Uncover the secret that could rewrite history and forge the future in the heart of Texas. Silas, Amelia, and Jesse labor relentlessly within an unassuming facility, their dedication centered on The Machine—a revolutionary time travel device designed to break the barriers of time itself. As they delve deeper into its capabilities, they confront a formidable adversary: an enigmatic president who views The Machine not as a means of healing, but as a powerful tool to reshape destinies. With the president's ambitions as vast as the cosmos, they find themselves entangled in a web of intrigue and danger, where the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.
Uncover the secret that could rewrite history and forge the future in the heart of Texas. Silas, Amelia, and Jesse labor relentlessly within an unassuming facility, their dedication centered on The Machine—a revolutionary time travel device designed to break the barriers of time itself. As they delve deeper into its capabilities, they confront a formidable adversary: an enigmatic president who views The Machine not as a means of healing, but as a powerful tool to reshape destinies. With the president's ambitions as vast as the cosmos, they find themselves entangled in a web of intrigue and danger, where the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.
1625
In the heart of the dense forest, beneath the towering canopies, the poultry gathered in secret. Among them, Turk stood tall, a broad chested turkey, his long sturdy espresso brown feathers rustling in the wind as he addressed the assembly.
“Fellow poultry,” he began, his voice unwavering. “For far too long, we have suffered under the tyranny of these giants. Our peaceful kingdom has turned into a realm of fear and suffering. But today, we stand united, ready to take back what is rightfully ours.”
Heads nodded as the assembly softly clucked in unity.
“We might be considered simple creatures by their standards, but we possess a strength that comes from unity—from our bonds with one another and from the very land we inhabit. Our determination and cunningness will be our greatest weapons. We have learned their ways and studied their tactics, and now it is time to turn the tables.”
Turk’s eyes gleamed as he continued. “We will show them that we are not to be underestimated. Our ambush will strike like lightning, catching them off guard and tearing through their ranks. We have the element of surprise, and the eagles will be our silent, lethal companions, swooping down from above and striking terror into their hearts.”
The assembly burst into excited clucks and flapping of wings. The majestic eagles, who were perched nearby, had their sharp eyes fixed on Turk as if they understood every word he spoke.
Turk’s beak curled into a determined smile. “Our armory, crafted from our very surroundings, may be rudimentary, but it carries the weight of our resilience and determination. Stones that have borne witness to our suffering will now serve as projectiles against our oppressors. The wood that once sheltered us will now strike them down.”
Amid the crowd, a wise old owl hooted in approval, its eyes glowing.
“We march toward victory, my comrades. For this is not just a battle of flesh and feathers, but a battle of spirit and freedom. As we gather our forces and prepare for the coming storm, remember this: our courage is mightier than any weapon, and our unity shall be our strength.”
With that, the assembly erupted into a chorus of clucks and flaps. The sound resonated through the forest, a testament to their unwavering resolve.
Turk led his comrades toward the battle against the giants with an unshakable determination. The fight for freedom was on the horizon.
On a hillside, Turk sat, overlooking the future battle. The weight of the battle, before it even started, weighed on him. He thought back to the blood that had been shed the previous years, when the giants had raided their homes and murdered their loved ones.
Aerowyn Swiftshadow, a wise old great horned owl, who was brown and white chested, big yellow eyes, and Turk’s best friend, fluttered and landed next to Turk. Despite being much older than the other fowl, his vision remained sharper than his companions. He rotated his head toward Turk. “Do you believe this year will be the year we reclaim what was ravaged by those monsters?”
Turk gazed into the distance, his mind still wandering to the past. He was young then but old enough to comprehend the unfolding tragedy, to feel the anguish, and to yearn for retribution. “Yes,” he replied, his voice laced with determination. “This will be the year. Yet we must acknowledge that we can never fully restore what has been stolen. We may never reunite with our beloved ones, but we can grant them the vengeance they deserve—a swift and merciless reckoning.”
