I read so many rave reviews of this book and subsequently put it on hold at the library. When it finally came in, I probably should have returned it after I read the blurb on the inside of the dust jacket. But instead I read the first few pages of the book, and THEN returned it to the library.I'll admit that this review is not based on me actually READING the book, since I couldn't get past page three. But I talked it over with my husband, and he agreed with me (in fact, since he's the sci-fi buff in our household, it is his thoughts that shaped the basis of this review). Although a writer has unlimited freedom with where to take a story, there are certain constraints that are always followed. Take, for example, a story about vampires. Although Stephenie Meyer took considerable literary license with her Twilight Saga, at their core the vampires retained the basic elements that are crucial to any vampire story: they drink blood, they are terrifying (well, Victoria and her crew were anyways) and they don't go out in the daylight. Of course, Stephenie Meyer's vampires played a little with the essence of a vampire by making the Cullens "vegetarian" and adding the concept of the fact that they sparkle in the sunshine, so they can only go out on cloudy days. At the heart of the story, vampires are vampires and the core of what makes them who they are doesn't change from story to story.But this book isn't about vampires, it's about time travel. And right on the inside of the dust jacket, it says that the main character can travel through time, but there is no time space continuum for him to tamper with. Now, I realize that there is no SCIENCE of time travel, since it doesn't really exist, but my husband has always talked of Carl Sagan's theories of time travel, and the butterfly effect (chaos theory). He's a very smart man, my hubby =) And, even though I'm not a huge sci-fi reader, it just logically makes sense that if you alter something in the past, it must have ramifications in the future. But as the story started to unfold in the early pages of the novel, the main character and his friend are testing his abilities to time travel and proving that his interactions with people in the past have no effect on the events of the present. And that, to me, messes with the integrity of what a time travel book should be about. Just like vampire stories, there should be certain elements to the story that must stay true. So I gave up on the book. A mere three pages into the story, which is a record for me. My apologies to anyone who read and enjoyed this book (and from the GoodReads ratings, it seems that there's quite a few of you), but it just wasn't for me.Review also posted at: http://writergrrlreads.blogspot.ca/2012/03/tempest-julie-cross.html
