The Fair (Time box #2)

 

Author John Heldt provided me with an e-version of The Fair (Time Box #2) for review.

This second entry in the Time Box series brings back all the things we have come to expect in a John A. Heldt work. We get history, romance, action and adventure wrapped in a tightly crafted story.

The Lane family continues to evade the evil Robert Devereaux who wants to exploit time travel for his own wicked ends. The family, with help in the present time continues to foil plans to kill them all.

Sounds dark but the author (as always) has the ability to keep a dark story line in check by endearing the main characters to us. We join a family dealing with love and loss, new friendships, historic events (This time the Chicago World's Fair) first love and the problems of being 21st century people trying to adapt to 17th century society. A lot of humor is mined from these social differences. 

What I enjoyed most about this installment was the repartee. Heldt does not shy away from dialogue, and he shouldn't, he is a master at the banter between lovers, the teasing between siblings, serious talks, and colorful ancillary characters.

The depth of emotion he brings to the page is tremendous. He has the gift of bringing his characters to life and engaging the reader to really care about the Lane family. We feel their sadness and joy equally. At one point I was shouting at the characters in my mind, "Don't go there! It's bad!"  I don't often catch myself talking to characters in a book. 

We also get a healthy dose of history, mostly around the Chicago World's Fair including serial killer H.H.Holmes (that's as close to a spoiler as you'll get from me), but we also get a peek into Virginia City, Nevada.

In keeping with what I see as Mr. Heldt's evolution as an author, we get more violence (not particularly graphic) and, more sexuality (again, not graphic but some of it disturbing). The Fair is not an adult oriented book per se, but it is following a trend of more mature content in Mr. Heldt's work. I personally see this as a good thing because, for me, it makes for a more realistic read. My opinion, take it with as many grains of salt as necessary. 

Fans of John A. Heldt's writing (and I am definitely one) will find more of what we read his books to get. History, romance, action and adventure, in a well written, clean (big plus), engaging and entertaining read. Enjoy!

Mike