Review by Frank Plowright

How better to introduce a time travel thriller than with the old paradox of whether you’d kill Hitler if you could travel back in time? The philosophical question usually has Hitler as a baby, but Ibrahim Moustafa figures his story would have a better opening if the attempt were in 1940. It’s a fast-paced introduction to the idea that by 2054 we’ll be able to travel back in time.

The focus is Tarik Abdelnasser, working for the US, one of five nations possessing time travel technology. Use is monitored and strictly controlled, but recently anomalies have been tracked. There’s no certainty about what they are, or what they signify, but the belief is they originate in Bejing or Moscow.

Despite the concept being a big idea, Moustafa makes sure we’re invested in Tarik as a character, introducing us to his family, his partners, and one job he carries out again and again in the manner of Groundhog Day. The fortunate aspect is that if he’s killed in the past there’s a reset, and he’s restored to the future. It’s shown Tarik has a sideline, but while presuming his intentions are good, there’s mystery about what he’s actually doing.

As well as knowing how to hook readers with a cracking concept and sympathetic characters, Moustafa is furthermore an excellent artist. He aims for realism coupled with dynamic storytelling and recognisable people occupy fully realised locations.

There’s a good solution to the mystery of the anomalies, explaining what Tarik keeps doing, and Moustafa doesn’t drag on the further question of who’s behind them too long, posing a considerable problem for Tarik. If he doesn’t buy into the ideology there’s a sure way he can bring everything grinding to a halt, but at considerable cost. Will that be his decision?

Retroactive is a page-turning SF thriller to keep every reader guessing to the end. Job done.