Overtime by Tom Holt – Book Review

Now this is a curious one. I rarely see quite such a divisive book as this one but I must add myself onto the “liked it” side. Our low fantasy world for this novel: A main character who’s a pilot in WW2 is spirited away by a time travelling musician to various points in time in order to shake off certain pursuing individuals and rescue King Richard Coeur de Lion (yes, the Lionheart). The plot is as ridiculous as…

…it sounds and folds out with good humour and various tongue in cheek moments.

Our two heroes are likeable enough despite flaws, and the villains are stereotypically complete with henchmen. It’s everything you want from an easy-to-read adventure novel and it doesn’t try to pound you down with heavy themes. Doors that say “Private – No Entry” are the entrance portals for time travel. They’re everywhere in time and in many buildings and, think about it, have you ever actually seen someone go in those doors? This is the premise for their time travel and I love it.

We get a somewhat meandering but coherent plot with a satisfying conclusion and a good feeling when you close the book on the final page and contemplate a good book well read. It’s the kind of book you can take on holiday.

So why is it such a divisive novel? I suspect it may be the style of humour used throughout. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Terry Pratchett so if you like his books then you may like this one.

Score: 4 / 5