Genre: Science
Fiction/Historical Fiction
Description:
Casey Wilson, a coed at Queen’s University in Belfast, Ireland, takes
a shortcut back to her dorm room when she bumps into physicist, Dr. Sam Altair.
Sam’s time travel research is about to lose funding, so he feels pressure to
perform one last unauthorized experiment to prove his theory. The unexpected
rendezvous in the Botanic Garden leads to an accident transporting Casey and
Sam 100 years back in time to 1906, six years before the launching of the
Titanic.
Author:
Author, geologist, chef, and frustrated gardener, Marlene Dotterer
writes “to silence the voices” due to her obsession of other worlds and other
times.
Born in Tucson, Arizona, she migrated to the San Francisco Bay Area in
1990 with her five children. Her writings include The Time Travel Journals: Shipbuilder, The Time Travel Journals:
Bridgebuilder, Moon Over Donamorgh, and Worlds
Apart.
Appraisal:
Marlene Dotterer immediately engages her reader in this marvelous
historical novel about the Titanic shipbuilders of Belfast, Ireland. Since her
female protagonist, Casey, is 20-years-old, sexagenarian Sam takes her under
his wing as his ward in this male dominated early 19th Century society. They
concoct a believable backstory and begin to live in a culture about to explode
over Catholic/Protestant differences.
Sam and Casey decide to write journals in a hope to change history for
the better. When they meet Tom Andrews, a shipbuilder destined to help design
and build the Titanic, the duo take it upon themselves to save lives.
The Time
Travel Journals: Shipbuilder is one book you will hate to put down. It’s
engaging characters, fascinating premise, and well-researched storyline will
keep pages turning until its satisfying conclusion. The only negative about
Dotterer’s book is that it ended. Fortunately, the sequel, The Time Travel Journals: Bridgebuilders is also available on
Amazon.
FYI:
Added for
Reprise Review: The Time
Travel Journals: Shipbuilder by Marlene Dotterer was a nominee in the Speculative
Fiction (excluding Fantasy) category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards.
Original review ran October 9, 2013.
Format/Typo
Issues:
None
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: Michael Thal
Approximate
word count: 130-135,000 words
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