A J Mayall

The Always Machine A J Mayall

THE GREATEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE YOURSELF IS A NEW PAST... BUT WHAT IFYOU'RE REALLY BAD AT IT?Teenage life is difficult. However, most teenagers don't have to deal with newly acquired cosmic powers, shadowy cults, or horrors beyond space and time. Throw in an abusive parent being back in your life, and it's a disaster in the making. At least history class is easier when you can summon an 18th-century British soldier to give you the answers. All 17-year-old Phoenix McGee wants is to have an uneventful school year, graduate, join the police academy, and become an officer. But those plans are derailed when he and his estranged father unwittingly cross the path of a group of robbers seemingly led by his former high school bully. Eager to prove himself a champion of justice, he and his friends Jim, Sarah, and Justin take the case to solve what turns out to be a string of robberies. Unbeknownst to them, this is part of a larger plot by an organization that has plagued Phoenix in years past, one sowing seeds of chaos to bring forth Those Outside. To assist him, his mentor Jeremiah grants him access to The Always Machine, a device used by the GearWitch to alter the flow of history. However, there are consequences for changing the past, and trying to fix past mistakes leads to present and future problems. With multiple timelines running in his head, the stress of his responsibilities, and the rage toward his father, can Phoenix stop a being who can tear reality asunder with its mere presence? Knowing that some events are fixed points and must occur no matter what, he has to find a way to alter history and write a happily ever after for as many people as he can. The end of high school typically means leaving the comfort of youth behind you and stepping into the strange and often unforgiving world of adulthood. Graduation day is coming for Phoenix McGee, and the timing couldn't be worse.