2019 science fiction, first in the new Time Police sub-series in the
Chronicles of St Mary's continuity (time travel). Three new recruits
join the Time Police…
The small stories here are about the misfit recruits doing well
in spite of everything; it's a very familiar story shape. But more
interesting is the larger story of the commander of the Time Police
trying to adjust the organisation from "shoot first, if in doubt shoot
some more" to "actually try to do some investigation". And of course
not everyone in the organisation is happy with that.
The newcomers are Matthew, whom series readers will recognise from St
Mary's; Jane, terminally shy bit finally determined to do something
for herself; and Luke, a failson whose father is determined to give
him a short sharp shock. Luke gets most of the character growth here;
Jane gets a bit less timid, and Matthew learns to talk a little more,
but it's Luke who does the serious growing up and finding something he
cares about enough to put in some effort to get it.
Dad pulled her back down again and she subsided. ‘We agreed,' he
said mildly, ‘that Matthew should choose his own way and that
whatever he decided to do with his life, we would support and
encourage him.'
‘I am supporting and encouraging him,' she said, crossly. ‘I'm just
making sure he understands what a terrible mistake he's making and
that he's aware of the true nature of the imbeciles with whom he
intends to spend every moment of the next two years.
Most of the time is spent on the action, from a suburban would-be
lottery winner to an attempt to rob Tutankhamun's tomb (pre-Carter).
Although there's the usual Taylor episodic approach, this book does
a much better job at sustaining an overall plot than the St Mary's
books mostly do.
‘You'll be pleased to hear our guests are all singing like… what's
that bird again? Begins with C.'
‘Cassowary,' said Ellis, deriving comfort from being as high as a
kite on painkillers and intending to blame it on the drugs
afterwards.
It's more of the same if you've read St Mary's, but that's not a bad
thing.