelers who are (mostly) from the 1780s. It’s such a fun juxtaposition to have futuristic tech in a historical setting.

    I also thought it was unique and clever of Heartfield to dwell on the ramifications of time travel and disease transmission. The group hops through time and accidentally brings smallpox home, then has to jump forward to get a vaccine, and of course – hijinks! For anyone with COVID fatigue, please be assured that this is neither an overwhelming part of the book nor is it portrayed with much fear. I had just never seen a book about time travel address the fact that it would be super easy to screw history up with a sneeze.

    Like Alice Payne Arrives, the science fiction aspects of the story are just outside of my understanding, but not so much that it affects the joy of the story. The characters are what really matter here, and watching them accidentally gather a motley crew of abandoned historical footnotes (there would have been an actual King Arthur if not for their meddling!) at Alice’s English estate. I hope we get to see more of them in the future!

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield

    Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield

    A disillusioned major, a highwaywoman, and a war raging across time.

    It’s 1788 and Alice Payne is the notorious highway robber, the Holy Ghost. Aided by her trusty automaton, Laverna, the Holy Ghost is feared by all who own a heavy purse.

    It’s 1889 and Major Prudence Zuniga is once again attempting to change history―to save history―but seventy attempts later she’s still no closer to her goal.

    It’s 2016 and . . . well, the less said about 2016 the better!

    But in 2020 the Farmers and the Guides are locked in battle; time is their battleground, and the world is their prize. Only something new can change the course of the war. Or someone new.

    Little did they know, but they’ve all been waiting until Alice Payne arrives.

    Goodreads

    Alice Payne Arrives is a fun novella about women of color being awesome during all time periods. Alice is an 18th century Englishwoman who has a side hobby of robbing men who are known to be rapists or wifebeaters with the help of her lady lover’s automaton. Prudence is a 22nd century teleosopher (someone who studies the way time travel changes history) with a drastic plan to end the History War.

    I’ll be honest, the nuances of time travel usually go over my head, so what I’m looking for in a time travel story is interesting characters (mentioned above) and something thought-provoking. In the future, time travelers are divided between Farmers and Misguideds. Prudence is a Farmer, the more conservative group that believes history should be altered with care. The Misguideds (“No one is wrong, the Farmer’s creed declared. Only misguided.”) are more liberal, traveling throughout history to nudge people into more progressive timelines, usually with negative effects.

    I was surprised at first, as I assumed that the book was therefore anti-progressive. That’s not it at all, though. The book is anti-extremism. As the two groups further entrenched themselves in their viewpoints, traveling throughout history to counteract the other group’s actions, time spiraled out of control into chaos. Reactionary extremism is a very salient topic nowadays, and not one I expected to find in a sci-fi novella!

    What Makes This Book Queer?

    Alice is explicitly bisexual and is in a secret relationship with Jane, her companion and a talented scientist. They are in an established relationship, and I am astounded at home much depth their relationship is given in such a short novel (I keep mentioning this fact – I wish the story were longer!).

    I mean, how can you not love a book that includes one lady saying to another: “Kiss me, and then take my hand, because I don’t know what happens next.”

    I’ve already got the second book, Alice Payne Rides on hold. I can’t wait to read it!

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!