Pauline Wharton's Reviews > Io Deceneus: Journal of a Time Traveler

This is a beautifully written book but it is by no means an easy read. I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone reading sci-fi for the first time, though gamers should feel at home with some of the ideas, such as the trials the protagonist has to undergo. It starts off in a very confusing way, which we are then told is a dream. This seemed a bit corny for a moment, but we then find the imaginings are occurring because the narrator is suffering from a tumour of the pineal gland. As he leaves the doctor's, an old man suggests to him that the effects of the tumour may be a blessing after all. I rather liked this explanation. It continues to be very complicated - I found it difficult to get my head round the large cast - and the narration is not straightforward, but gradually we learn more.. In the end, it repays the effort. I think the author is very talented, but I do hope he makes the next in the series a bit more straightforward, because if we are introduced to more characters and a more convolutions I think I would be totally lost!