Time and Time Again

De: Ben Elton

Narrado por: Jot Davies

It’s the 1st of June 1914 and Hugh Stanton, ex-soldier and celebrated adventurer is quite literally the loneliest man on earth. No one he has ever known or loved has been born yet. Perhaps now they never will be.

Stanton knows that a great and terrible war is coming. A collective suicidal madness that will destroy European civilization and bring misery to millions in the century to come. He knows this because, for him, that century is already history.

Somehow he must change that history. He must prevent the war. A war that will begin with a single bullet. But can a single bullet truly corrupt an entire century?

And, if so, could another single bullet save it?

©2014 Ben Elton (P)2014 Random House Audiobooks

Wonderful Premise and Payoff

If you could change one moment in time, which would you choose? That's the premise of Time and Time Again. Is there a single moment in time that hurdles the 20th century into unspeakable violence, pollution and vapid consumption? Were we heading for a better future if not for a single event? And if you had the power to change that one event, should you use it?

This novel is a fantastic blend of action, adventure, romance and philosophy. Add a dash of Isaac Newton (because who doesn't yearn for more Isaac Newton). Faultlessly l
paced with twists and turns - some you see coming, and at least one that shakes your foundations to the core.

Beautiful narration be Jot Davies who made even the most wretched of characters wholly human (if not all slightly masculine). The novel's conclusion - perfect to the story but also haunting in such a way that will simply not permit you to easily put this story away.

I am so eager to talk about this book with my frinds, but sadly I will need to wait for them all to finish reading the numerous copies I am purchasing and intend to gift to them all first.

Great concept and ideas marred by moping and romance

The concept is great. The author has a way of transporting you back to 1914 to various historical locations with a flowery prose, but that same descriptive writing also drags and gets sidetracked sometimes in eye roll inducing romance and internal moping. Keep with it, though, and you are rewarded some interesting time travel twists and turns and historical adventure.

Similar But Yet So Much Different From 11/22/63

Any additional comments?

Ben Elton's Time and Time Again is very similar, but yet so much different from Stephen King’s 11/22/63. Like King's novel, the protagonist travel's back into the past via a time-portal to stop a political assassination; Archduke Franz Ferdinand replacing President John F. Kennedy. Yet unlike King's novel, Elton's protagonist, being a highly trained ex-SAS officer, has relatively little difficulty in achieving his mission. In what King only briefly explored, Elton instead devotes significant time to showing his readers (listeners) the consequences of his protagonist's success, the Butterfly Effect. Ben Elton's “Time and Time Again” will haunt you long after you read (listen) to its final page. It is perhaps the most intelligently written time travel novel ever created.

Hard to put down.

Really good- typical Ben Elton, not exactly great literature but the pacing is incredible and the story compelling. Absolutely loved it.

Time travel and the 20th Century

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes - it was thoroughly engaging

Who was your favorite character and why?

the protagonist because he was very human in his failings

Which scene was your favorite?

first trip on the train from Istanbul

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

many - but more exciting than moving

Same vien as "Time and Again" and "11/22/63"

Of the three, the conclusion of this book makes me think about history the most.

Excellent Plot Twists

This book begins with an interesting concept about time travel, and every time I thought I knew how the story would end, the author threw in another plot twist. I found this book to be quite entertaining and thought provoking.

Great of course, it's Ben.

What did you love best about Time and Time Again?

I love everything Ben writes* and have every book he's written.
This is totally in keeping with his theme of - choose a topical subject, then write the most well researched, original, witty, intelligent, insightful, razor-sharp, entertaining and detailed book about it. With the most memorable and real characters in it.
With this one, he's also following his recent theme of exploring WWI and II and everything that went on around them, which is obviously a personal interest for him.
His take on time travel and it's repercussions is typically Ben - original, but about as realistic and down to earth as it's possible to get given the subject matter.


*(one exception - Past Mortem, where he decided to leap over the boundaries of gruesomeness, way past what the average person - or at least me - could stomach. Don't get that one).

Have you listened to any of Jot Davies’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Great. He does other Ben Elton books and is always good.

Any additional comments?

If you like Ben, it goes without saying - get this book!
But - don't expect the laughs of his older books, he's gone a bit more serious lately.
If I had to give one negative point - I'd like it to have been a bit longer.

If you don't know Ben but like great writing of the easy to read/listen and always absorbing and entertaining type - get this book.

You don't have to be in to sci-fi or time travel at all - that's quite incidental to the story.

Riveting

I've read some of Ben Eltons other books, and this by far the best.
A story that grabs you in and takes you back and forward in time, never hinting about what's to come.
The plot, although far fetched, is made believable with Bens historic knowledge and the specifics that become as much a lesson in history as a great novel.
Loved it!

Brilliant!

This is such a masterpiece of a time travel novel! It was intelligent, well-narrated, and riveting. I loved it!