THE 23RD HERO

Nguyen’s debut novel follows a woman as she goes back to 16th-century France to try to avert ecological destruction in the future.

Initially set in near-future Vancouver, British Columbia, the story revolves around 29-year-old Sloane Burrows, whose life has been largely unhappy and unfulfilling. Her beloved mother died in childbirth, and her emotionally closed-off and manipulative father seemingly disapproved of everything she did; she also feels like an indentured servant to her father because of her unpaid student loan debt, and she just got fired from her job. Complicating matters further is what her father calls her “freak memory”—her ability to recall every life experience with crystal clarity. Sloane’s dream was to become a “Hero”—a courageous person picked for the prestigious “Program” to travel back in time on specific missions aimed at saving the planet from environmental collapse; for example, one Hero prevented the discovery of DDT. When Sloane applies to the Program, she’s chosen as the next time-traveler, but before she embarks on her mission—which will take her to 1521 to attempt to thwart the first French expedition to the Americas—she falls in love with the mysterious man who started the Program, who’s also inexplicably been in her dreams for years. The consistently high emotional intensity throughout Nguyen’s novel is the fuel that powers its narrative engine, as is the complex dynamism between the two lead characters. The passion is incendiary in places: “She wanted to touch him, taste him, worship him—but her body responded to his swift, assured movements like a flower unfolding to the sun; it yielded to him, softening, opening, blossoming beneath his touch, and she was powerless to resist.” The backstory involving the discovery and use of time travel is muddled and an inarguable weakness. However, the love-conquers-all ending and not-so-subtle environmental stewardship themes in this Outlander-esque adventure more than make up for it.

Fans of time-travel romance are likely to find this story deeply satisfying.