Time Travelers Never Die

I picked up Time Travelers Never Die largely because of the title and the first few pages I read in the bookstore. I'd never heard of the book, nor the author. But the idea seemed like it held a lot of potential

The story starts when the main character, Shel's, father goes missing. Among his possessions, he finds a time machine.

It's a simple premise, but promises much adventure.

Lots of good science fiction changes only one thing about the world and explores the consequences. In this case, the only thing that separates the universe of the book from the one we live in is the existence of these time machines, being used by a small number of people. The setting is in the not too distant future and there's not much in the way of obvious technological progress between now and then. (Which is in itself slightly unrealistic, but it works.)

Time travel is explored in a very pragmatic way, which is unusual for these types of stories. Time is immutable, so there's no going back in time and changing the future. If a paradox is approached, unlikely events will happen to prevent it.

If there's one thing the book lacked, it would be an overarching plot or traditional story structure. The mission of finding Shel's father is accomplished well before the end of the book. The main reason for a lot of what the book does seems to be exploring the mindset of a time traveler, and it does this well. But, sometimes it just feels like the characters are screwing around, aimlessly.

Regardless, I enjoyed this book very much. Would recommend.