The Undays of Aralias Lyons

by K L Horvath

• ISBN10: 151370317X
• ISBN13: 9781513703176
• Publish Date: 9 December 2015
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Out of Print: 26 May 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Booktrope Editions
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 334
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

First all thanks to Nicole over at Feed Your Fiction Addiction for bringing this novel to my attention. And two, thanks to K.L. Horvath for writing such an enchanting time travel novel and getting me out of a book slump. (And now I’m on a time travel kick.)

The Undays of Aralias Lyons grabbed my attention right away. I’m not sure what fascinates me about time travel novels, but when they are done well, as this one is, I’m sucked in and can’t stop talking about them for months.

I was immediately drawn to the two main characters, Aralias Lyons and Clara Heartwell. Aralias reminds me of Sherlock Holmes, a man very sure of himself and his place in the world. But a woman, who is just as sure of herself and her place in the world, throws him for a loop. Similar to how Holmes is intrigued by Irene Adler. Aralias’s and Clara’s witty banter and arguments made their relationship genuine. And the minute you figure out what “the Undays” are your heart breaks a little for them.

As a lover of time travel novels, I’m always keen regarding how different authors approach the science of time travel. Can you change history? What happens if you run into another version of yourself? Is time travel genetic or does it require some special tool (or both)? Horvath’s novel gets a little weedy and I got a bit lost trying to keep track of the different versions because there are no problems with encountering past versions of yourself. But the encounters are brief and necessary to the plot based on the rules of the Travelers in Horvath’s universe. So disorientation, which must be as similar as encountering another version of yourself, is limited.

As the story started to wrap up, I got a little sad. I had grown to love Clara and Aralias. I didn’t want the story to end. I felt like I was part of their world, their story, their love, their battle against Bliss. I certainly didn’t want it to end. (It’s probably one of the many reasons I jumped right into another time travel novel so quickly when I was done).

This novel was a happy discovery. The characters are intriguing and real. The time travel plot adds a few twists and turns I wasn’t expecting. I would definitely recommend this novel if you are looking for a compelling time travel novel with a genuine love story on the side.


This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews

[Sarah Says]

I received a copy from the Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Where to start? I guess you could say the main characters were Aralias Lyons, his son Jack, a woman by the name of Clara Heartwell, Nicholas Seraph and the bad guy of the story, Simeon Bliss. Bliss had minions and Aralia’s also had other family members in the mix. Aralias is not quite human. He is a 223-year-old traveler. A guardian of the rotating sun. A traveler of time. His son Jack starts the story out at 9, but becomes 14 by the end.

I found myself flip flopping with this book. From loving it one minute, Aralias riding a Pegasus in battle. To thinking ‘oh shut up’ at Clara and Aralias banter the next.

For me the story didn’t really start to pick up until we see Jack using his powers for the first time and future Jack coming back to warn his dad about Bliss’s Dragon attack – this all happened around the 20-30% - so it was a bit of a slow starter for me.

What I liked: The detailed Victorian-Steampunk-awesomeness! Aralias fight through time to save his son and as it turned out, the whole of time itself. Individually I liked all the characters and felt they all had their own purpose in the story.

What I Didn’t: I love romance in adventure stories, but I didn’t click with Clara and Aralias. I think the father-son-bond would have been more than enough to push this story along. I liked Clara and felt she was important to the story, but the romance between her and Aralias was awkward, unnecessary and frustrating. I think if she just grew to be their adventure loving friend the story would have flowed better.

I think the idea for this story is brilliant and I’m glad I read it. But sadly I wasn’t blown away. 3 I liked it stars.