What do you think?
Rate this book
Here and Now and Then
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Science Fiction (2019)To save his daughter, he'll go anywhere—and any-when…
Kin Stewart is an everyday family man: working in I.T., trying to keep the spark in his marriage, and struggling to connect with his teenage daughter, Miranda. But his current life is a far cry from his previous career as a time-traveling secret agent from 2142.
Stranded in suburban San Francisco since the 1990s after a botched mission, Kin has kept his past hidden from everyone around him, despite the increasing blackouts and memory loss affecting his time-traveler's brain. Until one afternoon, his “rescue” team arrives—eighteen years too late.
Their mission: return Kin to 2142 where he's only been gone weeks, not years, and where another family is waiting for him. A family he can’t remember.
Torn between two lives, Kin is desperate for a way to stay connected to both. But when his best efforts threaten to destroy the agency and even history itself, his daughter’s very existence is at risk. It'll take one final trip across time to save Miranda—even if it means breaking all the rules of time travel in the process.
A uniquely emotional genre-bending debut, Here and Now and Then captures the perfect balance of heart, playfulness, and imagination, offering an intimate glimpse into the crevices of a father’s heart, and its capacity to stretch across both space and time to protect the people that mean the most.
Kin Stewart is an everyday family man: working in I.T., trying to keep the spark in his marriage, and struggling to connect with his teenage daughter, Miranda. But his current life is a far cry from his previous career as a time-traveling secret agent from 2142.
Stranded in suburban San Francisco since the 1990s after a botched mission, Kin has kept his past hidden from everyone around him, despite the increasing blackouts and memory loss affecting his time-traveler's brain. Until one afternoon, his “rescue” team arrives—eighteen years too late.
Their mission: return Kin to 2142 where he's only been gone weeks, not years, and where another family is waiting for him. A family he can’t remember.
Torn between two lives, Kin is desperate for a way to stay connected to both. But when his best efforts threaten to destroy the agency and even history itself, his daughter’s very existence is at risk. It'll take one final trip across time to save Miranda—even if it means breaking all the rules of time travel in the process.
A uniquely emotional genre-bending debut, Here and Now and Then captures the perfect balance of heart, playfulness, and imagination, offering an intimate glimpse into the crevices of a father’s heart, and its capacity to stretch across both space and time to protect the people that mean the most.
347 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 29, 2019
About the author
Mike Chen
56 books987 followersMike Chen is a critically acclaimed science fiction author based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. His debut novel HERE AND NOW AND THEN was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice, CALIBA Golden Poppy, and Compton Crook awards. His other novels include A BEGINNING AT THE END, WE COULD BE HEROES, LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME, and STAR WARS: BROTHERHOOD. He has also contributed to the STAR WARS: FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW anthology and covers geek culture for sites like Nerdist, StarTrek.com, and The Mary Sue. In previous lives, Mike worked as a sports journalist covering the NHL, DJ, musician, and aerospace engineer. He lives with his wife, daughter, and many rescue animals. Follow him on Twitter @mikechenwriter.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,836 reviews
November 5, 2018
3.5 stars, rounded up.
I know I'm not the only one who finds novels about time travel utterly irresistible. It's not the science of time travel that fascinates me, although I'm always drawn in by the possible paradox of running into yourself somewhere in time. For me, it's more the thought that one single action, even the smallest gesture, can set off a chain of events that could change the world as we (or the characters) know it.
In Mike Chen's new novel, Here and Now and Then , Kin (short for Quinoa—when he was born the world was obsessed with naming babies after food) is a special agent for the Temporal Correction Bureau (TCB), in the year 2142. When a simple mission back in time to the 1990s gets botched, Kin finds himself stranded in the San Francisco suburbs—for 18 years.
After his initial panic gave way to acceptance, Kin realizes that he must live his life in the here and now of the 1990s, even if it isn't quite his real here and now. So he finds himself building a life—working in IT; keeping his marriage to Heather, a driven, science fiction-obsessed attorney, on track; and trying to maintain his relationship with their teenage daughter, Miranda. It's not all that difficult, but through the years he struggles with memory loss, debilitating headaches, and blackouts—evidence his brain is destabilizing due to all of the time travel.
Kin tries to write off his episodes as PTSD, but as they increase in frequency and intensity, they take their toll on his marriage and his relationship with Miranda. When the TCB's retrieval agent finally locates Kin, and readies to bring him back to 2142, Kin isn't sure he wants to leave the life he has known, even if he knows he never should have had it in the first place. And when he returns to his present-day, Kin is shocked to find he had a completely different life he left behind. How can he return to his "old" life when his wife and daughter are back in the past?
"Did a missing past even matter anymore compared to human touch in the here and now?"
As Kin tries to re-acclimate to his life and those in it, he longs for his daughter. When his efforts to keep in touch with her across the years inadvertently put her in danger, Kin realizes the only thing he can do is travel back in time to save her, even if it means the end of his life and the end of his relationships in current time. It will take courage and strength he's not sure he has anymore, and the luck of time, which he hopes is on his side one last time.
I thought this was a fun, poignant book, full of suspense and emotion. At times it got a little too technical for me (science is so not my thing, even if it's fictional science), but the story had so much heart, and you wanted to root for everyone, even if that meant not everyone would get what they wanted. Kin is a terrific character, even if you wanted to smack him sometimes so he'd just say what he was feeling.
Here and Now and Then is an enjoyable addition to the time travel genre. But even if you're not a time travel fan, there's enough emotion, heart, and character development to sink your teeth into. And who knows? Maybe it will even get you thinking about who you'd travel through time for!
NetGalley and MIRA provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
I know I'm not the only one who finds novels about time travel utterly irresistible. It's not the science of time travel that fascinates me, although I'm always drawn in by the possible paradox of running into yourself somewhere in time. For me, it's more the thought that one single action, even the smallest gesture, can set off a chain of events that could change the world as we (or the characters) know it.
In Mike Chen's new novel, Here and Now and Then , Kin (short for Quinoa—when he was born the world was obsessed with naming babies after food) is a special agent for the Temporal Correction Bureau (TCB), in the year 2142. When a simple mission back in time to the 1990s gets botched, Kin finds himself stranded in the San Francisco suburbs—for 18 years.
After his initial panic gave way to acceptance, Kin realizes that he must live his life in the here and now of the 1990s, even if it isn't quite his real here and now. So he finds himself building a life—working in IT; keeping his marriage to Heather, a driven, science fiction-obsessed attorney, on track; and trying to maintain his relationship with their teenage daughter, Miranda. It's not all that difficult, but through the years he struggles with memory loss, debilitating headaches, and blackouts—evidence his brain is destabilizing due to all of the time travel.
Kin tries to write off his episodes as PTSD, but as they increase in frequency and intensity, they take their toll on his marriage and his relationship with Miranda. When the TCB's retrieval agent finally locates Kin, and readies to bring him back to 2142, Kin isn't sure he wants to leave the life he has known, even if he knows he never should have had it in the first place. And when he returns to his present-day, Kin is shocked to find he had a completely different life he left behind. How can he return to his "old" life when his wife and daughter are back in the past?
