This fourth installment of the Time Riders series is as excellent as the previous three.In this story, Abraham Lincoln is saved by the Liam, Sal and Bob from an early death in New Orleans in 1831 that shouldn't have happened. He then follows the Time Riders back to their base time of 2001. Suddenly, it is as if he never existed in history - he did not become president, he did not free the slaves, he did not end the Civil War.Now, in this Lincoln-less timeline in 2001, the civil war has continues for over a century. The US has become a puppet for the British ("helping" the South) and the French ("helping" the North). Technology is being used to "grow" eugenics to work the fields and help the military. Things are very bad in the US.The time riders need to get Lincoln back to 1831 and, secondarily, find out why he was almost killed back then. Like the previous books, it is exciting and the reader ends up learning a lot on the side. Alex Scarrow’s Time Riders series is one I like to read. I love historical and science fiction, and his series puts them into a delicious smoothie. The first two books of the series were great! I read both of them in two days combined! After that, I knew I was in love with Scarrow. His most recent installment, The Eternal War, the fourth book, was a good read. This novel deserve a solid 4 stars out of 5, because an interesting plot as always, but it was repetitive, and also because of the author made me think. The plot of The Eternal War was original, interesting, breath-taking, and at some points gruesome, but I am starting to feel a sense of repetition. After reading the book, I have noticed that the plot is starting to become similar. When I finished the third book, this thought popped into my head once, but quickly faded. Now with this novel, I am starting to notice this repetitive nature. Basically, a time wave hits and it changes something. Then, Liam, “the field agent”, goes to investigate with a support unit (a super-human with a computer for a brain, super human strength, and a little brain that controls feeling and act and speak like a human.). After that, they get trapped in the new time and have to communicate with Maddy and Sal, the other two Time Riders, to get back, while trying to fix the problem. While everyone got trapped in this book in an alternate reality this time, the repetition is starting to bug me. I wish Scarrow would fix this future books. But, this was my only complaint with the book. I really liked how the plot progressed, and the ending was phenomenal! Some parts in the book though were gruesome. Lots of death occurred, mainly because of a war being fought, and sadly, a main character died. This plot twist I did not anticipate, but I liked it, despite its macabre tone. Another part I liked was how the time wave changes the world. Being a history buff, I like to read about how the history is changed in these different timelines. When I saw that Prussia was still a country, and that the British Empire controlled half of the world, I was surprised in a good way. Who knew that this “eternal war” would cause that much change to the normal world? Also, I liked reading about the different technologies in this alternate future. The futuristic weapons and genetic experiments were really cool. The Eternal War was a fantastic book, but the only problem was that the plot is getting a little repetitive. Alex Scarrow’s book was a great 4 star book because it caused me to think and question the future of humanity. The British, who are helping the Confederates, have started to experiment with genetics and have been able to produce artificial workers. They treated them really bad, even though they were basically human. The British also made military-grade “genics” that killed were designed to kill the enemy. But because this experimental technology had not been tested, bad things happened. The genics turned on their allies, and eventually themselves. This caused me to think, “Is it a good idea to try to replicate life?” This aspect was awesome. I really liked it. This also made me think, “If we did make artificial beings, how would life be different?” These question really made me think about the future and how it would be like. Because of this, The Eternal War deserves a 4 star rating. The Eternal War was a good book. The plot was one I really loved, but it is starting to repeat itself. This book made me question how I see the world, and that aspect was really interesting. I give this book a 4 out of 5 star rating. I am really looking forward to what is next in the series, but sadly I have to wait because the next books are only available in England, and I never buy books.
