2 out of 4 stars
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30th Century: Escape by Mark Kingston Levin is a science-fiction and adult romance novel that begins with a war taking place in the thirtieth century. Captain Jenifer Hero is leading the humans, called the “Naturals” in the war against the machines – the “Syndos”. In order to win the war, a team of humans plan to time travel back to the twenty-seventh century in order to disseminate a virus that will correct the moral compass of the Syndos. The virus will make them more empathetic and lessen their inclination to annihilate all humans.
The base of the human war effort is being attacked as Captain Jennifer Hero sends her team members back to the twenty-seventh century in groups. She is supposed to program the destination and join the final group travelling back in time when she tells them the “auto-functions” are not working. She hands over charge to her second-in-command and former lover Kylie and commands them to go on without her.
This turns out to be part of an elaborate plan she had to escape the war, the mission and effectively fake her own death. She programs the time machine and travels back to the twenty-first century alone. She pretends to have amnesia in order to get a new identity and blend in. In a strange coincidence, she is given the identity of a girl who had gotten lost at sea a few years previously named Jenny Heros. The rest of the book deals with her life in the twenty-first century, how she makes friends and rebuilds her life from scratch while grappling with her new identity, family and fortune.
Since she starts doing anthropology and physics research as a graduate student, there are a lot of interesting conversations regarding these two subjects which I really enjoyed reading. On the other hand, the rest of the book was filled mostly with a very commonplace romance which was not the least bit interesting.
There were also some inconsistencies in the narrative and character building which spoils the story. For example, the protagonist is supposed to be from a more liberal and broadminded society, and yet, she is afraid to sound too smart in front of a man she has a crush on, in case he gets intimidated. It is absurd that a strong independent woman from nine hundred years in the future, who also led humanity's war efforts at such a time, would have such ridiculous notions that wouldn’t even occur to most women in this age. Plot holes like this spoilt my enjoyment of the book.
Additionally, the conversations between characters in the book were too stilted and didn’t flow naturally. Overall, I didn’t enjoy the book much and hence would rate it 2 out of 4 stars. I would definitely not recommend it as a science fiction book or an adult romance book. It switches back and forth between the two genres in a way that is incongruous rather than seamless.
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30th Century: Escape
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