11/22/63 by Stephen KIng (Novel)

Time travel is so much fun and yet like a complex math problem difficult to reason out with all the possible plot holes and paradoxes.  This is a good one, written with care and attention to detail for such scientific snags that only a talented story-spinner like Mr. King can make work.  It's a simply question: if you could go back in time and prevent a watershed moment (a tragedy like JFK's assassination) from happening would you do it, even with fate fighting you the entire way?  Jake Epping is given this opportunity and he chooses to accept and what a journey.  In many ways this isn't a science fiction tale or even a historical representation about  Lee Harvey Oswald (although it's evident that Mr. King did his research) it's a book about a man finding home in a place (and time) he never imagined.  It's about community and how rewarding it can be to contribute.  And it's a thriller that makes turning the pages so easy, which is something for this is a thick book, but it didn't feel like it.   And most of all it's a love story and one of Mr. King's best.   This novel ended up winning the LA Times Book Prize for best thriller and I certainly concur.  Excellent work, Mr. King.  Grade: A-