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Book Review – The Traveler by Jenna Lindsey

Author: Jenna Lindsey

Publisher: iUniverse – Paperback, 252 pages

Review Requested

No spoilers

from the back cover~

What if a daydream was an alternate reality? What if that reality became a nightmare? “Travelers,” Ninehtah said at last, “create bridges between worlds; bridges of time which we cross when our next lifetime is fully formed. As we become incompatible with one world, we split apart and then gradually become whole.” “What went wrong?” asked Jinnie. In, The Traveler, Jinnie is magically transported to Ispell, to the other half of a dual existence and to the real love of Griffin. Her memory of her life on Earth, however, is as absent as her memory of her life on Ispell. She feels like an actor in a play who knows the story, but his forgotten the lines. Without warning, Jinnie is pulled to a new life on a different world. Haunted by dreams of Griffin, Jinnie regains her memory only to be pulled even further away from the life and love she desires. Resolving to understand what’s happening to her and why, Jinnie finally discovers the horrible truth behind her strange existence, and the wrenching emptiness underlying the words, “I love you.”

Review~

This is a good, casual read for anyone interested in alternate worlds and time travel. I found the plot line fairly engaging and the characters somewhat intriguing, though I would have preferred a more in-depth exploration of their personalities. The different worlds Jinnie travels to were well-constructed. I’d like to see Ms. Lindsey explore those worlds in future stories, especially that of Yar with its complex social web consisting of the Mithlanen, Daskiny, Toranise, and Dysan. The nausea and sickness that Jinnie experiences when about to Travel was believable (makes sense to make Traveling costly in some way) and made you feel her pain, confusion and discomfort. The novel is fairly well-written, though there were a few places along the way where Jinnie’s constant vacillation between strength and weakness, and the too-frequent “I love you’s” between Jinnie and Griffin became frustrating and annoying. Still, it was enjoyable to read in a light sort of way, and I’d read more of Ms. Lindsey’s books in the future.

Favorite character: Ninehtah
Quote: “Know this much: regret nothing.” – Ninehtah

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