This review is brought to you courtesy of Ryan Graudin, Erin Lindsay McCabe and @HistoricalFix.

In early 2016, I joined the team at Author Accelerator. One of our book coaches and USA Today bestseller, Erin Lindsay McCabe, picked up on the fact that I love historical fiction books. She invited me to the upcoming @HistoricalFix chat on Twitter. I joined the chat and was connecting with the authors, when Ryan Graudin, one of the guest authors on the chat that month, said something about her next book that caught my eye and it lead to a flurry of tweets.


Ryan Graudin
✔
@ryangraudin
Q6: My next book--INVICTUS-- is time travel, so I'd have to go with hopping through history. Tardis style. #historicalfix

7:17 PM - Apr 25, 2017
2 2 Replies 1 1 Retweet 21 21 likes
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…and then she said this…

25 Apr

Terri M.
@2ndRunReviews
Replying to @ryangraudin
You said the magic words...#timetravel. #historicalfix


Ryan Graudin
✔
@ryangraudin
My elevator pitch for INVICTUS is Doctor Who meets Firefly. Time traveling thieves. #historicalfix

7:18 PM - Apr 25, 2017
1 1 Reply Retweets 3 3 likes
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And I zoomed right over to NetGalley to find and request Invictus.

I DEVOURED Invictus. It delivered exactly what Ryan promised in April–a fun romp through time and space ala Firefly and Doctor Who. At one point, I checked my reading progress and noticed I was 50% complete and I was devastated! I wanted the story to keep going. I had become so attached to the entire crew of the Invictus that I didn’t want to let them go, but I also wasn’t able to force myself to read slower.

Invictus grabs you right from the beginning. It’s a love story—a forbidden love kind of story. [swoons] The kind of love the results in “The Boy Who Should Not Have Been” (the title of the first chapter) which leads to, at first, minor technical issues and gradually become rip-in-time-and-space-funky-crack-in-the-wall issues. Paradoxes of a sort that take elements from Back to the Future and Futurama and stir them up into a time travel-parallel universe kind of smoothie.

Invictus is littered with colorful characters. Farway is the swoon-worthy cad who grows a bit as the story progresses. His crew is filled with smart talented folks who have their own hang-ups that provide some lightness and laughter to the story. Imogen’s humorous ship logs provide some additional insight into the crew and give some added facts about them like Imogen’s hair color and Gram’s Tetris high score. The crew even has a furry tagalong, a red panda name Saffron, which seems an unusual pet, but appears to be part cat-part-dog-part-raccoon.

The time travel-parallel universe elements Invictus are easy to navigate. It’s helpful that the jumps through time are explained by the crew so there isn’t that time travel confusion and jumble that sometimes happen where you glaze over and just go with it.

What’s best about Invictus is the balance between the serious moments, the heartfelt moments and the lighthearted moments. The story is never too dark or too funny. While the physical and emotional journey for Farway and the crew is never smooth, the reading journey goes so smoothly that it’s over, sadly, too quickly leaving you craving more time and more pages in to steal through time acquiring unusual objects in a stolen time machine with a fun-loving, outgoing crew.

A version of this review also appeared in The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA) print edition on December 31, 2017.

Review: Invictus

I received a copy from Netgalley.

I snagged this one as a read it now title. I'd heard a lot of buzz on this book and to be honest it didn't really interest me having seen a lot of Firefly comparisons and I've never seen an episode or been interested in the show. But then I saw it as a read it now and I've enjoyed the authors work before so figured why not give it a try?

I tried. It was certainly creative, an interesting take on time travel agencies. The hero of the novel is an anomaly who was born outside of time - his mom was a famous pilot and on a job when it happened - and the hero has gained a somewhat infamous notoriety. He’s charming, witty and snarky though appears to have an attitude with authority. Nothing particularly new there where YA heroes are concerned (at least not to me anyway). Dude has done his training and is ready to take his final exams so he can become an official part of the space and time program that run the show.

Left with little options he finds himself taking a risky job of basically going through time and retrieving select objects requested by the boss for huge sums of payment. He gets to pick his own crew and name his ship. Each crew consists of the captain, the historian, the doctor and the math guy. Bonus points for diverse characters. The only really memorable character for me was Imogen the historian who changed her hair colour every day.

During a mission a new comer hijacks the object the the crew are after sending the mission into a tailspin. And causing of course, all sorts of other problems. Something to do with parallel words comes up half way through and at this point I sort of lost interest and started skimming. The technical side and sciencey side of things were a little bit too much for me and I got rather bored.

I found the plot getting rather silly by the end as well and rolling my eyes a lot. Though one interesting thing about it was it was a standalone which is really rare inYA sci-fi. Everything concluded though it was left with a possibility that it could continue. Some times sci-fi with time travel works for me, sometimes not.

