Wow. No Time Like the Past has plot, plot and plot. Our fearless Max does:
- Travels back to St. Mary’s during the Cromwell revolt, saves 3 people and discovers why Markham sees a ghost;
- Rescues people from the fire at St. Paul’s cathedral and nearly ends up dead;
- Organizes Open Day with plenty of excitement and nearly ends up dead;
- Re-structures the entire training program and enjoys the kind Mrs. Shaw as her temporary PA;
- Travels back to rescue Botticelli paintings and nearly ends up dead
- Witnesses the Spartans holding off the Persians at Thermopylae and gets wet on by one of the Spartans
- Makes her first ever serious emotional commitment (and does not end up dead).
In addition we have the usual explosions and faux pas and near-catastrophes.
No Time Like the Past is fun to read and reread, and I guarantee each time you read it you’ll find something new to laugh at. Author Jodi Taylor has a gift for vivid descriptions that make us feel like we are perched above the Spartans holding the Hot Gates, feeling the terror of a cathedral exploding in flames. She brings the vivid imagery to life with wit and wry observations that make us feel like we are inside Max’s head. The novel is successful at making history come alive.
There is character development in the sense that we get to know Peterson and Markham and Helen Foster better. It is as though these are acquaintances whom we now are traveling with, learning about, becoming friends. None of the characters undergoes any Eureka moments or has major emotional growth, but that’s not the point. Taylor makes us feel like we work at St. Mary’s and all these people are real colleagues and friends.
My only real complaint with No Time Like the Past is that it is very hard to recall all Max’s adventures and accurately assign them to the right novel. Since the books move one to the next, and all at the speed of light, the whole great cacophony gets bundled up my mind and the individual novels blur. It makes it hard to write reviews!
4 Stars
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