Cover Image: This Present Past

This Present Past

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Member Reviews

Fans of The Ancient Future trilogy would love this prequel to the trilogy. It tells of the beginning of the journey of Taliesin. And by the last third of the book, we begin to see some familiar characters from the trilogy. It's been a while since I read the trilogy and I really wasn't sure if I could reread and still love it the same but after reading this, I really wanted to keep going on with the story. I still have my trilogy set from the 90s ;)

I love the setting and the characters. I just felt that sometimes the jump between characters/timeframe was a little bit abrupt especially the last third of the book. It's almost like trying to finish the book very quickly and squeezing a lot into that last 100+ pages.

My thanks to publisher for this ecopy via NetGalley in exchange of my honest thought.

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I loved the first two trilogies in this series when I first read them as a teenager, but I really struggled to get through this one. I'm not sure whether my tasted and interests have moved on, or if there's something else there but I did not connect with any of the characters and I found the writing style really grating. Sadly, I will not be continuing with the series.

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As a prequel, this novel is a thrilling addition to an epic-adventure spanning generations. Offering a tantalising and well-constructed plot-line that carefully edges into the genre with enough force to be noticed, and not too much as to be ignored.

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This Present Past is the prequel that all Traci Harding fans have been waiting for! I was soo excited to jump back into the world that Traci created in The Ancient Future and I was not disappointed! this book sucked me in right away I didn't want to put it down! Taliesin was one of my favourite characters in The Ancient Future and it was so good to finally find out the real story. The world building was fantastic the characters were awesome If you loved the original series then you will defiantly love this present past

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This Present Past is a prequel to The Ancient Future trilogy and follows the various incarnations of Gwion Bach from young woodsman to to Taliesin, grand Merlin and magician. I particularly enjoyed the first part of the book where Gwion Bach is caught between the warring Saxon and Cymry armies and thrust into the inevitable reach of the Otherworld. Inspired in part by Roman and Greek mythologies, the world the author creates is immersive and convincing. At times I found the use of modern phrasing jarred ("Use those smarts now, ya hear") pulling me out of the story. The shifting time lines, as suggested by the title, required concentration and thought particularly in the third, more esoteric, part of the book. If you're a fan of the original trilogy, I think you'll love learning a little more about these characters.

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I was lucky enough to get this ARC. I have come into this world having never read any of Traci Harding’s books. The world that has been created is wonderfully immersive. It is magical.

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Thankyou to NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishers Australia, Voyages AU, and the author, Traci Harding, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of This Present Past in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I was so excited when I received my copy of this book. I loved the Ancient Future series, and I really, really wanted to read the prequel to what I believe is one of the best fantasy series I have ever read..
I was not left disappointed. As with the original series, I found myself truly absorbed by the storyline which was well thought out and written with characters that were engaging and intriguing. I lost hours of time while I was reading. It is not a book that can be put down once you have started. I had to finish it in one sitting. In my opinion, Traci Harding has delivered fantasy perfection once again. I have already ordered my printed copy.
Definitely well worth a read.

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