"As We Fall Through Time" by Claire North

Title: As We Fall Through Time

Author: Claire North

Cover designer: Meg Shepherd @ LBBG

Publisher: Orbit/Hachette Book Group

ISBN13: 9780316586467 (paperback) /

Recommended audience: Readers mature enough to reckon with historically accurate violence, both physical and societal.

Link to publisher book page: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/claire-north/as-we-fall-through-time/9780316586467/

About Peter @petermusser.com:

Public-turned-digital librarian, now working in open education. Once and future YouTuber/purveyor of library propaganda. US Navy vet, dual 🍁/🦅 citizen living near Vancouver, BC. find me on bsky at @petermusser.com or get the professional scoop of who I am on my site!

What I liked about the book:

What got me to keep it after picking it up was a summary that had big "This is How You Lose the Time War" vibes, which I loved. Having devoured As We Fall after starting it though, I can assure potential readers that while both books have time travel and love and soldiers, they are both very different, very good books. Sure, there's time travel abundant bordering on excessive which can certainly rub some folks the wrong way, but the author has used it here judiciously, in service to a story and characters that I really give a damn about. And -- hoo boy -- what a plot twist.

Also, I love a book with very flexible representations of gender.

How I discovered this book:

Folks outside of "the biz" may not know the American Library Association @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social holds its annual conference each year in a different city. One of the main draws of it is the expo hall, whereupon publishers from around the world descend with literal tons of book swag, advance reader copies/new releases, and authors. Understandably, too -- the conference draws tens of thousands of librarians for a week, and librarians love buying, reading, and talking about books.

"As We Fall Through Time" was one of the many books I found in stacks upon stacks covering tables upon tables at the conference in Chicago this past June. Unlike in previous years where I (admittedly) went a little overboard taking any and books I could get a hold of, this year I decided to be a bit choosier re: what made it from my grabby hands to my tote bag. In the case of "As We Fall Through Time," I saw the stack of it, gave the synopsis a read, and walked away with it (after getting a nod from a booth staffer, of course).

At other booths, particularly among smaller publishers, there'll be a rep from the publisher who'll tap into their primal sales persona, draw you in with eye contact and an air "I have something you want," and do a mini-readers advisory session with you.

People have a lot of ideas about librarianship, and countless who find out what I do for a living approach me with something like, "I'd love to be a librarian, I just love reading so much!" When this happens I do my best to give them a more complete idea of the career...

But.

Not gonna lie: the library conference is a huge perk.