Frequent visitors to AriaPrime.com know that I like to check out new indie scifi. I recently met up with Alexander Rigby on twitter, and he told me about his new novel, What Happened to Marilyn. I’ll admit, this was not my usual science fiction, but after I started the story, I found I couldn’t put it down.
In 2062, time travel is a reality. So what better way to use that technology than to travel to 1962 and rescue the sex symbol of the 1950’s and 1960’s…Marilyn Monroe. That’s exactly what Jeremiah, our main character, does in this story. But while there have been countless tales of romancing time travelers, Alexander Rigby’s novel What Happened to Marilyn is a decidedly new twist on the theme.
Jeremiah doesn’t set out on his quest in a lust for Marilyn; he has a quite different purpose (which I won’t reveal or it’ll spoil the story). But he does rescue Marilyn and bring her to the year 2062. But here’s where the mystery begins, as history still show her as dying in 1962. Jeremiah is at his wits end trying to figure out why the timeline hasn’t been altered. I can’t go into any more detail as to why it wasn’t changed (I refuse to ruin this tale!), but rest assured, you won’t want to put this book down until you find out.
It’s not only a great storyline that makes this an interesting book. There are great descriptions of Savanna Georgia, as well as various homes and public structures. It’s quite apparent that Rigby did his homework as well. There were lots of details about Marilyn, where she lived, her habits, personality and so on, enough so that by the end of the story, she felt like a personal friend.
The emotional engagement is what really set this story apart. We see the inner demons that Jeremiah experiences, and feel the emotional rollercoaster that is Marilyn Monroe. There’s plenty of interpersonal interaction, and we experience an intertangled web of emotion between the main characters.
As I said earlier, this book was a departure from what I normally read (scifi adventure and thrillers), and yet I enjoyed it thoroughly. Two thumbs up!
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Thanks for reading!
