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Killing Time
Killing Time is a dark and inventive crime thriller that brings Jack the Ripper into a future where death doesn’t necessarily mean escaping justice. Thanks to a revolutionary technique called Awakening, people can recover memories of their previous lives, allowing investigators to pursue criminals whose crimes were committed generations ago. When a series of gruesome murders in London bears an unmistakable resemblance to the Ripper’s work, renowned past-life investigator Jason Ives is recruited to help Scotland Yard track down the killer. What follows is a fascinating blend of science fiction, historical mystery and psychological thriller, built around a particularly unsettling question: What happens when one of history’s most notorious murderers gets another chance at life?
Jason makes an engaging central character, combining an extraordinary talent for reading people with a decidedly ordinary struggle to understand his own relationships. His uneasy partnership with the formidable DCI Sabina Bjorkman brings plenty of friction to the investigation, while his developing romance with Samantha offers some welcome warmth and humour amid the increasingly disturbing murders. Author M W Taylor gives his supporting characters their own complicated histories, gradually revealing how their experiences connect to the investigation. The story also takes readers inside the killer’s mind, where competing personalities, religious obsessions and memories of Victorian London create a troubling portrait. These shifting perspectives give the psychological thriller elements much of their intensity, particularly as the boundaries between past and present begin to blur.
One of the book’s most interesting features is its imaginative approach to reincarnation. Awakening has transformed everything from criminal justice to historical research, creating a society in which yesterday’s victims can identify their murderers and people can find themselves accountable for crimes committed in previous lifetimes. Taylor explores the possibilities through Jason’s investigation, bringing Victorian witnesses and victims into a modern murder mystery that moves between London’s historic streets, police stations and locations farther afield. There’s a substantial amount of Ripper history woven into the story, alongside forensic detail, speculative technology and some genuinely uncomfortable moral questions. The pacing occasionally slows as characters explain the workings of Awakening or examine historical evidence, but these details help establish the rules of Taylor’s imagined world. His conversational dialogue and occasional irreverent humour provide a lively contrast to the novel’s graphic violence and darker psychological material.
As the investigation progresses, Killing Time becomes increasingly concerned with identity, guilt, obsession and the consequences of remembering lives that might have been better left buried. Taylor makes good use of the emotional complications of his premise, particularly the difficult relationship between an individual’s present-day identity and the person they once were. The plot develops through unexpected connections, personal revelations and increasingly dangerous encounters, culminating in a confrontation that brings the novel’s central questions about responsibility and redemption into focus. Even as the immediate investigation reaches its conclusion, the story leaves readers contemplating the wider implications of a world where the past can never truly be forgotten. With its combination of serial killer suspense, speculative science fiction and historical crime mystery, Killing Time is an ambitious, often disturbing thriller with an intriguing take on one of London’s most enduring mysteries.
Pages: 329 | ASIN : B06XRMGQL9
The Many Lives of Adam Capello
M. W. Taylor’s The Many Lives of Adam Capello is an ambitious work of speculative fiction that combines reincarnation, historical exploration and philosophical inquiry into a story about identity and the nature of human existence. Set in a future where a process known as Awakening allows people to recover memories and abilities from previous lives, the novel follows sixteen-year-old Adam Capello as he begins exploring his own extraordinary past. What starts as a journey of personal discovery gradually develops into an investigation of consciousness, immortality and humanity’s place in the universe. Through Adam’s first-person journal, Taylor imagines a society fundamentally transformed by the ability to retrieve the experiences of countless generations. This intriguing premise raises the question at the heart of the novel: as people accumulate the knowledge and personalities of their former selves, “do we lose ourselves?”
Much of the novel’s appeal lies in the variety and historical detail of Adam’s recovered lives. His experiences range from Victorian Britain, where he inhabits the body of pioneering photographer William Umpleby Kirk, to the brutality of plantation slavery, the philosophical debates of ancient Greece and encounters with medieval alchemists. Taylor uses these contrasting experiences to explore how historical circumstances shape individual personalities, beliefs and moral judgments. The vivid descriptions of Victorian photographic techniques are particularly engaging, while Adam’s traumatic experiences as an enslaved man demonstrate the profound psychological consequences of Awakening. The book’s journal format gives Taylor considerable freedom to move between periods, introducing historical figures and examining the social implications of rediscovering the past. Adam’s conversational voice, youthful humour and growing self-awareness provide continuity throughout these journeys, making his development as a character central to the narrative.
Beyond its historical adventures, the novel examines the ethical and emotional complications of a world in which death has acquired an entirely different meaning. Questions of criminal responsibility, romantic relationships, religious belief and personal freedom emerge naturally from the premise of reincarnation. Adam’s encounters with his former identities also expose him to grief, depression, love and violence, forcing him to confront aspects of himself that he struggles to reconcile with his present personality. His relationships with Millie, his family and his Awakening facilitator, Mike, provide an important emotional foundation as his experiences become increasingly unsettling. Taylor’s willingness to explore these ideas at length gives the book a distinctly philosophical character, with some chapters reading almost as personal essays interspersed with historical adventures. As the recurring mystery of the crystal skulls develops, the narrative shifts toward a larger science-fiction story involving ancient civilizations, advanced intelligence and the possibility of accessing both past and future lives.
The novel’s final chapters bring its historical, philosophical and speculative elements together as Adam’s unusual abilities attract the attention of Martin Kale, the scientist responsible for developing Awakening. Their investigations expand the story beyond individual reincarnation into questions about time, dimensional existence and the future of humanity, culminating in discoveries that open the way for further exploration. Yet the emotional significance of Adam’s journey remains rooted in his present life. Reflecting on the importance of his family and friends, he observes, “They are the ones who help glue my present identity, keeping me in the here and now.” This sentiment captures one of the book’s most compelling ideas: that the accumulated wisdom of many lifetimes acquires meaning through the relationships and choices of the person experiencing them. With its combination of historical detail, accessible philosophical discussion and increasingly expansive science-fiction concepts, The Many Lives of Adam Capello offers a thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be human when a single lifetime is only a small part of existence.
Pages: 300 | ASIN : B06ZZXBMHN