"Did a missing past even matter anymore compared to human touch in the here and now?"
As Kin tries to re-acclimate to his life and those in it, he longs for his daughter. When his efforts to keep in touch with her across the years inadvertently put her in danger, Kin realizes the only thing he can do is travel back in time to save her, even if it means the end of his life and the end of his relationships in current time. It will take courage and strength he's not sure he has anymore, and the luck of time, which he hopes is on his side one last time.
I thought this was a fun, poignant book, full of suspense and emotion. At times it got a little too technical for me (science is so not my thing, even if it's fictional science), but the story had so much heart, and you wanted to root for everyone, even if that meant not everyone would get what they wanted. Kin is a terrific character, even if you wanted to smack him sometimes so he'd just say what he was feeling.
Here and Now and Then is an enjoyable addition to the time travel genre. But even if you're not a time travel fan, there's enough emotion, heart, and character development to sink your teeth into. And who knows? Maybe it will even get you thinking about who you'd travel through time for!
NetGalley and MIRA provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
July 18, 2018
This book. THIS book. THIS BOOK.
Here and Now and Then is a perfect little sci-fi gem, with just a touch of literary. When time traveler Kin gets stuck in the 20th century, he does what any reasonable person would do: fall in love and start a family. This turns out to be a perfectly good plan - until suddenly the rescue team shows up, almost two decades too late. Now Kin is back in the 22nd century, where for everyone else it's only been a week, but for him it's been an entire life. He really tries to settle back in, but when the daughter he had in the past is threatened, well, he's not about to let that slide.
It's a poignant story written with a deft hand. There's a heckuva lot to unpack emotionally when you're dealing with two lives and two families, and a heckuva lot of ways to go wrong, but Chen lands each emotional beat with not only style, but a punch to the gut. I'm not usually one to cry while reading (A Fault In Our Stars was the last one to get me, so it's been years), but I went through half a box of tissues in those last few chapters.
Moreover, the women are all fully formed, fully realized characters, with just as much depth as the men, and there's no Big Bad Wolf, just people being people. It's morally gray in the best way and the technobabble is just enough to be believable without going overboard.
Tense, exciting, emotional, and full of heart - this one's going in my rec-to-everyone list.
Here and Now and Then is a perfect little sci-fi gem, with just a touch of literary. When time traveler Kin gets stuck in the 20th century, he does what any reasonable person would do: fall in love and start a family. This turns out to be a perfectly good plan - until suddenly the rescue team shows up, almost two decades too late. Now Kin is back in the 22nd century, where for everyone else it's only been a week, but for him it's been an entire life. He really tries to settle back in, but when the daughter he had in the past is threatened, well, he's not about to let that slide.
It's a poignant story written with a deft hand. There's a heckuva lot to unpack emotionally when you're dealing with two lives and two families, and a heckuva lot of ways to go wrong, but Chen lands each emotional beat with not only style, but a punch to the gut. I'm not usually one to cry while reading (A Fault In Our Stars was the last one to get me, so it's been years), but I went through half a box of tissues in those last few chapters.
Moreover, the women are all fully formed, fully realized characters, with just as much depth as the men, and there's no Big Bad Wolf, just people being people. It's morally gray in the best way and the technobabble is just enough to be believable without going overboard.
Tense, exciting, emotional, and full of heart - this one's going in my rec-to-everyone list.
January 27, 2019
I enjoy time travel stories every once in a while and I just accept the moving from one time to another, paying little attention to the details of what gets the character there and back and sometimes back again. The important things for me are the characters and their relationships and how they manage in the different years. So I tried to ignore the technical details put forth here, although some of it, of course was important to how the story plays out. The “technical” details in the story didn’t grab me. I prefer a simpler way of moving from time to time without a lot of explanation. For some reason, I can be more accepting of it that way. Having said that, I was taken with the core theme, a father’s love for his daughter and the lengths he would go to save her.
A time travel mission for The Temporal Corruption Bureau goes wrong when Kin travels from 2142 to 1996, to catch a rogue agent who is attempting what is taboo in time travel, trying to change history . When he gets stranded in the past, not remembering his present/future life, he marries and has a 14 year old daughter. Things become complicated when he is rescued against his will and he has to leave his wife and daughter behind. Things are complicated further by the fact that he has someone in his life in this time as well. With the ability to search websites of the past, Kin is able to find out the fate of his wife and daughter and is determined to make things right for his daughter Miranda and insure that she has a good life. He begins to communicate with her by e-mail and is caught by his employer and his mission is now to save his daughter.
This is fast paced, quick to read if you gloss over the technical details like I did. Time travel stories can be far fetched, and some of what happens here, especially near the end felt a bit too much for me. But it’s a touching story and overall I enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend this to time travel aficionados.
I received an advanced copy of this book from HARLEQUIN - MIRA through NetGalley.
A time travel mission for The Temporal Corruption Bureau goes wrong when Kin travels from 2142 to 1996, to catch a rogue agent who is attempting what is taboo in time travel, trying to change history . When he gets stranded in the past, not remembering his present/future life, he marries and has a 14 year old daughter. Things become complicated when he is rescued against his will and he has to leave his wife and daughter behind. Things are complicated further by the fact that he has someone in his life in this time as well. With the ability to search websites of the past, Kin is able to find out the fate of his wife and daughter and is determined to make things right for his daughter Miranda and insure that she has a good life. He begins to communicate with her by e-mail and is caught by his employer and his mission is now to save his daughter.
This is fast paced, quick to read if you gloss over the technical details like I did. Time travel stories can be far fetched, and some of what happens here, especially near the end felt a bit too much for me. But it’s a touching story and overall I enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend this to time travel aficionados.
I received an advanced copy of this book from HARLEQUIN - MIRA through NetGalley.
April 6, 2019
Here and Now and Then is a superbly plotted technological twister about a husband and father forced into an impossible choice. The science is precise and clever, and Chen deftly serves up each unexpected turn, in the process constructing his own impossible — two poignant and disparate lives simultaneously experienced by one person. As a writer I read with admiration, and as a mother I sometimes needed a handkerchief.
March 28, 2019
Dear book, it's mostly me, but it's somewhat you. We didn't work well together. This could be seen as a story of what a father will do (sometimes, when people tell him it's okay) to save his daughter. It could also be the story of how one dude callously ripped apart the lives of three women, sometimes multiple times each, and then said "but it's because I love you," afterwards so, you know, totes a good guy.
CONTENT WARNING: (no actual spoilers, just a list of topics)
Things that were fine
-The familial references. I think Chen wrote this to his kid and it's full of little incidents that lack the poetic touch of imagination and feel "real," so I think he loves the women in his life, which is sweet. Cheesy for the rest of us, but nice that it was infused with love for the people who really matter. (Especially that last Dr. Who reference, that was a huge eye roll, but I guess maybe also fun? Fandom is weird.)
-Brevity. At least it was short.
Things that irked me
-The relationships. Real spoilers tl;dr I think the relationships were phony as hell, somewhat abusive, and Kin is a jerk.
