Time Blinder

Sometimes the best way to look forward is the look behind you. The way to growing and evolving as a person sometimes stems from  onfronting our pasts or even learning about them, and using the lessons that past teaches us to become the best possible versions of ourselves. The temptation to travel back in time if it were possible is always one which is fascinating, and yet the reality is changing the past won’t solve the problems of the present, only create new ones.

In author Ocean Lockwood’s Time Blinder: Shadow of Frost, heavy sci-fi and fantasy themes come together to tell a personal and eartfelt story of time and loss. After a young man named Stevie arrives on a planet with his mother to fulfill his father’s request, Stevie finds himself on a mission of discovery when an interaction with a large tree sends him reeling through time, discovering the story of a ruthless enemy traversing the universe and the journey he will have to go on to stop them and end the threat to time itself.

Immediately readers are treated to a fantastic world of magic and space travel, showcasing the wonderful balance that sci-fi and  fantasy have taken together in this novel. This allows for quite a wide-ranging and beautifully written setting, taking readers through haunting forests and war-ravaged worlds and illustrating these scenes through powerful use of imagery in the author’s writing. The world building is amazing in this book, as it sets a drawn-out pace which peels back the layers of this mystery and threat that Stevie faces slowly, allowing the reader to get invested in this universe and get to experience each world and scene change as if they were standing there with the protagonist all along.

This is the perfect read for those who enjoy science fiction and fantasy novels, especially those which showcase the harmonious way these genres can mesh together and still create enough drama and depth of character to really hook the reader. The character development was perfect, allowing the tension to build between characters like Stevie and Flynnie, while other scenes uniquely illustrated the magical atmosphere the cast of characters found themselves in along this epic journey.

Memorable, action-packed, and entertaining, author Ocean Lockwood’s Time Blinder: Shadow of Frost is a must-read science fiction and fantasy novel from a promising upcoming author. The twists and turns in the narrative and the rich world-building that expanded the universe the author has created was phenomenal to read, and the openended ending allows readers to eagerly await the author’s return with another book in this series.

- Pacific Book Review 

"The one who made the most progress was Stevie. He could cast level-four spells because he wielded his father’s staff."

Science fiction and fantasy with futuristic characteristics suffused with historical myth and magic illumine this ambitious debut novel. Young Stevienyosen Griffen, Stevie for short, has spent much of his life on his family’s spaceship, which is now in ruins. Ready to be crushed by a compactor as the story opens, the poignant end of the craft is symbolic of Stevie’s launch into a new chapter of his life. On the eve of his nineteenth birthday celebration, he embarks with his mother, Wendy, mentor, Glange, and Glange’s son and friend, Celebus, among others, on a flight to Staffiwoods, a land of tall, shimmering spiral trees and a red wine sky where young necromancers acquire their first scepters. The unusual galactic landscapes of the tale are made vivid through Lockwood’s strong descriptive prose, engaging characters, and lush imagination.

The fast-paced story often assumes a plaintive, yearning quality due to the numerous obstacles that crop up throughout the novel that often lead to disfigurement, destruction, and death. The hybrid combination of past and future times lends strength to the novel’s surreal, melancholy flavor. The novel has an ongoing video game-like quality that will appeal to young adults and the young at heart as well. At times, it can be difficult to discern where the story is headed, but the reading is pleasant and rewarding, so young adult fantasy readers will enjoy the adventure of being carried along by the current of the plot and subplots while deciphering the quests and conquests that are rife with mysterious strangers in hooded cloaks, powerful spells, magical attacks, and exotic creatures summoned by mage craft. The familiar fantasy tropes are made fresh again with the unique landscapes, personas, and predicaments presented to Stevie and his companions by this skillful new author.

- The US Review of Books