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A review by megsbookishtwins
Invictus by Ryan Graudin
5.0
Disclaimer: I received this free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time traveller and a gladiator. All Farway has ever wanted to do was explore history himself, like his Mum, who went missing on a Recording mission. However, after failing his final exam, those dreams seem further away than ever before. That is until he gets an offer to be apart of a black market operation to steal from the past. Things are going smoothly until they travel to the sinking Titanic to steal something valuable for a client. But when they run into a mysterious girl who seems to know an awful lot about them and always seems to be a step ahead of them, Farway’s entire existence comes into question. Apparently being born out of time puts the entire history of the universe into jeopardy.
I went into Invictus without really knowing what it was about, but I had heard a lot of hype so I had a lot of expectations but Invictus definitely surpassed them all. It was fast-paced, thrilling, full of history and comradeship. I feel like the relationships were the best part. Graudin managed to create a brilliant set of characters, each with a strong and fun personality, and I loved the friendship between the crew and how they were like their own found-family. The romance was cute and developed. I also loved how Eliot joined the team, creating conflict, but then finding friendship and loyalty.
The plot itself was strong and I loved how it discussed how intricate and delicate time is, and the impact that a potential mistake can have when time-travelling. I also loved the deeper science fiction element of multiple universes. While I guessed what the ‘plot twist’ was, I believe that Graudin’s writing and storytelling really kept up the tense and compelling atmosphere. But it was also a fun, heartwarming and quirky read.
A lot of people compared it to Firefly and/or Guardians of the Galaxy, but I think it has more of Legends of Tomorrow vibe to it than anything else.
Overall, I highly recommend this book if you love time-travel, if you love science fiction, and if you love gripping and thrilling mysteries, and if you love energetic and fun ensemble casts.
Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time traveller and a gladiator. All Farway has ever wanted to do was explore history himself, like his Mum, who went missing on a Recording mission. However, after failing his final exam, those dreams seem further away than ever before. That is until he gets an offer to be apart of a black market operation to steal from the past. Things are going smoothly until they travel to the sinking Titanic to steal something valuable for a client. But when they run into a mysterious girl who seems to know an awful lot about them and always seems to be a step ahead of them, Farway’s entire existence comes into question. Apparently being born out of time puts the entire history of the universe into jeopardy.
I went into Invictus without really knowing what it was about, but I had heard a lot of hype so I had a lot of expectations but Invictus definitely surpassed them all. It was fast-paced, thrilling, full of history and comradeship. I feel like the relationships were the best part. Graudin managed to create a brilliant set of characters, each with a strong and fun personality, and I loved the friendship between the crew and how they were like their own found-family. The romance was cute and developed. I also loved how Eliot joined the team, creating conflict, but then finding friendship and loyalty.
The plot itself was strong and I loved how it discussed how intricate and delicate time is, and the impact that a potential mistake can have when time-travelling. I also loved the deeper science fiction element of multiple universes. While I guessed what the ‘plot twist’ was, I believe that Graudin’s writing and storytelling really kept up the tense and compelling atmosphere. But it was also a fun, heartwarming and quirky read.
A lot of people compared it to Firefly and/or Guardians of the Galaxy, but I think it has more of Legends of Tomorrow vibe to it than anything else.
Overall, I highly recommend this book if you love time-travel, if you love science fiction, and if you love gripping and thrilling mysteries, and if you love energetic and fun ensemble casts.