Erasing Time

By: C. J. Hill

Narrated by: Alexander Doddy

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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!

Good time travel for young adults

I took a quick break from Tarzan to listen to and review this book and its sequel after winning a copy of the sequel in audio form. I had never read any books released by the author under this name but I'm a big fan of the books she's written as Janette Rallison. Her Rallison books are light, fluffy, and funny fantasies for young adults. Since I'm a big fan of light, fluffy, and funny, those books are right up my alley. Luckily, I also like darker books about how the world can (and probably will) go wrong. Throw in time travel and I'm good to go.

Sheridan and Taylor are identical twins, but only on the surface. Sheridan is a pretty typical 17-year-old: worried about her grades, pleasing her parents, and getting along with her twin sister. The latter can take some effort because Taylor is a bit of a rebel who gets her sister into situations she doesn't want to be in. Oh, and she's a top-notch genius who graduated from high school years ago and is now running around with the college crowd. The story begins with Taylor trying to get Sheridan to cover for her so she can go out with an older boy, something her minister father does not approve of, when the twins are suddenly thrown 400 years into the future.

This is no Disneyland Tomorrowland, personal freedoms are gone, the government controls everything, and the world is composed of many domed cities which are at perpetual war with each other. Here they find out that they have been pulled into the future by accident, the government had been looking for a scientist to give them an edge against their enemies. They certainly never planned on teenage girls. Because language evolves, English is almost unrecognizable to the girls so a couple of translators are called in. The father and son team are "experts" in 21st century English and are able to communicate with the girls even if they don't understand many of the idioms from our time.

The younger of the translators, Echo, is also a twin, something very rare in the future. He and Sheridan bond over shared losses. She's grieving for her parents and two brothers, dead for 400 years, and he's grieving the recent loss of his twin brother and girlfriend. The sisters are on a collision course with the oppressive government regime who want to wipe their memories and they will need Echo's help to survive, but can they trust him when he has secrets of his own?

Let's talk about what works. The characters are well-done. Sheridan is the good daughter, the loving and kind one who thinks about others but feels inferior to her prodigal twin sister. Taylor is brilliant but tougher and less friendly than her sister. The two play off of each other really well. Echo is an interesting guy and we know from the get-go that he's not happy and wants to get the heck out of Dodge. The mystery about what happened to his brother and girlfriend drive the plot at least as much as the question of how to keep the twins alive and with their memories intact. The author made it clear from the beginning that there would be no return to the past and I would have liked a little more grieving from the girls about that. The pace of the story is a little fast, however, and doesn't leave much time for reflection. That's not a bad thing, and the intended audience probably won't care, but I can't imagine shrugging off the loss of everything and everyone I love as quickly as these girls do.

The world-building is a little sketchy sometimes, with some interesting ideas but some not as well thought out. I liked the idea of the rank badges, for instance, but thought there was too little thought put into what would be happening in entertainment and day to day life. The author throws out references to VR but that's already current technology in our time. I would have liked a more original take on how people spend their leisure time.

One of the biggest changes in the future is the complete abolishment of religion. I get why the author did it, but religion is one of only a few cultural universals and it has always defied attempts to eradicate it. It plays a big part in the plot and was handled respectfully, however, so I can roll with it.

Overall, I liked the book quite a bit. It's fast-paced with good characters and an intriguing plot. I just thought the world-building could have used some work. I would be happy to read more like this from the author.

Amazing!

I am sparing with the 5-Star ratings I give our, but this book deserves it!

CJ Hill’s world-building is incredible! She’s created a future that is believable and so very possible. The book starts with a bang and just keeps going from there!

Her writing is wonderful and the humor that peaks through gives depth to the characters.

I highly recommend this book!

* poor, ** ok, *** good, **** very good, *****something special

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.

Mesmerizingly Amazing

Couldn't stop listening!!! Between the clever story full of unexpected twists and mind blowing turns, and the skillfully done voice acting, I just had to know how it ended!!! I love the characters, and found my self routing for them from the very beginning. The end was beyond anything I could imagine! I don't know how to write about all the things I absolutely adored in this book without giving massive spoilers, so I encourage everyone reading my review to just dig into this book already. So worth it!!!

Entertaining

First let me say the auditor did a fairly good job. There was a little roughness between chapter ending but otherwise I think he did a great job with the voices. Especially when you consider the a couple of the main characters were women.
Next, I must say that the story itself was great. It kept my attention and kept me engaged. I know there is a second book in this series and I am anxious to read it. I want to hear more of what happens with these characters.

Surprising

I have to say I really did enjoy this story, I like the idea of time travel and how language could change 400yrs into the future and what those people thought of our time, I will be listening/reading book 2 as I want to find out what happens in the next instalment.
I was a little surprised by the narrator as the story is set in the US and the main characters are 2 women, he sounded like he is from North/West England but I have to say after a while you did not notice his accent.