Review: The Golden Spiral by Lisa Mangum

The Golden Spiral by Lisa Mangum
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was torn between a 2 and 3 star rating, but because of how I feel after reading it, I'm afraid it just gets a 2. This book was parts entertaining and frustrating. There were concepts introduced in the Hourglass Door –– time travel, the river of time, the hourglass door/time machine –– that I hoped would get more explanation in the Golden Spiral. (It's possible I've forgotten some things from the first book, so forgive me if there are some things I've missed.) There were some character interactions I enjoyed, though, which I think is what saved this book for me.



Pros: My favorite thing about the Golden Spiral were the interactions between Abby and Valerie. I thought the way the author presented Valerie's mental instability was so interesting, and it added a disturbingly colorful aspect to the story as a whole. It was also during these scenes with Valerie that I felt the story was really progressing, as Abby was making a real effort to find out what was going on with Zo through Valerie.

Though I still don't completely understand how the river of time work, I did enjoy the scenes where characters were at the river. I thought the scene where Zo redirects the river was wonderfully intense, and for me as a reader, it really gave me a sense of Zo's destructive power.

I did like the symbolism of the spiral the author used for time travel. I actually use the symbolism of the eternal spiral in my own stories.

Cons: My biggest issue with Golden Spiral is what I mentioned at the start of this review. I felt like the author kept scratching at the surface of her whole take on time travel, no matter how much she described what things looked or sounded like, and has never gotten into the mechanics.

For example, I still don't understand how da Vinci's time-traveling machine works. I got this vague idea that it's this long rectangular structure with a door and a bunch of time-sensitive symbols. But why all the symbols? Aside from the hourglass, do they physically interact with the machine? The way V and Dante carved them, they look decorative, but somehow those carved symbols mystically interacted with the mechanics of the machine. And why with the seasons? I was so confused about it. If there was some sort of supernatural power involved, I think this would have made more sense, but I'm not getting that impression from this story.

Another thing I didn't understand was the concept of the barriers between the normal world and the bank getting thinner and thinner. I don't think the book ever explained why that would be so horrible, or how it was happening, or why traveling back and forth between reality and the bank weakened that barrier. The characters kept mentioning it, but I never understood or felt the real severity of it.

So many unanswered questions; I hope things clear up a bit in book 3.

Another problem I had with the Golden Spiral was Abby's character. While she obsesses with Dante, she also holds some concern with her family and how Zo has altered their timelines. However, I didn't feel with her when it came to her family. Throughout book 1 and this book, Abby hardly interacts with her family, so I don't connect with them. I'm glad she still holds concern for her family, but I don't share it because I don't know her family as well as she does.

Something that threw me off a bit were Abby's interactions with Leo. Before she's reunited with Dante, the way the author describes some of her interactions with Leo almost sounds romantic. It made me wonder if she would have a relationship with him, which certainly would have been an interesting. twist, but Abby finally describes that his relationship with her is more like a loyal soldier. Leo kept reminding Abby of Dante in awkward ways, which threw me off.

There was one glaring inconsistency in this story. I was made to understand from book 1 that Leo is “outside” the river like Dante and the rest of them, so changes to timelines haven't affected him since he first went through the door. The author also makes this clear in book 2 after Abby's timeline is altered, and Leo still understands what's going on. However, when V goes back in time, he meets Leo in the past, who acts like he doesn't know what's going on. This made no sense to me. I thought Leo was outside the power of time. If anyone can explain this to me, that would be great!

I understand the focus of this series is the romance between Abby and Dante, but I'm afraid it just comes off as too blaring to me and seems to override the importance of other details that could have made this book so rich. I will say, though, on a more random note, that reading the Hourglass Door renewed my interest in reading Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, and I'm working through it right now.


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