A Coin For the Ferryman

by: Megan Edwards

Publication date: March 1, 2022

Review date: November 26, 2021

Many thanks to NetGalley, Imbrifex Books & Megan Edwards for allowing me access to this arc. I’m leaving this review voluntarily. Hi

A Coin For the Ferryman is quite possibly the best book I’ve read so far this year.. I loved Everything about this book & would definitely recommend it to history & fiction lovers alike.. Time travel was never a big interest of mine but Megan Edwards truly is a gifted writer who made it a fun & interesting topic. I’m looking forward to reading more of her work. I give A Coin For the Ferryman 4.5 stars & hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#ACoinForTheFerryman #NetGalley #ImbrifexBooks

I really enjoyed reading this, it starts a bit slow but things speed up quickly and the whole premise is really rather interesting.

When an archaeologist discovers an ancient Roman coin on a Roman archaeological dig that turns out to have been minted in 1996, her colleague and erstwhile lovers decides it's a prank and then cuts her out of his life.

After her death, the heroine of this tale, Cassandra (hmmm!) realises the truth. The possibility that the ambitious CEO of a small multinational company might have successfully brought a key shaper of history from the past to the present for a few days is something she would know about. As a talented speaker of Latin, she was employed to communicate with Július Caesar on his sojourn in the present. Her stunning beauty surely had nothing to do with it....

Hard science-fiction aficionados may be disappointed: the logistics of time travel are kept relatively hazy, though the ugliness of only being able to translate either animal or human shortly before their appointment with sudden, violent death, has nothing nebulous about it. Then, there is the familiar trope of the Mad Scientist, for whom sentiment means nothing. The writer's understanding of the realpolitik of hustling and power dynamics in the world of business is sharply portrayed. Keeping the Ceasar project secret proves to be as difficult as might be imagined, as (greedy) other interests emerge from the woodwork Soon, Caesar and Cassandra are fugitives, as she struggles to get him back to his own time.

Ah yes, Caesar. Again, this writer recognises that a general and despot of this magnitude might proves to be more complex and devious than imagined - and potentially that much more difficult to contain.

Even with the pointed awareness that even today, women are still judged more by their looks than by their talents, there is an element of good-old glamour within the story-telling. Cassandra's first and only date as a call-girl means her sugar daddy is a sugar daddy who expects nothing in return as he sends her to university and beyond. She dines in the best places on exquisite food, mingles with the best-dressed super rich, gets to hide out in the most luxurious hotels.

The suspense remains taut enough to keep those pages turning. If this is likely to appeal on the strength of what has been written here.....you know who you are.

3 stars

In a lot of my reviews, I talk about how the blurb and/or concept of a book is so good before talking about all of the ways that the book let me down. In some ways, A Coin for the Ferryman follows that trend. However, the concept really does carry this somewhat overbloated book enough for it to warrant 3 stars from me.

I mean, it's just so creative. Time traveling Julius Caesar moments before his assassination into the present day? Are you kidding me? In the first two chapters, Edwards really builds up the suspense around this idea by giving us both Caesar's and our protagonist Cassandra's perspectives. From there, however, things do go a bit downhill. There is so much exposition for this huge cast of characters and 50% of it could honestly be cut. Because the novel is so plot-driven, we don't really need every single character's backstory for us to become invested. Honestly, the only thing that kept me going was the promise of this insane time travel plot.

Actually bringing Julius Caesar into the present day is definitely cool and I would say that it is the high point of the novel. Again, however, we have another section that flatlines a bit after a big moment. Considering how wildly the time travel is presented in the first half of the book, it read throughout the second half as a very casual event. All of the high stakes moments involved with what is supposed to be this massive double cross therefore didn't completely hit for me. The choice to completely shift the framing device at the very end of the book is also quite disconcerting and would have been more effective if it had been established as such from the beginning.

All in all, I wasn't completely let down by this book. I enjoyed having it on as I went about my day. I just felt like so much of the book was taken up by needless character information that left little room for the author to actually unearth all of the immense potential that this concept had to offer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Imbrifex Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

This is the best book I've read ALL YEAR. It was SO GOOD. I swear to god I haven't read a book this good in so long I actually cried when I finished it. I'm not at all exaggerating. This is a new favorite book of all time for me. Whether or not you were considering reading this book, just do it. It is so enjoyable and interesting and intriguing from the very start. Honestly, my only criticism is that she should have married Alexander and her not doing so makes absolutely no sense. In my head and in my future physical copy this is in fact what happens.

I loved the concept of this book, but it ultimately felt unfinished. Edwards starts with a wide cast of dynamic characters, but the book devolves into an unlikely love story. It was fascinating to see the research team assembled, and Edwards shows off her talent in writing dynamic back stories. She’s able to create nuanced characters, but seemingly struggled with building multiple storylines once everyone was introduced.

I enjoyed watching the development of Caesar, and felt that he was appropriately aloof. I did wish I had more background on his contemporaries, but thought his transformation into the present was enjoyable. However, way too much of the book was focused on Cassandra. The last third of the book turns into a wild chase across southern California, with Cassandra seemingly oscillating between tears and ingenious escape routes.

There was an uneven amount of time given to literal bad guys vs. larger morals throughout the book. The clear bad guys trying to kidnap Caesar were somewhat flat and felt like they were cherry picked out of a James Bond novel. The more interesting question was if the research team should inform Caesar about his future, or if they have a moral obligation to keep him in the dark.

The end of the book crashes together like an episode from Maury. All together this was a book I enjoyed, but wished could have been more clearly defined.

I was absolutely gripped from the first page. The characters are immersive and captivating and the story moves along at the perfect pace. I absolutely could not put it down!

