Step onto the ride for an warm adventure full of heart with an ice cold North Atlantic twist!
Titanic Voyage by Julie Bihn is available in eBook and Print from a broad selection of online shops. https://books2read.com/TV
The doomed ship Titanic is a subject of romance and sorrow. It’s captured the attention and imaginations of people around the world for more than a hundred years, and Julie Bihn has managed to evoke both with aplomb in her novel, Titanic Voyage.
Liam is an introverted romantic working a dead end job on an amusement park ride called Titanic Voyage. He loves the job, gets on well with colleagues, and supports his aging father. He also harbors a secret obsession with a legendary heroine named Clara — who died rescuing women and children trapped in the lower decks of the Titanic.
Like an amusement park ride, getting going in this book was a bit of a wait for me. I’m not a fan of first person present (how can you tell me a story about something which is happening as you tell it? — the author tackles this problem head on in an interesting way late in the book, but I won’t spoil it for you) and a glaring typo in the opening pages left me wondering: is this was another mediocre indie, or an unpolished gem? However, a few chapters in, I was hooked. The bumpy start was forgotten as I rode from chapter to chapter eager to know what Liam and Clara would do next. The story is full of twists and turns that sometimes strike with the suddenness of an iceberg — I was delighted to be regularly surprised, but never shocked with something unbelievable.
While this is a time travel book, it’s not a hard science book. You don’t need a physics degree or a working understanding of Deutsch’s model to follow it. The author doesn’t explain how time travel works, she simply asserts that it’s happening and is just as shocking and unbelievable to the characters as it is to us. This gave the story a cozy, fireside feel for me that I really enjoyed.
Despite the romance and adventure, I was surprised by the level of depth in the story. While Julie Bihn fully evokes the romance and splendor of the grandest of all ocean liners, she also doesn’t shy away from the human tragedy. Sahar’s ride on Titanic Voyage was particularly striking to me as the fun turned to something far more serious.
I did feel the story dragged a bit through a segment where Liam got obsessed with a video game. It’s a metaphor for the deeper things that are happening within him. It matters to the story. Yet, it did pull some of the momentum from what is otherwise a race to the finish.
The book takes a family friendly tone, which I appreciated, even as it explores deep issues of grief and loss. I felt deeply but wasn’t traumatized by anything I read. All told, I really enjoyed Titanic Voyage and recommend it without reservation.