Time's Agent is such a unique take on universe travel! "Pocket Universes" did take a minute for me to wrap my head around, I'll admit. Eventually, I realized that they worked much like the time dilation in Season 7 of The 100, and that helped, which is pretty on brand for me. Raquel and her wife have come back to the "main" world after losing forty years during one misstep into a pocket world. That is crushing in itself, no? To top it off, they find out that their daughter died just weeks after their disappearance, so as you can imagine, things are bad. Also, really relatable for many, even if pocket world time problems are not at fault.

So to say that the characters were emotionally provocative is an understatement. And thing is, not only did they lose their daughter (as well as basically everyone else they knew and loved), the whole world was different, and not in a good way. Again, this is incredibly thought provoking- imagine if you'd left our world 40 years ago, and popped back in now. What would it look like? You'd feel... well, you get the idea.

It's an emotional story, an exciting story, and a really unique take on the concept. Sure, I was a wee bit confused at times, but nothing so overwhelming that I couldn't enjoy the book. While it is obviously a sci-fi concept, so many of the issues presented were relevant to all of us, in a very thought provoking way.

Bottom Line: It's like if you got stuck on Skyring for five years and everyone back at Sanctum didn't even notice you were gone, but in reverse. You're welcome.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you NetGalley and Tordotcom Publishing for this advanced copy.

Let me start by saying that science fiction is not my most read genre. Most of the time I don’t really understand what is going on, but I try really hard … I do. Haha! I will say that while I don’t fully grasp what happened here (I handle time jumping storylines much better visually on screen), I still enjoyed every word and moment of this one.

I loved the characters! I thought how they each handled their unique situations were both fair and understandable reactions. There was a section at the end that I had incorrectly assumed what would happen, and I’m not entirely sure if that made me happy or disappointed me. Again, probably because I don’t truly understand anything. lol

This is a super fast read coming in at 160 pages, but it packs a punch for a little thing! And isn’t the cover stunning?!

If you enjoy SciFi, dystopian, time-traveling, multiverse themes, then you’ll love this short story! I certainly did!

This was a hard one for me to rate. On one hand, I really was fascinated by the concept and idea for the world/plot. But, on the other hand, the execution of said idea was just not where it needed to be. The pacing was good, especially for such a short story. I just felt that we never really connected to the characters--it could have been their characterization, or maybe it was how short the story itself was (I think only around 160 pages!) but I just never fully got into it. The writing was good, though, and I would definitely check out more from this author in the future!

***Thank you to Tordotcom for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

Time's Agent was such a fascinating novella that explored some heavy, thought-provoking themes. I'm always a bit leery of novellas because I never know if the author will manage to tell a rich and meaningful story with enough depth. The shorter format often leaves me wanting more, but not in a good way. This book managed to tell a great story that felt complete and satisfying on both the emotional and conceptual levels.

The premise of Time's Agent was probably my favorite thing about it. I loved the idea of the pocket universes with varying speeds of time compared to our own. It was just such a cool thing to explore. The setting of Santo Domingo was also really unique, and it was so fascinating to see what a dystopian future might look like there. It did take me a minute to get up to speed on the specifics of the setting and premise, though. I had some trouble settling into the first few chapters because the story just jumped right into things with lots of terms and details that I didn't understand. I was hooked enough to settle in for the ride, and I'm glad I did. Things made sense as the story went along. So, my trust in the storytelling was rewarded.

The main character in Time's Agent, Raquel, had my deepest sympathies. Through her struggles, the story explored the concept of grief in some gut-wrenching ways. She lost 40 years in the blink of an eye and came back to a completely different world. Her personal losses were staggering. I did feel for her, but I was a bit surprised how removed she seemed. The impact of her losses on her family were at the heart of the story. However, I never felt very attached to her or like I got to know her all that well. I think maybe a bit more balance between showing her life before and after the accident might have been helpful in making her feel even more relatable.

The world-building in Time's Agent was really cool. The commentary on colonization provided by integrating the story of the indigenous people into Raquel's story was very interesting. Pitting her career in archaeology against the very survival of those people provided some thought-provoking content and a great area of growth for Raquel. However, I wanted to know more about the natives, their history, and how they accomplished their amazing feats. It wasn't necessary to understand this story, but I still would've loved a bit more detail, especially since it might have given a bigger glimpse into why Raquel was so passionate about them.

