If this book was a wine, I would say I detected a bouquet of Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,"
with overtones of Edward Abbey's "Monkey Wrench Gang." If those vintages are too dusty for you to remember, how about Yatzee Croshaw's "Mogworld" mixed with Scott Meyer's "Off to Be the Wizard" - but with far more social commentary.
Strident? Hell yes! And it's about time someone was! When half your country is in a nose-dive toward environmental oblivion and reactionary social injustice, it's refreshing to see someone call out religious and political extremists for their planet-destroying nonsense. It's even better when the author paints the outcome clearly, using the known results of following delusional approaches to their disastrous consequences.
Time travel, rock and roll, environmentalism, sex, booze, and equality. What does it take to pull it all together into a social commentary romp? Good, solid story telling and an entertaining plot. Like any good social commentator, Essen doesn't step away from the occasional opportunity to plop one of his characters on a soapbox, (or a potato-shaped boulder) to give a dandy lecture. You already know the general rant; it's the one you have really, really wanted to give to certain relatives who think we still live in 1950 and want to drag you and everyone else back into those dark ages with them. But 95% of the time Essen spins a yarn that rolls forward unstoppably, like the ball in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
While a shot of this book will help the spirits of open-minded people everywhere, not everyone is a candidate for this medicine. Contra-indications include a propensity to think the bible is literal truth, that religion gives better answers than science, or a belief that people with non-traditional beliefs or sexual orientations should have fewer rights and less self-determination. Homophobes should also stay well away; this book includes a lovely lesbian heroine who is NOT simply a girl in need of a male appendage. And if you think unrestrained capitalism and the exploitation of the environment for profit is more important than the flora and fauna that share the planet with us , you will definitely have an adverse reaction.
For the rest of us, those of us who give a damn about equal rights, the environment, and social responsibility? This book is a great big romp and a wonderful adventure. As an added bonus, the author has a wonderful knowledge of rock and roll that permeates "Time is Irreverent" from cover to cover.
I listened to the audio book before buying a kindle copy to read sections aloud to my wife. The audio book narration is first-rate. Often, narrators struggle to do the voices of both sexes. One or two characters struck me as a touch odd, but everyone was believable, and the main characters of both sexes are all performed perfectly. The reader even appears to have read the book in advance, so inflections always match the speech tags, and the tone of the scene.
I gave this five stars for the delightful optimistic entertainment and fun it delivered.
PS: I heard a rumor that there is a sequel in the works. That is a second coming I actually look forward to!
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