Audiobook Review: In Times Like These

Author: Nathan Van Coops

Narrator: Neil Hellegers

Series: In Times Like These, Book 1

Publisher: Skylighter Press

Released: Sep. 12, 2016

Length: 13 hours 47 minutes

Genre: Science Fiction; Time Travel

They have a dangerous past. They just haven’t lived it yet.

“We broke something. How do you break time? Can something so bad happen that you fracture the world?”

Benjamin Travers has been electrocuted. What’s worse, he and his friends have woken up in the past. As the friends search for a way home, they realize they’re not alone. There are other time travelers, and some of them are turning up dead. When Ben meets an enigmatic scientist and his charming, time-traveling daughter, salvation seems at hand, but escaping the dangers of the past may lead to a deadly future. If he hopes to save his friends, Ben must learn to master space and time, and survive a journey where past and future violently collide.

Action heats up in this first book of the time travel adventure series.

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Nathan Van Coops lives in St. Petersburg Florida on a diet comprised mainly of tacos. He enjoys old planes, motorcycles, and Volkswagens; and contends that there is such a thing as “dressy” flip-flops. He is the author of three time travel adventure novels: In Times Like These, The Chronothon, and The Day After Never. You can also check out his sci-fi sky pirate adventure, Faster Than Falling.

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Narrator Bio

Neil hails from the green hills and not-so-busy streets of River Vale, NJ, where he divided his time between theatre, literature, percussion, and policy debate. He is happy to note that he has managed to maintain this balance for the entirety of his adult life.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, PA, with a B.A. in Theatre Arts and a Minor in Psychology, Neil acquired a M.F.A in Acting from the Trinity Rep Conservatory, in Providence, RI. He returned to NYC in 2003, and, since then, has made a career of theatrical performance, percussion, theatre education, and audiobook narration, and is currently living in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife, rambunctious son, and their mutt!

Starting his professional acting career working at festivals and and international tours performing Shakespeare opened his mind to the sweeping potential of theatre in performance to inspire and delight, a sensibility he has carried into contemporary theatre, new play workshops, film, TV and commercial work, and audiobook narration. Neil also has sought and developed educational opportunities, considering teaching as a means of advancing the craft of both student and teacher, and also a vehicle for social and political change. Neil has played drums in a wide variety of bands and musical groups, from punk, to prog, to jazz, to folk, and in theatrical performance, most notably for the Philly-based-90s-progressive-instrumental-rock-band, Lexicon.

As an audiobook narrator, Neil specializes in fiction, genre and non. A voracious reader of science fiction and fantasy, Neil strives to bring the same thrill of the possible to the actual, with non-fiction ranging from self-help both spiritual and practical, history, and cultural studies. Recording at home from a Studiobricks One Plus, he is an Audible Approved Producer, and has worked for numerous publishers, including Tantor Media, Penguin Random House Audio, Blackstone Audio, Audible Studios, Deyan Audio, Spoken Realms, and more. He is a proud member of SAG AFTRA.

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If you want a story that slowly becomes addictive and makes you forget about time (literary and not necessarily like that), “In Times Like These” is exactly what you are looking for.

The book combines in a perfect way time travel aspects, mystery, a little bit of romance and just anything you can imagine. It has something for every book lover and it’s perfect for a getaway kind of story. Between past and present, generations meet to find a way to answer questions none imagined possible. It made me feel comfortable, as the writing is care-free and just perfect for what a book should instill. The atmosphere is well created and the author did an amazing job at revealing the things throughout the pages.

The action is amazing, we have established that already. The writing is great, as I have already mentioned. But two other things played an important role in my rating. I’ll start with the characters. It’s difficult at this point to choose a favorite but all are well developed and all have their unique traits and flaws. The author balanced their emotions with the action and somehow made them real.

Second aspect is in regards with the narration. Neil Hellegers did an incredible job with everything! His charm boosted the main characters and his tone is always in line with the action. He gave life to this story and he helped me feel it 110%.

Keeping this review short, with the promise of detailing more in my review for book 2, I’m giving “In Times Like These”5 stars with all my heart and I am looking forward for the next one. Happy Reading!

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Nathan Van Coops. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.