Unfortunately I just didn't like this one much at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for the chance to view the title.

"Invictus" eBook was published in 2017 and was written by Ryan Graudin (http://www.ryangraudin.com). Ms. Graudin has published seven novels.

I categorize this novel as ‘G’, though there are minor scenes of Violence. The setting spans the centuries. The primary character is Farway Gaius McCarthy.

McCarthy is in his late teens and is a student at the Corps of Central Time Travelers Academy. This has been his objective since he was young, since his mother, a time traveler, disappeared. He is about to graduate as valedictorian, when everything goes wrong. His final exam has been sabotaged, but unable to prove it, he is kicked out of the Academy.

That is when he is approached to become a Time Machine Captain operating outside the law and collecting artifacts for private sale. He, and his crew, are performing well and succeeding. Then they find out that their memories and their entire timeline is at risk. They must risk their very existence and all be willing to sacrifice much in an attempt to save their timeline and themselves.

I really enjoyed the 9.5 hours I spent reading this science fiction young adult novel. I really liked the characters and the plot. I thought that the plot was very different (in a good way) from so many other novels I have read. There is a little action, a lot of creative problem solving and even a bit of romance. I don't like the cover art as it relates to nothing. I give this novel a 4.4 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

This is a fast-paced time travel novel that is sure to pull some fans with scifi leanings in quickly, but I felt very put off by some of the world-building terminology and plot early on.

INVICTUS by Ryan Graudin is a science fiction adventure for young adults.

When Farway Gaius McCarthy fails his academy exam, he joins a black market time traveling ship that steals historical artifacts. Along the way, he crosses paths with an array of interesting characters including a red panda. This fantasy adventure contains elements of humor and romance that keep the novel engaged from beginning to end.

Librarians will find this time travel adventure a hit with science fiction fans. Teens will particularly enjoy the time travel twists and mystery elements.

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers an imprint of Hachette Book Group on September 26, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Very entertaining. I really like these types of stories involving time travel. Reminded me a little of The NeverEnding Story when the main antagonist was introduced although I was hoping for something a bit more solid in the author's reasoning for the way certain events unfolded. Still a great read.

et in the future after time travel has been figured out, the main character, Faraway, just wants to join the elite company of time travelers. He has an interesting backstory and birth that plays a huge part in the story. But when he fails his final exam, he decides to take a job from a black market dealer to go get things from the past. He takes all his friends and life is grand. Until they meet a girl that doesn’t seem to quite fit in their present OR past. But what they find out might tear their world apart. While certainly an enjoyable story with a ton of action and a great plot, there seemed to be something missing. The characters seem a little flat. However, if you are looking for an interesting plot with some great technology and a glimpse into history, this would be a good book for you. Oh, there is a red panda as a pet. So that is always a win.

This was by far the best time travel book I have ever read. I loved that the book was sent in the future and not the present. I absolutely loves all the mentions of history, they were very important ones so I could understand the significance of each. I’m a big fan of anything having to do with the titanic, that’s what first sold me on this book. I thought the story progressed in a wonderful way, that would be easy for anyone to follow. The twists completely caught me off guard, which I absolutely loved.

I thought that the book was medium paced, which I loved because we got plenty of characterization, but also plenty of action. I didn’t feel a huge connection with any of the characters, which was normal for me when reading a fantasy novel. I really enjoyed that the main focus of the book was not romance. There was romance interspersed throughout the book, but not constantly thrown in your face.

If you are just getting in to time travel fantasy type books, I think this would be a great start since it was so easy to follow. If you are already a fan of this type of book I think you will highly enjoy, because there were so many twist thrown in. I love that it was a standalone novel, I feel like you don’t see enough of them in the fantasy genre.

I’m a bit ashamed to admit how long it actually took me to read this book. From the first time I picked it up and began reading to the finish, I think it was about a month. Now, during this month I was getting married, going on a weeklong trip, and trying to finish last minute moving so I kind of have a good reason for taking so long to finish it up. This is also in no way indicative of the book being bad, slow, or wholly unsatisfactory in any way. It was actually a very fun book and I enjoyed both the story and characters.

Invictus is possibly the only YA time-travel novel I’ve ever read. How is that possible? It was reminiscent of Wesley Chu’s Time Salvager, which I loved and at first I was concerned that the two books may be too similar for me to really enjoy Invictus. This, however, wasn’t the case because while there are striking similarities, this particular book is much lighter and obviously geared towards a younger audience less concerned with the science fictionand more concerned with character dynamic. This is a world where time travel is a career choice – heck, there’s even a school for it! Those that travel do so to record moments in history without disrupting the natural course of events and each traveler has a crew along to help out with medical, historical, or technical crises.

