So You Had to Build a Time Machine

May 18, 2020
Offutt (Chasing American Monsters) sends genres and dimensions hurtling into one another in this tongue-in-cheek time travel tale, which doubles as an ode to all things nerdy. Kansas City security guard Skid longs for a quiet life after her tumultuous childhood in the circus, but when physicist Dave Collison picks her up at a bar only to vanish before her eyes, Skid’s life is thrown into chaos like never before. Dave reappears in the middle of a ghost tour led by con artist Cordrey Bellamy. Meanwhile, strange, small discrepancies crop up around KC—street names and cupcake flavors both change overnight—and only Skid, Cordrey, and a Dungeons-and-Dragons–obsessed baker named Brick seem to notice. The unlikely trio must save the world from a supercollider experiment gone wrong, embarking on a quest that pits them against the U.S. military, orcs, and Dave’s megalomaniacal boss. Though the endless pop culture references and cheesy monster battles grow tiresome, Offutt’s plotting delights as the consequences of the characters’ trips through time ripple forward to build a satisfying puzzle. Readers should be prepared for some whiplash as the tone shifts from horror to humor, high fantasy, and beyond, but this light, playful adventure will still be a treat for the nerd culture–savvy.

July 1, 2020

Skid is a no-nonsense sort of woman--she doesn't believe in time travel, weird alien monsters, or things that go bump in the night. However, as much as she doesn't believe in them, they apparently believe in her. As the world around her gradually changes, street names are altered, time begins to slip, and multiple incarnations of people around her began to appear. Everything points to Lemaitre Labs, near her little town, appropriately named Peculiar, where a supercollider has been installed. It seems that a--one hesitates to use the phrase--"mad scientist" by the name of Karl Miller has run an unauthorized experiment that had the unfortunate side effect of ripping open dimensions that begin slamming together, releasing dinosaurs, ogres, and a long-defunct circus. The only way to return to normal and stop the multiple universes from crashing into one another is to cut the power to the computer and halt the Miller Waves. Unlikely heroes, unwitting villains, and cutting-edge scientific speculation abound. VERDICT Offutt (Chasing American Monsters) has created an engaging, quirky, somewhat scientifically believable scenario that both intrigues and infuriates readers, as they attempt to keep up with the constantly shifting plot.--Jane Henriksen Baird, formerly at Anchorage P.L., AK

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