Review of “Taking Time” by Mike Murphey

Score: 91/100 (9.1 out of 10)
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Taking Time is the first installment in Mike Murphey's Physics, Lust, and Greed series.
The novel is a fascinating blend of speculative science, humor, and complex human dynamics. The story dives into the lives of characters embroiled in a time-travel project, blending the speculative rigor of theoretical physics with the raw realities of personal ambition and relationships.

Through protagonists like Marshall Grissom, the narrative offers a humorous, sometimes awkward lens on high-stakes scientific endeavors, complete with corporate espionage, sabotage, and the ethical dilemmas of altering time. The writing stands out as unique for its sharp wit and complex plot (arguably overly complex) that keeps readers questioning motives and outcomes. This is not just a sci-fi tale but also a commentary on human flaws, courage, and the messy intertwining of personal and professional lives.

We were first introduced to the series via Book Four in the series: Quantum Consequence, which was—quite frankly—one of the weirdest and most bizarre novels we've ever read. That's no exaggeration. Quantum Consequence seemed like it was crafted under the influence of Adderall, Ritalin, LSD, and Magic Mushrooms all at once. It was a mind trip novel. There were so many strange, weird, bizarre, and random story elements from the Android Judy Garland, President Leviticus Deuteronomy Humphollar (i.e. Donald Trump), the all-powerful and Evil Amazon and its mighty distribution center (despite the humorous fact that the book was for sale on Amazon), universes/timelines named after old sitcoms (like I Love Lucy), and a seemingly random side-plot about some abused kid who loves spearfishing and is in the middle of a custody dispute with his abuser. In Quantum Consequence, the core characters (like Marshall and Marta) were completely lost and overshadowed by all of this wackiness and craziness. They were practically afterthoughts in their own series because it had gotten so out of hand, went so far off the rails, and totally jumped the shark.

With all that said, Taking Time is a far more grounded and reasonable novel, but that's like saying Naga Viper Peppers are far less spicy than Dragon Breath Peppers. Either way, you're gonna get your mouth burnt.

This is a really strange and wacky series, and Taking Time effectively sets the stage for that by introducing us to the core characters who—like we said—really got lost in the mix in Quantum Consequence. This honestly made us appreciate them a bit more.

Marshall Grissom is a socially awkward and self-conscious man who unexpectedly becomes one of the first human time travelers. His sense of duty and moral compass contrast with his humorous struggles with the challenges of time travel and interpersonal relationships.

Marta Hamilton is a calculated and focused woman with a background in espionage, working covertly as a spy for MI-6 within the time travel project. Her objective approach to her role hides a sharp and decisive nature.

Sheila Schuler is a confident, intelligent, and stunningly beautiful woman who is also part of the time travel team. Sheila's charisma and brains make her a standout, but her complex personality hides a subtle cynicism.

This book also, thankfully, has a clear in villain in Andrew Gormly, a duplicitous corporate figure working for the Hemisphere Investment Group. His involvement introduces an element of greed and sabotage, reflecting the darker motivations behind the project.

There's also an evil janitor and reptilian/amphibious people, but we'll get back to that...

Anyway, this book gets off to a rough start. It's unfortunate because it eventually develops into something rather adventurous and fascinating.

The first quarter of this book seems overly fixated on the sexual relationships, sexual thoughts, and sexual escapades of these characters, particularly Marshall and Sheila. It's so distracting and unnecessary, taking the focus away from the time-traveling plot. We think that it was intended to be humorous and humanizing, but it came across as awkward.

There are also so many weird, needlessly sexual scenes like when the women restrain Frank to a bed frame and have to strip him (to make their scheme believable), only to find that he goes commando. It's really goofy and hard to take seriously, like a lot of this book.

There's also a parallel universe/timeline in this book full of reptilian and amphibian-like people called “Reptilian Americans” and “Amphibian Americans”--probably a thinly veiled satire of how races are segregated in American culture. Bizarrely, Marshall finds himself intensely attracted to the reptilian nurse in this universe/timeline. Yes, really. So, the message we get is that Marshall is the kind of character who would sleep with anything that moves, not exactly endearing him to us.

Now, that's not to say that there's nothing good or even great about this book. There are actually a bunch of good and great things about it.

For example, perhaps the best plot-thread that runs throughout this book is that of Marshall's childhood best friend (and probably first crush), Samantha “Sammy” Kennedy, who tragically died. This character and this event haunt Marshall in a truly emotional way that resonates more than anything else we've read in this series. He's constantly haunted by questions of whether or not he can intervene, save her, or at least try to warn her.

As you might expect from time-travel stories, whenever you try to influence events in the past, you end up creating a butterfly effect that could potentially make things worse, potentially resulting in even more deaths than the one you may have been trying to prevent.

Another surprisingly good thing in this book is that the alternate universes/timelines, which seemed weirdly named after sitcoms in Quantum Consequence, are actually better explained in a way that makes some sense. Specifically, it seems like the book is saying that the reason the time-traveling scientists decided to name the universes/timelines after sitcoms is because radio waves from the broadcasts of these sitcoms can be detected and tracked across universes and timelines, as long as that sitcom exists there. Now, that kinda makes sense, though it's still a little silly.

It's interesting to note that Gunsmoke is one of the broadcasts that gives these universes its name because we literally have an exhaustive guide to the show Gunsmoke in this contest (written by Ben Costello). It makes sense that you might want to track a timeline based on a show that ran for twenty whole seasons!

Check out this book on Amazon if you're into time-travel stories and satire!