Land of The Living by Jim Pinard

Land of The Living by Jim Pinard is a science fiction novel interweaved with thriller, and a little mystery with a tiny bit of romance thrown in for good measure.  James Creed is a man with special abilities to travel through time with his subconscious.  But what is the purpose of this ability?  What is he meant to do, and why are there people out to kill him? 

James Creed wakes thinking it is any ordinary day, only to find himself back in his parents home, in 1985.  His memories are a little foggy and he is unsure if he had a vivid dream about being in the future.  He comes across two people who claim to be from the year 2035: Michael and Daria.  Even crazier, Michael claims to be James' son!  From there the trio embark on a whirlwind of a journey to stop another man Dearborn, from changing major events in history, while trying to figure out why James has the abilities he does.  James and his new friends must now literarily race against time to save the future.

While the concept of time travel is not a new thing, the idea of traveling through time with the use of your mind rather than physically was interesting.  I wanted this explained a little more because it was hard to understand how a person traveled with just their minds to other bodies, how would they know when and where they are going.  After discussion with the author, he stated this will be explained in future novels.  Pinard uses a lot of scientific jargon and ideas, but he explains it well enough that everything is easy to understand.  Land of the Living makes you wonder "if I could change the past, would I change, and if so what would I change?"

The writing is direct and to the point, it is easy to understand what is happening and where the story is headed.  But it is not predictable.  It may be a little slow to get into the "meat" of the story, but once you do, it is difficult to put down.  I recommend this novel to those who enjoy a good thriller/science fiction novel, and would give this a 4 out of 5 rating.

I have a more detailed review of Land of Living on Online Book Club; click here to read the review and what others have said.