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Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
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Synopsis
A time storm has devastated the Earth, and only a small fraction of humankind remains. From the rubble, three survivors form an unlikely alliance: a young man, a young woman, and a leopard. "A masterful science fiction story told by a masterful science fiction writer". -- Milwaukee Journal. A time storm strikes the Earth. The Earth remains, but different parts of the Earth are in different eras. Travel between the different zones is thought to be impossible. The main character, Marc Despard, resolves to fight the time storm. After some struggles, he assembles a small band of people, including one alien, to help him try to understand what has happened and to stop the time storm. He has 2 extraordinary relationships with a older teenaged girl who is speechless for the first part of the book (she was "struck dumb" by the time storm) and with, believe it or not, a leopard. Dickson's writing makes the extraordinary seem quite normal. Ultimately, after being harried by a Mad Max-like group of survivors, he uses a machine found in a different era of time to bring his small band of followers into the future so that he can find those who are trying to fight the time storm. He convinces those future beings that he is capable of fighting the time storm, and ultimately stops it, and gets the girl in the end.
Is Time Storm appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 14 and up.
Post-apocalyptic science fiction with moderate violence from survivor conflicts and a Mad Max-like group. Features an age-gap romance between the protagonist and an older teenage girl, though not explicit.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include mass death, violence, and apocalyptic scenario.
Publisher ages reflect reading level; our rating reflects content maturity — they can differ.
Who'll love this
Teens will appreciate the unique premise of Earth fractured into different time zones and the hero's quest to fix reality itself with unlikely companions including a leopard.