4 out of 4 stars
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30th Century: Escape by Mark Kingston Levin is a science fiction thriller. It is the first book in Mark Kingston Levin's 30th Century Trilogy. The trilogy was inspired by new science created by the author in the field of cosmology known as dark energy. The book is set in the year thirtieth century and follows the escape of the protagonist, Captain Jennifer Hero, as she escapes to the 21st century. The story is told from the protagonist's perspective.
Captain Jennifer Hero is on the verge of departing on a time-sensitive mission from the 30th century to the 27th century. The mission is to save humankind from the Syndos, but she hands over command to Commander Kylie Brown. The reason she gives is that she will not be able to make the trip and with destruction around her, she sets upon the escape plan she had devised for herself. She uses the Trans-Time One to escape to the 21st century hoping to live out the rest of her life there. She unfortunately lands herself on the deserted Mururoa Atoll. After four months, she gets rescued by a research team headed by professor Martin Zitonick (Marty). She finds herself claiming amnesia and trying her best not to reveal that she is from the future. When Jennifer gets to the mainland, she gets lucky and finds herself to have the same name and resemblance as a young woman who had disappeared with her parents years earlier. Assuming the life of the missing Jennifer, she has new problems to struggle with. Will she be discovered to be an imposter to the real Jennifer Hero? Where is Jennifer Hero and her parents? Will she confides in anyone that she is from the future? Will Commander Kylie succeed on her mission to save humankind? All these questions will be answered in this amazing book.
The main theme I encountered in this book was secrecy. Jennifer has many secrets she is keeping from her new friends. She does not tell them that she is from the future, how she can know the amazing thing she knows or what she can do and what she knows of humankind's extinction. She also hid her plans to escape to the 21st century from her friend Kylie and has led her to believe that she is dead. The other themes I encountered in this book were: trust, loyalty, betrayal and desperation. The author uses these themes masterfully to not only make the characters interesting, but to also make the plot memorable.
The character development in this book was written masterfully. Jennifer is an interesting character from the beginning of the book. She is enormously brave and courageous on her missions in the thirtieth century, but she becomes meek and afraid after she escapes in order to hide her identity. The constant threat of discovery and exposure is the main driving force for her actions. Jennifer exhibits bouts of reckless bravery and sacrifice in her new life that helped me understand that she could never stop being the heroine she was in her time. The amazing character development, the amazing heroine protagonist and the mesmerizing plot made me compare this book to Janet Mcnulty's Solaris Seethes.
I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. This is because the plot was mesmerizing and captivating and I found myself finishing the book in two days. The characters were developed masterfully and always kept me wanting to read just a little bit more. I did not encounter any spelling mistakes and this maintained the magic of the story. The only thing I did not like about this book was the undue pressure it placed on the author for the sequel.
I would recommend this book to all science fiction thriller fans. The author uses an engaging writing style that keeps the attention of the reader. I wanted to preserve the story by reading slowly, but the suspense drove my pace and I finished the book all too quickly. I found this book to be a masterpiece and I look forward to reading more of this story in the sequel.
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30th Century: Escape
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