Neve Maslakovic's first book, Regarding Ducks and Universes, was an interesting tale about travel to a parallel universe. It was plot driven and its only major flaw was a lack of descriptive information. I was hoping for an even better this time. In the Far Time Incident, she starts with the usual time-travel premise that the past cannot be changed, but adds a twist that the time traveler can go anywhere in the past and talk to anyone as long as the action does not change the present (e.g. if the past-person was to forget the interaction, or perhaps to die before any alterations affect the present). On the other hand, if the interaction does have an impact on the present, the traveler finds his movement constrained by an invisible wall.

The novel is loosely based around a couple of murder mysteries, but they are really just an excuse to travel to the past. Julia is our first person narrator and she is an administrative assistant working in the time travel department of a university. Neve clearly knows the university environment, but it's a bit unfocused because, well, it's about time travel and who cares if Julia's office is in the Hypatia of Alexandria House. She and several others time travel to a destination where we get interesting glimpses into details of everyday life and experience (destination not revealed to avoid a spoiler). It's fun, I enjoyed it and it is a quick read.

My review of her last book docked her 1 star for a lack of descriptive ambiance in her writing. How is the reader to visualize the world in the novel without adequate description? Has she improved in this regard? Maybe somewhat, but she could do better. For instance, for Neve Maslakovic snow is usually just snow (page numbers may change since I have a review copy): p. 5, "Had he run over from the Time Travel Engineering building in the snow, which was still coming down fast?"; p.32, "where the blinds were drawn against the falling snow"; p.41, "Outside my office window, snow still fell thick and quiet."; p.51 "Looks like the snow isn't letting up any time soon." To be fair, she occasionally does better: p.57, "the sun's rays were reflected to summer strength by the freshly fallen snow, and the lake was like a large, round mirror, its surface a solid block of ice." O.K., but still room for improvement.

How should snow be described? Haruki Murakami sometimes writes science fiction/fantasy. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World: A Novel (translated by Alfred Birnbaum), first Vintage International edition 1993 (paperback)Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World: A Novel (Vintage International), is a 5 star book, so how does Murakami create the ambiance of snow? p.199 "I awake before dawn to find the Town blanketed in snow. It is a wondrous scene in the somber light. The Clocktower soars black above the whitened world, the dark band of the River flows below. I put on my coat and gloves and descend to the empty streets. There is not yet a footprint in the snow. When I gather the snow in my hands, it crumbles. The edges of the River are frozen, with a dusting of snow. There is no wind, no birds, no movement in the Town. I hear nothing but the crunching of snow under my feet."

When a professor’s time-travel lab is the scene of a deadly accident, the academic world and the future of St. Sunniva University get thrown into upheaval. As assistant to the dean of science, Julia Olsen is assigned to help Campus Security Chief Nate Kirkland examine this rare mishap…then make it quietly go away!
But when the investigation points toward murder, Julia and Chief Kirkland find themselves caught in a deadly cover-up, one that strands them in ancient Pompeii on the eve of the eruption of the world’s most infamous volcano. With the help of their companions—a Shakespearean scholar and two grad students—Julia and the chief must outwit history itself and expose the school’s saboteur before it's too late.

The Far Time Incident is a smart, richly inventive novel that skillfully weaves together mystery, history, and science to create a mesmerizing and addictive read.