5-Stars: Had Me Riveted from the Get-Go!
Suicide Squad meets time travel in Portals in Time: The Quest for Un-Old-Age by John Joseph Teressi. To begin with, the story handles the time travel aspect really well. I loved how complex the characters were and how well the author merged the characters and the storyline together. Although the characters were intense, they brought something new to the story on every single page and kept me interested in the plot. There is nothing that I don’t like about this novel. It is a well-developed and fast-paced story that had me riveted from the get-go.
The story follows ten convicts and a team of intellectuals who make up the Eye of Time Exploration Team that travel through time to find a cure for a disease that is making their people die of premature old age. How they are getting old, why they are getting old … no one knows. This is the reason why the “volunteers” are time traveling – to find the “Secret of Un-Old-Age” that can help these people. However, even though they have two of the best time travelers with them, the journey is paved with unforeseen terrors and dangers that no one can predict. What will become of this team of brave travelers? Will they find the cure for this terrible disease or will they be lost forever?
Thoroughly entertaining, the novel grabbed my attention from the very beginning. Although at first glance the story seems like science fiction, in fact, it expertly merges many genres together to make the perfect amalgamation of thriller, mystery, science fiction, psychological thriller and many more. The best thing is, the author handled them all really well and ensured that the narrative held its own with very strong characters and becoming a living, breathing being that cannot be ignored. Perfect!—Rabia Tanveer, 5 Stars, Readers’ Favorite Reviewer