Farway Gaius McCarthy has time travelling in his blood and he’s on track to graduate top of his class and have a crew and ship of his own… until he flunks his final exam. Now he’s working black market jobs with a crew of his closest people… until a strange girl shows up, steals his mark, and nearly gets them killed. This sets off a series of events that leads to some startling revelations, a rushed quest to save the world in 100 pages or less, and several rather touching personal moments between the characters. The whole crew was likable enough, but I felt they were rather immature to have a ship and time travel, with the constant risk of destroying history. Not something you should let a teenager do, am I right?

Overall, this was a fun book and I’m glad I finally finished it. If there is a sequel, I think I’ll read it just to see how things play out. I’ve heard that Ryan Graudin’s Wolf by Wolf books are even better than this which makes me want to check them out more than I already did!

WHAT A RIDE! What an experience! I am by NO MEANS a Sci-Fi chick, but wow! I loved this! The travel, the history, the characters were phenomenal! The descriptions were vivid and invigorating.

It is VERY hard for me to justify a 5 star rating, I RARELY ever give them. No book if perfect and so this is just not a likely rating that I would dish out. Although this was most certainly not perfect, the key points that touch base with me; Character connection, relationships, emotions, plot, these are things that always hit home with me. If an author can hit them all and I can walk away not feeling empty then I'll bump that 4.5 star up to a 5!

Great job Ryan Graudin!

Time travel and hilarious antics. I was having so much fun.

Loved this book! It is in my top ten of books read in 2017. The story and plot point have stuck with me and the day after I finished the book, I was eagerly telling my husband about it and oddly enough, the alternate universe aspect echoed something he was currently reading.

Invictus by Ryan Graudin is science fiction novel that starts in the year 2371. Farway Gaius McCarthy is taking his final exam to receive his license to time travel. However, someone gets into the SIM and sabotages it for him. With no other alternative, Far accepts an offer to pilot his own machine (Invictus) and deal in black market goods. He assembles his team and begins his new career on the Invictus. On a mission to the Titanic, they encounter the mysterious Eliot. Eliot resembles the lady who sabotaged Far’s final SIM. Eliot is on a mission and needs assistance. They will race through time to right a wrong before it is too late.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Invictus. It was a delightful tale (who doesn’t love a good time travel tale). It contains great characters and is packed full of action. I found it be well-written and entertaining. Invictus had a fast pace with many twists and turns along the way. I liked how the characters developed over the course of the book. I started reading Invictus and stayed up very late to finish it (I wanted to know how it ended, but I also did not want it to end). I am giving Invictus 5 out of 5 stars (I loved it). There is time-travel, spaceship, a red panda (a cute little fellow), romance, humor, intrigue, and so much more. While Invictus is aimed at young adults, I believe readers of all ages will enjoy this time-traveling adventure.

This book is perfect! It’s everything you could possibly want in a novel; fun, time travel, paradoxes, the future, adorable red pandas, alternate reality, time pirates… the list just keeps on going. It’s a thrill ride you can’t put down, and I loved every second of it.

Time travel can be a whole mess for authors to tackle, and easily lead to plot holes or inconsistencies. But Invictus quickly lays down the rules and sticks to them, which makes for a killer story and an addicting read. Time travel done right leads to something un-put-down-able. If it did break any of its own rules, I didn’t notice, and was kept sucked into the story.

The plot also never gets dull or feels to drag out. Every few chapters, it’s as if the novel shifts completely: it throws every expectation or prediction you have on its head. The twists are so massive they completely alter the way you relate to the book itself, and that right there means there’s never a dull moment. If this were a TV show, they would have enough cliffhangers to have you on the edge of your seat all season long.

As for the characters, they’re lovable and fun. They’re bursting with personality, and they’re a tight little loving family, the kind that sort of warms your heart to see. Just wholesome perfection, with fun quips and snappy dialogue, along with great use of talents. It was also refreshing to skip over the will they, won’t they of Far and Priya, jumping straight into their comfortable relationship. Which means certain scenes all the more heartbreaking.

And to top it off, the descriptions are just killer. I love the future, which is just so dang hopeful, despite all the things that supposedly happened between now and then. I love the time-traveling historians, and their respect for history. And every travel back in time makes you feel as if you’re really there: the author has such a way with words you’re completely engrossed.

All in all, this is a fantastic read. If you need a novel to pick you up, you’ve got it right here. Not to mention, it’s a standalone – a fully self contained story that will have you hooked from start to finish, and thinking about it for ages after.

P.S. If you love red pandas, well, you’re in for a treat!

What a time-traveling ride!