-The plot. *Deep breath* Time travel stories are really, really tough because there's shifting narratives, common paradoxes and the "easy button" of just jumping again. If you don't handle all of these, it's impossible for me to suspend disbelief. It's like missing stairs all over the place that we're just supposed to jump over. I'm reading for fun, not exercise. Then, it's a story about a magical future with time travel and cures for all ailments and all that but the real story is sending some emails to people. Like, that's the action. And people saying "Kin, why are you acting weird?" and him responding "Miranda. Agent. Miranda. Agent" ad nauseum. It was thin, to say the last.
-The audiobook. The narrator can't do voices or accents and this book relied on accents.
-The power fantasy undertone. As with my problems with the relationships, it's hard not to read this as a male fantasy. Sure, maybe you're too old to start a quest as the Chosen One whose wife/mother/sister/love interest was raped and who now needs Chosen One to avenge her, but good news! You're just the perfect age to dream about what you'd do as an aging father whose daughter your own ineptitude jeopardized! I'm not a plot device. I wasn't a plot device then, I'm not now, but without more plot, that's what we're left with.
-The fights/"training" elements. Art imitates art here, and it just grates on me. None of this works like that. If it wasn't repeated so often, maybe it would have been fine, but we're constantly reminded how skilled Kin is right before he does something from amateur hour.
-The ending. Poor Penny. This poor, poor woman. She doesn't deserve this life. I can't decide if she's supposed to have been written as really emotionally abused and insecure or a bit dumb, but neither is a terribly good look for a leading lady in less than expert hands and neither mean she should content herself with someone who can walk away from her all the time with only a little pang of remorse.
-The inconsistencies. Aside from the specific elements that all wilted under scrutiny, there are lots of other things that don't add up to what we've been told. I'm having this issue a lot lately. I know there's a pressure to publish quickly, but authors, please read for plot holes and at least address them. When they're not, it looks like either you're lazy or you think I'm an idiot and I'd hope that's not the case.
So what am I left with? What is there for me to say that was worth my time? Again, a lot of this is me. If you're not thinking too hard about time travel or fights or relationships, it's kind of sweet. But having seen this story a lot, in different configurations, with different levels of success, I can say this is not one of the better ones for me. Pretty let down.
CONTENT WARNING: (no actual spoilers, just a list of topics)
Things that were fine
-The familial references. I think Chen wrote this to his kid and it's full of little incidents that lack the poetic touch of imagination and feel "real," so I think he loves the women in his life, which is sweet. Cheesy for the rest of us, but nice that it was infused with love for the people who really matter. (Especially that last Dr. Who reference, that was a huge eye roll, but I guess maybe also fun? Fandom is weird.)
-Brevity. At least it was short.
Things that irked me
-The relationships. Real spoilers tl;dr I think the relationships were phony as hell, somewhat abusive, and Kin is a jerk.
-The plot. *Deep breath* Time travel stories are really, really tough because there's shifting narratives, common paradoxes and the "easy button" of just jumping again. If you don't handle all of these, it's impossible for me to suspend disbelief. It's like missing stairs all over the place that we're just supposed to jump over. I'm reading for fun, not exercise. Then, it's a story about a magical future with time travel and cures for all ailments and all that but the real story is sending some emails to people. Like, that's the action. And people saying "Kin, why are you acting weird?" and him responding "Miranda. Agent. Miranda. Agent" ad nauseum. It was thin, to say the last.
-The audiobook. The narrator can't do voices or accents and this book relied on accents.
-The power fantasy undertone. As with my problems with the relationships, it's hard not to read this as a male fantasy. Sure, maybe you're too old to start a quest as the Chosen One whose wife/mother/sister/love interest was raped and who now needs Chosen One to avenge her, but good news! You're just the perfect age to dream about what you'd do as an aging father whose daughter your own ineptitude jeopardized! I'm not a plot device. I wasn't a plot device then, I'm not now, but without more plot, that's what we're left with.
-The fights/"training" elements. Art imitates art here, and it just grates on me. None of this works like that. If it wasn't repeated so often, maybe it would have been fine, but we're constantly reminded how skilled Kin is right before he does something from amateur hour.
-The ending. Poor Penny. This poor, poor woman. She doesn't deserve this life. I can't decide if she's supposed to have been written as really emotionally abused and insecure or a bit dumb, but neither is a terribly good look for a leading lady in less than expert hands and neither mean she should content herself with someone who can walk away from her all the time with only a little pang of remorse.
-The inconsistencies. Aside from the specific elements that all wilted under scrutiny, there are lots of other things that don't add up to what we've been told. I'm having this issue a lot lately. I know there's a pressure to publish quickly, but authors, please read for plot holes and at least address them. When they're not, it looks like either you're lazy or you think I'm an idiot and I'd hope that's not the case.
So what am I left with? What is there for me to say that was worth my time? Again, a lot of this is me. If you're not thinking too hard about time travel or fights or relationships, it's kind of sweet. But having seen this story a lot, in different configurations, with different levels of success, I can say this is not one of the better ones for me. Pretty let down.
August 17, 2018
Y'all, I have a special place in my heart for time travel and I love reading about future tech. It's the reason I love Black Mirror so much--seeing possibilities.
I don't read nearly enough speculative fiction and Here and Now and Then has given me the nudge I needed.
One of the things that made this book so enjoyable for me is that there is plenty of technology involved, but we don't get bogged down in specs and the kind of extraneous detail that sometimes makes my eyes glaze over.
I think it works so well because although time travel is the glue that holds the story together, I would consider it the B plot.
The A plot is more about family and relationships, love and sacrifice, and all the joy and pain that comes with it.
The cast of characters are strong enough that I really cared about all of them. The empathy I felt made Kin's mission feel as important to me as it was to him, and that is a rare treat.
This is a fast paced, fun read, but it's also touching and evocative.
Here and Then and Now is another debut novel that is just superb. The writing is on point and the dialogue is seamless, and despite it's future/past setting, it's quite believable.
5/5 stars. Expected date of publication is January 29th, 2019.
I received an ARC from MIRA Books, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are mine.
I don't read nearly enough speculative fiction and Here and Now and Then has given me the nudge I needed.
One of the things that made this book so enjoyable for me is that there is plenty of technology involved, but we don't get bogged down in specs and the kind of extraneous detail that sometimes makes my eyes glaze over.
I think it works so well because although time travel is the glue that holds the story together, I would consider it the B plot.
The A plot is more about family and relationships, love and sacrifice, and all the joy and pain that comes with it.
The cast of characters are strong enough that I really cared about all of them. The empathy I felt made Kin's mission feel as important to me as it was to him, and that is a rare treat.
This is a fast paced, fun read, but it's also touching and evocative.
Here and Then and Now is another debut novel that is just superb. The writing is on point and the dialogue is seamless, and despite it's future/past setting, it's quite believable.
5/5 stars. Expected date of publication is January 29th, 2019.
I received an ARC from MIRA Books, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are mine.
