Erasing Time

De: C. J. Hill

Narrado por: Alexander Doddy

When twins Sheridan and Taylor wake up 400 years in the future, they find a changed world: domed cities, no animals, and a language that's so different, it barely sounds like English. And the worst news: They can't go back home.

The 25th-century government transported the girls to their city hoping to find a famous scientist to help perfect a devastating new weapon. The same government has implanted tracking devices in the citizens, limiting and examining everything they do. Taylor and Sheridan have to find a way out of the city before the government discovers their secrets. To complicate matters, the mob-like Dakine has interest in getting hold of them, too. The only way for the girls to elude their pursuers is to put their trust in Echo, a guy with secrets of his own. The trio must put their faith in the unknown to make a harrowing escape into the wilds beyond the city.

Full of adrenaline-injected chases and heartbreaking confessions, Erasing Time explores the strength of the bonds between twins, the risks and rewards of trust, and the hard road to finding the courage to fight for what you believe in.

©2012 C.J Hill (Janette Rallison) (P)2017 Janette Rallison (C.J. Hill)

The future doesn't look too good

Taylor and Sheridan are 18 yr old identical twins who get sucked 400 years into the future to the 25th century. Taylor is super smart and already getting her graduate degree in college, while Sheridan is of "regular" intelligence. Because Taylor has lightened and cut her hair, hides her freckles and wears contacts the scientists who brought them to the future don't know they're twins. Things are VERY different in the future--cities are domed and you're not free to travel from one city to another, there aren't any animals--even pets, the government surgically implants crystals in all the citizen's wrists and uses them to keep track of everyone, religion has been outlawed, and the language has changed so much they don't understand what anyone says. They're assigned a linguist, Echo, who has specialized in the language of the 21st century and acts as a translator between the girls and the scientists.
The author does a great job letting the reader get to know each of the twins individually, which is good because they are really different in their interests and personality. Of course they pretend to be each other once they realize what the government and the scientists will do when they learn or figure out Taylor's secret. Echo also has a big secret of his own which we find out about in the last few chapters.
I really liked when the girls used all kinds of 20th and 21st century phrases (“burning the midnight oil, get your ducks in a row, kick the bucket, between a rock and a hard place, up a creek without a paddle, nip this in the bud" to speak in code with each other because even though Echo and his father are linguist they didn't understand them and thought they were speaking another language. Parts of history seemed to have been erased so a lot of things were totally misinterpreted and the misinformation has now been accepted as fact. The girls had to explain that animals never spoke and we don't worship Santa Claus, among other things. I laughed out loud a few times.
If this is the future I don't want to live there. This is different than the usual genres of books I read but I enjoyed it and want to see what happens in the sequel Echo in Time.
I thought the narrator, Alexander Doddy, did a wonderful job with the different voices for each character.

Some great twists

WHAT IT'S ABOUT
When twins Sheridan and Taylor wake up 400 years in the future, they find a changed world: domed cities, no animals, and a language that's so different, it barely sounds like English. And the worst news: They can't go back home.

The twenty-fifth-century government transported the girls to their city hoping to find a famous scientist to help perfect a devastating new weapon. The same government has implanted tracking devices in the citizens, limiting and examining everything they do. Taylor and Sheridan have to find a way out of the city before the government discovers their secrets. To complicate matters, the moblike Dakine has interest in getting hold of them too. The only way for the girls to elude their pursuers is to put their trust in Echo, a guy with secrets of his own. The trio must put their faith in the unknown to make a harrowing escape into the wilds beyond the city.

MY TAKE
I didn't know what to expect from this book, not having read the blurb. I received the audiobook from a drawing. The narrator did a good job. It surprised me a little at first that he had an English accent since the two girls are from Tennessee, but it worked really well since they were pulled 400 years into the future.

And what a future. An ultra-controlled society in a closed city. A place where the people are taught that all animals are dead, killed by the people in our time. Sheridan and Taylor are fortunate to be initially put in the care of two historians, Echo and his father Jeff. But then the complications and manipulations begin, and the girls start wondering who they can trust. Echo is a complicated character.

Just when the story started feeling a little like a treadmill where the girls were moving but not seeming to get anywhere, things burst open and things turn a little crazy.

The story has some nice twists. Most I figured out ahead of time, but one--wow. I totally didn't see that coming. Well done!

The book does have religious references (the girls are daughters of a minister, after all, and find themselves in a society where religion is banned), but I didn't find it preachy. It's also the beginning of a series, so while there's resolution for their situation at the moment, the story is obviously not finished. I look forward to reading the next book.

4 1/2 stars.

Pay It Forward

Snatched from the 21st century, identical twins Sheridan and Taylor find themselves in a dystopian future in which there is no money but each citizen is chipped (that's how one pays) and monitored by a very restrictive government. What's worse, it is the work of one of the twins which is responsible for their current situation. Well-narrated by Alexander Doddy, the story unfolds rapidly, describing an interesting but chilling postapocalyptic domed world.

A very enjoyable read.

My first read from author C.J. Hill. I was given a copy of Echo in Time, the second book in this series and wanted to read this one first so I went out & bought it. I'm glad I did. A very enjoyable read.

Adventure, Twists, Romance - What More Can You Want?

I love this author’s writing style. There’s always so much humor and romance, the perfect combination for an entertaining read. The narrator had great inflections and pacing, drawing me in and keeping me interested. Overall, a great listen!