I have a contentious relationship with books involving time travel. It’s a love-hate relationship, to say the very least. When they’re good, they’re very, very good. But when they’re bad, they’re simply horrid. It takes very little to collapse a time travel story into utter drivel. When I read the blurb for this book, I was intrigued by the notion that the time travel in this book would be achieved not by our intrepid scientists and scholars traveling to the past, but by pulling the past into the future, like one would pluck the best fruit from the tree.

Only, in this case, the best fruit they’re plucking from time is Julius Caesar, moments prior to his assassination on the Ides of March.

I was somewhat worried this book would be an awful bore, but it really wasn’t. It was engaging, fun, interesting, and had a well-plotted and well-executed story arc. It hooks you from the beginning by laying a few fun seeds that end up providing exposition and helping plot points become fulfilled later in the book, which was a nifty and entertaining way of problem-solving just when you were wondering how the heck the characters were going to get out of a certain predicament.

I also worried this book would be bogged down with science jargon and academic brou-ha-ha (which you’d think I’d enjoy, being a scientist and academic myself), but the author thoughtfully didn’t try and attempt to bore her readers with too much science and instead focused on her characters, which was the right call, in my opinion. And the characters were so well-developed because of it.

And, let me just say: any book that has not only a high-speed car chase with Julius Caesar involved and then adds in an emergency escape flight by vintage plane with the same historical figure is totally worth reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and Imbrifex Books for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

A Coin for the Ferryman offers an intriguing premise, i.e. what if scientists were able to grab people out of the past and bring them into the present for a short time and them drop them back into the past at the same point in time that they were taken?

More specifically, the story involves a scientific project the removes Julius Caesar from ancient Rome on the date of his assassination and brings him forward in time to 1999. This provides for a lot of fascinating speculation about Caesar’s interpretation of modern life as well as potential insights that he provides to historical events. The part of the book that dealt with Caesar in the present was the part I enjoyed most. Unfortunately, the earlier part of the book entailed a ton of character back story that in most cases was not needed.

I gave A Coin for the Ferryman four stars on Goodreads. I was prepared to give it 3 stars before the story became more interesting midway through, but upped the rating to 4 stars based on a strong finish and a fascinating premise.

Intriguing story line, pulling a historical ruler into a "modern age" to learn from him. It's interesting to consider the Ides of March from his perspective. It's not a serious or literary exploration, but is definitely more light-hearted. The sexism is a bit much (woman get very little respect), and romance feels contrived.

Yes, yes, yes! An incredible story that I will remember for a long time.

Everything I have to say about this book will make you think I must be a close relative or best friend of Megan Edwards. I can assure you that I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting her but would be honored.

This book is so good that you will forget to eat, let the dog out, and go to bed at a reasonable time.

The pacing and the writing are stellar and I was totally absorbed with the characters and their interactions. This story had me completely transported and I will revisit it again.

A huge thank you for my e-ARC, which was provided by the publisher and the author via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Would I read it again?
Yes, without a doubt.

Would I recommend it?
Yes, wholeheartedly. If you love time travel, Roman history, or moral dilemmas, then you will really enjoy this book!

Is it a permanent addition to my library?
I’m ordering a copy as we speak

Content Warnings?
Animal abuse (two instances - brief and not graphic but necessary to the story)

Was happy to include this inventive book in March’s edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for Zoomer magazine. (at link)

I love time travel when it's done well and this was done exceptionally well! I loved the premise of bringing Ceasar back for a few days to talk and learn from him and loved how it went off the walls. I think there was a little too much build up to the whole thing but saw the need for all the backstory. This was a unique read that I enjoyed a lot.

A blend of Science Fiction and history. A great what if book? The author does a great job of balancing the fiction/with historical background. Just enough to it actually being believable. This book would be enjoyable to readers who love Rome history and history in general. As I was reading this I thought, this is crazy what if book? But then I remarked. After all, that's what Science Fiction is rooted in right? The what if?