Turk looked over the cliff’s edge, waiting. The giants’ distraction had been set the night before. He had led the rabbits into the giants’ fields to destroy as many crops as possible. That should let the rest of the poultry group move in from the south undetected.
Turk gave a gobble which is the signal to Aerowyn, who conveyed it to the fowl ranks. Group by group, they descended the hill to take up their attack positions. Within forty-five minutes, every bird was in place in the sky and behind the tree line, and the assault began.
They went from house to house, attacking as many giants as possible. Yet these bewildered giants were much stronger than Turk had anticipated. They swiftly reached for their weapons of destruction, aimed, and picked off the birds one by one.
At the front line of the attack, Turk faced the armed giants with his claws out and chest puffed. The giants’ weapons cracked like lightning, causing his ears to feel like they were exploding.
Time seemed to slow as he witnessed the slaughter of his allies. However, this didn’t deter Turk. He aimed for the giants’ legs, trying to take them down. He swooped down to attack one giant’s knee, but the giant swung his leg back, and he missed. The leg came back around and kicked his ribs, cracking several. He slammed against a wall of a barn, and the world went black.
Voices Turk had never heard before spoke, but he didn’t understand what they were saying. A ringing soon drowned the voices out, and the ground shook.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. A bright light overwhelmed him, but eventually, his vision came into focus. What were once black blurs were his people still fighting these giants.
A continuous screech so foul echoed above, and Turk looked up. The wise old owl fell from the sky, bleeding from his right wing. He fell so fast that there was no way to slow him down. With a crash, he landed on a pile of branches which splintered under him.
The screeching stopped.
As challenging as it already was to breathe, the pain of seeing his best friend immobile, blood spilling onto a pile of branches, took Turk’s breath away. Pain tore right through him.
He knew this had to stop now.
Slowly, Turk got to his feet and charged toward the nearest giant. He aimed his beak for the back of the giant’s leg, grabbed onto the back of the giant’s knee, and used his feet to shred whatever he could. The giant fell, screaming, which either made Turk laugh from the joy of revenge or from his overwhelming pain.
He loosened his grip and moved on to the next giant. One after another, he managed to take down four giants. Blood and tendons now covered him. Catching his breath, he looked around and saw that the eagles had joined in from above, attacking not only the new giants who looked different and unfamiliar, but also those who were present before. The eagles went for the giants’ heads, attempting to reach their eyes and whatever else their talons could grasp.
As Turk turned around the corner, a warmth spread in his chest. He brushed it aside, attributing it to the exertion of running and fighting. Spotting his next target, he sprinted after the giant. However, his vision darkened, and it felt as if he was darting through a tunnel. His breathing grew heavier, and he slowed to a near trot.
Voices spoke again. Clearer this time. Familiar. He finally could comprehend what they were saying.
“Come back to us before it’s too late!” one said.
Turk believed they must be either in his head or perhaps the voices of the fallen poultry from years ago.
He fell, his head striking the dirt. He tried to take in a deep breath but could barely manage to fill his lungs with air. It seemed like liquid flowed where air should be. He attempted to rise, but his strength gave way, and he lay there with his head turned to the side.
“Not yet! He’s not ready to come to us yet. He’s so close.”
Turk tried to disregard the voices, though they sounded so incredibly familiar.
Looking around once more, he barely lifted his head. Bodies were scattered everywhere—his family, his friends, and everyone who had placed their trust in him. All gone.
Lying there, he breathed in whatever air he could, but only dust from the ground filled his lungs. His vision grew even darker, and he tried to recollect every significant event in his life. However, only images of his family and the massacre came to mind. Over and over. He thought about his best friend, attempting to summon memories of the good times, but all he could visualize was his friend’s fall.
His vision went black. Nothing.
Then silence.
“Silas, wake up.”
This books draws us in with a high-stakes premise, and a killer first line: “1625. In the heart of the dense forest, beneath the towering canopies, the poultry gathered in secret.”
