Time Storm

A real find.

The Dorsai series is excellent in its own right, but low on page count. To see a book from the same author as thick as all of them put together did ring alarm bells with me that Dickson would struggle to hold attention and interest in this one... but how wrong was I?

At first this seems a 'fantastic journey' (and just like the 70s sci fi series with Roddy McDowell with the same name, this one too uses a bank of mist to travel to different places - coincidence? doubt it).... But this journey has a amazing cast of characters, each one unforgettable and unique, very much like the Life of Pi....

Sunday (a devoted panther, playful like a kitten - best by far, we all want one, and yes an obvious source of heartbreak... sort of)

The Girl (very strong, barely speaks, but so, so relevant)...

Porniarsk - an alien avatar (who gets some of the best spock like dialogue)

and The Old Man (A genetically modified Ape and source of one of the most touching scenes I have read for a long while).

I am not going to spoil the plot except to say this is really a book about a self discovery and trying to properly connect on an emotional level with the wider world, when so many of us are locked in emotional prisons of our own making, failing to see and recognise what is infront of our own eyes.

Multi layered and not as simple as it seems, this book has moments of genuine heartbreak, humanity and joy along with an excellent plot, great cast and a philosophical message.

At times it does spend too long describing the patterns and webs holding the time continuum together and there is a section that seems to add little to the overall story, but this is still a compelling and rewarding journey with a very satisfying end that will get you thinking...

Similar to the Talisman but much, much deeper.

And we are all better in the end, if we can stop and realise who, among the many we know, could benefit with coming to the same realisations as the main character.