Customer Reviews

Endeavor in Time

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

If I had realized this was a religious book, I would not have downloaded it even for free. Please post accurate descriptions of your books.

To be clear, this isn't just another one-star review because it's a surprise evangelism book. The story actually starts out fairly decently written, with an intriguing premise and thorough character development. But as soon as the time-travel happens, it's like a new author took over, one with no time to devote to the actual plot that's supposed to be the main focus of the book because he's too busy stuffing it with as much Christian preaching as possible.

[Potential spoilers ahead]

After all the careful buildup, suspension of disbelief is thrown out the window in order to move the seemingly now inconvenient plot along as fast as possible. Daniel's parents are established to be paying a significant portion of his tuition, and have saved up $2000 in savings bonds for him - but they don't do more than ask him if he's sure when he wants to drop out and cash out that savings to move to Florida? In less dialog than it takes to fill the Kindle screen, a NASA engineer accepts some 19-year-old kid's claim that he's a time-traveler and invites him to church?

I was expecting there to be more to stopping the Endeavor explosion, since that seemed to be the point of the whole buildup. But instead, a computer is hacked, a few e-mails sent out, meetings are held, and the launch is delayed, all in a few pages! Great, now there's plenty of space to copy and paste one of those evangelistic pamphlets and change the names to those of our main characters!

If you're looking to be preached at, there are plenty of websites that will get right to the point, or you can find a local church. If you're looking for an entertaining and well written science fiction story, this book is not for you. If you're looking for the crushing disappointment when a book develops a storyline for a long time, only to suddenly crash to a halt with "and then he woke up and it was all a dream, so let's talk about something else now," this may be the book you're looking for.

More religious than I was expecting, but a sweet love story nonetheless. The characters and dialogue are well-developed, and you can feel the emotions of the lead couple as they go through their trials. Highly recommended.

To be honest I never have thought about being able to travel back in time but after reading this book.....lets go! In all honesty, I wasn't sure what I was going to think about this book but by chapter two I was hooked. It really made me begin thinking, wow, what if I could go back, what would I do differently and how would I change "my" past? The only problem might be one of moral conflict for some. You may have information that could prove to be helpful, yet harmful if it fell into the wrong hands.

I only wish I was a smart as our main character; able to develop software and stop horrible things from happening in our world. I don't know I guess it would make me feel a little like a secret agent, which would be awesome! I guess what intrigued me the most was the fact that he went back at a younger age but was still his mature age in his thinking. Man, wouldn't that have helped all of us in our younger years?

Chris, I don't know if you plan on writing more about this storyline because of the way it ended but if so, you know my vote would be, YES! I would love to continue reading about these characters. Great Job....now onto my next book!

This book started off keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. The mystique details of the scenery, the character's emotions and activities keep the reader interested. This book explores the future and past of technology and has engineers working on a secret project. To some this selection may be a slow moment in the book, but after getting through the components and completion of the project, the reader is introduced to unique characters which keep their interest piqued. The main character takes the reader on an adventure which personally invites them to the character's life and events on a journey during the NASA development and collapse of their space program. It has vital details that most people were not aware of. It continues to welcome the reader to enjoy the escapades and experiences of a man's personal journey to seek the truth. In addition it has the components of spiritual exploration which adds more depth to the character's faucets and the story in general.

I as a reader enjoyed some selected chapters more than others. Such as the personal transformation, the love story and his need to seek real knowledge and decide what actions and which was the right choice; to sacrifice his happiness or rescue others in a moment of desperation. The interesting facts about NASA, the space shuttles and their history make this story more challenging and creates a need to explore more about the space program in general. This book covers many abstracts of personal, career and moral values; from technology to discoveries of a mental and spiritual dimension. The characters are so intense and it is easy for the reader to merge with them and go on the journey with them. Asking self, will he be a coward or a hero. The exact details of the horrific events which occurred in the world and the flashbacks make it feel like you were watching a movie about the past and present. This author is an artist mingling technology, facts, personal morality and spiritualism into an entertaining story about past and future occurrences due to an accidental EMF discharge that sent an experienced engineer back to his past and he has a difficult choice to made; does he sacrifice his future happiness to stop a major catastrophe event. He ponders his purpose and what "if "decisions of his life. Along his journey of self realization he invites the reader to personal and fulfilling activities to keep the tension going. Like a surfer, each chapter the reader is waiting to catch the right wave. It has its quiet and high moments. It keeps the heart racing anticipating the next action. He keeps journals and they are his safety net between the past and present. This book pulls in all ages, opening the door to mysteries . He meets caring and colorful people along the way that become his mentors, and good friends who helped guide him morally and spiritual to decide the fate of his and future generations.

