Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen

My preference for reading time travel stories will be known to regular readers. But that is in no way related to a desire to actually go back in time. Yes, my interest in technological and scientific ideas is above average. But I believe that the intrinsic complexity of these stories’ plots is what gives me a tendency for more engagement.

Now, you’ll note that I stated “propensity for” rather than “assured” increased interest in time travel novels. My tendency to analyse things can be a double-edged sword. If you plan to use time travel, your execution must be nearly faultless; otherwise, you risk losing my interest as a reader.

The seamless credibility with which Mike Chen handled time travel in Here and Now and Then impressed me. The plot is flawlessly weaved with so many wonderful minor elements, including the prevalence of social variety, hover cars, and culinary fads. But despite how skillful Chen is at planning and creating a compelling setting, he never loses sight of the importance of keeping the focus on his characters.

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The charismatic lead actor Kin Stewart has real emotional difficulties that feel real. Each of his flaws in honesty, inherent goodness, heroic stoicism, and family loyalty are qualities we could aim to in isolation. But there was a vast, impossibly wide chasm between the quiet affection he felt and the intense adoration and love that ought to have been there.

The female characters in Chen’s works also have a wonderful balance of feisty toughness and frailty. This intricacy and layers, in my opinion, are what make reading about Kin’s relationship development so interesting. While the subtle humour that is interspersed throughout deepens the characters and the reader’s sympathy for their struggle. As long as you keep in mind all the people you used to know, it’s alright that we’re all different people throughout our lives.

This is a time travel tale a cut above the rest — at times heartrending but ultimately uplifting. Mike Chen’s Here and Now and Then is a page-turner brimming with heart.

About The Book

Kin Stewart is a typical family man who works in IT, tries to keep his marriage fresh, and finds it difficult to connect with his daughter Miranda, who is in high school. He used to be a time-traveling secret operative from the year 2142, but his current life is very different from that. Kin has kept his past hidden from those around him despite the growing blackouts and memory loss afflicting his time-brain traveler’s since becoming stranded in suburban San Francisco in the 1990s. Him until his “rescue” squad shows up one afternoon, 18 years too late.

Their objective was to bring Kin back to 2142, where another family was waiting for him and he had only been gone for a few weeks, not years. A family he is unable to recall. Kin is struggling to maintain a connection to both of his lives since he is torn between them. However, his daughter’s life is in danger when his best attempts put the agency and even history itself in danger. Miranda must be saved, even if that means defying all time travel conventions in one more journey through the past.

Here and Now and Then, a singularly emotive genre-defying debut, strikes the ideal mix between heart, playfulness, and imagination, providing a close-up look into the nooks and crannies of a father’s heart and its potential to stretch over both space and time.