Title: Jumper (Time Travelers)

Author:  Jeff LaFerney

Genre:  Time Travel

Publisher:  Tower Publications

Publication Date:  April 2013

Description: After spending three years in jail and several years completely alone, twenty-four-year-old Cole Flint discovers an amazing ability—he can time-travel and teleport. He’s a jumper. So what should the motorcycle-riding, cage-fighting tough guy do? He should protect an innocent eighteen-year-old girl who happens to be in possession of the Staff of Moses. Following the direction of a trio of angels who are determined to shake things up in the Middle East, Cole pairs up with Hannah Carpenter and her pet grizzly while he also tries to change his past and learn the mystery of his birth. Curiously, the King of Jordan knows all about Hannah, and he’s determined to gain possession of the staff. He’ll do anything to possess its power, but is it possible that he’s no more than a pawn, manipulated in time along with Cole and Hannah? Jumper is a mysterious roller coaster of action and a time-traveling adventure that will keep readers guessing right to the very last page.

Review:

 This is the second book I’ve read by Jeff LaFerney and I do enjoy his writing. He has the gift of getting you interested from the beginning and keeping you engaged in the book throughout. There were so many ways this book could have ended so I had to keep reading to find out which direction it went and why Hannah and Cole were given the gifts that they had been given. Much of the story was predictable but there were also a couple surprises which is always nice.

The time travel is done well. The title of each chapter tells what day it is in relation to gaining possession of the staff so you always know where in time the story is. I did have trouble understanding one aspect of the time travel near the end of the book but I don’t want to give anything away so I can’t go into it any further than that. I reread one chapter 3 times and was still confused.

Both Hannah and Cole are likeable. I didn’t really care for the way the relationships were handled by Cole but, in retrospect, he acted more like a real person than most heroes in novels so I have to say, “Well done!”

There were times in the book that it went more in-depth than I care for, such as when Middle East politics were described or at the beginning when the complete narrative of the tour guide at Mount Nebo was included. This is just a personal preference and I’m sure many people enjoy the in-depth descriptions. I tend to skip over them. I’ve been known to skip pages of descriptions in some of James Michener’s books.

I definitely recommend this book and I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.

Available on Barnes and Noble.