3 out of 4 stars
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Escape by Mark Levin combines science fiction, academia, and romance in a thrilling novel that follows the protagonist, Jennifer, as she time travels from the thirtieth century to the twenty-first century. As a captain in the thirtieth century, Jennifer is on a mission to infect the immoral and inhumane Syndos with a virus that will make them more compassionate and save the Naturals from extinction. After planning and starting the mission, Jennifer abandons her crew and uses time travel to seek asylum and relaxation in the twenty-first century. As a refugee from the future, she fakes amnesia and attempts to assimilate into the twenty-first-century culture. Fortunately, after being marooned on an island for four months, she is rescued by a group of researchers. Once these researchers realize her incredible intelligence and resourcefulness, they take her in, become her friends, and help expedite her return to society.
Once she settles into her new life, Jennifer explores her passions for archaeology, physics, and marine biology; she also falls in love and discovers deep family secrets. These layers create a multidimensional storyline that jumps between her earning a Ph.D., exploring her romantic interests, and managing the guilt of leaving her crew behind. After many plot twists and unexpected turns, the story resolves with Jennifer returning to the thirtieth century to settle her conscious and ensure her mission was successful. After briefly visiting the thirtieth century to save a few crew members, Jennifer permanently returns to the life she built in the twenty-first century.
Overall, Escape is an exciting, fast-paced novel full of fascinating concepts and futuristic technology. I loved how the author left nothing to be desired when it came to technical detail, which is unique with this genre of futuristic science fiction. I appreciated how the author explained time travel, Jennifer’s Ph.D. work, and some of the advanced technology. However, the explanations were too pedantic and drawn out at times. For example, when the author was describing Jennifer’s Ph.D. work, he spent almost an entire chapter on the intricacies of her thesis approval, which I found a little dry and difficult to read.
Jennifer’s character development was thorough and interesting to follow as she evolved in response to her trying circumstances. Her personality had many complex and interesting layers from her past and present lives that added to the depth of her character. However, the novel was written in a third person voice, which made it difficult for me to connect with her on a personal level. Additionally, all of the dialogue between the characters was very formal, and as a result, the conversations sometimes felt forced rather than natural.
It's important to note that this book contains many romantic scenes, which I had not anticipated. While they were well-written and less cliché than most, they were my least favorite part of the book. I felt there was too much emphasis on the erotic scenes, almost to the point where the book was more romance than science fiction.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because it was engaging and explored many unique concepts. While I didn’t love the writing style or abundance of romantic scenes, I didn’t rate it 2 stars because I was captivated by the plot and didn’t want the book to end. The book was also very well edited and had only a couple editing errors. However, I cannot give this book 4 out of 4 stars because there were too many romantic scenes for my taste, and the third person voice made it difficult for me to connect with the main character. Readers who enjoy futuristic science fiction, detailed examinations of complex theories, and romance will love this book. However, this is not a book for lovers of action and suspense as there is no external conflict or consistent enemy force. Ultimately, Escape is an engaging and thought-provoking novel that I found difficult to put down.
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Escape
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