April 3, 2023
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for sending me an ARC of Here and Now and Then in exchange for an honest review. One of my guilty pleasure movies is Timecop, the 1990s thriller where Jean Claude Van Damme works for the Time Enforcement Commission, an agency that stops people from going back in time to either try to change the present or, more commonly, try to steal money. It’s not a good movie, but JCVD punches and kicks loads of people, and Ron Silver is delightfully over the top as the villain.
Anyway, Kin Stewart, the narrator of Here and Now and Then, is working for that agency in the year 2142, at least until a freak accident strands him in the 1990s. He slowly loses his memories of his future life, he falls in love, marries, has a daughter. He would have lived out his days peacefully in our time except a second freak event finally alerts the agency to his location for rescue.
To say more would spoil this entertaining, unpredictable story. There aren’t really plot ‘twists’ in the way that word is usually used. Instead, just when you become comfortable that you know where the rest of the story is building towards, that issue gets resolved and the story starts building towards a different potential climax. The rules of time travel in this book work well, even though like any time travel novel, they are contrived to fit the story being told. In this case, the book uses time travel to tell the story of a man trying to navigate having two families, like a widower (or, I suppose, a bigamist. 😜)
Here and Now and Then has a nice balance of plot, action, and emotional depth. The characters interactions are believable and moving. A fast, enjoyable read. Recommended.
Anyway, Kin Stewart, the narrator of Here and Now and Then, is working for that agency in the year 2142, at least until a freak accident strands him in the 1990s. He slowly loses his memories of his future life, he falls in love, marries, has a daughter. He would have lived out his days peacefully in our time except a second freak event finally alerts the agency to his location for rescue.
To say more would spoil this entertaining, unpredictable story. There aren’t really plot ‘twists’ in the way that word is usually used. Instead, just when you become comfortable that you know where the rest of the story is building towards, that issue gets resolved and the story starts building towards a different potential climax. The rules of time travel in this book work well, even though like any time travel novel, they are contrived to fit the story being told. In this case, the book uses time travel to tell the story of a man trying to navigate having two families, like a widower (or, I suppose, a bigamist. 😜)
Here and Now and Then has a nice balance of plot, action, and emotional depth. The characters interactions are believable and moving. A fast, enjoyable read. Recommended.
January 5, 2019
Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen is a science fiction fantasy novel. This particular time travel adventure takes a look at what happens if things in the past are changed by the time travelers.
Kin is from the year 2142 when time travel becomes common and is an agent for the Temporal Correction Bureau (TCB). The agents of the TCB are tasked with going back and protecting the past from corruption as any little change can change their future that is yet to come.
However, Kin gets sent on an assignment back to the 1990s to take out someone interfering and while he does succeed in his mission he also ends up with his locator damaged. Kin hops that despite the damage someone will come for him in two days when scheduled but instead finds himself trapped for the next eighteen years where he slowly loses the memories of his true time.
Although the idea behind Here and Now and Then is not a new one in the fact that change in the past can change the future I still enjoyed this author’s take on it. This is one that most of the plot is pretty much given away in the blurb so if you didn’t read that yet you may not want to if it sounds like a good one.
For me while I enjoyed the ideas on time travel and the story I did think this one read a little on the dry side and I just didn’t feel it oozing with the emotion it should have which is what led to my rating 3.5 stars. Maybe I was focusing a bit too much on the tech side or perhaps it was the male POV or writer that was a bit off to me but regardless it was still a solid and entertaining story.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
Kin is from the year 2142 when time travel becomes common and is an agent for the Temporal Correction Bureau (TCB). The agents of the TCB are tasked with going back and protecting the past from corruption as any little change can change their future that is yet to come.
However, Kin gets sent on an assignment back to the 1990s to take out someone interfering and while he does succeed in his mission he also ends up with his locator damaged. Kin hops that despite the damage someone will come for him in two days when scheduled but instead finds himself trapped for the next eighteen years where he slowly loses the memories of his true time.
Although the idea behind Here and Now and Then is not a new one in the fact that change in the past can change the future I still enjoyed this author’s take on it. This is one that most of the plot is pretty much given away in the blurb so if you didn’t read that yet you may not want to if it sounds like a good one.
For me while I enjoyed the ideas on time travel and the story I did think this one read a little on the dry side and I just didn’t feel it oozing with the emotion it should have which is what led to my rating 3.5 stars. Maybe I was focusing a bit too much on the tech side or perhaps it was the male POV or writer that was a bit off to me but regardless it was still a solid and entertaining story.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
January 30, 2019
This is a beautiful, literary, genre-bending sci fi novel about a time traveler and his love for his daughter. Kin's mission to reach across time and space to save his beloved daughter is both touching and terrifying. Fans of THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE and DR. WHO will love Mike Chen. I can't wait to see what he writes next!
February 7, 2019
Mike Chen’s debut novel Here and Now and Then begins with a man out of time. Kin Stewart is an agent for the TCB (Temporal Corruption Bureau) who gets stuck in the late 1990s when his retrieval beacon gets damaged. It takes two decades for the Bureau to find him, and by then he’s broken their cardinal rule not to mess with the past by marrying his wife Heather and fathering a daughter, Miranda. Corruption to the timeline is negligible, so the TCB allows him to return to his job and agrees to let Miranda live, as she had little effect on history. Kin longs to know how his daughter’s life turned out, and the actions he takes when he finds out puts both their lives—and the world as he knows it—at grave risk.
Here and Now and Then succeeds at all the fundamentals: strong premise, likeable characters, focused plotting, steady pacing. The novel takes few risks though. It ignores intriguing dramatic possibilities in favor of the standard action movie scenario of a father trying to rescue his daughter from certain peril, and there is minimal pulse-raising in terms of suspense and upping the stakes. It’s a pleasant and emotionally satisfying time-passer, if not very distinctive.
Here and Now and Then succeeds at all the fundamentals: strong premise, likeable characters, focused plotting, steady pacing. The novel takes few risks though. It ignores intriguing dramatic possibilities in favor of the standard action movie scenario of a father trying to rescue his daughter from certain peril, and there is minimal pulse-raising in terms of suspense and upping the stakes. It’s a pleasant and emotionally satisfying time-passer, if not very distinctive.
August 22, 2018
Here and Now and Then was a perfect mix of family drama and sci-fi adventure. Kin and his predicament caught my interest from the first chapter and held it throughout. The time travel elements were well thought out and blended seamlessly into the tale. I was never left questioning the viability of anything that took place. Kin was an engaging character--as a reader, I desperately wanted him to succeed--and overall this book was a real page-turner that was hard to put down at the end of each reading session. I would definitely want to read more from the author in the future, and I recommend Here and Now and Then to fans of time travel works and lighter, genre-bending sci-fi tales.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley.
October 13, 2022
This one definitely gets off to an intriguing start! Time-traveling secret agent Kin is on a mission when something goes wrong and he gets trapped in present-day San Francisco. Somehow his memories of the past (well, future) get erased and cause blackouts every time he tries to remember them. He marries and has a daughter… and then the rescue team from the year 2142 shows up to retrieve him… whoops.
