The Warp Clock

by Nathan Van Coops

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4.5★ Audiobook⎮ I literally gasped with excitement when Narrator Neil Hellegers emailed me about reviewing The Warp Clock. That wouldn’t have been a big deal, except for the fact that I was sitting in the middle of a movie theater when I received the email!

I have reviewed all three previous installments of this time travel series, so I was eager to hear that there would be a fourth. I heard the third installment under the impression that it would be the finale to a trilogy, so there were multiple levels to my excitement. That excitement then doubled upon reading the synopsis for The Warp Clock. I mean, who doesn’t jump for joy at the prospect of their OTP having offspring?! Throw in time travel and this was bound to be fun.

As I’ve said before, “fun” is the perfect word for this series. It’s brimming with Van Coops’ trademark wit and humor. His is one of the most unique takes on time travel theory that I’ve heard, yet it still manages to not take itself too seriously. I’ll admit, the science sometimes makes my head spin with all the multiple times streams and whatnot, but Nathan Van Coops writes with such an ease of manner that the narrative itself is easy to follow. That’s what counts here.

The Warp Clock definitely isn’t hard science fiction, so no PhD’s are necessary to listen. The book does it take itself too seriously, so the listener shouldn’t either. It’s a hoot, so just enjoy the ride. With that said, I strongly recommend hearing the first three installments in order before this one in order to fully appreciate the set up. Hearing the first three allowed me to become invested in the characters. The Warp Clock played into my fantasies for these characters so much that it almost seemed like fan service, not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you.

The plot seemed a little less structured than what I’m used to hearing from Van Coops. There was a lot of jumping around, reminiscent of The Chronathon. This wasn’t my favorite installment in this series, but perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I had heard it immediately after the previous installment. If you have the chance to hear all four volumes in succession, I recommend binging them. Honestly, I’m tempted to go back to the beginning and re-listen to the entire series just for kicks.

Narration review: These are the only audiobooks I’ve heard from Neil Hellegers, so he’s pretty much synonymous with Ben Travers to me. If we spoke on the phone, I’m pretty sure it would throw me for a loop, subconsciously trying to separate him from the character.

Returning to this series and hearing Hellegers’ voice again was incredibly comforting. I was instantly flooded with all of the warm, fuzzy feelings I accumulated while hearing the past three installments. It was sort of like flipping through an audio photo album full of cozy feelings. I’m glad he’s still around narrating the series. If another narrator had taken over, I would have been devastated. ♣︎

➜ This audiobook was graciously gifted to me by its narrator, Neil Hellegers, in exchange for a review containing my honest thoughts and opinions. Thanks, Neil!