Alice Payne Arrives
By: Kate Heartfield
Available in audiobook, paperback and ebook from your local bookseller (mine is Perfect Books) or from Indigo, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, or wherever you buy books.
- Listen to a sample of the audiobook, read by Jennywren Walker.
- Read the first two chapters.
- Buy links and more at the publisher’s page.
- Goodreads page here.
- Author notes and highlights on Goodreads.
Praise for Alice Payne Arrves:
“Twisty time wars, highway robbery, 18th century lady scientists, queer joy. How could I not love this? Alice Payne Arrives at a gallop, breathlessly blending historical fiction and SF tropes, then turning them on their heads.” ―Sarah Pinsker
“Whip smart, and packed with irresistible characters and fast-paced adventure. A playful, pointed, and brilliantly inventive remix of history that unfolds like the most fascinating puzzle box―each new twist and reveal a delight. Counting the days to the sequel.” ―S.L. Huang
REVIEWS
Anyone who loves Doctor Who, especially the new female Doctor, is going to absolutely adore this…. There’s tonnes of ideas and it’s consistent. It’s exciting, it’s interesting, the characters are fun, it’s a good ensemble piece, and Kate’s really spent the time to make it believable, fun and interesting.
Alice Payne Arrives is an elegantly-written novella, precise and deft in its effects. Heartfield writes a fast and gripping story, mounting to a tense cliffhanger. But Heartfield also writes a story that’s tremendously fun, filled with humane, believable characters.
Though Heartfield’s scenes brim with excitement, the protagonists ground the story… Heartfield’s worldbuilding, particularly the complex rules for time travel, will satisfy detail-oriented readers. The strongest aspect of Heartfield’s tale, however, is how it asks the hard questions about how progress in the past would affect the present.
— Booklist
Heartfield takes readers on a short jaunt between the 18th and 22nd centuries—with a few stops in between—for a tale of time travel, love, war, and courage.
Light-handed social commentary with subtler depths makes for a thoughtful and thought-provoking but entertaining adventure. … There’s enough science fictional meat for people to argue over, while the backdrop sizzles with interesting, intelligent social ideas.
Alice Payne Arrives is a pure delight from start to finish…between Prudence and Alice we have two formidable and delightful characters to follow. Kate Heartfield’s novella is breezily serious and I immediately wanted more.
As even casual time-travellers know, once you start messing around with the past you turn the timelines of human history into a plate of spaghetti, leading to all sorts of dangerous paradoxes and unintended consequences.
This novella is a quick read with fantastic characters that is sure to leave you wanting more.