Review of The Time Stone
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A Prathyusha
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- Latest Review: The Time Stone by Jeffrey Estrella
Review of The Time Stone
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Time Stone" by Jeffrey Estrella.]
The Time stone by Jeffrey Estrella is a science fiction novel that follows the story of four unassuming and unrelated people, each from different walks of life, who embark on an adventurous yet life threatening journey. The four individuals are, namely- James Timewalker-a destitute who regrets not working hard enough during his youth, but one who constantly introspects; Tina Prescott- a lonely soul but a street wise woman who seeks some sort of stability in life; Mercedes Gonzales- the clueless one in the family, who waits for some or rather, any inspiration to strike her; and the tech savvy, smart and strong Milton Drax, who finds himself on the wrong team and thus seeks a way out and onto a righteous path. Fated to unite in the most mysterious and unexpected of ways, their journey can not only help them discover their purpose in life, but might also save the future of multiple worlds.
Although based in the fictional city of ‘Chronix Bay’, the story alternates between the past, present and the future, across different parts of the world. Lying in the center of it all, tethering all the generations together is what they call ‘the time stone’. It is a teleportation device, a relic of sorts, which aliens and humans, the good and the evil, wish to possess. The four protagonists must unite their strengths as they stumble upon inexplicable and fascinating circumstances, whilst unveiling the truth and in turn their destiny. There are mighty antagonists aiming for world domination, such as Broad Staffnight and his entourage, representatives of an organization called ‘The Machination’, who are ready to fight them at every instance across every generation. Can the four overcome their own insecurities apart from the multiple challenges that lie ahead of them? Will they be able to change what seems inevitable? This multiverse, thought provoking imaginative story by Jeffrey Estrella, holds all the answers.
The story plays around with ideas of philosophy, mythology and science interlaced with concepts of love, friendship, adventure, destiny and a bit of humor.It felt like an amalgamation of stories such as ‘Indiana Jones’, ‘Percy Jackson’,‘ Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘Inception’ and the like and yet, has the elements of originality and creativity to it.There were several instances where I visualized the story as a web series, along with the possibilities of a cliffhanger at the end of an episode or a plot twist mid-season, etc. Characterization of the protagonists and to a large extent the antagonists are just sufficient for one’s imagination. I particularly liked how the friendship between the four develops across the story, especially James and Tina. Although there are mythological characters, aliens and other mystical characters involved, their descriptions are adequate. The author has not overly glorified nor degraded the main characters’ journey and nature, but states them matter of factly. This somehow invoked a sense of commonality with the characters for me and will probably help the reader relate to some of the characters much better.
Coming to the drawbacks, there are quite a few grammatical and spelling errors and the writing style seems to lack continuity in tenses, in a few places. It could be mistaken for a specific style of writing; however it does need another round of thorough proofreading.The story starts off at a slow pace and it is only after a few chapters, when you begin to understand the setting and its trajectory. And since it involves different time periods, some might have to take a minute to assess how exactly the story is unraveling. There are a few scientific theories that I feel need a better and a simpler explanation, especially the ones that are crucial to the plot. The ending seems a little ambiguous, but personally for me, anything that’s ‘physics’ has ambiguity. Although this novel can be read as a standalone, there’s also a glimpse of the sequel to this story, which can probably explain the ending better.
I rate the book three out of four stars. I have deducted a star for the errors that exceed ten in number and for the lack of continuity as mentioned above.There was only one word that I thought could be considered borderline-profane and it seldom appeared throughout the story. Despite the errors, it is an engrossing novel and I’d suggest this for those interested in the science-fiction genre involving time travel, philosophy, mythology and some action. For those seeking an easy read with a straight-forward approach, this may not be a favorite.
******
The Time Stone
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Time stone by Jeffrey Estrella is a science fiction novel that follows the story of four unassuming and unrelated people, each from different walks of life, who embark on an adventurous yet life threatening journey. The four individuals are, namely- James Timewalker-a destitute who regrets not working hard enough during his youth, but one who constantly introspects; Tina Prescott- a lonely soul but a street wise woman who seeks some sort of stability in life; Mercedes Gonzales- the clueless one in the family, who waits for some or rather, any inspiration to strike her; and the tech savvy, smart and strong Milton Drax, who finds himself on the wrong team and thus seeks a way out and onto a righteous path. Fated to unite in the most mysterious and unexpected of ways, their journey can not only help them discover their purpose in life, but might also save the future of multiple worlds.
Although based in the fictional city of ‘Chronix Bay’, the story alternates between the past, present and the future, across different parts of the world. Lying in the center of it all, tethering all the generations together is what they call ‘the time stone’. It is a teleportation device, a relic of sorts, which aliens and humans, the good and the evil, wish to possess. The four protagonists must unite their strengths as they stumble upon inexplicable and fascinating circumstances, whilst unveiling the truth and in turn their destiny. There are mighty antagonists aiming for world domination, such as Broad Staffnight and his entourage, representatives of an organization called ‘The Machination’, who are ready to fight them at every instance across every generation. Can the four overcome their own insecurities apart from the multiple challenges that lie ahead of them? Will they be able to change what seems inevitable? This multiverse, thought provoking imaginative story by Jeffrey Estrella, holds all the answers.
The story plays around with ideas of philosophy, mythology and science interlaced with concepts of love, friendship, adventure, destiny and a bit of humor.It felt like an amalgamation of stories such as ‘Indiana Jones’, ‘Percy Jackson’,‘ Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘Inception’ and the like and yet, has the elements of originality and creativity to it.There were several instances where I visualized the story as a web series, along with the possibilities of a cliffhanger at the end of an episode or a plot twist mid-season, etc. Characterization of the protagonists and to a large extent the antagonists are just sufficient for one’s imagination. I particularly liked how the friendship between the four develops across the story, especially James and Tina. Although there are mythological characters, aliens and other mystical characters involved, their descriptions are adequate. The author has not overly glorified nor degraded the main characters’ journey and nature, but states them matter of factly. This somehow invoked a sense of commonality with the characters for me and will probably help the reader relate to some of the characters much better.
Coming to the drawbacks, there are quite a few grammatical and spelling errors and the writing style seems to lack continuity in tenses, in a few places. It could be mistaken for a specific style of writing; however it does need another round of thorough proofreading.The story starts off at a slow pace and it is only after a few chapters, when you begin to understand the setting and its trajectory. And since it involves different time periods, some might have to take a minute to assess how exactly the story is unraveling. There are a few scientific theories that I feel need a better and a simpler explanation, especially the ones that are crucial to the plot. The ending seems a little ambiguous, but personally for me, anything that’s ‘physics’ has ambiguity. Although this novel can be read as a standalone, there’s also a glimpse of the sequel to this story, which can probably explain the ending better.
I rate the book three out of four stars. I have deducted a star for the errors that exceed ten in number and for the lack of continuity as mentioned above.There was only one word that I thought could be considered borderline-profane and it seldom appeared throughout the story. Despite the errors, it is an engrossing novel and I’d suggest this for those interested in the science-fiction genre involving time travel, philosophy, mythology and some action. For those seeking an easy read with a straight-forward approach, this may not be a favorite.
******
The Time Stone
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Time Stone by Jeffrey Estrella
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nashita+
- Posts: 1
- Joined: 04 Jul 2021, 03:03
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This was such a succinct review. It lets me know everything I want to know about the book before I read it. 
