Hello everyone!
I am back with another book review, today it is Invictus by Ryan Graudin. Thanks so much Hachette Book Group Canada for sending me a copy of this book for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.
The story follows seventeen-year-old Faraway in the year 2371, years after his birth aboard a time traveler ship outside of time, making him born outside of time, something that was supposed to be impossible. He has just taken his final test in becoming a time traveler and failed. But he knew what he was doing, he shouldn't have failed. Forced out of the academy, Far finds work with a black market trader, traveling through time to collect priceless artifacts that had been lost throughout history. During a mission aboard the Titanic, minutes before it is set to sink, Far finds himself sabotaged once again, faced with Eliot, a girl looking for the same object he is. Far has to decide whether to abandon the mission or change his and his crew's lives forever.
One important detail to note before getting too far into this review is that the story is not solely centered around the Titanic. I've seen a lot of marketing talking about how the book takes place on the ship and how it's a main feature of the book. Realistically, it's not. While it is crucial in setting up the meeting with Eliot, only a small portion of the book takes place on the ship. That being said, I think the ship provides a certain appeal for some readers. But don't be fooled, this book covers a lot more history than that, dating back all the way to Roman Gladiators.
Let's talk about the crew for a minute because everyone knows that in a team-player book like this one, the crew can make or break a book. First, we have Far, the captain of the ship. I thought he was a very interesting character who was strong-willed. I feel like we saw a lot more of him than we heard of him, so most of his characteristics are shown through his actions rather than description. Next is Far's cousin, Imogene. She is the ship's travel coordinator, making sure they have the right costumes and language for a specific time period. She has a pet red panda and her crush on Gram was so stinkin' cute. Gram is the ship's engineer. He's super smart and always has a game of Tetris on while he's reprogramming. Priya is the ships medic and mechanic. She loves tea and making her own playlists. Finally, we have the newest member of the crew, Eliot. She is like Far in many ways, head-strong and resilient.
Something I found really interesting was that when we get into the main story, we are kind of jumping into the middle of it. Far and Priya are already dating, the dynamic of the crew has already been established. Since this is a standalone, I guess I can accept that but it was just different not seeing these relationships build with the story. I didn't necessarily hate that element but I think it took me a little longer to get fully invested in the characters because of it.
Overall, if you are someone like me who doesn't always love Sci-Fi novels, I would definitely recommend you pick this one up. The storyline has some sci-fi elements but it is not at all too difficult or too science-y to follow.