Review: The Juncture by Bruce Fottler

The Juncture
By Bruce Fottler

In the aftermath of a freak accident, a miraculous event brings Gary Olstrom back to an obscure day in his past; a key juncture in time that he never suspected held any importance. Disoriented and frustrated, he learns that he has only hours to stop something from happening that will irreparably damage the future of everyone he knows and loves.

At the outset of the book, it's quite obvious that Gary's wife has some premonition that someone she knows and loves is going to have a tragic accident. Not only can she do nothing about it, she can't tell him, either, because it will affect the outcome, which will affect the past, which will affect the present, which will... Oh, my head hurts from Time Fracture. I agree with Janeway (Star Trek Voyager) that time travel should be avoided at all times. (grin). Unless you are in a Tardis. (Bigger grin).

Right after this glimpse into her precognition, we are in Gary's shoes, walking through a normal day in the world of Corporate Finance, with an abrupt and abnormal interruption. On this rain-soaked day, while traveling to lunch with his pastor, Gary witnesses a tragic accident that leaves three teens trapped in a vehicle on a railroad crossing. 

Gary and a truck driver stop to help, and as they do, as 'luck' would have it, a train is on its way. Gary helps all three teens get to safety before the vehicle is struck by the train, but while he is getting out of the way, the flying car hits him. He has a moment where the EMT's are working on him, trying to keep him alive, and suddenly he wakes up in the past, on what seems a random day in 1981, his senior year in high school. (Coincidence, this is also my senior year in high school).

He spends the rest of this day at school, trying to determine why God has placed him back in this particular day, and what it is he's supposed to accomplish.

Content:
Violence: The only violence in this book was caused by a train. It was not graphic, but I am empathetic, so felt the pain.

Language: Moderate. Gary's friend John is not a Christian, and his language is fairly strong. There are 5-10 cuss words in the whole book, I believe, and the F-bomb is never used, nor is God's name taken in vain.

Sexual Content: Light. There is no sex in the book, although there are a few hints of parties where drinking and possible making out will occur. Girls in school are discussed in the book a few times, as teen boys will do.

Spiritual Content: Moderate. God is acknowledged by Gary as the author of his trip back in time, and asks multiple times what his purpose is back there. What it is he is supposed to learn or change. He deals with the grief of believing he is dead, or will be, when his purpose is accomplished in the past.

Bottom Line:
I thoroughly enjoyed The Juncture. I found it a well-written, gripping read, and could not put the book down from about halfway through until the end. It wasn't what I would call a thriller, but it kept this reader's attention, and taught well the lesson that we should treasure each moment, and remember to speak life into those around us. I gave it five stars.


About the Author:
Since exiting a finance career in a world of cubicles, Bruce Fottler has been busy writing novels. His latest is the suspense thriller: "The Initiative: In Harm's Way (Book One)."

Bruce grew up in the Chicago suburbs and moved to the Boston area as a young teen. While seeking a career-track that mostly put him behind a desk, he dabbled in creative pursuits such as producing, writing, and directing film shorts. However, it was always writing novels that interested him the most because they aren't limited by production budgets, technical capabilities, or tight shooting schedules.

Bruce has three other published novels: "Chasing Redemption" (Sci-fi thriller), "Dover Park" (Mystery), and "Paladin's Odyssey" (Post-apocalyptic thriller).

You can visit his Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/BruceFottlerAuthor