The writing is fast-paced, the sci-fi is just technical enough to be fun, but not bog you down, and the plot works for sure. Kin gets back to 2142 only to discover… This was a really fun, quick read!
The writing is fast-paced, the sci-fi is just technical enough to be fun, but not bog you down, and the plot works for sure. Kin gets back to 2142 only to discover… This was a really fun, quick read!
January 18, 2023
In 2142 time travel is a part of life and Kin Stewart is employed as a secret agent to travel back in time and fix problems. On one mission he is injured and left in 1990's San Francisco to do the best he can until he is retrieved. Not knowing if he ever will be he chooses to live a normal life where and when he is.
The premise is intriguing and keeps developing as events cause Kin to try and live two lives in separate times. I enjoyed the whole thing although occasionally I wished Kin would have been more sensible and less self-indulgent. However then the story would not have unfolded the way it did, and where is the fun in that?
The ending was very clever and left this reader at least feeling satisfied with a good book.
The premise is intriguing and keeps developing as events cause Kin to try and live two lives in separate times. I enjoyed the whole thing although occasionally I wished Kin would have been more sensible and less self-indulgent. However then the story would not have unfolded the way it did, and where is the fun in that?
The ending was very clever and left this reader at least feeling satisfied with a good book.
August 12, 2018
This is why I love NetGalley. I pick up a book that I normally wouldn't look twice at and end up finding a gem. This is a quick, original read that says a lot about the love of a parent for his/her child. It's much more than a typical scifi with layer upon layer of goodness and depths of feeling that many of this genre fail to reach. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the movie adaptation (cause I don't see how someone won't buy the rights to this one). Oh, and I forgot to add that any book with Doctor Who references automatically becomes 100% cooler. I mean, "timey wimey" makes an appearance.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley.
May 12, 2020
Nifty concept, but if they were more honest this would be called "Chekhov's Gun FROM THE FUTURE!" subtitled "Don't Think too Hard About It: Time Travel Stories Are In Right Now."
Here's the pitch: Mild-mannered nobody is really a time traveling somebody, and now he must choose between returning to The Future—kind of a big deal if you don't like paradoxes ripping spacetime apart—or staying in The Present with his beautiful wife and plucky tween daughter—kind of a big deal if you've spent 18ish years forging a life together after losing the memory of your badass secret time travel agent former self.
This one is cinematic and breathless - like a writer's workshop attacked a screenplay with gusto, but not in a good way. When you rely on infodumping via an amnesiac's recovered memories and when your characters speak like half-programmed melodrama bots then I have trouble taking things seriously. Often dreadfully overwritten, the original idea and a couple cool twists carried the day. And it is not the serious drama it aspires to be. Nobody wants time cops sending emails to the past while working desk jobs, we want laser blasters and accidental self-grandfatherings.
2 stars. I only finished for a reading challenge. One recently published sci fi title - check!
Here's the pitch: Mild-mannered nobody is really a time traveling somebody, and now he must choose between returning to The Future—kind of a big deal if you don't like paradoxes ripping spacetime apart—or staying in The Present with his beautiful wife and plucky tween daughter—kind of a big deal if you've spent 18ish years forging a life together after losing the memory of your badass secret time travel agent former self.
This one is cinematic and breathless - like a writer's workshop attacked a screenplay with gusto, but not in a good way. When you rely on infodumping via an amnesiac's recovered memories and when your characters speak like half-programmed melodrama bots then I have trouble taking things seriously. Often dreadfully overwritten, the original idea and a couple cool twists carried the day. And it is not the serious drama it aspires to be. Nobody wants time cops sending emails to the past while working desk jobs, we want laser blasters and accidental self-grandfatherings.
2 stars. I only finished for a reading challenge. One recently published sci fi title - check!
December 23, 2019
I absolutely LOVED Here and Now and Then! I'm not a huge reader of the Sci-Fi genre but when I saw this one nominated for the best of Sci-Fi in the Goodread's Best of 2019, I thought I would check it out. It was fabulous from start to finish. It's a time traveling book that is quite different from others that I have read and the ending captured my heart forever!
I'm not going to give you the entire plot here because it would ruin it for you. Basically, a time traveler who should have been "retrieved" after something went wrong now is stuck in our current time. Unable to contact his agency in the future, he manages to make a life in this time. An entire lifetime goes by as he marries and has a child. But time passes differently here than in the future and what is a lifetime now is only a matter weeks in the future. The agency now wants him back. But what about his life which he has lived in the present? What will he find waiting for him in the future that he has forgotten. It's an amazingly written, somewhat scientifically sound sci-fi thriller, love story and all around great book for cross genres. There is a reason it is listed among the best of the best. Even if you don't think you like Sci-Fi, I think you would enjoy this one!
I'm not going to give you the entire plot here because it would ruin it for you. Basically, a time traveler who should have been "retrieved" after something went wrong now is stuck in our current time. Unable to contact his agency in the future, he manages to make a life in this time. An entire lifetime goes by as he marries and has a child. But time passes differently here than in the future and what is a lifetime now is only a matter weeks in the future. The agency now wants him back. But what about his life which he has lived in the present? What will he find waiting for him in the future that he has forgotten. It's an amazingly written, somewhat scientifically sound sci-fi thriller, love story and all around great book for cross genres. There is a reason it is listed among the best of the best. Even if you don't think you like Sci-Fi, I think you would enjoy this one!
August 8, 2018
*NetGalley ARC
Kin Stewart experiences every time traveler’s worst fear; he becomes trapped in a time that is not his own. In 2142, Kin’s job is to travel back in time to thwart time-corrupting crimnals who try to alter the course of history. Tragically, on his 28th assignment, something goes terribly wrong, and he his unable to jump from 1996 back to his real life in 2142. With no choice but to adapt and assimilate into the 20th-21st century, Kin builds a new life, marries, and becomes a father-only to have this new life ripped from him when a visitor from The Bureau contacts him 18 years later and forces him to return to the future where he belongs.
I loved this book and Mike Chen’s astoundingly brilliant imagination. His details of future technologies and mindsets are amazing as he takes the reader on a truly futurist journey. Despite the sci-fi setting, his characters remain very realistic and believable. A father’s pain and unconditional love for his child transcend all time, and we are all behind Kin as he defies “the rules” to give his 21st century daughter the life she deserves.
Kin Stewart experiences every time traveler’s worst fear; he becomes trapped in a time that is not his own. In 2142, Kin’s job is to travel back in time to thwart time-corrupting crimnals who try to alter the course of history. Tragically, on his 28th assignment, something goes terribly wrong, and he his unable to jump from 1996 back to his real life in 2142. With no choice but to adapt and assimilate into the 20th-21st century, Kin builds a new life, marries, and becomes a father-only to have this new life ripped from him when a visitor from The Bureau contacts him 18 years later and forces him to return to the future where he belongs.
I loved this book and Mike Chen’s astoundingly brilliant imagination. His details of future technologies and mindsets are amazing as he takes the reader on a truly futurist journey. Despite the sci-fi setting, his characters remain very realistic and believable. A father’s pain and unconditional love for his child transcend all time, and we are all behind Kin as he defies “the rules” to give his 21st century daughter the life she deserves.
