Rearview is the first of seven novellas in an
anthology put out by Tyndale. Except, it’s not really an anthology, because the
novellas are e-books and sold separately. I received a review e-copy of the
entire collection. Here’s the overall premise:
Death
comes for everyone. But what if you were given seven more
hours? Would you go back and relive a previous time in your life? Or would you
live seven more hours starting now? The clock is ticking. What will you do with
the time you have left?
Seven writers come together to tackle
the questions of life, death and time as we know it. Linked together by a
mysterious character, each author has taken the same concept and created their
unique story with a supernatural twist.
Fascinating premise,
huh?
I’m halfway through
the collection and had a hard time putting down my Kindle to take the time for
this post. I’ll be publishing reviews for the stories over the next couple of
weeks. Learn more at www.7hoursbooks.com.
And now, my review:
This story grabs you
immediately. Dellosso obviously understands regrets, and he infuses this
oh-so-relatable element into his main character. His protagonist is a college
professor who’s trying to do the right thing when a student who’s been caught
cheating (and who just happens to be a senator’s daughter) accuses him of
sexually assaulting her. Immediately Dan jumps to the conclusion that his life
is over, so why not hurry things along? All this before “time” (in the
character of Thomas Constant) confronts him with the fact that he will soon die
so he can choose where to have the 7-hour gift inserted into his life—either extending
his life or going back to a certain time. Daniel chooses to extend his
life. He wants one more chance to tell his wife and sons he loves them. After
taking care of some business in town, he sets off to find them in New York City,
where they’re spending the day shopping. But things don’t go smoothly. Along
the way he interacts with someone who will impact his life, even as he impacts
the stranger’s. I enjoyed this story, though, there was a bit more blood and violence
than I’m used to. Still the story is enjoyable and the protagonist’s hang-ups
were relatable for the most part. This novella was a great way to launch the
collection.
Highly recommended.
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