If, like me, you came to Wesley Chu’s writing through his excellent Tao novels (Lives of Tao, Deaths of Tao, Rebirths of Tao), then you know that he is an author that can not only tell a good story, but one that is intricately plotted and filled with interesting characters. When Time Salvager was announced I was excited to see Chu expand into a new setting and was left wondering what type of story he would deliver. I have to be honest, time travel is not my favourite of topics, and I find that more often than not stories can either corner themselves with too much internal logic, or simply fail to use the idea to its full advantage. Perhaps this is why it’s taken me some extra months before finally sitting down to read Time Salvager, and disappointed I was not.
In the future, Earth is nothing but a toxic planet following the worldwide spread of a bacterium in the 22nd century, with humans now living throughout the solar system. It is with time travel that the current human civilisation remains alive – the chronmen travel back to periods in history to gather supplies needed for the here and now. With corporations often making requests for salvage from the past, and energy a much-needed source, there is plenty for the dwindling ranks of chronmen to do. James Griffin-Mars is one such chronman, sent repeatedly to events in the past to harvest and return items that are deemed priorities for humanity to continue to survive. But he is jaded, and seemingly coming to the end of what is often a short life for chronmen. On a mission to a critical point in history, a mission that promises retirement for both him and his handler of its successful completion, James breaks the first time law – not to bring anybody back to his present. It is the choice to save Elise Kim that leads to a chain of events that could bring the salvation of Earth, if only they can stay alive long enough…
I mentioned earlier that I am not usually a fan of time travel, but I did enjoy the way Chu built a system within the pages of this story that allows for a larger degree of freedom than I normally expect. With the time laws in place, chronmen travel to points in the past where any action they take will have minimum effects, if any at all. They do this through pillaging, stealing, and salvaging items when they won’t be missed – just before disasters, crashes, and unexplained losses that they can confirm from history. It means that there are no changes to history, though the times when things don’t go quite as planned usually work themselves out with months or years, leaving the future timeline as it was. It’s an interesting concept that works well, but it begs the question – what happens when massive things are changed in the past? It’s one that may very well be answered in future novels, though there are very strong hints here to suggest it has already happened.
The concept of time travel also allows a great freedom in how Chu can tell this story, and where in the past he will visit in doing so. There are the obvious historical eras that are referred to and visited (World War II, for example), but much of the time travel is still based in what could be our future. Elise is from the 22nd century when we meet her as part of James mission, while he (and his handler) also refer quite heavily to other events that have yet to happen: World War III and the AI War, as well as societies that emerge during and after these periods. It’s interesting, though mainly there to forward specifics of the story rather than explore the concept in greater detail. This is due to James’ status as a fugitive for the majority of the novel, and it’s only early on where Chu seems to flex his brain muscles outside the confines of a linear timeline, which is quite ironic given the basis of Time Salvager.
As one of our protagonists, James is not a very likable person. As a revered chronman in an era where they can basically get away with anything they want, he’s not the worst, but it’s a dominant part of his personality. Elise, on the other hand, is more interesting, certainly early on as we first meet her. When she is thrown into the future, things get a little more complex, with a combination of James’ quirks and expectations added to her naturally inquisitive nature making for some scenes that didn’t entirely work. Still, it’s their relationship as the story progresses that ties a lot of what we read together, and leads to revelations that, while not surprising, still have that emotional and narrative impact.
The setting is also grim in the future. With a ruined Earth and struggling colonies throughout the solar system, Chu paints a bleak picture – we always feel like it could turn bad at any given moment, with humanity hanging on by a thread. However, there are also the corporations, entities that are seemingly immune to the hardships suffered by the majority, and able to make demands as they see fit. Europa is often referred to as heaven – a colony where you can have anything and everything you want, but one where only the privileged can live. While much of this difference is hinted at throughout the novel, not enough is discussed to allow us to fully understand the situation. This is definitely something I’d like to see more of in the sequel.
Wesley Chu has written an interesting and entertaining novel here. It’s not perfect, but the pace of the narrative allows you to overlook many of the minor problems. With good guys that aren’t exactly good, and bad guys that range from evil corporate monsters to those with solid morals who are only trying to do what they believe is right, Time Salvager is a novel of grey areas that never entirely convinces me that the course of action taken is always the best. Despite that, the prose easy to read, the ride exhilarating and entertaining, and the story one I certainly want to follow further. Recommended.
Publisher: http://angryrobotbooks.com/
Author: http://wesleychu.com/
July 2015, 432 Pages
Paperback, ISBN: 9780857665232
Review copy received from the publisher
© 2015 Mark Chitty
