In her book "Downtime," Cynthia Fleece offers us a love story and a science fiction story ... maybe it's the guy in me, but I wish there could have been a little more 'science' in the story.

Don't get me wrong ... I enjoyed the read, and I recommend it to others. It's a recent addition to a long tradition of stories that illustrate the complications that arise when love blossoms across a disjointed time stream. Rod Serling tackled it 50+ years ago in "The Long Morrow" ... and before that, there was F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." It's still makes for a good story today in films and television ... and in books like "Downtime."

My gripe about 'more science?' I blame it on my biblio-upbringing. Fifty-some years ago, my introduction to science fiction was through hand-me-down paperbacks of stories by Isaac Asimov and Arthur Clark, and later on some Robert Heinlein and Ray Bradbury ... good fiction, good storytelling, with generous doses of of good (if hypothetical at the time) science and technology added to the mix.

While I read through "Downtime," eager to get to the conclusion to see how the characters might fare and the story might end, I also found myself wishing for a little more detail on the jelly bean, the stellerator ... and, of course, that all-important elixer.

BUT, while I've devoted a lot of words to my little gripe ... it really is a LITTLE matter. All-in-all, I recommend "Downtime" to you as a good read, and a good addition to that tradition I mentioned earlier ... illustrating the complications that arise when love blossoms across a disjointed time stream. You'll want to read "Downtime" to the end ... and discover whether those complications might be overcome. ( )

It was an ok book to read once I was able to sit down and read it. I can see myself reading it again and again because every time you read something over you catch something new in the story you didn't catch the first time. ( )

This one took me a while to get into, but once I had I enjoyed the story. I did find it rather uneven. The Danae were fascinating, and I do wish the author had thrown away the galactic politics and just concentrated on the Danae and Jason - it would have made for a more cohesive book. ( )

The most intriguing theme of Downtime was the drifting sands of time. People aged differently, on different planets, and on different assignments. Calla started out 6 years younger than her lover and was 15 years older than him when they met again. Plus there was a potent elixir that could turn back the hands of time, if you had the power and station to acquire it.
Add in the Danae, a race of maybe sentient beings, and a war to control this corner of the galaxy and Downtime had all of the elements of an epic science fiction hit. However, it bogged down in the precise technical portrayal of the society. The first third of the book was dominated with descriptions of the elaborate political structure and the environmental impact issues of elixir production.
If this is the groundwork for a multi-volume saga, then maybe it would justify the effort required to read it. It took four separate attempts to plow through the first couple of chapters. It did get better toward the end, but there wasn’t enough of a story line woven into that overpowering structure. ( )

I had some difficulty reading this book because of the writing style, and it took me longer than typical to complete it. The story about a couple who were separated and aged at different rates was interesting, however. ( )