Description
Doctor Who meets Outlander in this fast-paced time-travel adventure!
On holiday in Israel, Gwyn stumbles across a strange device while exploring the ruins of Masada. Thrown back two thousand years in time to the bloody siege between the Roman invaders and fiercely nationalistic Jewish defenders. Blending in is her only option to stay alive; but can she escape before the siege comes to a head?
Meanwhile, Michelle is the Time Space Agent from the year 2623 AD trying to escape her enemies and recover her lost time machine, all while inadvertently stumbling on a dangerous political plot. The clock is ticking as Gwyn and Michelle’s timelines hurtle towards each other in this historical adventure based on the real events of Roman conquest in Ancient Judea.
The actions of these two time travellers, born centuries apart, will impact not just each other’s survival, but the fates of past and future worlds alike.
Faridah Nassozi –
Ladies and gentlemen, strap yourselves in for an epic ride across time periods in this thrilling tale of time travel and political conspiracies in The Siege of Masada. Jodie Lane put together one hell of a compelling story. The Siege of Masada is flawlessly delivered with elaborate and captivating detail to make it a one of kind read. Even without looking at the dates, I could easily tell when the story moved from one time period to another through the realistic details; the dried dates, bread and oil meal was indicative of much earlier eras while the synthesized food is definitely ahead of our time. Through the memorable characters, compelling plot, and richly detailed settings, the story comes alive in a thrilling and beautiful way. An epic start to a series guaranteed to give you time travel envy.
– Faridah Nassozi for Readers’ Favourite
Ashley Tetzlaff –
Wow! Wow! Wow! I picked up Jodie Lane’s Siege of Masada expecting a simple yet engaging historical fiction tale of ancient times. I was blown away by the deft weaving of current time (2011 AD), ancient time (72 AD, 76 AD) and future time (mostly 2623 AD). I enjoyed the travels and tensions of the current day, learning the history of the past in the best way EVER, and the weirdness of the sci-fi world. Gwyn is a very likeable main character, and it is really cool how the timepiece enables her to speak Hebrew, Latin, and Alien. It is also interesting to see parts of the story from other people’s point-of-view: Agent Michelle, Gaius, Adi, etc. Siege of Masada caught my interest from the very beginning and held it till the last sentence. Lane uses her words extremely well and does it with a non-US touch that is endearing (mucking about, chuffed, sodding, winkle, etc). The descriptions are delightful and, as a writer, my brain loved to linger over them and savor their flavors. Mmmm! If there is another book by Jodie Lane, I’d get it in a heartbeat!
– Ashley Tetzlaff for Readers’ Favourite
Hilary Hawkes –
The Siege of Masada is a thrilling and imaginative tale that combines historical events with science fiction. The plot is well crafted and moves at a good pace with plenty of suspense and twists and turns as the story unfolds. The length and vocabulary level make it an excellent book for confident readers or teenagers. I loved the great variety of characters – the modern/present day Gwyn and her family with their everyday concerns, the Jewish community/city dwellers from two thousand years ago with their very different way of life, futuristic and mysterious Michelle, and alien beings from a future world. Gwyn herself is a likable and brave young woman and readers will warm to her. Her concerns are just what any teenage girl’s concerns would be – for her friends, her own safety, and how much of a relationship should she have with a boy to whom she feels attracted. Jodie Lane knows how to keep readers hooked and guessing and doesn’t give too much away too soon. I loved the way the story switches back and forth between Gwyn’s time in the past and Michelle’s time travelling and the way the two are gradually brought together.
This is a thought-provoking story too – Gwyn’s predicament at not being able to change history to save the people she has befriended and Michelle’s knowing that past events must not be disturbed or else all their futures will be jeopardized. Jodie Lane is an excellent writer, blending her characters’ lives and situations together in a highly entertaining story that will keep you guessing, and one that eventually reaches a satisfying end.
– Hilary Hawkes for Readers’ Favourite
Kim Anisi –
The Siege of Masada by Jodie Lane was an enjoyable read for me. Gwyn is a main character with believable reactions, and the plot has some interesting elements within it – which I cannot talk about without giving away too much. Just know this: Gwyn has to make some tough decisions. I was never bored and enjoyed the journey with Gwyn (well, she probably didn’t enjoy her journey that much, but you know what I mean). The ending chapter of the book also shows that there is potential for more books with Gwyn. Some questions remain unanswered. I have my suspicions about one thing, but it will be up to Jodie Lane to confirm or destroy them with a sequel.
– Kim Anisi for Readers’ Favourite
Paul Johnson –
What could be better than a well written time travel novel, particularly one written as historical fiction, two of my favorites. The idea and development of this story was excellent. The story could target scifi fans as well as young adults. The past’s action sequences were well designed and the futuristic scenes were good as well. The dialogue between the different factions was spot on, exactly what you’d expect. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read.
– Paul Johnson for Readers’ Favourite