The Psychology of Time Travel

A Novel

by Kate Mascarenhas

hardcover, 336 pages

Published Feb. 12, 2019 by Crooked Lane Books.

(5 reviews)

In 1967, four female scientists worked together to build the world’s first time machine. But just as they are about to debut their creation, one of them suffers a breakdown, putting the whole project—and future of time travel—in jeopardy. To protect their invention, one member is exiled from the team—erasing her contributions from history.

Fifty years later, time travel is a big business. Twenty-something Ruby Rebello knows her beloved grandmother, Granny Bee, was one of the pioneers, though no one will tell her more. But when Bee receives a mysterious newspaper clipping from the future reporting the murder of an unidentified woman, Ruby becomes obsessed: could it be Bee? Who would want her dead? And most importantly of all: can her murder be stopped?

Traversing the decades and told from alternating perspectives, The Psychology of Time Travel introduces a fabulous new voice in fiction and a new must-read for fans …

Traversing the decades and told from alternating perspectives, The Psychology of Time Travel introduces a fabulous new voice in fiction and a new must-read for fans of speculative fiction and women’s fiction alike.

5 editions

Antolius reviewed The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas

Master class on time travel

5 stars

I really appreciate how time travel is envisioned and portrayed in this book. It has no logic holes and it avoids paradoxes, e.g. the future is predetermined here. It doesn't make up too much technical details to explain how it works, because techno babble is not what this story is about.

It is, as the name suggest, about impact of time travel on human psychology, but also sociology. It envisions a culture emerging inside the organization of time travelers. It explores what taboos it develops, what language, how it operates considering the foresight available to it, etc.

On a backdrop of this thoughtful world building Mascarenhas explores inter-personal relationships of her characters. There's a revenge subplot, a romance subplot, a power struggle subplot. They all intertwine wonderfully between time periods and characters; often the same character coming from different time periods. It does take a little bit of concentration to …

The characters are endearing. The plot is riddled with puzzles and mysteries. The concept and world building are thoroughly thought through. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in Sci-Fi more broadly, and specifically soft science fiction.