Mark Jeffrey (1)

Facing an enemy armed with the Golden Aleph -- a mystical device that allows its wielder to see holographically into every point in time and space, Ptolemy must use every trick of his Oxford-educated mind and circus-trained body to succeed.

But how do you fight an enemy that knows your every move … even before you do?

When Armand Ptolemy is called to investigate strange tremors plaguing an old wing of the New York public library, he finds himself enmeshed in a series of events that began in 1912. Yet Ptolemy himself is rumored to be from the past -- and the world's Elite lust after the secret of how he seemingly jumped forward over one hundred years in time. Most keenly interested in this secret is Octavio Veerspike, head of the Veerspike banking dynasty.

When the Commission -- a secret society of the world's most powerful people -- suddenly call a conclave in the tropics, Ptolemy has to figure out what they're up to, and fast.

But the Elites have other ideas. Putting into a motion the capstone of a hundred-years old plan, the Commission wants Ptolemy out of the way. And with the Golden Aleph giving them very potent powers of prediction, they just may succeed ...… (meer)

Max Quick is a pickpocket, a vagabond, an orphan, and a thief. Even so, nothing about him seems particularly special . . . until one day when time mysteriously stops. Suddenly, nearly everyone in the world is frozen in time—except for Max.

Now Max must journey across America to find the source of the Time-stop. Along the way, he meets others who aren't suspended in time, like Casey, a girl who's never been on her own until now. Together, as they search for the cause of this disaster, Max and his companions encounter ancient mysteries, magic books, and clues to the riddle of stopped time. But relentless and mysterious villains are hot on Max's heels and will do everything in their power to prevent Max from ending the Time-stop. And the closer Max gets to the answers, the more it seems that his own true identity is not what he once believed.

Racing against a clock that no longer ticks, Max must embrace his past to save his future—and the world—from being altered forever.… (meer)

For the third time today I write the simple words that I received this book as a free giveaway from Goodreads, part of the First Reads program. Despite that I shall endeavor to write yet another candid review.

The Age of Aether is brief and entertaining. It is often underestimated just how often these two attributes travel together. One can plow through this novella in a couple of hours and remain reasonably amused throughout the trip.

Time travel stories are notoriously difficult and this one does a good job of respecting causality without leaving the reader scratching his or her head. That said it's not overly complex by any means and goes rather directly to its destination.

The only negatives I would ascribe to it are twofold. Firstly, the font size is far too large. So much so that it becomes a distraction. I understand that the printer wished to bulk up the book to make it seem longer than it is but this has been carried to extremes and it strikes the reader almost as a children's book. Secondly, and one of my perennial pet peeves, the book is prone to typographical errors. These are distracting but easily rectified. I have no doubt that this review will contain an error or two just to maintain the balance of irony in the universe but then this isn't a published work of fiction either.

To summarize, a good story well executed but it could benefit from a few slight adjustments. Perhaps the author should consider a longer format work for their next publication. I for one would certainly welcome it.… (meer)

For the third time today I write the simple words that I received this book as a free giveaway from Goodreads, part of the First Reads program. Despite that I shall endeavor to write yet another candid review.

The Age of Aether is brief and entertaining. It is often underestimated just how often these two attributes travel together. One can plow through this novella in a couple of hours and remain reasonably amused throughout the trip.

Time travel stories are notoriously difficult and this one does a good job of respecting causality without leaving the reader scratching his or her head. That said it's not overly complex by any means and goes rather directly to its destination.

The only negatives I would ascribe to it are twofold. Firstly, the font size is far too large. So much so that it becomes a distraction. I understand that the printer wished to bulk up the book to make it seem longer than it is but this has been carried to extremes and it strikes the reader almost as a children's book. Secondly, and one of my perennial pet peeves, the book is prone to typographical errors. These are distracting but easily rectified. I have no doubt that this review will contain an error or two just to maintain the balance of irony in the universe but then this isn't a published work of fiction either.

To summarize, a good story well executed but it could benefit from a few slight adjustments. Perhaps the author should consider a longer format work for their next publication. I for one would certainly welcome it.… (meer)