Update 12/18/2019: At the time that I was working on this announcement/review for Hidden from Our Eyes by James Fisher, the book’s Amazon page said it was 370 pages long. However, it now shows 272 pages, so that is the correct length.
Happy Friday, readers and writers! Today I want to bring you a combination book announcement and review for a unique kind of speculative fiction—or at least one that we don’t hear about very often anymore. Instead of taking its readers far into a dystopian future or back into a foreign-yet-somehow-familiar past, this book journeys into an almost unrecognizable alternate timeline, one in which Native Americans still control North America, English as we know it never came to exist, and by the 1970s, cars just barely exist in Europe and planes are but a madman’s dream. For this post, I want to talk about Hidden from Our Eyes by James Fisher.
June 21, 1976 – Tom Winchester is a student pilot living with his widowed mother in Virginia Beach. On the summer solstice, as he is leaving for his flying lessons, a voice calls out to him from near a hickory tree in his front yard. Convinced it’s one of his old track-and-field buddies playing a prank on him, Tom investigates. Instead of finding a mischievous friend—or any other source for the voice—he stumbles through a mysterious and mystical stone arch into a world plucked straight out of the history books: Vinlandia, a North America void of all Europeans but for a few Christian priests and Vikings.
No English. No America. No family or friends or any connection to those around him. Abandoned by a trickster voice in a land that is so familiar and yet so incredibly strange, Tom must learn and adapt if he is to survive long enough to find his way home. From wartime scouting missions and brushes with pirates to landmark inventions and an unlikely romance, this Virginian is in for the adventure of a lifetime. With the source and purpose behind his journey still a mystery, the real adventure has only just begun.
Now, I want to be upfront about my history with this book. I actually started off beta reading it for Fisher as part of a Fiverr gig, and I have seen in it through many iterations of thorough and honest feedback. Most recently, I served as the work’s editor, making sure to polish the writing as best as I can while still maintaining Fisher’s unique voice. I felt it only fair to disclose this to you, my readers, so you will have it in mind as you read through my review.
However, remember this: I always speak my mind. I’m nice about it, but I still do it. If I don’t like something, I will be honest and say so. Fortunately, that’s not the case here. I have seen Hidden from Our Eyes grow from a strong concept into a captivating story, and fans of alternate universes/timelines, historical fiction, and supernatural fiction are in for an exciting ride.
Hidden from Our Eyes by James Fisher is a quick and engaging read despite being 370 pages long. In part, this is due to Fisher’s straightforward, easy-to-follow writing style coupled with carefully selected descriptions. For me, though, it’s more due to the multiple layers of mystery driving the novel. Where exactly has Tom landed? Who called him through the archway, and why? Why is this timeline so different from ours? Will Tom ever be able to get home? With these just being some of the more major questions this book generates, the reader will keep going until the very end just to get them answered—and then impatiently wait for the sequel as more questions are raised in the last few pages.
As with most speculative fiction, the most compelling aspect of this novel is the world-building. Fisher has clearly put a lot of thought, historical research, and imaginative energy into constructing an alternative timeline that could have realistically branched from a minor divergence in the path to our reality. While it seems on the surface to be absurd or outlandish, thinking it through, much like Tom himself does, reveals just how much sense Fisher’s alternate timeline/universe makes. For a nerd like me—one who is both a history nerd and loves to contemplate what would have happened if just one thing had happened differently—this is as exhilarating as a well-defined magic system in epic fantasy or accurate technological leaps in science fiction.
Hidden from Our Eyes also contains a diverse cast of characters in which readers are bound to find someone that they can at least become attached to if not feel an affinity for. Each character has their own unique personality and history, even if the latter is never really explored or hinted at. Some are likeable, others are not, and still others manage to be both at the same time. (Womocco made me both smirk in amusement and groan in frustration, sometimes within the same scene.) Fisher has even developed the most minor characters well enough to make them stick in the reader’s mind for the rest of the novel. The characters of Aethelstan and Valgard, while very minor, made a particular strong impression with me, and Valgard ended up being one of my favorite characters. When minor characters turn out to be so well developed, the author has clearly put a lot of time and effort into making all of them.
Of course, this novel isn’t for everyone. The plot isn’t the same sort of on-the-edge, character’s-world-is-about-to-end kind of plot that many fantasy, science fiction, and other speculative fiction novels we have become accustomed to. The main antagonist is not some wicked ruler utilizing black magic or an evil corporation and/or alien race controlling our every move but a mysterious force akin to fate keeping Tom trapped in this new world. There is action involved in the scouting and ship scenes as well as plenty of emotional tension, but the story isn’t for action-lovers. Instead, it’s speculative fiction more aimed at thinkers and those focused on character and world development. It’s not a flaw in the work; it’s just not every reader’s cup of tea.
Overall, Hidden from Our Eyes by James Fisher is great for anyone who has ever wondered what it would have been like if Europeans hadn’t established colonies in America. It explores not only how that would have changed the socio-politico-cultural landscape of America itself but of the world at large, looking for the most likely event that would have prevented it and following the ripples that it would have sent throughout all of Europe and the Americas. On that front, the only way it could have been better is if we could have seen how it affected more of Asia, the Middle East, and that part of the world. However, the book is more than just an exploration of what if. It’s a journey into something that is both a secret fear and desire shared among most, if not all, humans: being given a completely new start, all by ourselves, with no connection to our pasts whatsoever to mold our destinies into whatever we want. This book invites the reader’s intellectual engagement, and for those who prefer more action, the potential for plenty of that in the second book is teased at by the end of this one. I personally can’t wait to see what becomes of Tom in both of the lives he has made for himself.
You can buy Hidden from Our Eyes by James Fisher as a Kindle book on Amazon.
Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011