There are some fun and intriguing ideas in this debut book by Austin Brower, and reading his bio will make anyone want to root for him. He picked up the author’s pen after years of service in the US military, and he has a likeably humble self-awareness that he’s still at the start of his journey in learning the writing craft. So it's fair to admit it: the rough edges show.
The premise is great fun. A trio of scientists make a machine that can project somebody’s consciousness into the body of somebody else, in the past or the future. (The opening scene is a test-run where the main character enters the body of a colonial-era turkey fighting to overthrow human predation.) The scientists’ stated aim is to send their minds into the future, learn about medical advances, and bring them to the present to save lives. It’s not a spoiler to reveal that their main antagonist is the power-hungry President of the US, who sees much bigger applications of this startling new technology.
And so begins a back-and-forth of tricks and counter-tricks: there are protestors who dislike this idea of plundering the future and changing timelines, sub-factions within the President’s own circle, and a budding romance between two of the trio of scientists. There’s some fighting, some clever tricks (think how handy it is for spying on your opponent if you can project into somebody’s body), some unlikely alliances, and a big dramatic finale.
This is a Reedsy review, a site where we help each other improve our craft. So in the spirit of writerly camaraderie, here are some of the rough edges you’ll have to look past when reading this book:
There's a good amount of telling where we’d love to be shown. For example, the main character has just returned from the first-ever time travel mind-projection voyage. We’d love to hear the dialog, experience the thrill and confusion and excitement with the characters. But it’s summed up instead. E.g. “She engaged in conversation, discussing the project and endeavoring to catch him up… they continued their conversation, delving deeper into the intricacies of his journey.”
The book’s narration dips in and out between omniscient and a fairly close third-person of each scene’s POV character. Sometimes this perspective shifts to share the inner thoughts of multiple characters in a single sentence: E.g. [the POV character, Silas, talks to Amelia]: “Silas looked up, and a faint hue of embarrassment tinged her cheeks as she realized her response might have come across as lighthearted."
We get a surprising amount of detail about every meal, drink, and snack any of the characters eat. Maybe they are there to show character through their choices, but mostly it is detail the author could skip. For example, the President has dinner while spying on the good guys: “Afterward, he placed an order with the kitchen for a chicken cordon bleu and mashed potatoes, along with two colas in glass bottles with real sugar.”
In terms of the story, there are definitely strong elements. There is rising conflict as the story progresses. There are twists and surprises that are well set up. The author uses a nice narrative technique for action where something happens, and then the next chapter shows it with a slightly overlapping time from a different POV, and it’s all clear and understandable.
The story brings up some of the ethical and philosophical themes around changing the future. But it could definitely explore the ethical implications more deeply. For example the heroes ‘borrow’ other people’s bodies in the future, sometimes for weeks, and have to either kill them or knock them out to return home. Nobody seems too bothered by this.
One of the main bad guys remarks about the protagonists, “For geniuses, they weren’t very clever.” He’s not wrong.
The story is fast-moving. There’s action and conflict and intrigue. But overall, you’ll still need to be ready to suspend your disbelief. Examples:
- A lab has its own security, plus federal strike force super-soldiers, but our heroes sneak in through the break room door.
- The scientists seem surprised that anybody else is interested in the ability to see the past and future: “But why would the government be interested in us? We’re just a research lab trying to advance medicine.”
- The President wants the tech. He could seize it, declare it a military technology, or employ the scientists, could even buy it. Instead he plays a complex game with false flag protestors and installing spy cams.
- Strangely non-urgent behavior in dramatic situations. For example, the heroes are planning a heist after a violent raid, and the President has put them under armed guard. "We might need to do this quietly. Are you busy tonight, Jesse?”
The book has heart, and creativity, and energy, and enthusiasm. The author is upfront that he’s actively learning the craft, so we should look past the rough bits. If you step onto this ride with those expectations set, you’ll enjoy the twists and turns.