River Called Time

I really wanted and expected to love this book, but I only ended up liking it. Set in an alternate London in a timeline (several) where European colonialism never happened and Kemetic (ancient North African) religious beliefs are the default. It follows a boy, Markriss, as he makes his way to the Ark, an enormous self-contained building/biome which a lucky crew are accepted to live. And then there is time travel and astral projection.

Parts of this book are brilliant, solid pacing and narrative cohesion, but the transitions between parts often feels forced. Multiple times I found myself losing interest in the book, only for a section to find its focus and pull me back in.

It was an interesting read, with lots of ideas, but all the ideas just don’t quite hang together so well. Slightly disappointed, but only because my expectations were so high.