FADED GLIMPSES OF TIME

Even with do-overs, saving the world can seem impossible.

Following the adventures of Broken Shards of Time (2020), Wren Derecho has just returned from the future—barely—as the timeline was collapsing, but she hopes her efforts and the sacrifices of her friends were enough to prevent those horrible events from unfolding. However, it seems that altering the future has also changed some things in the past. Alex Donahue’s eyes are now bright blue, the same blue as the infernal orb that caused her future self to turn evil—and that is back in her possession even though she left it in the crumbling future timeline. Now Wren is stuck in a time loop, one of which only she and Alex are aware, as they relive a day during which the world continually ends. Wren needs to find a way to break the loop in order to save her friends and time as they know it. Told from multiple characters’ perspectives and going over multiple iterations of the same events, this narrative keeps both the protagonists and readers on their toes, though it is sometimes difficult to emotionally invest due to the continually changing circumstances. Nevertheless, this second installment maintains a fast pace as it rockets into the finale. In a racially diverse cast, Wren is cued as White, and Alex is brown-skinned; both have robotic prostheses.

An exciting whirlwind of science-fiction espionage for those who appreciate plot-driven stories.