Genre: Sci-Fi
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
Note: This title is no longer available as a stand-alone, but is part of the Spells & Stardust collection:
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About The Book
What if you wanted to go back into the closet? What if you could?
Need a little something tweaked in your past? Davis your guy, as long as it won’t screw with his own t-line. He’s your typical everyday past-pathing time nerd, and he’s seen it all.
Then one day he gets an unorthodox proposal, even by his standards. And when he finds out who his new client is, things quickly go from complicated to crazy-dangerous, challenging his mantra:
You’re not God.
Never mess with your own past.
Remember, you’re not God.
The Review
Davis Redland has a program that can do “past-pathing.” He works for Timesync Inc., but it’s basically just him and his dog. The clients he serves have their pasts changed, but they never recall what or how it happened. Davis gathers information from them, and then it only take a few days for their challenges to be met.
He meets a new client named John. The man seems vaguely familiar. John is somewhat difficult, as he doesn’t share much personal information with Davis, and he has an unusual request – he wants Davis to change his past to put him back into the closet.
As Davis starts working with the man’s the programing the T-lines, he realizes this stranger has too many connections to other people – including himself. And he gets worried about how his own life might be affected if he changes the past for his new client.
Eventually, Davis figures out who John is and why he has so many connections. He also realizes the missed opportunities from when they first met. Why would John want to go back into the closet? Why go back into the past, when those battles had already been fought?
Davis decides there’s only one thing he can do, and he puts his own life on the line to do it.
“Repetition” is a well-written tale, in a “Twilight Zone” sort of way. I’ve read several short stories by Scott Coatsworth and he always leaves me with things to think about. This one delves into the idea of changing what has already been resolved – why go back and have to fight for it all again? What could possibly go wrong?
I also liked Davis Redland – in the end, he tried to do the right thing!
An intriguing short story.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.