The forest on the edge of time

DEBUT There is only one timeline, and it needs some adjustment to avoid a barren, apocalyptic future. Enter two dedicated time-travelers and a post-quantum computer in Project Kairos. One travels to the future to meet the computer and guide the past, the other to ancient Athens in hopes of fixing the timeline with some guidance. It's a lucid-dream communication situation, and the stakes are high for both travelers, who must fight not to be pulled back to their original time. There's also a third perspective, that of a 13-year-old girl in 2020 London, who sees someone else when she looks in the mirror. Kirkbride ably immerses readers in each of the narrative's three perspectives, with nods to the culture that sprang up during the pandemic and historically pleasing depictions of ancient Athens. VERDICT As harmonious as it is mysterious, Kirkbride's time-traveling climate-fiction novel is recommended for fans of Annalee Newitz and will leave readers with hope and a call to action.--Meagan Shay