This is my first time reading anything by this author, so I had no idea what to expect. I do enjoy light time traveling stories and teenage adventures, so I was all in.

My favorite character was the quirkly and loveable Imogen. She's easy to like, with her fun but snarky descriptions of the other characters and the going-ons of the ship. I thought Far, the main character, was flawed enough that we could see his character development throughout the story. I really loved the descriptions of historical events, and how Far (and others) witnessed these events. Not everything goes perfectly while they're time travelling, and without spoiling anything, I thought the things that didn't go perfect were quite suspenseful -- and there was more than one evening where I had to read just "one more" chapter!

I admit that at the start of the book, it felt a LOT like a recently almost-cancelled time traveling show. It only felt that way for the first few chapters, and then quickly ran its own path. I also found myself skeptical of the already-in-process relationship between Far and Priya, but I can't really explain why I didn't believe it. I think so often the books we read have the relationship develop as part of the story, and here the relationship was pre-existing. That was different, but it certainly exposed my cynical side. :D

I am especially appreciative that this was a single, standalone book. Good grief, the world has too many trilogies right now! I loved being able to pick this up, read it, absorb it, sit with it for a while, and appreciate it for being a complete story within two covers.

But guys….THIS BOOK. Ryan Graudin has done it again. I am truly converted (not that I really needed converting) and will read LITERALLY ANYTHING that she writes. This is by far the most realistic take on time travel that I think I’ve ever seen. I love the future world that Graudin has created and I honestly want to live in it. I was super into the initial premise of Far’s team performing these historical heists and I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see any of those, but the actual plot was also very interesting. It was a lot deeper and more emotional than I expected. All the main characters were super likable so that made it all the more emotional for me. I care about these guys! I’ll admit to being a little confused by the ending…I fell like it went over my head a bit but overall, I would definitely recommend this book!

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic and gripping. Far McCarthy finds what seems to be his nemesis in the form of a woman named Elliot, who seems bent on destroying him, for reasons he can't begin to fathom. Far, whose career as a time traveler is ruined by Elliot, has cobbled a crew of his friends together and gone rogue in his own time travel ship called the Invictus. His sponsor/employer is a wealthy man, who uses Far and company's services to steal rare goods from the past. Elliot pursues him and no one quite knows what to make of her. What Far doesn't realize is that time is running out for him and reality, all because of him. Discovering the reasons for this and watching the crew of Invictus try to avert disaster makes compulsive reading. I give this one high marks all around.

I think the problem with this book is that I went into it with too high of expectations. I loved The Walled City by Graudin and felt that some of the spark in that book was missing from Invictus.

The biggest problem for me was that I had a hard time connecting with the characters. The premise sounds exciting and daring (time travel, a heist), and to a certain extent it is, but I just didn't care about Farway, et. al.

To be fair to this book and Graudin, I definitely think this is a case of "it's me, not you." Everyone else who has read this book seems to love it and I although I didn't necessarily care for it, I still feel fine telling someone to give it a try!

I really really wanted to love this title. The cover is just plain gorgeous and the story sounded very good. I've read the author's other series about the Fey and die-hard loved it but this one fell short from what I thought I was getting into. This one was very confusing and although it was slightly interesting I found that my attention wavered a lot and I struggled to stay reading the book. I love sci-fi and science fiction and this one has it with this wonderful idea of time travel. But for me, this one was very confusing. The time travel was great but when the introduction of inter-dimensional travel was added the book pretty much lost me. I think choosing one or the other would have been better as it made the story feel a little all over the place. The next issue I had was that I just didn't care about the characters. Far was pretty much just a show-off. And unlike characters in other shows and books of the same kind of person he just kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Overall this one just didn't work for me at all and I found it boring and confusing.

I will however be trying out the author's other books.

I received a digital advance reader copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

While the time travel/multi-verse travel/teleportation travel science got a little gummed up and inexplicable, the basic story felt relatively solid and was at least decently interesting almost the entire time.

Things which I felt could use some work - the romance element. Either don't have it or have it be less intrusive or less saccharine or less something. It wasn't wholly believable because the writing tried too hard to convince us it was this huge, strong, romantic love of the ages.

Elliot - really, the whole concept of her was great but the execution could have used a little more work. Maybe having all her secrets revealed to the reader earlier on would have helped? Maybe she could have been less than a lonely drawn on eyebrow smirk caricature? Giving her alopecia was supposed to do what? Humanize her? It fell flat. I have relatives with alopecia. It could have been developed more.

The whole book moved really fast with a race against time feeling - called out within the book itself as being odd for time travelers. I wanted more explanation of certain things and maybe slightly less snark and jokes? Or more of both honestly, because I'm a huge fan of snark and jokes. Basically, it was good but not great.