A Time to Die | Out of Time #1

With a hard swallow, I stand with my chin up like a brick wall because I’m finally standing for something: Reid. My family. Radicals.
I am strong. I am confident.
At last, my restless dragon is tamed.

A Time to Die

After stumbling across the Out of Time series on Goodreads, I finished A Time to Die in four days. I could hardly put it down, and in this review I’ll tell you why.

Plot

Parvin Blackwater has only one year left to live according to her Clock. She’s wasted most of her life on meaningless projects, and has a grand sum of nothing to show for it.

As her Last Year begins, she decided to make a real difference in the world. She wants to rescue Radicals—those without Clocks—from the near death sentence of life beyond the Wall. But after trusting the wrong person, Parvin finds herself exiled across the Wall.

What she learns on the other side changes her, and potentially her world, forever.

The plot of A Time to Die is excellent. The constant suspense of unanswered questions pulls you along chapter by chapter. Each chapter header shows her days left to live, and watching them tick away builds anticipation, especially toward the end.

While looking at the series, I got the impression that it was a fantasy book set in another world. However, it’s actually a dystopian future of Earth over a hundred years in the future.

I’ll also take this space to mention that the technical side of the book is near flawless. Well, aside from a few typos. As the author introduces you to the world, exposition dumps are nowhere to be found. Everything is revealed naturally through dialogue—which, but the way, is spot on too.

The style of this book is different, and I like it. It’s both first person and present tense, two things I haven’t read much of. I look forward to getting more of this style in the other books of the trilogy.

Characters

Parvin is impulsive and tends to let her emotions take over. She has several virtuous qualities, such as a measure of selflessness, but her flaws keep her from being perfect and unrelatable. She’s also a Christian, which I’ll cover in the next section.

Some other characters come in, but to discuss them would be to enter spoilers, so I’ll leave you to discover them.

Theme & Spiritual Application

A Time to Die contains far more spiritual and Biblical content than I could have anticipated. Parvin’s primary arc is the growth of her relationship with God. She constantly prays, almost on every page. She learns the concept of shalom—according to the book, “the way things should be.” This influences her thinking and makes her look at the world in a new light. She learns the hard way the truth of the Fall—that the world is a terribly broken place. She makes it her mission in life to spread shalom around the world.

Another one of her arcs is about weakness. She tries to avoid looking weak, but after a particularly traumatic event, she has to come to rely on God for strength. His strength is made perfect in weakness.

Instead of listing every potential content warning, I’ll give the content a rating of mature readers. There is nothing inappropriate, and no cursing, but there are a multitude of scenes I’d describe as raw and real. As an emphasis on the concept of shalom, the author doesn’t protect you from the brokenness of the world.

In one scene, Parvin helps deliver a baby. Other scenes include emotionally and physically traumatic events that may disturb younger readers.

Overall

A Time to Die may be one of my new favorite books for its excellence in every category. The themes are based on the Bible, with some characters even quoting verses. The prose and technical side are an inspiration to my writing. The plot is suspenseful and made meaningful by the character’s journeys.

If you want to buy the book, you can do so here.

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