Cassandra Fleury, a 20-something-old Latin and Greek student at USC, is brought on as the youngest member of a team headed by the Nobel prize winning scientist Andrew Danicek. The IDES team is tasked with bringing Julius Caesar to the 20th century, pulling him moments before his death on the Ides of March, to ask him some of history's burning questions and then promptly return him to the exact moment in time he was taken from. After a kidnapping attempt on Caesar, Cassandra is the only one who can help return him to his time, and death.

The majority of the story takes place in 1999 and is set between Las Vegas and California. Roughly the first 20% of the book drags and every chapter seemingly shifts POV to a different character we know little about. After a rough start, the story improves drastically and we start to really understand, and remember, the characters we've been introduced to. While it is not without faults (there is an uncomfortable amount of looking at women through the male gaze), it's definitely worth checking out.

Is it far-fetched? Of course, it's time-travelling Julius Caesar. Is it always historically accurate? Eh. Does the author take many, many liberties? Most definitely. But, is it fun? Absolutely.

As a Classics student I did not know what to expect going into this. It's hard to separate historical fact from fiction, but Megan Edwards has presented a story that is fun and delightful to read. Apart from the confusing aspects of time-travel in this book, the only super unbelievable thing was that a 20-something-year-old with only high school knowledge of Latin was more of an expert of the dead language than two PhD holding professors from a prestigious university who have decades more experience.

I really quite enjoyed this tale!

It was a little slow starting but once I got into it, it was hard to put down. I mean, time travel, who doesn't love it! Certainly a twist from the usual time travel but imagine what we could learn if it happened.

Overall I found it an interesting, well laid out story. And the ending didn't disappoint! Thank for to NetGallery for an advance copy for an honest review

Thank you to Imbrifex Books for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this! A Coin for the Ferryman is an interesting blend of Greco-Roman History and sci-fi that will delight any fan of both. The novel follows a team of researchers who restore Julius Ceaser right before his death at the Ides of March to listen to his perspective on the event. The only problem is how to get him back. The novel is a fascinating insight into Julius Ceaser and an entertaining read. I recommend it for people who are interested in Roman history and the life of Julius Ceaser.

What if you bring someone back from the past? But what if you knew you had to send them back to their sure known death? This is a great read. It grabbed me immediately and I couldn’t put it down. Definitely a read for anyone interested in interactions with the past.

The premise of the book appealed, and I was looking forward to reading it, but it just didn't really grab my attention.

This book hit all the right notes for a travel book. From timeline to other time travel, historical fiction was impressed with how she pulled this story together. It was an enjoyable read I recommend for others. It becomes a little predictable in the plot but was still a pleasure to read.

This book ended up on my Did Not Finish Shelf. I really made an effort to give this book a chance but it didn't hold my interest, and the storyline just wasn't my cup of tea.

I'm a huge fan of both time travel and Roman history - and overall I really liked this book, tho I wish the character development was more fleshed out. Some of the characters felt one dimensional. Overall I enjoyed it very much.

I was very intrigued by the summary, and I did enjoy the story.

At the beginning of the book we were introduced to so many characters, and they were all in different situations…It was a little confusing and a bit overwhelming. However, once I knew the characters better it was easier for me to follow. There was a lot of back story in this book and sometimes it felt unnecessary.

I did like the time travel aspect of it. I did wish there was more time with Caesar. I wish his and Cassandra’s relationship was more fleshed out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Imbrifex books for giving me a digital arc of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

This started slow and really developed characters with interesting back stories. I enjoyed that academia atmosphere and the top-secret, sketchy research vibe. Then when things were established and started to ramp up, it read like an academic thriller/suspense movie. The drama within the IDES project team kept me turning pages. There were a couple of action set pieces that added to that movie feel. I enjoyed the author's use of Las Vegas as a setting. It is clear that the author lives there and you feel the difference between the strip and off the strip. When they are on the strip, she used the extreme luxyry and theatricality of the setting well. There is the time travel element and those issues and paradoxes were addressed. Still, this did not feel strongly sci-fi forward to me. It is a well told and entertaining story with vividly drawn characters.

Thanks to Imbrifex, Netgally and Ms. Edwards for a free ARC copy. The book started a bit slow and it was hard to fit Caesar inton the story. Once he appeared, the story became exciting and started to speed up a bit. The author did a good job breathing Julius Caesar back to life. This is not the first book about Caesar but this is surely something different. This book is for history buffs and thriller lovers.

We've all been asked at one point, who would you invite to a dinner party, dead or alive?
Andrew Danicek, is a Nobel Laureate who creates a time machine to bring back Julius Caesar from the minute before he dies at the Ides or March.
The book flows like a river through it's twists and turns, while never losing sight of it's main goal.
The characters are well written, and the plot is easy to follow, although the only hole I can see is when Andrew searchs for Andrej, the German boy he stood in for. Why didn't it occur to him to search for Dieter?
This is a beautifully written book that I shall be buying when it's published.

A group of scientists get together in 1999 to conduct a time travel experiment, ringing a person from history into the current times. Cassandra is a young scholar fluent in latin, a skill that is required for bringing Julius Caesar into the future, as she solely is able to communicate with their guest.

When Ceasar arrives, things don't go according to plan. Where they expected to converse and understand more about Caesar's time, the experiment goes wrong and Cassandra and Ceasar are on the run from people wanting to hunt down Caesar.

It has what you would expect, a bit of fish out of water, and whilst other books (eg. 'Look Who's Back') have dealt with the historical figure/fish out of water with a bit more humour, this book takes us through a romance which frankly, we could have done without.

There's a few things that were teased at the start that just didn't go anywhere, which was a shame.

Overall, it was interesting, but the emphasis on a cliched romance left behind some other elements of a story that could be been explored.