You know when you start a book and you’re like ‘this is okay’ and then by the end you stay up until 1am finishing it? This was one of those, you need a bit of time to start getting into it, but as you settle into the characters and the plot, you really just want to keep going. Which was really nice as I felt a bit disappointed by the last couple of novels I read.

The central conceit that makes the plot work is weird space anomaly that brings a ship from the past to meet a ship from the future. So in a way, you know things should work out – though the way the plot unfolds that never feels guaranteed, which is no small feat. At no point did the plot feel telegraphed and only near he end do you see things coming together.

In the meantime, as two separate groups from another time get to know each other, we have dips into the personal history of each character. I really liked this bit as it what made the world seem so much more rounded. After all, most of the action takes place on one ship out in space. It also helps explain some of the motivations of some of the characters. Basically, what could feel one dimensional, that someone is grumpy or a bit of a con artist, feels much more earned. You just gain a lot of sympathy for characters themselves.

I also love the grandness of the plot, the Fortunate Five, who brought peace and ended a massive war. They seemed like legends to the people from the future, but when they show up in this weird space anomaly, they are far from that grand ideal. I loved that clash of expectations and how it helped form conversations between characters (especially Uma and Elric) and build that world around the story.

You also never really get bored. Once the basics of the story are there, you start getting immersed in these different characters and perspective shifts. But the best part of that was at no time were any of these historical snippets indulgent. Absolutely everything played into the options available to the characters to get themselves out of the situation. I just loved that the subplots meant something to the overall arc of the story. It also didn’t sacrifice anything for the end, there is no cliff hanger, though I feel there’s juussst enough to maybe get to another book. There’s definitely one perspective in the wrap up that was missed and I wonder (okay, hope) that this is the case. But if there’s no sequel, it was an utterly delightful timey-wimey space romp and is definitely worth you time.