The commentary on end-stage capitalism was another thing Time's Agent did very well. I'm not going to say much about it because it is definitely something to be experienced by reading this story. However, the imagery of the damaging nature of over-consumption was harrowing. I also liked how the story explored the ways that capitalism can corrupt scientific exploration and the search for knowledge. It warned that discoveries are not made in an ethically pure vacuum, which means that research must be conducted keeping in mind how others might use it for profit no matter how destructive.

Overall, Time's Agent was a heart-wrenching story of love and loss wrapped in thought-provoking speculative fiction. If a dystopian story about corporations using up multiple universes to the point of ruin for the sake of profit is something that sounds interesting, I definitely recommend picking up this novella. Therefore, I rate Time's Agent 4 out of 5 stars.

This book is a sci-fi with horror vibes that tells the story of pocket worlds and other dimensions. It explore dystopian futures and some interesting characters, with a feeling of dread and intrigue. I enjoyed the interesting ideas and the fast pacing. It isn’t my usual genre but I liked stepping out of my comfort zone.

The execution could have been a bit more to my own liking, to help me feel more connected to the characters but I enjoyed the book and found it different and creative.

This was a hard one to get into, honestly.
The premise was really interesting... pocket world dimensions are discovered that each run on slightly different timelines. The main character, Raquel, is a scientist who gets stuck in a pocket world and emerges 40 years later to find that the pocket worlds have been commoditized and corporations own and fought over them.
The ideas and messages were timely, but the pacing and character development wasn't my speed.
I think there are readers out there for this book. But I struggled to finish it.

A horror sci-fi that explores metaverses to contemplate grief, loss identity and capitalism.

The discovery of Pocket Worlds changes everything for science, nature and our understanding of time. These worlds are small slices of heaven, some no larger than a small island and populated with nature and artifacts. Our main character, archeologist Raquel and her wife, Marlena work for an institute dedicated to exploring and uncovering these worlds and who may have lived there previously. Perhaps even discover an entire second universe.

Everything changes when Raquel falls into a pocket world and 40 years in the real world passes in the blink of an eye. The story is dystopic bleak, as Raquel and Marlena come to terms with the death of their daughter in those 40 years, the change of culture, the destructive force of capitalism on discovery.

The pacing is quick, the chapters are short, the dread is real and all consuming. I'm glad this is a novella because this story is heavy with grief and loss.

This is my first Brenda Peynado book, but it won't be my last!

This book is best read by a window, hugging your daughter's stuffy, as food delivery drones fly by.

Raquel is an archeologist who, along with her botanist wife, studies pocket worlds. They are small bubbles of existence, sometimes as big as a large island, sometimes as small as a cardboard box. They are worlds with mermaids or dinosaurs, worlds where time goes faster or slower, worlds where humanity hasn’t yet left its mark. But Raquel, for all that she loves studying these places, finding traces of humanity in cave paintings, fossilized bones, tools, and burial sites, is looking for something else. She’s looking for the Taino, her ancestors, in the hopes that some of them might have escaped their fate at the hands of the Conquistadors, that somewhere, somehow, they’re still living.

This is both one of the most imaginative books I’ve read and one of the most depressing in equal measure. Did I like it? Yes, kind of? Because this book gives an unrelenting glimpse into an all too realistic depiction of humanity. If people did find worlds where mermaids existed, yes, we’d put them in fish tanks after either hunting them, or pollute their ocean until they died. What would we do with extinct birds and plants? Put them in zoos. Sell them for money. Exploit them and destroy them. Have a world where time goes slow? Plant crops that grow slowly while, in the real world, no time at all has passed.

The rich here have pocket worlds small enough to fit over their hands so that time stops and models, politicians, and socialites can have the hands of a twenty-year old while being decades older. The rich profit, the poor suffer, and world after world is despoiled and destroyed. It’s bleak and unrelenting and the world building is so good it hurts.

And yet. The ideas in this book are engaging and thought provoking. What happens to someone who vanishes for an hour, only to return to a world where decades have passed? What happens to a mother when she realizes the child she left behind …. is gone? What is it that makes us a person? Where do sentience and sapience overlap, and why — when all the world is falling apart around us — does humanity still hope, still think that, somehow, everything can and will get better? This is one of those books that I’ll be thinking of for some time after reading it; one of those books I’m not sure if I enjoyed reading, but I’m very glad I did read.

