Abbie and the Portal is a science fiction book, which is a long way outside of my usual genre, but I agreed to review it because I liked the concept enough and it didn’t sound like hard core science fiction where you get five page descriptions of how gadgets etc. work.
Here are my thoughts:
Abbie and the Portal by David John Griffin
Blurb from the Back Cover
“Help me, I’m trapped,” is the plea from Abbie Concordia, written as a mysterious note found inside a Victorian book called Caving in Faringham.
Terry Bridge, a reporter for The Charington Echo takes up the challenge to save her…from the past.
A gripping science fiction adventure story that will captivate you from beginning to end.
My Thoughts on the Book
Abbie and the Portal has a really interesting premise – Abbie is trapped in the past and is sending messages to the future via old books.
The book is a short read, ideal to finish in one sitting and there is plenty of action to keep the plot moving along, for example, when Terry and his side kick Sam run into trouble with some local drug dealers. I really enjoyed following Terry and Sam’s adventure to rescue Abbie.
I would have loved to have had some parts added from Abbie’s point of view about how she ended up trapped in an asylum in the past, and how she came up with her plan of adding notes to old books, but at the same time, keeping her character shrouded in mystery added another layer to the story, because it keeps us guessing about whether any of it is true at first, or whether it’s an elaborate joke being played on Terry.
There are a few twists and turns to the plot, which explore the butterfly effect of time travel which I enjoyed too.
If I had to find a fault with the book, I thought Terry’s reactions to certain things along the way were too underplayed. He just seemed to accept things that most people would find either impossible or disturbing without any real, human reaction. In fairness, as I said earlier I don’t generally read science fiction, so this might be an accepted thing in the genre, but I would have liked more of a reaction to what was going on around him.
Conclusion and Rating
Overall, I enjoyed Abbie and the Portal. It was an easy read that kept me interested to the end and it explored some interesting themes. I think with a bit more character development, this could be a really good book. 3.5/5
You can grab a copy of Abbie and the Portal here.
Have you read Abbie and the Portal? Does it sound like you’re kind of book? Let me know in the comments 🙂
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Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of Abbie and the Portal in exchange for an honest review. As an avid reader, I would never recommend a book I didn’t genuinely enjoy.
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