Time Travel ^ changing gears
I thoroughly enjoyed The Midnight Train by Matt Haig, a time travel novel (also described as fantasy). It's cousin to my favorite fantasy, The Emperor's Soul, so it might appeal to other fantasy enthusiasts. Seems to me that Haig's novel is more easy-going in tone and the sense of urgency is much less. The stakes are high for the young protagonist in The Emeror's Soul but the ragged hero's companion on the train, a book seller who occasionally slipped him money, is harried by Wilbur's flippant attitude toward their situation. Imo he's rebellious but sincere, not just flippant.
Haig observes the rules of time travel, but doesn't ask readers to have them memorized; I've often felt that authors blugeon readers with intricate terms (they occasionally made up). One novel went on and on about discrepancy but the story was so good that I tried not to be judgemental of the author.
Haig's Train storyline describes a working class boy in a Yorkshire city far north of London. In the early '70s Wilbur learned, days before his hoodlum brother died in a car crash, that Oxford had granted him a full scholarship. Teen-aged Wilbur, left as his fragile widowed mother's provider, knuckles down to running the local book shop. His grim life is brightened when he marries the girl he loves.
Haig uses a time travel device (a vehicle) that literally moves the travellers. In my first time travel novella, it was a specific place; another story I wrote used a river. Haig's vehicle is the midnight train.
Anything beyond this would be a spoiler. This ebook came from a public library and can be found on internet archive, also on Amazon. It's Haig's second book (he is a New York Times best-selling author). The earlier book is The Midnight Library.
Books where I'm on hold (waiting for a book) are The Midnight Library, The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag by Robert Heinlein and Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala (because she's a successful cozy mystery author and I need to diversify: cozy is, to me, Agatha Christie and I see myself as a forthright Yank, not at all mysterious. However, I'll study how she writes and structures her books and give this a whirl. I've also queried some international publications. They're +- back to normal after 9/11.
Though I'm #25 for The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, I'm hanging in there. It takes place in the 20's & 30's, but the story is about life that occurred to people other than flappers.
$13 kindle on Amazon; it's at the library, too, for $0. I read a lot so use libraries and apps constantly...Internet archives, Gutenberg.org...Let me know of your finds!
It's a pretty short post today, but it's past my lunch time (it's 4:30 pm) so best say bye for now.
My other blog, "My name isn't Mary" is looking for a home. The Net went down so that slowed things up. I think I have a lead on a place similar to Blogger.
If you're interesed in Western history, another blog on blogger is "Sweethearts of the West (I wrote for them for a few years until my schedule got crazy) under the pen name Cora Leland.
Take care. Talk to you next week. Mary Ann
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