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It’s an age-old question: if you could travel back in time, where would you go? What would you do? Would you change history? Meet important figures? In Every Anxious Wave by author Mo Daviau, one time traveler just wants to watch old bands perform again—until disaster strikes.
The story follows bar owner and former rock star Karl Bender on an entirely unexpected adventure. After he discovers a wormhole in his closet, Karl and his friend Wayne begin a secret time travel business, allowing customers to revisit classic concerts—and only concerts. But when Wayne decides to break the rules and accidentally ends up in the year 980, Karl has to find an astrophysicist to help bring him back. And his meeting with angry scientist Lena gives him a new perspective on the past, the present, and the future.
Every Anxious Wave is a little bit of everything: an indie rock time travel love story with a post-apocalyptic twist. And it’s so odd—yet so oddly clever—that you’ll never really know what to expect next. It starts out with a simple but wonderfully outlandish concept, following a lonely bartender who likes to travel back in time to listen to his favorite bands. Once Wayne disappears, though, the story takes its first strange twist—and the rock music adventures give way to a rescue mission. Then Lena shows up, giving the story one more twist after another, not only opening the wormhole up to stranger time-traveling adventures but also changing the present—and the future—in the process. And, finally, after Karl falls in love with Lena, he no longer cares about the rules—because he’ll happily travel through the end of the world to be with her.
The characters, meanwhile, are every bit as unexpected as the story itself. They aren’t brainy (but dashing) scientists or lovable teenagers who stumble into a thrilling time travel adventure. The main characters are all lonely and downtrodden and washed-up in their own way. But instead of making the story depressing, they make it hopeful—and the wormhole leads them on a strange journey to find the place (and time) where everything feels right.
Of course, as Karl acknowledges from the beginning, time travel is a tricky thing. One wrong move, and you can change the future—which is why he initially insists that his wormhole can be used to travel to concerts only. As soon as people begin messing with the wormhole—trying to change history or reconnect with the past in some other way—things go a little haywire. The details get tangled—and if you think about them too much, they don’t always make perfect sense. But if you’re willing to let go a bit, you’ll find that this eccentric time travel story is quirky and clever and surprisingly sweet.
If you love time travel stories and indie music of the ‘90s, you won’t want to miss this unexpected misadventure. It’s an enjoyably peculiar read that’s sure to have you spending extra time in your closet, wishing for the chance to go back to relive some of your favorite musical moments.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
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