I found this book to be just not the right tone for me. Time travel can be very hit and miss. This one was a miss. The way it was written put up a barrier between me and the story that I just did not enjoy slogging through. This may work for others who really enjoy time travel, but I was very distracted throughout.

Ok, imagine a world where time travel is possible. Want to know what happened in Rome during Julius Cesar's time? Well, let's just transport him to our time so we can ask him as many questions as we want. Unfortunately, it's not that simple and problems arise. If they can't get Cesar back into his own time, the current & future timelines might collapse.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Having perfected time travel , the plan is to bring Julius Caesar to 199 for four days of discussions with historians. During that time the rich benefactor of the project insists on hosting a private party at her estate in his honor. What could go wrong? Well written, with great characters, a fast moving plot, and a love story that spans two centuries. The reader has to suspend believe not just for the time travel but the idiocy of the nefarious characters, and the altruistic rich benefactors who appear just when they're needed, But this is fiction and the story was terrific. Highly recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley and Imbrifex Books for the ARC.

I think it could be a case of "it's not you, it's me" but I definitely did not enjoy this book.
The premise was interesting - a team of scientists invented time travel and decided to teleport Julius Caesar from the day of his death to our time in order to interview him and then bring him back to his own time. With a plot like this, I knew that this could go either very good or extremely bad, and sadly it was the latter.
The plot was intensely bizzarre, with a nonsense romance thrown in there for unknown reasons. The pacing was slow, like nothing but over the top exposition for the first 250 pages of this. Despite this, none of the characters felt very flushed out and by the end the reader is left with more questions than answers, and the overall sensation of confusion.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

A time travel experiment gone wrong turns quickly into a breakneck chase thriller and an intimate character study.

Man, time travel is going to be a headache for archaeologists.

Cassandra Fleury, casino waitress and amateur classicist, stumbles upon the job offer of her life when a friend of a friend of a friend is in urgent need of a new hire for a top secret science project. Required qualifications: a pretty face and fluent Latin. Cover story: helping date relics from antiquity. The actual mission: teleporting Julius Caesar from the instant just before his death, and interviewing him to collect fresh data on the less known areas of his life and his time.

Author Megan Edwards has previously published a memoir, a romance novel, and two murder mystery thrillers. A Coin for the Ferryman is her first dip into science fiction, and it provides exactly the kind of cross-fertilization that the genre needs every once in a while. This is a fun time travel adventure, but also a profoundly empathetic tale of responsibility, a humanist look at the tragic vagaries of cause and effect, and a sharp analysis of the ethical dilemmas of anthropological research.

Ideally, when you design an experiment, you take care to control all the variables. You strive to keep your subject within clearly defined parameters so you can gather the data you came for. But such degree of control is iffy when you're studying human beings. There have been decades of discussion among anthropologists about the proper methodological design that must be used to preserve at all times the due respect for the dignity of the subjects under research. In the case of A Coin for the Ferryman, the scientists ought to have known that they had no hope of maintaining control of their experiment when their experiment happened to be a man trained to command legions.

Moreover, the instant you invent time travel, you become an accomplice to all the crimes of history. The choice to not intervene in every known murder that has ever happened is morally equivalent to the choice to contribute to their occurrence. But so many threads of causality lead to the present, so many tiny changes sustain this moment that an equally strong case can be made for the need to leave the past intact. Both sides of this discussion are explored in the novel, and at no moment does it pretend that it's easy. To preserve history, the scientists have to return Caesar to the Ides of March. Literally billions of human fates hinge on keeping that moment the way it happened. But to knowingly send him to his death is akin to joining the mob of his stabbers.

As the days pass, and Caesar learns more about our world, the goals of the experiment become increasingly harder to stick to. However, the complications that start adding up and threaten to break the story never slip out of the author's grasp. Her experience with crime fiction comes in handy in the meticulous way the pieces of the plot are arranged: even when an earlier scene that is set later in time has already explained a key event, the moment of the reveal still lands with a punch. Lines of dialogue, physical objects, places on the map, moments in history: every detail fits in place with clockwork precision. Part of the pleasure of reading A Coin for the Ferryman lies in marveling at the care with which the whole is composed of seemingly incompatible parts. Every decent time travel mystery hides a twist that suddenly makes everything resolve into coherence, and this novel achieves the task with impeccable plot logic. It does not matter in the least that you can see it coming: it's the manner of execution that does the trick.

