Invictus by Ryan Graudin

Invictus by Ryan Graudin
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Farway Gaius McCarthy’s mother was a time traveling recorder from 2354 AD that had broken the rules and engaged in a relationship with a gladiator from 95 AD which brought Farway into the world. When she stayed too long in the past to witness the outcome of her love’s fight in the arena though she went into labor before returning to her own time causing Farway to be born outside of time which defied the laws of nature.

Now Farway has been studying to become a time traveler himself when he fails his final exam which devastates him knowing traveling was his only future. Not too long after the exam though Farway is contacted about becoming a ship’s captain as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past. Farway knows this is his only chance to travel so he makes a deal to bring his friends aboard as his crew but on their first mission to the Titanic they run into a mysterious girl who always seems to end up just ahead for Farway and his crew.

Invictus by Ryan Graudin is a young adult science fiction read that involved time travel, romance and glimpses into history all throughout the story. I’d describe this one as a fast paced plot driven read but that could also be argued a bit as while the action does start right from the opening pages and continues all throughout the plot was a bit of a slow build in itself with the meat of the story not really coming until more than halfway through the book. Either way though the plot really did grab my interest and keep it until the end with wondering just what would come next.

However, what I found lacking a bit with this one was being able to connect and relate to these characters. I kind of found that to me that while I wanted to know what would happen next with the time traveling and action I never really cared particularly about the individuals in the story or felt that I got to know their personalities very well to develop a deeper connection to them. This kind of left what I felt would have been a great read feeling a bit flat leaving me to rate this one at 3.5 stars. I’d definitely try something else by this author again but wish it had just that little bit more bit of personality to give it a final push to greatness for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.