If you’re into speculative fiction, well written and honest and that takes a long, hard, and unforgiving look at where our hunger to consume and own will take us, this book is for you. If you enjoy meditations on the human condition, on how AI is progressing, how fast and how intelligent and how easy it is to blur the lines between what is and isn’t human, this book is for you. If you like character studies that involve grief, introspection, and pain that yields before a graceful and poignant cathartic ending … this book is for you.

The hell of it is, I’m not sure if this was the book for me. While I admire the author for their creativity and their skill in writing, I’m still digesting my own thoughts. Even so, it’s a five-star book that won’t be for everyone, and I really hope it finds it’s audience because it very much deserves to be read.

This book was a whole lot of fun. Quick little sci-fi, Novella that explores big topics and does it very well. We got to explore love, loss, grief, Complicated relationships, and late stage end capitalism.

Pocket and being able to enter alternate dimensions with different Time constraints was super interesting and unique. I really loved the way that you could enter these different worlds and accomplish amazing things that affected the standard time.

I thought our main character was very interesting and complex. She did not feel one dimensional. I felt very organically developed and fleshed out. Definitely related to her and her struggles. I loved how flawed she was, but also how realistic.

Rating: 3.5/5

"Time's Agent" by Brenda Peynado is a beautifully written novella that packs a powerful emotional punch within its 160 pages. The story explores themes of love, grief, and the difficult choices we face when confronted with the end of all things. Peynado masterfully weaves a world filled with pocket dimensions where time moves at different speeds, raising thought-provoking questions about what truly matters—making a mark on history or protecting what we hold dear.

The novella's strength lies in its world-building and the profound emotional resonance it evokes. The concept of pocket worlds, where time can be manipulated, is fascinating and adds a unique twist to the story. Peynado's prose is literary and poetic, making the novella feel like a pocket universe in itself—dense, rich, and full of depth.

However, despite the novella's many strengths, it may not be for everyone. The nonlinear narrative can be challenging to follow, and the heavy themes of loss and corporate greed might feel too close to reality. The characters, while well-drawn, can be difficult to connect with, which may detract from the overall experience for some.

For readers who enjoy speculative fiction with a literary flair and are willing to engage with complex themes, "Time's Agent" offers a rewarding, albeit bittersweet, journey. The novella's exploration of time, memory, and the human condition is both thought-provoking and heartbreaking, making it a memorable, if somewhat somber, read.

Overall, while "Time's Agent" might not resonate with everyone, it's a commendable work of speculative fiction that offers much to ponder long after the last page is turned.

This was so incredibly beautiful, rage-inducing, and heartbreaking. 160 pages of love and grief and having to decide what you can really save at the end of all things. To decide what's more important: the discoveries we can make that set our name in the stars and let us make our mark on history, or the sacrifices we can make to protect that which is really worth preserving in this world. This book ripped my heart clean in two (and then thankfully put it back together again).

Believe me, it will not feel like a novella when you're reading it. The way that Brenda Peynado manages to fit an entire world, its history, its pain, and its hope into only those 160 pages, makes this book nothing less than a pocket world in its own right.

This is for the reader who prefers their fantasy at the more literary end of the genre. 2-4 stars depending on where you fall on the literary scale. It’s a bit dark, and the corporations being the source of evil is a bit to close to reality for some readers of the genre I think. And the trauma of losing family when the time dilation of a pocket world was against you is sad. The author does a good job building the weird universe of pocket worlds though.

Another little novella that hurt so good! This one follows Raquel, and we get to experience the grief of the corporate destruction of the climate and how Raquel experiences that in different pocket dimensions. Time travel will always get me right through the heart,

Thank you to Tordotcom for my review copy, my opinions are my own.

This is a story told out of order, reminding me that stories are not linear, yes there is a beginning, but that beginning is in the middle of a different story. In a world where there are doorways to pocket dimensions with time dilations, the world is at once both entranced with the idea of these worlds, and obsessed with the idea of a Universe 2, where we could escape our own dying planet.
In an accident, Raquel loses 40 years of time by accidently falling into a pocket dimension and pops out 40 years later to a world that exploited what Raquel once worked on in identifying the pocket worlds.

This science fiction novella falls into the speculative subset and asks some deeply probing questions and makes the reader really stop and think about greed and what one would do when faced with losing time.

I didn't really jive with the characters, but I was intrigued with the thoughts and questions about the world, and the possibilities that a power like pocket dimensions would offer. Recommend for those who enjoy science fiction - kinda reminded me of Past Watch crossed with This Is How You Lose A Time War.

