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speculativebecky 's review for:
Here and Now and Then
by Mike Chen
Okay I’m going to need all of you to read this book. I loved it so much!
Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen is a time travel novel with a ton of heart, it follows Kin, a former time traveling secret agent. His agency has a ton of strict rules about proper time travel protocol, you can’t even get in a line to buy food in case you make someone late and cause rippling effects in the timeline, so you’re definitely not supposed to settle down and start a family when you get stranded in the past for eighteen years. But Kin did that, and now his happy life with his wife and fourteen year old daughter are in jeopardy when his future finally shows up to “rescue” him.
I know a lot of us are looking for captivating slump-busters right now, and this was a book I just did not want to put down. I read all 320-something pages in one day and it was a work day to boot. My expectations for what was coming next kept getting flipped and I fell so in love with Kin and his family. Fair warning, this book has a lot of sad bits and I shed many a cathartic tear. Don’t read when you want something totally light and fluffy, do read when you want something action-packed that will also sear through your soul.
I often like to attend panel discussions at book conventions with variations on the theme “Visions of Positive Masculinity”, and this is very much a book I’d recommend as modeling that idea of a non-toxic masculinity. Kin’s love for his family, and specifically his daughter, is the through line of this novel, and it’s a beautiful thing to see the way Chen explores that relationship and Kin’s identity as a father. Plus, while the emotional stuff was the best part of this book, the time travel narrative was also excellent. I never felt like the logic fell apart and I have a high bar for a successful time travel story.
Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen is a time travel novel with a ton of heart, it follows Kin, a former time traveling secret agent. His agency has a ton of strict rules about proper time travel protocol, you can’t even get in a line to buy food in case you make someone late and cause rippling effects in the timeline, so you’re definitely not supposed to settle down and start a family when you get stranded in the past for eighteen years. But Kin did that, and now his happy life with his wife and fourteen year old daughter are in jeopardy when his future finally shows up to “rescue” him.
I know a lot of us are looking for captivating slump-busters right now, and this was a book I just did not want to put down. I read all 320-something pages in one day and it was a work day to boot. My expectations for what was coming next kept getting flipped and I fell so in love with Kin and his family. Fair warning, this book has a lot of sad bits and I shed many a cathartic tear. Don’t read when you want something totally light and fluffy, do read when you want something action-packed that will also sear through your soul.
I often like to attend panel discussions at book conventions with variations on the theme “Visions of Positive Masculinity”, and this is very much a book I’d recommend as modeling that idea of a non-toxic masculinity. Kin’s love for his family, and specifically his daughter, is the through line of this novel, and it’s a beautiful thing to see the way Chen explores that relationship and Kin’s identity as a father. Plus, while the emotional stuff was the best part of this book, the time travel narrative was also excellent. I never felt like the logic fell apart and I have a high bar for a successful time travel story.