Time Fall by Timothy Ashby - Fiction book review

Time Fall

By: Timothy Ashby

Published: June 5, 2013
Paperback: 354 pages
ISBN-10: 1939990157
ISBN-13: 978-1939990150
Publisher: Author Planet Press











In the waning days of the Second World War, Lt. Art Sutton and his team of US Rangers parachute from their plane to carry out their mission in Bavaria, Germany. Unknown to them, a bizarre twist of time and space has caused them to hit the ground in 2011. As they begin to carry out their orders, they are considered terrorists, and a pursued by an unreconstructed Nazi who plans on their immediate capture. This unexpected series of events begins the spellbinding and edge of the seat adventure novel, Time Fall by Timothy Ashby.

Timothy Ashby weaves a narrative that combines the harsh reality of the modern world with the echoes of the past that continue to permeate contemporary society. The fantasy element of the book, as depicted by the time traveling Rangers, represents the this blending of the past events with their effects today. The soldiers mission is to destroy German bases, as well as supply and armament locations, in Southern Germany.

What was seen as heroism during World War II, and by the soldiers in the team as doing their duty, is now viewed in the opposite manner. Instead of performing heroic acts against enemy forces, the soldiers find themselves on the wrong side of societal mores, finding themselves branded and hunted down as terrorists.

Timothy Ashby (photo left) creates a world where the ghosts of past events continue to live even in the present day. The Rangers are literally men out of time, living on in 2011, long after they have been declared dead. Not only are the soldiers ghosts, but the former Nazi, and still staunch supporter of Adolf Hitler, is a man living long after his own time as well. His beliefs, bigotry, and world view have lived on long after the defeat of Nazi Germany and the suicide of the Fuhrer.

In Nazi true believer Hanno Kasper's relentless pursuit of the alleged terrorists, the reader discovers the uneasy truth about the so-called War on Terror. The methods, tactics, and propaganda techniques of the Nazi mindset continue to this day in the form of that alleged war. The continuation of their mission by the Rangers, parallels the unending Nazi mission personified by Kasper.

The discovery of a person of interest, in the form of a one time Nazi officer targeted for assassination, brings the 1940s world into jarring collision with our own time. Through this unexpected meeting, Lt. Sutton learns of the time shift, and discovers that an old enemy is now the new one. A war continues for the soldiers in two different time periods, but their danger and possible death remains as real as ever, despite the change of calendar dates.

I highly recommend the page turning thrill ride novel Time Fall by Timothy Ashby, to anyone seeking a taut, fantasy novel that questions the means and philosophy behind the War on Terror, that shows how events of the past reverberate long into the future, the true nature of heroism and how it is affected by social and political conditions, and how people can have an impact on lives or others even across many decades. This book will keep you reading from start to finish, as you become involved in the events past and present, and of the lives of the characters regardless of their supposed time in history.