August 10, 2018
Love, love, love this book.
August 1, 2018
This was the time travel book I didn’t know I was waiting for. All anyone wants is for their kids to be ok, even if it destroys the world for everyone else. When innocuous advice like “follow your heart” upends the future and attempts to rectify it...I can’t go on without giving too much away. This book was one of my tops this year.
April 24, 2021
★ ★ 1/2 stars, rounded up to ★ ★ ★ for the effort
I really wish I could give Here and Now and Then a better rating, but it just didn't make the greatness cut for me.
Why? The entire novel had this stilted translated-from-another-language feel, all the way through. Everything was worded accurately, but hardly ever appropriately, more like a graphic novel than an actual words-only book. The text was littered with short sentence fragments, appearing just as often as actual sentences. Was I reading the novel version of Joey's recommendation letter for Monica and Chandler to adopt a child?
"His heart had sprinted at the mere notion for minutes now."
See what I mean? It's just off somehow. Plus, in Audible, the narrator did the audio version no favors. He read with the weirdest cadence, like he couldn't figure out how to make heads or tails of the writing either. On a happier note, I got to test out just how fast I could dial up the playback speed in my Audible app before I had trouble keeping up. (Apparently my max is 1.20%, then I'm approaching seizure territory.)
So, my take: two and a half stars for a semi-original adventure idea turned into a fun little romp through time with no unnecessary violence, sex, or foul language. It was simply a nice story that needed an editor to slice through the stilted insanity and infuse this baby with some flow.
I really wish I could give Here and Now and Then a better rating, but it just didn't make the greatness cut for me.
Why? The entire novel had this stilted translated-from-another-language feel, all the way through. Everything was worded accurately, but hardly ever appropriately, more like a graphic novel than an actual words-only book. The text was littered with short sentence fragments, appearing just as often as actual sentences. Was I reading the novel version of Joey's recommendation letter for Monica and Chandler to adopt a child?
"His heart had sprinted at the mere notion for minutes now."
See what I mean? It's just off somehow. Plus, in Audible, the narrator did the audio version no favors. He read with the weirdest cadence, like he couldn't figure out how to make heads or tails of the writing either. On a happier note, I got to test out just how fast I could dial up the playback speed in my Audible app before I had trouble keeping up. (Apparently my max is 1.20%, then I'm approaching seizure territory.)
So, my take: two and a half stars for a semi-original adventure idea turned into a fun little romp through time with no unnecessary violence, sex, or foul language. It was simply a nice story that needed an editor to slice through the stilted insanity and infuse this baby with some flow.
August 1, 2018
A beautifully done story about the lengths a parent will go to for his child. Well done time travel and fast pace! Loved it.
February 12, 2019
3.75 stars
December 3, 2018
Thank you to HARLEQUIN - MIRA (U.S. and Canada) and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.
*Please note there are some slightly spoilerish thoughts below.*
Kin Stewart is a secret agent from the year 2142 who time travels to catch criminals and due to a mishap - ends up stuck in the 1990s for 18 years. Despite his training where he is supposed to lead a solitary life, discard of any technology or trace that he is from the future and refrain from creating any event that could interfere with the future - he doesn't listen. He gets married, has a child and lives a pretty normal, everyday existence. Until the future comes to rescue him and he has to renounce everything he has built over the past 18 years and go back.
I gave this 3 stars, but to be honest I probably wouldn't have finished this if it wasn't an ARC. While I was extremely interested in the description (hence why I requested this), I unfortunately started to struggle around the 50-75 page mark because there just wasn't enough action to keep me engaged. There were some early signs that had me on the edge of my seat and then the opportunity fizzled and so did my interest. You can't always have action - you need dialogue and character development. However, there wasn't an equal amount to keep it as interesting as it could be. I also don't think the author spent enough time in the 1990s for me to feel the emotional bond about those characters the way that Kin did. So when he was forced to go back into the future (or where he originally came from) I wasn't nearly as gutted as I think the author intended me to be.
The other thing I struggled with early on was how it was a little too technical. While I completely appreciate the thought process from the author in explaining everything - I didn't always grasp the science. Some other books that I thought were very "sciencey" (Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and The Martian by Andy Weir) did a better job of explaining the science in more layman's terms. Maybe it didn't help that the time I was able to devote to reading this was later at night when my mom-brain is already tired, but I have read a few other reviews that mentioned the same thing.
Back to the action comment - please don't misunderstand me and think I'm one of those people that needs constant action - but I think there needs to be more of a give and take when you're asking the reader to invest their emotions with a character going through a journey like this. My concern with Kin's life in the future ringing hallow - I think the author intended on us living through what the main character did when he returned to the future. Kin struggled with connecting emotionally with his fiance and best friend, even though the memories were there and his brain told him he loved these people, he just didn't feel it. His heart remained back in the 1990's. I was experiencing the same problem, however with both time periods. I didn't get enough of the bond with either time period so the emotion just fell flat with me. It seems that many other readers did find it easy to connect so maybe I am the outlier.
I feel bad being so tough on this book because I think it had a lot of potential. I give so much credit to anyone who could write a book and this effort was good. Plus, the ending is what made this a 3 star instead of a 2.5. It was clever and I liked that. Sadly, the whole book just wasn't what I was hoping for. Best of luck to the author and I hope he finds success with this venture and continues to write!
*Please note there are some slightly spoilerish thoughts below.*
Kin Stewart is a secret agent from the year 2142 who time travels to catch criminals and due to a mishap - ends up stuck in the 1990s for 18 years. Despite his training where he is supposed to lead a solitary life, discard of any technology or trace that he is from the future and refrain from creating any event that could interfere with the future - he doesn't listen. He gets married, has a child and lives a pretty normal, everyday existence. Until the future comes to rescue him and he has to renounce everything he has built over the past 18 years and go back.
I gave this 3 stars, but to be honest I probably wouldn't have finished this if it wasn't an ARC. While I was extremely interested in the description (hence why I requested this), I unfortunately started to struggle around the 50-75 page mark because there just wasn't enough action to keep me engaged. There were some early signs that had me on the edge of my seat and then the opportunity fizzled and so did my interest. You can't always have action - you need dialogue and character development. However, there wasn't an equal amount to keep it as interesting as it could be. I also don't think the author spent enough time in the 1990s for me to feel the emotional bond about those characters the way that Kin did. So when he was forced to go back into the future (or where he originally came from) I wasn't nearly as gutted as I think the author intended me to be.
The other thing I struggled with early on was how it was a little too technical. While I completely appreciate the thought process from the author in explaining everything - I didn't always grasp the science. Some other books that I thought were very "sciencey" (Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and The Martian by Andy Weir) did a better job of explaining the science in more layman's terms. Maybe it didn't help that the time I was able to devote to reading this was later at night when my mom-brain is already tired, but I have read a few other reviews that mentioned the same thing.
