Book Review: Time Slice by Kerry Downing

Time Slice

By Kerry Downing

Release Date: June 11, 2011

Summary: Newly retired workaholic Roy Washburn is not ready for a life of leisure. On a trip to the mall with his wife, he finds a small metal cylinder with odd markings. One nudge of the cylinder's triangle-shaped pointer and Roy finds himself embarking on an exciting new adventure in the Time Stream. There he meets The Traveler, a tall, gangly being who shows Roy how to use the cylinder to visit other civilizations that co-exist on "his" Earth, each occupying a different, thin Time Slice. The Traveler solicits Roy's help in recovering an object invented by his murdered father and beyond his own reach. Roy is his last hope. At first it seems that the Traveler's wish might be easily granted. But after Roy's wife Emily becomes ill and his daughter's long-held resentments rise to the surface, he can no longer "travel" at a moment's notice. He also discovers the very real physical and mental risks involved in roaming the Time Stream. Despite the dangers, Roy is determined to help the Traveler. But he can't do it alone. Fortunately he has a loving wife and a core group of loyal friends. But first he must convince them-and his daughter-that he isn't crazy ...


Review: I normally don't read straight sci-fi books, so it was nice being able to read one for a change! Time Slice is all about a guy named Roy who finds a device that allows people to travel through different slices of time. The idea of being able to travel through slices instead of time was really interesting and the author does a great job introducing his readers to this new idea. 

The characters in the book were really interesting too. Rah, the alien from another slice, was a really cool character and I liked how he became good friends with Roy, despite his freakishly tall stature and living in a completely different slice. Roy was pretty likable and I enjoyed how he wasn't perfect; his wife loved him but his daughter resented him for never being there was she was little. The book was a bit slow at times, but the originality of the story made that aspect bearable. 

There were sad parts and nail-biting parts, but in the end this book ended up being a little predictable. I think if there was more of an element of surprise or something unexpected happened, the story would have been more enjoyable. The part of the story I really enjoyed was how the story started at a certain point, went back to explain how Roy ended up where he was, then by 3/4 of the way through came back to where the book started. This gave the story an element of mystery in the beginning and kept the reader intrigued. So overall this book was a pretty enjoyable, original story. I would recommend it to those in the mood for a simple, new sci-fi book.