Time Was

"[A] multigenerational novella of two time-crossed lovers . . . Fans of science fiction who enjoy a dash of history and legend will savor this tender story." —Publishers Weekly

A love story stitched across time and war, shaped by the power of books, and ultimately destroyed by it.

In the heart of World War II, Tom and Ben became lovers. Brought together by a secret project designed to hide British targets from German radar, the two founded a love that could not be revealed. When the project went wrong, Tom and Ben vanished into nothingness, presumed dead. Their bodies were never found.

Now the two are lost in time, hunting each other across decades, leaving clues in books of poetry and trying to make their desperate timelines overlap.

"With echoes of H. G. Wells's The Time Machine . . . Time Was weaves an exquisite spell of love, war and quantum physics that is timeless in its appeal." —Nina Allan, award-winning author of The Silver Wind

"McDonald's gift for storytelling is on full display as he captures the emotional nuances of a decades-long love while exploring issues of military and scientific might and the state of the contemporary book industry." —Booklist

© 2018 Tordotcom (Ebook): 9780765391452

Release date

Ebook: April 24, 2018