Saving JFK - W. Green

Title: Saving JFK
Author: W. Green
Genre: Sci-Fi
Published: 2011
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Aamzon UK

"Saving JKF" by W. Green really appealed to me when I read the synopsis as I do enjoy a good time travel yarn and I have always been interested in some of the conspiracy theories around the Kennedy assassination. The story itself follows two twins, Emma and Ethan, their friend Zak and the slightly eccentric Dr Currant who are living in the year 2028. In their time, everything is monitored and controlled with little real freedom available. History itself is only portrayed in a manner which is acceptable to the government without variation.

However, some people question this history although this is done in private as the government does not tolerate such heresy and has even banned time travel to ensure no one could ever alter what has been written. However, when Dr Currant illegally builds a time machine, he is joined by the twins and their friend on a trip into the 1960's.

Whilst Dr Currant appears to have his own secret reasons for traveling into the past, Ethan, his sister and their friend believe that the root of their loss of rights emanates from one point, the assassination of President Kennedy. Therefore, they set out on a mission to alter time and prevent the assassination in the hope that a better future is created.

The plot itself is a rather standard time travel affair with a group of people from the future trying to use what they know about the past to ensure a major incident is avoided. It does have a good mix of assassination, conspiracy and history and I enjoyed seeing the way in which Green tried to blend some of the real people and places into his fiction. However, I have to admit it didn't really wow me as I have seen this type of thing so many times before.

What I did really like however were the little side stories that Green managed to insert into the story. Some seemingly minor encounters in the past were then used to create some rather interesting and surprising outcomes in the future. These really did enhance the story and it was nice to see this odd bit of realistic selfishness in the characters.

One little niggle I wish to highlight is in regards to the sub-title of the book which is "Time Travel Twins". In all honesty, the twins themselves didn't seem any more important to the story than Zak or Dr Currant so I don't know why the author chose to focus on them. I suppose it may just have been an easy name to use for what could be a potential series of novels. It just makes the book sound like a rather weak young adult affair when it really isn't and it may have put me off reading the book had I actually known it which would have been a shame.

Overall this is a standard time travel novel that should appeal to fans of that sub-genre provided they aren't looking for anything that original. The book isn't lacking detail and I think some of the people who question the truth behind Kennedy's assassination may really enjoy the way in which Green has tried to embrace the possible conspiracy.

Challenges Book Counts Towards:
Ebook Reading Challenge (Workaday Reads)
Free Reads Challenge
Speculative Fiction Challenge