Review – Madman’s Dance (Time Rovers, Book 3) by Jana Oliver (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Historical Fiction/Time Travel
Length: 580 pages
Publisher: Nevermore Press
Release Date: September 27, 2011
ASIN: B005Q2N54A
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Time Rovers series
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 5/5 stars
“History is melting down courtesy of a multi-century plot to bring the Transitive shape-shifters to power. Only Time Rover Jacynda Lassiter can set things back on course, but that will be difficult. She’s been abandoned in a Victorian insane asylum with no memory of who she is.
Her two Victorian friends are facing equal difficulties: Dr. Alastair Montrose is caught between his duty to uncover the truth and powerful foes who wish it buried. Once lauded as a hero, Detective-Sergeant Jonathon Keats is on the run, framed for a woman’s heinous murder. Keats’ arch enemy, Desmond Flaherty, can prove him innocent, but the Fenian isn’t about to come forward, not with the life of his only daughter on the line.
If the anarchist’s cache of explosives ignites the biggest conflagration since the Great Fire of 1666, the future will change. There will be no sanctuary from the Madman’s Dance.”
Series Info/Source: This is the 3.5 book in the A Stitch in Time series. I bought a copy of this on ebook.
Thoughts: This was the longest installment of the series by far, but I enjoyed how everything played out. The second book in the series left us at a huge cliffhanger and we quickly jumped back into the story in this book.
Jacynda has been abandoned in Bedlam with no knowledge of who she is; she has been left with the mental capacity of a small child. Meanwhile, Keats is still trying to escape a hanging, and Victorian London is still facing a threat from missing explosives. Back in 2057, Morrisey is having issues of his own and is trying to save the Time Rovers while preventing a complete meltdown of history and the exposure of the transitive race.
This was a complicated story and it jumps around between characters a lot more than the previous books did. I do feel like this might have been better split into two books; it felt a bit long as is. However, the story is incredibly well done and I really continue to enjoy both the future and past timelines. The characters are incredibly well done and I enjoyed spending so much more time with Theo Morrisey.
The afterward was interesting. Oliver planned on this being some sort of torrid romance series, but it didn’t go that way at all. This is more of an action-packed time travel mystery with a hint of romance. I thoroughly enjoyed this whole series and would love to see more books set in this world.
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing ending to an amazing series. I loved the plot, the world, and the characters here. The story is fast-paced and full of intriguing twists and turns. I would recommend to those who enjoy action-packed time travel mysteries. I would love to see more books set in this world. I loved this series just as much as Oliver’s “Demon Trappers” series and would recommend it to those who were fans of that series as well.
