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    The River of No Return
    The River of No Return
    The River of No Return
    Audiobook18 hours

    The River of No Return

    Written by Bee Ridgeway

    Narrated by Samuel Roukin

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Bee Ridgway's wildly inventive debut novel, The River of No Return, blends romance, conspiracy, and time travel for a tale sure to intrigue listeners. When soldier and aristocrat Nick Falcott is sent from a Napoleonic battlefield in 1815 to modern-day London, he never expects to go back--until the Guild calls for him. Returning home as if from the dead, Nick reunites with his lost love, Julia Percy, and enlists her help in finding a mysterious object known as the Talisman.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateAug 9, 2013
    ISBN9781470366254
    The River of No Return

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    Reviews for The River of No Return

    4/5

    12 ratings3 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This was a fabulous roller coaster of a read. It's fast paced, exciting and very much a romp through time. It begins with the Marquess of Blackdown, Lord Nicholas Falcott, time-travelling to the 21st century from 1815 to avoid being killed in battle and his being enrolled in a society called 'The Guild' who specialise in such people as him. He is told he can never return to his previous life but one day he receives a summons which negates this rule. He then finds himself once again in battle, but in this instance against time itself!Time slip/dual timeframe novels are one of my favourite genres and this book exceeded my expectations. I found it an imaginative and absorbing tale, evocatively told and it had a good sense of time and place in both the present day and the 19th century. It was intriguing, believable and I was easily transported between the eras.There's a good element of mystery to the story and I loved that no-one was quite who they seemed. The characters were well drawn and interesting. They felt very real and came vividly to life, a sign of a good author for me.A thrilling historical fantasy adventure with a smidgen of romance, an excellent debut. It was a definite page turner! I look forward with eager anticipation to Bee Ridgway's next instalment in this wonderful new series.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      The River of No Return is Bee Ridgway’s debut novel and what a spectacular book it is! It’s a mixture of time travel with historical elements. Fans of early 19th century England will be in for a real treat as Ridgway does a superb job with the research and it’s easy to immerse yourself in the era. Readers will be left questioning time and how it coincides with our own emotions. I have no doubt that by the end of the book you’ll be looking at time a little differently.Ten years ago, Lord Nicholas Falcott, Marquess of Blackdown was fighting in one of the bloodiest sieges of the Napoleonic Wars, Badajoz. Facing death at the hands of a Frenchman, Nick suddenly finds himself waking up in a hospital room in 2003 instead of 1812. He’s told about the Guild, a mysterious entity that controls time and he’s informed there’s no going back to one’s time period. Nick is set up to live in the modern world and he quietly accepts his fate despite longing for his era. Reluctantly Nick answers the Guild’s summons where he’s notified they need him to return to 1815 to find the Talisman. He’s confused since he would be breaking a sacred Guild rule: there’s no return. Meanwhile in 1815, Julia Percy is living with the monster of her cousin Eamon, who is now the Earl of Darchester. She harbors a secret, her grandfather could manipulate time and Eamon is looking for the Talisman because he believes it would help advance his nefarious plans. Julia is held prisoner against her will and when Nick comes face to face with Julia, he’s shocked that the girl who helped carry him through war is at arm’s length. Will Nick be able to fulfill the job he needs for the Guild or will he abandon the mission to be with the woman he’s never forgotten and loves?As for characterization, a few secondary characters will capture your interest. Arkady, the time traveling Russian will leave you intrigued and no doubt will become a favorite character. He’s still morning the loss of his child and it’s easy to sympathize with him and his hatred for the Ofan. I can’t wait to read his reaction to the news of who Julia really is and at yet at the same time, I worry for those who know of her true identity. Don’t want to be in caught in Arkady’s wrath! Then there’s the mysterious Mr. Mibbs. I have an idea of who he really is, but I don’t want to make any assumptions before I read the rest in the series. You’ll be left with questions regarding Jem Jemison and I believe there’s more to him than meets the eye. Finally, there’s Alva, an Ofan, who talks to Nick about the Guild and is eager to tell him the truth; however, we have to ask, do we trust what she says? More importantly can Nick? A few times I was frustrated for Nick. I can’t imagine being put in the situation he’s in and not told the entire truth regarding both the Guild and the Ofan. The moment when he meets with the Alderman of the 19th century, I felt he was Keanu Reeves in the Matrix when Morpheus shows Neo the pills and asks him to pick the red or blue. It’s a power struggle as to who to believe. I’m heartbroken for Nick because he’s not given the information he needs, but at the same time I realize the Guild’s insistence on keeping things secret. I’m curious to know dear reader, which team you’ll be on: Team Guild or Team Ofan.The writing is beautiful and Ridgway does a terrific job using 19th century language alongside modern language. One of my pet peeves with historical fiction is language that sounds too modern and yet Ridgway gives a balance of the two. When Nick calls his sister, Clare, “kid,” she asks what that is and he’s quick to cover his use and invents a reason as to why he chose the word. One of my favorite scenes is Nick prepping for his return to the 19th century with Arkady and both are sitting in modern London. Nick complains that he doesn’t need lessons on how to be a gentleman and yet when he’s confronted with Clare for the first time, he realizes he isn’t the man he was. Ridgway also incorporates humor throughout. I adored the scene with Arkady asking Clare if she knows French because it keeps Russian wolves away.What I really enjoyed about The River of No Return is that it’s thought provoking. Here we have a river of time that is fed by our emotions. Nick comes to our modern world when he’s a 19th century gentleman. I can’t imagine the shock at learning about