This sounded so interesting but unfortunately it wasn't what I was expecting and left me disappointed. The idea of the pocket worlds is really cool. I think it could have been a bit longer and then the author would better be able to accomplish what they were going for.

What a fast and poignant read this was. I loved the concept of the pocket worlds and how time worked differently in those worlds, as well as how that time could be specifically manipulated, sometimes almost as a time machine. The amount of social commentary that this books brings in is fantastic as, surprise, surprise, corporations have decided to try to control these worlds and squeeze resources out of every one they can. Due to an accident our MC, Raquel, ends up stuck in a pocket world where time movies differently and comes out back on Earth 40 years later, when only a matter of minutes have passed. When she comes back, so much has changed and she is hit with some devastating news that is heartwrenching.

This novella pulls you in quickly and before you know it, time has passed all around you. Just like a pocket world of its own.

Thank you to @tordotcompub for the finished copy and @netgalley and the publisher for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

I will say upfront I'm not a huge fan of time travel books, but I was intrigued by the idea of the commodification of time. Tordotcom novellas have lately engaged with different facets of capitalism within the speculative fiction space. I was a bit disappointed with the most recent Samatar book, but Time's Agent had a more nuanced exploration through the same perspective of a family. The speculative element of this world is that the technology has been developed to discover, catalog, and preserve pocket worlds, many of which run faster or slower than "Earth Standard." This detail leads to the dissolution of Raquel's family through a horrible time accident, thrusting Raquel 40 years into the future where corporations have gotten ahold of technology to find and create these pocket worlds, thus allowing them to commodity time itself. This set-up was very well executed; Raquel, her wife, Marlena, and her daughter, Atalanta, are very real-feeling characters, and they feel like a family. The time jump into the future and the description of that reality were well done. It was at this point (50-60%) that, unfortunately, I started to lose my interest and belief in the world that Peynado created. The theming started to get a little too pedantic, and the plot very quickly jumped around and felt too disjointed. I think this book should've been maybe 50-75 pages longer to accomplish what Peynado was trying to do here. Overall, I would recommend this book for a pretty interesting conversation about what time means to our bodies, our lives, our welfare, and more, but be prepared for a bit of muddled plot in the last third. Despite that, I did find the ending satisfying and appropriately bittersweet.

2.5 rounded up to 3.
Time's Agent has a really interesting premise, the discovery of pocket worlds. Small realities that are accessed through doorways in our world. Places where time moves incredibly fast or incredibly slow. I wanted to like this story, the world-building in the beginning is exciting. but I just couldn't connect with the characters. This is also an incredibly sad story, built around unimaginable loss and grief. While I think that some readers will connect with this story, it was not for me. Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Time's Agent is a stunning piece of speculative fiction that manages to weave together themes of colonialism, corporate greed, entitlement, and grief in a tight novella about pocket worlds and time dilation.

Similar to the story of Rip Van Winkle, Raquel emerges from a pocket world forty years after accidentally falling in. Virtually no time has elapsed for her, but she returns to a world that has changed drastically.

Peynado's imagined future is grim. The miraculous discovery of pocket worlds has been exploited by corporations and many citizens now live as indentured servants. Peynado juxtaposes this exploitation with Raquel's search for indigenous people and cultures, drawing subtle parallels.

During the early chapters, I struggled at times to fully understand the world which was unfurling before me, partially due to the nonlinear chapters. However, once the pieces fell into place, I found this to be a thought-provoking and heart-wrenching story. I highly recommend this novella, though some patience and careful reading may be required at times.

This review will be posted to Goodreads on August 8, 2024 and Instagram (@goodquietkitty) on August 9, 2024.

2.5
I rounded up to 3 because I felt this book would be great for some people, I'm just not one of them.

What I liked
-I really enjoyed the setting and worldbuilding. The corporate use of pocket worlds seemed very plausible and made the world feel real. The author also had many creative uses for the pocket worlds which I really appreciated.
-I liked the plotline with Atalanta and impact it had on the main character and the story. I actually wish it had been explored more.

What I didn't like
-I had trouble connecting to the characters. I struggled to even connect with the main character though first person perspective usually makes it easier to do so.
-The pacing was a little odd near the end, things started moving very fast and I wish the author had slowed down to give us more time with the characters and to explain what was happening more clearly. Things got confusing near the end and the story wrapped up fairly quickly so I was a bit lost during the last 25% or so.
-The writing style was not for me, though I'm sure many others will like it. It was just a little too dramatic and wordy sometimes.