George d'Clare is living the best he can with the situations in his life. In his mid-fifties, he is in the early stages of Parkinson's disease, doing what he can for himself, his family, and others. During this time of personal trial, he is approached by a stranger, Henry Stevens, with an incredible story. A story that doesn't turn his life upside down, but twists it.Now George and his wife Madison are involved in a struggle against a World War II Nazi general and time is becoming more and more limited.
I was given a copy of The Device by the author, Dale C. George, for review purposes.
Plot
The Device is a time travel, Nazi hunting story. A number of German officers after WWII escaped to hide in other countries. Lieutenant General Berger had a different plan. He was escaping into the future. An American intelligence officer, Captain Hank Stevens, discovers the plan and decides he has to do something about it. He also knows the technology is dangerous and decides he need to keep it a secret so it won't be used for evil.
Time grows short as Captain Hank develops Parkinson's disease and he needs to recruit another pilot of the device to continue the hunt for Berger and also be able to move forward in time to bring back the cure for Parkinson's.
Style
The Device is written in a style that builds on the time travel aspect of the story. The chapters start with the presentation of the situation at hand. Then jumps back in time to present the set up to the current situation to bring you back to the now. The chapter then continues forward.
Chapters also jump back and forth in time. Some chapters take place toward the end of World War II, then there is the time right after the war. Others are placed in the 1980s and 1990s. There are those in the current time frame and one in the future with the narrator.
The protagonist, George, in the forward before the prologue, tells us this story is true and he is telling it to the best of his ability and creating dialogue and thoughts based on what he thinks others in the story would have said or thought. This leads to the use of first person in the chapters when George is telling his part of the story and third person when he is narrating the events of others. The narration doesn't go deep into the characters but does cover descriptions.
There is a lot of detail in the telling of The Device. Rooms are described with details about how they are laid out and the tools and equipment placed there. The actions characters take and how they take them are described in great detail. The detail doesn't cover how the device allows time travel, but we know what it looks like, and what it looks like when it is working. This same level of detail is given to the workshop, homes, and other locations. However, this level of detail about the feelings and insights of the characters is not to the same level. We are given light coverage of why events impact the characters the way they do.
Parkinson's disease is always in the background of The Device. The degenerative nature of the disease plays up the time limitations being faced by the characters. It's a subtle way of pushing the characters in the story to take action and alter their plans because of the limitations the disease places upon their minds and bodies.
Overall
The Device has an interesting premise. I like science fiction and the device fits strongly into the field. How Dale C. George handles the paradox of time travel and the arrow of time was well done. Tying in military history and bring in the Third Reich brings in an antagonist that allows a definite opposition. At some points this reminded me of Iron Sky (link to movie on IMDb).
The structure of the chapters, internally and externally, along with the change from first to third person, make this a harder read. At times it was harder to follow the storyline and I had to make sure I was keeping plot points in order. Because of this, I'm not sure if I caught the foreshadowing that led to the resolution of the problem at the climax.
This is Dale C. George's debut novel and there is a lot within in to provide a fun time travel adventure. I look forward to what he presents next.
I give The Device 3 out of 5.
The Device is available on Amazon (link).
Dale C. George has an author page on Amazon (link).
About the Author (from the book)
During my Air Force Reserve career, nothing gave me more pleasure than documenting the actions of the men and women who wear our nation's uniform, and to subsequently see them presented with a medal or an award for their accomplishments. After my Parkinson's disease diagnosis, and a great deal of encouragement from those close to me, I decided to channel my skills toward a more-personal (albeit ambitious) goal, and the first pages of The Device were born. Since I enjoy reading about military history, and my favorite genre is science fiction, combining them turned out to be a fun experience; one that has rekindled my love of writing, as well as sparked my imagination.If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.
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