The debut album by Kate Mascarenhas is quite good. It surprised me not at all that it generated such hype when it was released earlier this year. The Psychology of Time Travel, which has a cast of extremely intellectual and startlingly independent female characters, is refreshing to say the least because time travel has historically been a male-dominated field. The research and, to a significant extent, normalisation of difference in other areas, such as romantic, socioeconomic, and cultural, is also refreshing.
Fewer risks in life are preferable to more regrets. Mascarenhas, however, has not only deviated from the norm when it comes to character choice and creating a dystopian environment. She has revised the guide to time travel. I won’t tell you how; that would ruin the surprises in this book. But I will note the ramifications of doing so was considerably greater plot complexity than I had anticipated.
I’ll admit that at times, moving back and forth between time and the perspectives of several characters left me feeling a little lost. I often love narrative time leaps and especially multiple narrative structures, so this was strange for me. I eventually understood that my mind’s regular fallback to common time-travel notions was the primary source of this moderate seasickness.
The opportunity to study the psychological impacts of time travel was instead made possible by Mascarenhas’ modification of the time-travel rule book. I was deeply moved by this theme and the lessons it teaches about characters. You want to think of the people you love when you go. A sense of purpose is good, and you need enough money to be able to feed yourself.
The remainder, though, is unnecessary. While I didn’t have as great a connection to Mascarenhas’ cast of characters as I would have liked, I definitely appreciate how brilliant and unique the story she crafted in The Psychology of Time Travel was. a writer whose work I’ll be keeping a close eye on.
About The Book
Four female scientists collaborated to create the first time machine in history in 1967. However, just as they are about to present their invention, one of them experiences a breakdown, endangering the entire project and the future of time travel. One team member is banished from the group in order to protect their invention, wiping her contributions from the record.
Time travel is a booming business today, fifty years later. Ruby Rebello, a twenty-something, is aware that her adored grandmother, Granny Bee, was a pioneer, though no one will elaborate. But Ruby becomes fixated: Could it be Bee? when Bee receives a weird newspaper clipping from the future announcing the murder of an unnamed woman. Who would desire her demise? The most crucial question is: Can her murder be stopped?
The Psychology of Time Travel presents a fantastic new voice in literature and is a new must-read for readers of speculative fiction and women’s fiction alike. It spans the decades and is narrated from alternating points of view.
The Review
The Psychology of Time Travel
Kate Mascarenhas has produced a sci-fi novel that is fresh and genuinely original, a minor miracle in the time-travel genre. She has thought through, and through her characters answered, the human questions no one else has even thought of. She sets out a plot of murderous intricacy with masterful ease that renders the story wonderfully intelligible. Her writing has a rich simplicity that serves the story without ever being distracting or out-of-tune. This book has murder, love, time-travel- what more could you ask for? This book had better snag some awards!
PROS
- Time-Boggling Murder Mystery.
- Brilliant Sci-Fi.
- Very Creative Plot.
- Expertly Written And Simply Terrific.
CONS
- Plotting Is Thin And Pathetic.
- Characteristics Are Inconsistent.
- Dull And Boring.
- Very Disappointing.