However, the author has too much understanding of human nature to fall into the temptation of making events seem inevitable. Choice is the key component of every turning point. History is not made of predictable, mechanical motions, but of the jumps in the human heart. That was true in Caesar's time as it is in ours. The novel is chock-full of flashbacks, which in most other genres might be wearisome, but in time travel are actually commonplace. The author uses these scenes to highlight the importance of tiny changes that lead to huge effects. In the past of every major character there was a moment that seemed inconsequential yet proved to leave an irreversible mark. The novel seems to be saying that, just as you cannot hope to control history, you cannot hope to control an individual destiny. That sentiment may sound shocking to modern sensibilities, but it's in line with the classical view of fate that prevailed in Caesar's time.

The mission to send Caesar back to his time is resolved in a way that Edwards narrates with extensive detail. A conventional action adventure might opt for a faster pace, but Edwards wants to direct your attention to the fragility of plans and the ease with which our best intentions can get derailed. Mistakes await at every moment of choice. However, this is not a fatalist story. It's trying to say something far more sophisticated than "science is hard" and "people are tricky." The mistakes made by the scientists stem from their unquestioned, culturally conditioned assumptions about Caesar's behavior, and Caesar makes the same kind of mistakes when trying to understand our world. In epistemology, this failure of communication is known as illusion of transparency, and the phenomenon that causes it is called inferential distance. Edwards isn't just replaying the fish-out-of-water trope; she's making a serious effort to illustrate why it happens, how it distorts the practice of the social sciences, and how fatally dangerous it is to believe you know more than you do.

Caesar himself is, of course, the high point of this book. I'm no expert on the classics, but I found this version of Caesar a solid one, and I'm sure those with more knowledge will find plenty to savor in the way Edwards has created a believable human being from the fragments that have survived over the centuries. Part of the joy of science fiction is to make the unfamiliar feel close. In this Edwards excels.

The plot of A Coin for the Ferryman is a dream come true for fans of Roman history, but it's much more. It's an effortlessly readable novel for fans of literary fiction, an erudite thought experiment for fans of anthropology, a pointed satire of office politics for fans of academia, and a welcome addition to the canon for fans of time travel.

The Math

Baseline Assessment: 7/10.

Bonuses: +1 for making great use of the type of subplot juggling that writing crime thrillers trains you for, +1 for the skill with which even the clearly predictable plot points still feel like surprises when they arrive, +2 because science fiction books written by authors coming from other genres can easily make the mistake of trying too hard to prove their nerd credentials by spending dozens of pages on explaining the technical details of how the machine works, but this one wisely keeps the attention away from the science lecture and aimed straight at what the consequences of the science mean to the characters.

Penalties: −1 because the characters not connected to the time travel experiment suspend their disbelief about Caesar's presence in our time a bit too readily, −2 for rather excessive adoration heaped by everyone at Caesar's character.

Nerd Coefficient: 8/10.

I enjoyed myself immensely while reading A Coin for the Ferryman. I had my fair share of Latin and Greek at high school, and the Roman Empire and the start of Christianity had a prominent place during my time at university studying religion. A Coin for the Ferryman combines the historical figure of Julius Caesar with contemporary Las Vegas, crime and romance.

So what is it about? Dr. Andrew Danicek has managed to build some sort of time machine. At first to be able to precisely date objects by transferring said object from its original time into Danicek's present and back. And if such a thing is possible with objects, wouldn't it also be possible with animals? Or even human beings?
A team is formed for one very secret mission: transferring Julius Caesar. only minutes away from death in 44 BC, to Danicek's team in 1999. Why? To study him of course, to learn from him. But will it all go according to plan? And what is young Cassandra's role in all this?

