Review: Invictus

Invictus
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Time flies when you're plundering history.

Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far's birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he's ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past. 

But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with knowledge that will bring Far's very existence into question, she will lead Far and his team on a race through time to discover a frightening truth: History is not as steady as it seems.

You guys I've found it...the fictional world I would sell a kidney to live in forever. This is it. I'm genuinely so gutted this book isn't real life. I'm a giant, huuuugeeee history nerd, I love it. I read textbooks, and history magazines, and I would one hundred percent love to live in this world and get to be a Recorder. The history nerd in me is living for this book, and wishing science would hurry up and make this happen before it's too late for me to be one! In case it wasn't already obvious....I loved this book. 

I love the world and how it's set up, it's been created so well you can lose yourself in it easily and picture it clearly right down to the vibe/atmosphere. The opening chapter is brilliant and pulls you in straight away, immersing you in the world and hooking you in to the story. It's authentic and you really feel like you're in the time with the characters, it's also kind of heartbreaking for an opening chapter! I'd totally read a prequel story! There's so much care and detail to establish the characters and the world in one chapter! 

The writing and storytelling are very good, I  liked the turns of phrased used that fit so well with the book and it's focus on history, "as flat as Homer's view of the Earth", completely brilliant! 

There's a brilliant cast of characters too! The supporting cast are just as fleshed out and memorable as the main cast! Aaannndd there's so much diversity amongst the characters too! I loved Farway, he was relatable and I could empathise with him and how he felt when it came to things that where out of his control and other things. Which did have the adverse effect of making it hard for me to like Eliot in the beginning, because I liked Far and I really got him as a character, so I didn't trust her and she seemed shady and...she wasn't willing to compromise or trust them. She played everything close to her chest and blackmailed them and so on. I really got how Far felt about her and how she was treating them. Buuuutttttt I also got how Eliot felt and why she was doing what she was doing. I ended up loving her in the end though. She's been through so much and I cheered for her at the end! Your perception of her changes over the course of the book and she's such a strong character. 

Imogen was just as relatable as her cousin Far, and I ship her and Gram so hard! I also kinda really want her job too! I basically want her and Far's jobs combined in to one! Gram was adorably nerdy, and Priya was a huge music nerd, intelligent like Eliot and I loved her attitude and vibe. There where also dislikable characters that you loved to hate! 

I have to applaud the sheer amount of research that must have gone in to this book, because every single historical setting felt authentic and was peppered with tidbits and facts and so wonderfully described....so much work has gone in to this and it really shows perfectly without overloading you with information. You get enough to satisfy your curiosity and to make each setting vividly realistic and authentic. It was brilliant! We even visited two of my favourite time periods/places too, the Library of Alexandria which I'm so obsessed with, and the Titanic which I've always found heartbreakingly interesting. 

The plot is brilliant and so well put together...there's so many threads to it all interweaving plus the timelines...it's genius. It's fast paced already, but the pace picks up even more when you get to the climax of the story and it keeps you reading...it's so hard to put down. If I could have read this in one sitting I would have! I did manage it in two though! 

Invictus is firmly on the list as one of my favourite books of the year. It's cinematic, vivid, authentic, and bloody brilliant! I genuinely loved it and it makes my history nerd self so happy...what more do you want me to say!? I have an intense need for this to b a TV series or a movie...and to have a sequel or two!