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markk

markk

An enjoyable combination of time travel and alternate history

All Evil Shed Away - Archie Roy

David Hamilton, a scientist in a Britain under Nazi domination, is whisked from his empty life in Glasgow and transported to a secret research project located on the island of St. Kilda.  When he arrives he learns the purpose of the project – time travel, the development of which would give Germany an advantage in is stand-off against an authoritarian United States.  As the team explores the past, Hamilton discovers romance, the hidden motive of the lead scientist, and an ulterior motive behind the project, one that gives the unassuming scientist an opportunity to undo the evil plaguing his world.

 

Archie Roy’s novel is an entertaining blend of two genres of science fiction, time travel and alternate history.  Both are well done, as Roy constructs a plausible reality and explores some of the logical complications posed by time travel with considerable ingenuity (though he ultimately ignores the largest, glaring one).  The main characters are also well drawn – save the main villain, who is a little too cartoonishly evil – while the pacing allows for their development and the gradual revelation of the differing layers of the plot.  All of this comes together to make for a quality read, one that fans of either genre will enjoy.