A Coin for the Ferryman is author Megan Edwards' incredible attempt to see how Julius Caesar would respond to our modern world. It had me laughing from time to time about all the sly things Caesar was doing, but all in all this book is quite serious. And when everything threatens to go wrong, Edwards fires up the story by adding some sensational pursuit and some overtly sweet romance.

I find it hard to review specific aspects of this book, because I am afraid I will give away too much of the story while doing so. The characters and tale are fantastical, but also in a way very real. Just like Dr. Faith Hopper in her fictional note at the back of the book says, 'readers are left to decide for themselves whether to believe it.' So I'd suggest you pick up a copy of A Coin for the Ferryman and decide for yourself!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. Well, I'll say this: the synopsis really hooked me. I've been on a historical/sci-fi kick as of late, so this really whetted my appetite. Overall? It was...a lot. Not necessarily bad, this is just not the sit-down-and-breeze-through type of book. It was like mining for buried treasure, under lots of cooled lava, under the ocean, with old equipment, at times, as a metaphor. I don't want to feel like I've had to do most of the heavy work when I finish a book. There were so many moving parts/pieces to fit together that it was a feat to see it all wrapped together. I think maybe a chart connecting all the pieces/players/situations might have been helpful for me to make. Edwards is a very skilled author, who builds up the writing and creates a lush, complex world to be in. I was really impressed with the dexterity of the novel, and simultaneously frustrated with how nothing could just be...it. Like, can't a bowl of soup JUST be a bowl of soup, not a broth with a spelled out message, or a secret ingredient? I almost wonder if this could've been done in 2 novels, instead of the complex layers and threads that make this up. I can't imagine how Edwards kept track of it all!

Thank you, NetGalley, Megan Edwards, and Imbrifex Books for the opportunity to read this book. It will release on March 1st, 2022.

A Coin For The Ferryman by Megan Edwards is wild, to say the least. The IDES team has one goal–to kidnap a person from history and learn from them. The name of the team should be a giveaway. They choose Julius Caesar on the day he would be killed. Obviously, this mission could have many dangerous effects and he can only stay for four days. They bring in historians and Latin scholars, one named Cassandra who serves as an interpreter. She knows that anything can go wrong, and lo and behold…it does. Now the team must correct their mistakes before time runs out or Julius Caesar will be trapped in the present.

Words…I need words. I can’t find the words to describe how bizarre this book is. The premise is SO COOL. The synopsis gave me Timeless TV show vibes. I also have my degree in history, I was so on board when I picked up this book. But then I read it. So absolutely nothing happens the first 45% of the book. It is just introducing characters and laying out unnecessary information. The book is 540 pages, so that means 250 pages went by without much substance. But I wanted to see what happened. Maybe it would turn around when the plot got going? One would think with all that time spent on nondisclosure agreements and character introductions that the characters would be fleshed out and well-developed. Unfortunately, they are one-dimensional with no depth. Most of the men are incredibly sexist and misogynistic. And don’t get me started on the random Julius Caesar romance with one of the team members.

I get that the book is supposed to be a blend of science-fiction, suspense, and history, but it did not come off as believable. There is too much going on from the kidnappings, the mafia showing up, and again, that romance which was not even slightly romantic. The dialogue even felt stilted and fake. Then there is the lack of historical detail. Unfortunately, I was let down. So this book gets 1 star.

I was looking forward to this book a lot because I love Ancient Greece and Rome. The premise, Julius Caesar, being pulled forward in time was also something that was intriguing. I think Edwards has a great writing style which is engaging and pulls you into the story. The plot overall was good and I enjoyed it, but I felt like there were too many characters with too many backstories. I also expect a certain amount of time jumps when I am reading a book about time travel, but I found these somewhat confusing and hard to piece together especially at the beginning.

{3.5 stars}

"History - the words that seek to preserve the past - is nothing but a fortress built of smoke."

