The Branches of Time

In the words of Billy Idol, “It’s a nice day to start again. It’s a nice day for a white wedding.” Beautiful snow. Crisp hope. New beginnings. Innocent love. All to be obliterated by rocks falling from heaven, and all that white is now crimson.

Three lives are shattered. Sanctuary obliterated. Questions unanswered. The enemy remains unseen, a shadow of doubt, and the dead disappear under a veil of mystery. Dark magic is at hand.

Betrayal begins to twist and burn. Love’s loss now becomes Love’s lust. Forbidden Fruit is the deadly apple of poison with nothing more than a dagger to heart. Innocence is blinded by temptation. Truth falls deep beneath lies and illusion. Who’s telling fables, and whose telling the truth?

All roads lead past the mad king and back, back to where the story really begins. All those lives lost. All those lives known. Gone without a trace. Erased by one man’s hand for nothing more than freedom, but as he bends and breaks The Branches of Time, what has he left in its wake? What fate awaits him along the new branch awaiting his return? Freedom or Death?

Like a delicate spider, The Branches of Time unfolds over harsh tragedy, a gaping hole begging to be filled. Intricate lines dance across oblivion, tortured souls struggling to exist, and caught in a web of fate. As we tangle across characters forever changed are we ensnared in a series of events, events that have erased the past and haunt the future, a future waiting, and we cannot escape for we are pulled in further and further by magic and mystery written so very brilliantly by Luca Rossi. And we hunger for more, immersing ourselves in worlds such as Game of Thrones, The Librarians, and now, a series that begins with The Branches of Time available on Amazon.

Those familiar with Luca Rossi’s previous book, the collection of short stories ‘Galactic Energies’, will not be disappointed with this, his first full-length novel. ‘The Branches of Time’ takes the reader on an intricate journey using Rossi’s genre-busting mix of fantasy, science fiction and erotic overtones in a tale that will entertain as it challenges our perception of time. The premise is original and is handled with mastery: the effect on a small isolated group of people of changes made to the timeline where they exist. Rossi’s approach is intimate in that he explores how the events influence the individuals, rather than the totality of the world they inhabit. By employing this tactic, he invests the reader in his characters and their particular understanding of the alarming occurrences that befall them.

Sci-fi, particularly, is all about pushing the boundaries, and the author creates a fast-paced tale which will have the reader question their understanding of the solidity of history and time itself. In doing so, he adds to the richness of genre in a way that Clifford D. Simak, Philip K. Dick and many other great writers have previously done.

Highly recommended for readers who like their entertainment with deep significance.

Whoa. What in interesting and enthralling read. It was unique and something I've not read quite like before..... and that beginning, wow! Talk about a real book opening to draw the reader in!

There is a wonderful mixture of adventure, Sci-Fi moments and excitement in this story.

I will recommend it to all my friends who love this type of material.

4 stars from me.

Thanks to the author for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This story starts with heart-thumping action on the first page. As a reader, all I could think is, ‘Wow, where can he go from this?’ Well, hold-on, because he keeps going. The Branches of Time is a thrill ride of good and evil. Characters are well rounded, empathetic, colorful. Action is tense and for a fantasy novel, believable situations.

Only a couple of hesitations in giving a 5-star rating, one being character perspective. In some instances, I had to re-read or read forward to determine point of view. But, overall, a great and creative story. As has been said before, ‘story trumps all.’; some obvious head-hopping could all be related in some manner to translation or English not being a first language. Second, punctuation and format, but hey, small stuff. At approximately 160 pages, The Branches of Time is easily read in one sitting, but not easily read only once; a cliff hanging ending. You’ll pour over this a few times. Some adult content, so would not recommend for youngsters.

Excellent Writing. The dialogue takes you into another world. A great escape. The characters stay with you long after the read. And, the reader can relate to each character. They are alive in the writing! I loved it and recommend it highly!
Sharon L. Hicks
Author: How Do You Grab a Naked Lady?
a memoir

What an Amazing Story. I totally love it. This book, The Branches of Time, is very well written and got great plot and characters. I admire the author dedication for writing an incredible story. This story grabs my attention from the very start of the book and couldn't put it aside till I finish it. It was a wonderful read. From me, I will definitely rate this book and the author's hard efforts a 5-STAR. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

very interesting time travel book. had some unexpected twists which made it enjoyable. would read the second.

An entire population of an island is wiped out by a stone shower. There are only three survivors: a husband and a wife couple and a priestess of the local temple. The priestess is the last remaining person in charge of sustaining of a containment barrier which prevents a hostile nation from any kind of seafaring, thus she must ensure the barrier holds no matter what. The nation is question on the other hand will do anything in its power and beyond to remove it.

I rarely read books from new authors these days. When I do I hope to discover something new and exciting, but I try to keep my hopes low as there are a lot of mediocre books from the new authors on the market lately. In this case I did not expect anything at all, but was pleasantly surprised. Initially I was curious reading a fantasy book from an Italian author; the good cover increased my curiosity.

The novel held my interest from the beginning to the end. Some of the ideas, like introduction of time travel in the traditional fantasy look refreshing; I do not recall a good use of time travel paradoxes in genre out of the top of my head. Not all of the characters came out equally good, but for the major part they were.

Some warnings are in order. The book ends in a cliffhanger. I actually expected it to be much bigger, but still do not expect the resolution of all of the plot-lines. The king of the rival nation I mentioned is a sex maniac. He has his POV in the novel, so do not expect it to fit into PG rating, but the subject was handled tastefully, thus this is not a porn book. Two surviving women on the island develop feelings for each other; if this bothers you skip the novel.

Considering all the bad and good parts of the book the final rating is 4 stars.

A lovely wedding on an island, all the inhabitants are present. Soon the happy occasion turns into a deadly massacre, leaving only three people alive. The sci-fi, fantasy, time travel novel has well-defined characters and a storyline encompassing good and evil, love and loss, and the sadness that envelopes the human spirit when it feels hurt and isolated. I can't wait for the sequel. Luca Rossi, write faster!

Lucca out did his self with this one! Awesome!