You will not regret spending your hard earned money on this book. This is a keeper, to be stored in the library and shared with the grandchildren, especially if you are interested in the possibility of a time machine and advanced technology. There is a love story mixed in too. It caught my heart and emotions, like I am catching a wave right now rereading one of the chapters.

In the beginning I had a hard time getting in to this book because it starts out a little bit technical and I was not sure what direction it was going to go in. I am not a huge fan of overly sci-fi material. There was a point where I had to put it away for a little bit and come back to it. Sometimes if I try again I am able to really get in to the book. I tried another chapter. This was suddenly going nowhere, fast. Third time is the charm? Maybe. I gave it one more try. We are introduced to Daniel, an extremely well educated engineer and software developer who lands a project working in New Mexico regarding electromagnetism. Daniel is 37 years old and married to his career. Although content in his little world he often wonders if there is more to life than what he is living. Fortunate for him, life is about to change. It is here the plot thickens (for lack of a better cliché) and the story really starts to take shape. Working on the gravitational experiment one day, he suddenly wakes up back at his parents' Ohio house, in his old bedroom. The problem is it is 1992 at the tender age of 19. Unsure of what to do with this new life he heads down to Cocoa Beach, FL with the hopes of saving the shuttle from disaster. Back in New Mexico one of the partners on the design team of the Endeavor had spoken to him about the design flaw that led to the terrible explosion. If he is going to go back in time, retaining his knowledge, may as well use if for something useful, right? While in Florida, Daniel seeks out the friendship of a friend he had met in his previous life. It is Bill, a Christian, he starts to remember what little faith he had buried inside of him, and starts to question science, time travel, his live and God. What follows is a tale of life, love, marriage and children. Daniel was given a chance to re-do his life. Instead of rushing around trying to change things and use his knowledge for something bad, he used it to change himself. He found his faith, made peace with the decisions of his past and fell in love. I felt it a little odd that a Christian based novel would have a sci-fi time travel tale within its pages, Hambleton made it work. I highly recommend this book, not just to faith followers, but to anyone interested one with a time traveling twist. If you went back in time knowing all you knew, what would you do differently, if anything?

I'm not finished the book yet, so maybe my opinion will change, but halfway in I can tell you that there is a lot written that should have been taken out. Most readers don't need all the detail that is in here.

I only read about 35% to be fair, but it's basically filled with technical and procedural jargans mixed with daily memoir of an engineer. The other reviews say the explosion or the interesting part begins at 50%! That is like watching 40 minutes of credits during the feature movie then an explosion transition into a sermon. Don't trust the other 5 star reviewers.

The brief description I read about the book sounded interesting, a man who travels back in time. This original description did not mention the large amount of christian references in the book. While the story was ok, I am not a christian and so skimmed past pages and pages and even more pages of scripture and scripture text. The book was really more a "christian love story" then a story about time travel.

Endeavor In Time by Chris Hambleton is a very fast and entertaining read. There are several sharp twists in the plot, and the descriptive style makes every detail come to life. In fact, if I didn't know better, I would think the author was writing his own autobiography here - I feel like I just read about someone I already know very well.

Daniel, the main character, is a well-educated engineer and software developer working in the deserts of New Mexico on a project to develop a better understanding of electromagnetism. At 37, Daniel is single and has no real interest in marriage or a family - in fact his only "female" relationship seems to be with his computer! Daniel's life seems interesting and full of good challenges, and he is content, although a little restless at times. Is this really all there is? The project he has worked on for more than five years is winding down now and he is starting to work on more experimental areas - how does electromagnetism relate to gravity?

Then suddenly - wham! The first plot twist hits when a gravitational experiment goes awry and Daniel suddenly wakes up in his old bed at his parent's house in Ohio in 1992, 18 years earlier. While his memories are of New Mexico and being 37, he is now living in his own nineteen-year old body, on break from his freshman year at college. Already having twenty years' experience in programming and designing computer systems, there is no sense in going back to college, and he decides to head to Cocoa Beach to see if he can ward off the Endeavor shuttle disaster. It had been on his mind since one of his research partners in New Mexico in 2010 had been on the Endeavor team and had spoken to him about the design flaw that lead to the explosion.

In Florida, Daniel searches out the scientist he had known in the future. This Christian man has to accept a very strange story on faith alone, and he agrees - on the condition that Daniel come to his church with him and attend the services. Eventually accepting Jesus as his own Savior, when the next plot twist hits, Daniel is able to rely on His grace to see him through.

I highly recommend this book to science fiction fans as well as those who are - or would like to be - Christians. The author gives a good grounding for belief in Jesus, and the essential steps for asking Him to be one's Savior in the midst of the confusion of daily life. Thanks once again, Chris!