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Ancient Rome and time travel... when I saw the premise of this novel, I was all in. The structure of how this story was written was a bit of a distraction for me. There are a lot of characters, all from different backgrounds who are eventually brought together in an interdisciplinary team to bring Julius Caesar back from the dead. The team works in secret with a plan to spend four days with the man learning from him. Things go awry pretty quickly and the story goes from an archaeology focused scifi novel to more of an action story.

I really loved the idea of this one. Getting a glimpse of the past through the eyes of one of its most infamous inhabitants was such a cool idea. The scenes with Caesar himself were fantastic, as a character he was really clever and engaging. The problem is, it took til halfway through the book to get to him. Then most of his time was on the run. I loved all the scenes of revelation about his own history and his charming interpretations of the modern world.

I didn't love the action and spy drama like intrigue, although I could see that it would appeal to others. I also didn't love that every able bodied male and female had to have some affair during the story. That seemed unnecessary to me.

Overall, it's a very pacey, readable sci-fi novel with lots of love for the Latin language and ancient Roman history.

Thanks to Netgalley for advanced access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.

"It was both distressing and enlightening to realize that history, even when reported by an eyewitness, is not the same thing as the past itself. At most, it is an impressionist painting. It conveys an image of real events, but it is blurred by swirls and daubs of opinion and agenda."

This line right here made this book resonate within my research loving heart.

A Coin for the Ferryman is great for history lovers and fiction fans. It's engaging and exciting and Edwards' depiction of Caesar was extraordinary to humanize a man who has long been idealized by the writings he left behind. The attention to detail and historical passion that must have gone into writing this book clearly shows and a reader can't help but honestly believe that for four days in 1999, Julius Caesar walked among our time. Bravo!

If a 500-page book seems just too much of a commitment, give this one a pass - but keep it on your radar for happier times. This is certainly genre-bending, but the genres it bends are very flexible, survive and thrive in Megan Edwards' myth retelling/time travelling/thrilling/humorous volume with a moral. The chapters are short so one can always read a few more without getting stuck in the middle of something.

The book starts slow. For the first 25% (more or less) we get a lot of information. All of the characters that we come across get some background information, which was sometimes interesting, sometimes not so much. There were definitely parts that didn’t contribute to the plot. We also make some timejumps, that I didn’t always get. But after Cassandra gets enlisted into the team, we stay in the same time and the story starts to flow.
I did like that we didn’t get much information about the technology they work with. To some it could maybe feel like “easy”, but I didn’t feel the need to know more about that.
The chapters are really short (like 2-5 pages), which makes you want to read “one more chapter” all the time, but it also “breaks” the story in a matter of speech. Especially when the POV changes, you feel a bit disoriented. We get POV’s from almost every character, which makes it complex, but it enriches the story as well. I especially loved the chapters from Caesar’s POV.

It’s always tricky to write a POV from a real person. I’m definitely not a Caesar-expert, but I do know some things about him from my Latin-classes in high school. I found his character really well done. We see how cunning and smart and controlling he is, yet he also experiences emotions like love and sadness. I loved seeing his reactions to modern technology, even though that part may be a bit unrealistic. I get that Caesar wants to be in control all the time, but I can’t believe someone would be THAT chill if he gets transported 2000 years into the future.
It’s in the blurb, so we know that it’s coming, but after we get to the point where someone is after Caesar and wants to abduct him, the story reads like a thriller for a part. I found the escape-scenes very exciting.
What I didn’t like as much, was the relationship between Cassandra and Caesar. I get that they get closer as they are on the run together, but it was a bit too much for me.
Also, everything comes really easy for Cassandra. I understand she has real academic talent, but she has the right connections for everything and gets almost immediately what she’s always wanted.

I found the ending really well done. It definitely felt like this could have happened.

The writing style was also very fluent. The short chapters definitely helped to get through this book easier, as I found myself saying “only one more chapter” very often. It’s also easy to read a chapter in between your work or something, as it takes literally only 5 mins to finish a chapter.

To summarise: I liked this book very much, it read fluent and the plot was really interesting. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has interest in Rome/Caesar and timetravel.