Science fiction is not my normal genre, but The Beautiful Land by Alan Averill was heavier on the time travel, lighter on the science, which is more up my alley. It centers on a man named Tak and his work for the Axon Corporation, a greedy group of rich men (reminiscent of tales of the Illuminati) who want to control the whole world, and are willing to use alternate timelines to do it.

Tak’s childhood best friend Samira is struggling with the demons of what she saw and participated in during several tours of duty in the military during the war in Iraq. Tak is struggling with what he has become party to by time traveling for the Axon Corporation and it’s scientific head, Dr. Yates. When the reality of what is about to occur reaches Tak, he finds Samira and brings her along on his attempt to save the world in a (perhaps misguided) attempt to save her as well.

The story was interesting, but I found it lacking in detail. While I certainly didn’t want to get bogged down in SciFi explanations that would defy my understanding, I would have appreciated a bit more substance to explain what was happening, and how it was being done.

Rating: ★★★☆☆