Book Review: The Boy Who Fell From The Past by Truant D. Memphis

Title: The Boy Who Fell From The Past

Author: Truant D. Memphis
Genre: Young Adult - Science Fiction - Time Travel
Publisher:  TDM, Ink - Copyright 2022
Publication Date: November 1, 2022
ISBN: 9798986893907
Read: January 19-22, 2023
Disclaimer: I received a digital advanced reader copy from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis from Publisher: A passage. This story is a passage. A chapter from my earliest adventures. A moment in time recounting the first time I traveled through time...or something like that. I may have been dimension hopping. We're still not certain. Anyway, I share this with you because it was also the first time (time, time, time...) I met Ezekiel and Jacob Trate, or any other member of the Trate family. I share this with you because it was the first time I met Frank. I share this with you because the whole deal was a portal full of fun (you'll get this joke once you start reading). 

Anyway, open up and come on in. Let me introduce you to these folks. Believe it or not, they've likely saved your life at some point. They definitely saved mine. 

I hope you enjoy our story.

Review: Truant Memphis is both the author and the protagonist of The Boy Who Fell From The Past, in much the same way as Pittacus Lore is the author of the Lorien book series. Yeah, it's all very meta. 

The book is part diary, part science fiction time travel adventure, part metaphysical mind trip. Starting with a literal splash as Truant the Protagonist finds himself in an unnamed body of water, the story goes from strange to weird to psychedelic mind tripping philosophic discussions in the span of 116 pages. 

I don't mind weird stories. In fact, I love them, and this is a decent speculative fiction offering. However, the Author (and I mean the physical person who wrote the book and not their fictional alter-ego) makes liberal use of parenthetical asides that become repetitive to the point of annoyance. Despite this not so charming quirk, the premise of the world in which the story is set in intriguing.

It's the year 3023. The United States is no longer a country, the landscape has changed drastically, and there's a child prophet somewhere out there. Truant finds himself in the company of a father and son duo, the Trates, as they make their way to the last truly free place on Earth. Let the adventures begin!

Overall, The Boy Who Fell From The Past is a quick read, if you can get past some of the more annoying author side comments, and when viewed as speculative fiction, it's a decent futuristic romp.