An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'EngleMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Madeleine L'Engle's 1980s time travel books that extended her time trilogy into a quintent are a proof that demanding more of something great can lead to diminishing returns. George R.R. Martin fans take heed.
L'Engle goes back to the well, blending particle physics with biblical characters as a setting for a coming-of-age teen tale. Like "Many Waters," "An Acceptable Time" gets off to an extremely slow start, finding its rhythm in the middle chapters before wrapping everything up in a conveniently forced manner and sending everyone on their way.
A weird, off-putting overtone justifies the human sacrifice rituals of the Druid culture from 3,000 years ago. The moral equivalency is jarring, and while adding a sense of urgency, seems more like a red herring because it's obvious that she would never go that dark with her main characters.
I'm glad I experienced the latter two books of the unfortunately finished series, but in my mind the original trilogy stands alone.
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