technological advances and how social customs have changed. You would think it would be easy to fall back into familiar ways especially when you’re in the era you belong, but the way Ridgway handles Nick’s transformation is exceptional. Nick believes he can fall into his old self easily, but he struggles especially when he is confronted with his sister’s plans for Falcott House. Here he becomes the Marquess he was he born to be and yet he realizes that everything would be easier if women had a voice and fought for it. There are a few times he makes note about women having to free themselves and for the time period, it’s an outrageous comment. Nick is not only confronted with social change, but political too. He knows he can’t change history. For example, you can’t travel to kill Hitler or change the course of the Second World War. And yet Ridgway brings up an interesting point regarding Hitler. Arkady brings it up by saying, “Why when we talk about time travel do we always have to kill Hitler or not kill Hitler! It is to make Hitler a commonplace.” Knowing the political climate, Nick enters a turbulent time in England. The Napoleonic Wars ended a year before in 1814 and England is about to introduce the Importation Act 1815 (also known as the Corn Laws). He’s aware of the implications of the law, but he knows this from a modern study of history. When he’s forced to address the House of Lords and give his speech in support of the law, it weighs heavily on him. No doubt 19th century Nick, had he not time traveled, would have voted a particular way. There’s a difference between the man he was and the man he’s become. High-five to Ridgway for addressing these issues.A note on the romance, I know there are some readers who are disappointed at the romance between Nick and Julia. Some feel cheated that Ridgway included it, but this is Nick and Julia’s story. You’ll come to realize what Julia means to Nick prior to him leaving for war and even during war she was an important fixture. In many ways, their fate is tied together. I won’t say exactly what it is, but it’s a beautiful love story. Once you find out Julia’s role, you’ll see how everything comes together.My favorite quotes:“What am I suppose to do? Lie back and think of England?”“We are cowards, really, we time travelers. We cheat death over and over. Jumping away from one story into another. Always pursuing the hope of another day.”It’s been a long time since a book made me want to peek at the upcoming chapters and The River of No Return had me spellbound. I had to restrain myself and forced myself to read a few chapters a day, otherwise I would have read it one sitting. It’s rare for me for to want to reread a book so quickly, but I can’t let go of Nick. I adore him and I can’t wait to read the next in the series. The only complaint I have is waiting for the second book.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      In The River of No Return, Lord Nicholas Falcott is about to be run through with a sword on a Spanish battlefield when he is hurtled two hundred years into the future. He wakes at the mercy of The Guild, a seemingly benevolent organisation that supports people who find themselves displaced in time. Nick spends a year in a reeducation center, adjusting to modern life and learning the rules of the Guild:There is no Return.There is no Return.Tell No One.Uphold the Rules.Then, nine years after his resettlement in the USA, The Guild demands Nick's help. He is required to travel back to 1818 and resume his position as Lord Blackdown in order to help The Guild find a Talisman which is said to amplify the ability to manipulate time, before a rival group of travellers, known as the Ofan, do.The River of No Return is a tale of adventure, romance and intrigue as Nick finds himself a pawn in the battle for the control of time. Two groups, The Guild and The Ofan are comprised of people displaced from their own time who fail to agree on how it can be used but both fear The Pale, a phenomena which is causing time to reverse. Rumours of a Talisman, an object of some kind that could perhaps undo the damage to the timeline, has them all desperately searching, loathe for the other to gain control.I found the concepts surrounding the time travel element in the novel surprisingly easy to grasp. Ridgeway's characters have the ability to move both forward and backward in time and even stop time, within a limited range. The how is a little more complicated but it's an instinctual talent so most people do not discover the ability until in the midst of a life or death crisis. The Guild tells it's general members that traveling is a one off event in order to protect their own interests in the timeline. The Ofan are essentially a rebel group who have spurned the Guild's control.Though Nick makes the leap from 1813 to 1993, our time with him in both era's are fairly brief. The bulk of the story of The River of No Return takes place in 1818 in England when Nick returns on his mission for the Guild. I think this is, in part, why I took to the novel so well as I didn't have to contend with multiple jumps through time and the inevitable fracturing of the storyline that leads to.There are three main points of intrigue in the story, the veracity of the Guild and the Ofan, the identity of the mysterious Mr Mibbs and the whereabouts of the Talisman. Nick is unwittingly mixed up in all three and is forced on a path to try and solve the mysteries.Romance is a strong element of the novel, Julia, is the seventeenth century neighbour of Nick, raised by her grandfather, who discovers after his death that she she has power over time. Julia and Nick shared a moment as children and it is the memory of Julia that still haunts Nick after his leap in time. When he returns to his own time, a relationship develops between he and Julia, but it is complicated by secrets and misunderstandings.One word of warning, The River of No Return is the first installment in a continuing story, so it ends with little in the way of plot resolution but I, for one, am looking forward to the next adventure.I have to admit I was trepiditious when I agreed to review The River of No Return, not entirely convinced a debut author could write convincingly about time travel when it is such a challenging concept. However I was sufficiently intrigued by the premise and sample chapter to give it a try, even after I discovered the novel was nearly 600 pages long.I am very glad I did because I found The River of No Return to be an entertaining, engaging and well written novel. As this novel crosses genre boundaries, blending elements of historical fiction, sci-fi, adventure and romance I think it will appeal to a wide audience and I am happy to recommend it as a great read.