There is little here in terms of whizz-bang, gee-wow, that’s-new SF territory. As a SF nerd, I was loving the travel but a little tired of the set-pieces. Taken altogether, this means your mileage may vary here. Everyone has some suped-up Google Glasses and retinal scans, and that’s about it. And there isn’t much in the way of advanced technology beyond that-even in the 2112 setting, Nikel doesn’t invest too much time trying to establish that technology has advanced all that much. The technology is crude: for the most part, you have to use a specific machine to get you where you need to go.

The timelines are “synced” in that “Meanwhile, In the Present…” kind of way you can only travel to the current date, just certain years in the past or future. And some dude originally from 1912 is there, somehow, with knowledge and technology far beyond what he should have….Īs far as time travel mechanics go, Nikel keeps this pretty simple. Of course, that’s not all she was lied to about, and she soon finds herself trapped, with no real options. Soon she’s in 2112, attempting to retrieve wayward agent sent to investigate the future and report back. Turns out he has been dealing with some black-ops type people on the side, and that contrary to what he told Elise, the technology they use can also take them into their future. Wells, to whisk her away to a top-secret facility. When she succeeds, she returns to 2012, only for her boss, the enigmatic Dr. She is there to Extract a wayward temporal tourist that’s her job. The Continuum opens with Elise Morley in 1912. Wendy Nikel keeps us guessing with numerous twists and turns, though I wish I were more interested in both the protagonist and the overall plot.

The Continuum is a quick jaunt, if you will, into both past and future. Thanks NetGalley and World Weaver Press for the eARC. Loves me some time travel, so of course when I saw this on NetGalley, I jumped on it.

The Continuum by Wendy Nikel