Back to the action comment - please don't misunderstand me and think I'm one of those people that needs constant action - but I think there needs to be more of a give and take when you're asking the reader to invest their emotions with a character going through a journey like this. My concern with Kin's life in the future ringing hallow - I think the author intended on us living through what the main character did when he returned to the future. Kin struggled with connecting emotionally with his fiance and best friend, even though the memories were there and his brain told him he loved these people, he just didn't feel it. His heart remained back in the 1990's. I was experiencing the same problem, however with both time periods. I didn't get enough of the bond with either time period so the emotion just fell flat with me. It seems that many other readers did find it easy to connect so maybe I am the outlier.
I feel bad being so tough on this book because I think it had a lot of potential. I give so much credit to anyone who could write a book and this effort was good. Plus, the ending is what made this a 3 star instead of a 2.5. It was clever and I liked that. Sadly, the whole book just wasn't what I was hoping for. Best of luck to the author and I hope he finds success with this venture and continues to write!
November 21, 2019
Allow me to steal part of Allison's review....
Dear book, it's mostly you and not at all me. We didn't work well together because I expected much more. This is a story about a dumb ass making a bunch of ridiculous decisions to save his daughter.
I had high hopes for the book which probably explains my extreme disappointment now. The concept was great but every time I thought "ooooh now the story will go here", it didn't go there and instead remained uninspiring. Let's point out a few unbelievabilities... A daughter perfectly willing to carry on an email relationship with her dad. A company that seems completely uninterested in one of their employees being stranded for 28 years. A time travel scenario where they can go back in time to fix just about anything but they can't go back to grab the MC before he is stranded and finally a future that has banned fast food, as if!
Chen had a book concept that included a beginning and an end with no content in the middle. Sadly that is exactly what the book ended up being. Two stars because I really did like the beginning.
There are many, many other time travel books that are better.
Dear book, it's mostly you and not at all me. We didn't work well together because I expected much more. This is a story about a dumb ass making a bunch of ridiculous decisions to save his daughter.
I had high hopes for the book which probably explains my extreme disappointment now. The concept was great but every time I thought "ooooh now the story will go here", it didn't go there and instead remained uninspiring. Let's point out a few unbelievabilities... A daughter perfectly willing to carry on an email relationship with her dad. A company that seems completely uninterested in one of their employees being stranded for 28 years. A time travel scenario where they can go back in time to fix just about anything but they can't go back to grab the MC before he is stranded and finally a future that has banned fast food, as if!
Chen had a book concept that included a beginning and an end with no content in the middle. Sadly that is exactly what the book ended up being. Two stars because I really did like the beginning.
There are many, many other time travel books that are better.
January 30, 2020
3.5 Stars
This was an entertaining science fiction thriller that had a similar feel to Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. Very family focused, this one had less emphasis on the science behind the time travel elements. I particularly enjoyed the references to science fiction pop culture as well as the sections involving gourmet cooking. In many ways, this read like a contemporary novel and will appeal to a general fiction audience.
This was an entertaining science fiction thriller that had a similar feel to Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. Very family focused, this one had less emphasis on the science behind the time travel elements. I particularly enjoyed the references to science fiction pop culture as well as the sections involving gourmet cooking. In many ways, this read like a contemporary novel and will appeal to a general fiction audience.
February 7, 2019
Video review: https://youtu.be/YyOsf2xGnzk
Have you ever read those relationships that simply warm your heart and make you want to read about them nonstop?
That's exactly how I felt with Kin and Miranda. Just the sweetest, most heartfelt father and daughter relationship I've ever read. I've actually never read a book before where a father cared so much about his child that he would literally travel through time just to save their life and make sure they live a complete and happy one. Man, I'm almost crying just thinking about them. Kin is the love of my life and definitely one of my favorite characters of all time, I just can't stop thinking about him and how awesome he's as a father.
Moreover, all the time travelling aspects of this book were on point. I actually felt like I was there in two different times. And also, I was able to understand all the paradoxes that can be created by changing facts about the past, which I was so confused about before starting Here and Then and Now. All of it was extremely interesting to me, I just wanted more and more. Just when I thought sci-fi may not be the genre for me, this book comes to prove me how amazing the genre can be.
Saddly, there are two things that I actually didn't like. The first one being a love interest Kin had. I just didn't see the chemistry between , from the beginning we were supposed to not want to be with her since we were reading from Kin's point of view but later I didn't see their relationship developing either. All the time I was rooting for him to
And the second one was that from time to time I would disconnect from the story. I don't actually know why, but there were some moments that dragged a bit for me and I wanted to skip some sentences because I wasn't interested in what was going on. Mainly when Markus was involved, I didn't like that side-character.
Now, the ending was spectacular. This book had so many twist that I actually didn't know how things were going to end up but when we got to it, it was exactly how it needed to end. Incredibly amazing and everything just made so much sense.
All in all, this book was fantastic for the most part. The time travelling aspect as well as our main character were one of the best things I've read for a while. However, there were some moments were I couldn't get into the story and there's also a love interest who I didn't like, that's the reason why I didn't give this book a full 5 stars.
Have you ever read those relationships that simply warm your heart and make you want to read about them nonstop?
That's exactly how I felt with Kin and Miranda. Just the sweetest, most heartfelt father and daughter relationship I've ever read. I've actually never read a book before where a father cared so much about his child that he would literally travel through time just to save their life and make sure they live a complete and happy one. Man, I'm almost crying just thinking about them. Kin is the love of my life and definitely one of my favorite characters of all time, I just can't stop thinking about him and how awesome he's as a father.
Moreover, all the time travelling aspects of this book were on point. I actually felt like I was there in two different times. And also, I was able to understand all the paradoxes that can be created by changing facts about the past, which I was so confused about before starting Here and Then and Now. All of it was extremely interesting to me, I just wanted more and more. Just when I thought sci-fi may not be the genre for me, this book comes to prove me how amazing the genre can be.
Saddly, there are two things that I actually didn't like. The first one being a love interest Kin had. I just didn't see the chemistry between , from the beginning we were supposed to not want to be with her since we were reading from Kin's point of view but later I didn't see their relationship developing either. All the time I was rooting for him to
And the second one was that from time to time I would disconnect from the story. I don't actually know why, but there were some moments that dragged a bit for me and I wanted to skip some sentences because I wasn't interested in what was going on. Mainly when Markus was involved, I didn't like that side-character.
Now, the ending was spectacular. This book had so many twist that I actually didn't know how things were going to end up but when we got to it, it was exactly how it needed to end. Incredibly amazing and everything just made so much sense.
All in all, this book was fantastic for the most part. The time travelling aspect as well as our main character were one of the best things I've read for a while. However, there were some moments were I couldn't get into the story and there's also a love interest who I didn't like, that's the reason why I didn't give this book a full 5 stars.
February 3, 2019
4.5 stars
I know I don’t read a lot of adult science-fiction (too many older white men who complain about things not being ~sciencey~ enough) but Here and Now and Then sounded right up my alley. And you know what? IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT.
I loved reading. I loved it so much.
I know Chen shared how he was scared it was too literary for adult science fiction, but it is definitely not too literary in my eyes. It was the perfect amount of literary–the dash of literary that makes it appealing to a more casual reader (like me!).
