Tempus Fugit
by: Frank Almond
Review by: Lee Masterson

It is not often that I will review a book. Generally, Tina and Ciara are in charge of this section of Fiction Factor, but this time I felt almost obliged to respond.

You see, the author, Frank Almond, struck up a conversation with me via email, outlining his as-yet-unpublished book and sparking my curiosity before he had even sold it. He also made absolutely certain that his descriptions of his story were entertaining enough to warrant me asking to see it when he found a publisher.

Now Tempus Fugit has been e-published by Boson Books, and - true to his word - Frank sent me a copy for review. Let me just say I'm glad he did!

Tempus Fugit is the fast-paced, often hectic, story of young Stephen Sloane - a guy living an ordinary life in an ordinary city. Very early in the book, he is faced with an old school friend, Duck, whom he would rather forget. Not given the choice, however, Stephen is cajoled into taking a trip with Duck in his Ford Cortina.

Duck's character seems trapped in the 70's. Stephen sees only a man who is unwilling (or unable) to grow up and accept life as an adult; Duck is still the quintessential "party guy" - or is he?

Relenting to Duck's insistence, Stephen gets into the car... and the book literally takes off at a breathless pace.

The Ford Cortina is actually a time machine, disguised as a car in this era, but also masked by several other clever contraptions to suit the many other eras Duck takes them to in his attempt to save Stephen from being "erased".

The pair visit several of the expected time zones you would anticipate from a time travel novel - but the author has inserted a clever, and often very funny, twist to each visit. They encounter a few unexpected versions of famous historical figures and a great perspective of a future-gone-mad.

The pace of Tempus Fugit is hectic, the situations Duck and Stephen find themselves in are often very funny and the resolution is unexpected. I won't spoil it for you by giving it away!

The only complaint I could find about this book was that it was a little too short for my liking. Perhaps that was because I finished the book far too quickly and was left wanting to see more (or perhaps I sat at the computer for too long and completed it because I couldn't put it down)

I am already looking forward to the sequel of this book, Future Tense

Tempus Fugit receives a * * * * 1/2 for being a light, entertaining read.

Here are the places it can be purchased:

In PDA format:
Mobipocket
CyberRead:

In Adobe's PDF format:
EBooks.com:    

or direct from the Publisher, Boson Books:

You can also visit Frank's Homepage by clicking here.

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Rating Scale:
* * * * * = Un-put-downable, excellent reading!
* * * * = Good value, interesting reading.
* * * = Had potential, but could have been better.
* * = Slow, difficult to read, could have been improved.
* = Imminently forgettable.