This dash of literary made the story so heartwrenching (this is why I hate time travel stories–because the nature of time travel is just kind of horrible to families) and reading about Kin trying to make it back to his daughter Miranda made me cry twice while reading.
Yeah, I know.
The entire “literary” portion with the family themes were so strong and powerful (probably also what made it relatable to a YA reader like myself). I mean, Kin is a 40 year old man, an age bracket I don’t normally relate to, but I loved this a lot.
He’s ripped apart from the family he has created after getting stranded in time–namely, away from his daughter Miranda–and this leads Kin to do a lot of things to both communicate with her, as well as eventually save her.
It’s heartwrenching, and I was definitely a little sad (also a little happy) at the ending. Which wasn’t like Super Sad, but I wish the world wasn’t so cruel that it had to end this way
(But really, Chen made the best ending I could imagine without completely defying all the natural laws he set up in the story.)
And even more than the family portion, reading Kin try and figure out his feelings towards the girlfriend he forgot about when he was stranded, Penny, and the family he created in the past was really interesting and I loved it.
Where the half star came off was honestly from the Penny side–I wish we got to see a little more oomph–impact–from Kin and Penny’s new relationship. Because I think she got the page time she deserved, but I wanted a little more meaning + thought into this part of Kin’s life.
Other than that though, this book was honestly almost flawless. I loved the way everything came together (also, how everything ruined each other because that’s what good plots have) and the time travel was sciencey enough that I enjoyed it, but not too sciencey that it felt like Chen was trying to intentionally confuse the reader and be ~cool~.
Overall, this was an amazing read and I really appreciated so many parts of thisbook, even as a YA reader. I loved the family potrion, I loved the plot, and I loved reading about Kin’s struggles reconciling his old life, his new life, and his old old life. Chen did such a great job with this and I definitely recommend to anyone looking for a moving adult sci-fi read that could still be enjoyable to YA readers.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Mira Books for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review!
Blog | Instagram | Twitter
I know I don’t read a lot of adult science-fiction (too many older white men who complain about things not being ~sciencey~ enough) but Here and Now and Then sounded right up my alley. And you know what? IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT.
I loved reading. I loved it so much.
I know Chen shared how he was scared it was too literary for adult science fiction, but it is definitely not too literary in my eyes. It was the perfect amount of literary–the dash of literary that makes it appealing to a more casual reader (like me!).
This dash of literary made the story so heartwrenching (this is why I hate time travel stories–because the nature of time travel is just kind of horrible to families) and reading about Kin trying to make it back to his daughter Miranda made me cry twice while reading.
Yeah, I know.
The entire “literary” portion with the family themes were so strong and powerful (probably also what made it relatable to a YA reader like myself). I mean, Kin is a 40 year old man, an age bracket I don’t normally relate to, but I loved this a lot.
He’s ripped apart from the family he has created after getting stranded in time–namely, away from his daughter Miranda–and this leads Kin to do a lot of things to both communicate with her, as well as eventually save her.
It’s heartwrenching, and I was definitely a little sad (also a little happy) at the ending. Which wasn’t like Super Sad, but I wish the world wasn’t so cruel that it had to end this way
(But really, Chen made the best ending I could imagine without completely defying all the natural laws he set up in the story.)
And even more than the family portion, reading Kin try and figure out his feelings towards the girlfriend he forgot about when he was stranded, Penny, and the family he created in the past was really interesting and I loved it.
Where the half star came off was honestly from the Penny side–I wish we got to see a little more oomph–impact–from Kin and Penny’s new relationship. Because I think she got the page time she deserved, but I wanted a little more meaning + thought into this part of Kin’s life.
Other than that though, this book was honestly almost flawless. I loved the way everything came together (also, how everything ruined each other because that’s what good plots have) and the time travel was sciencey enough that I enjoyed it, but not too sciencey that it felt like Chen was trying to intentionally confuse the reader and be ~cool~.
Overall, this was an amazing read and I really appreciated so many parts of thisbook, even as a YA reader. I loved the family potrion, I loved the plot, and I loved reading about Kin’s struggles reconciling his old life, his new life, and his old old life. Chen did such a great job with this and I definitely recommend to anyone looking for a moving adult sci-fi read that could still be enjoyable to YA readers.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Mira Books for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review!
Blog | Instagram | Twitter
November 19, 2022
So far, Mike Chen has been a solid, imminently readable SF author. The topic (time travel) is full of humanity and necessary quandaries full of heart.
There's nothing really unique about this, but that's okay if all you want is a good story time travel that basically makes the best of a bad situation, eventually loving everything about your life, losing it, trying to make things right, then back again.
The emotional bits are appropriately heart-wrenching.
I thought this was pretty great. In every way, it's a tale that's great because it's told great, not because it breaks any conventions at all. It's a comfort read.
There's nothing really unique about this, but that's okay if all you want is a good story time travel that basically makes the best of a bad situation, eventually loving everything about your life, losing it, trying to make things right, then back again.
The emotional bits are appropriately heart-wrenching.
I thought this was pretty great. In every way, it's a tale that's great because it's told great, not because it breaks any conventions at all. It's a comfort read.
May 26, 2023
I read this one in 2019, and now I am bringing my review to Goodreads. As I have said numerous times, I don't typically read science fiction fantasy. (But, sometimes, there is always one that is just the right one. And I let myself in.) It happened here.
This particular time travel adventure takes a look at what happens if things in the past are changed by time travelers. Time Travel, you say? Stay with me. There is more to consider.
How do you reconcile being stuck in one time period and belonging to another? What are the benefits – the consequences – what do you change in one-time era when you get left behind? What will you do to protect your child?
Overall, this book was a real page-turner and a story of love and parenthood that hits your heart in all the right places.
Does this mean I am going to read more science fiction fantasy? The jury is still out on that one! Maybe, another Mike Chen book. 4.5 stars.
This particular time travel adventure takes a look at what happens if things in the past are changed by time travelers. Time Travel, you say? Stay with me. There is more to consider.
How do you reconcile being stuck in one time period and belonging to another? What are the benefits – the consequences – what do you change in one-time era when you get left behind? What will you do to protect your child?
Overall, this book was a real page-turner and a story of love and parenthood that hits your heart in all the right places.
Does this mean I am going to read more science fiction fantasy? The jury is still out on that one! Maybe, another Mike Chen book. 4.5 stars.
July 5, 2021
5 Incredible Stars!!! This is how you write a novel! This is exactly the kind of book I've been yearning for, tears still running down my cheeks!
Not sure if I even want to attempt a detailed review; this magical book doesn't need it. A big thank you to Mike Chen, Here and Now and Then! Hoping for other reads from this special author.
“‘We’re all different people all through our lives, but that’s okay, as long as you remember all the people you used to be.’”
Not sure if I even want to attempt a detailed review; this magical book doesn't need it. A big thank you to Mike Chen, Here and Now and Then! Hoping for other reads from this special author.
“‘We’re all different people all through our lives, but that’s okay, as long as you remember all the people you used to be.’”
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,836 reviews