The Man of Legends
In 2001, several lives intersect in New York City as different individuals begin to track the mysterious Will, who appears in their lives, fixes problems for them, and then disappears. One of these individuals is Jillian Guthrie, a journalist who discovers photographic evidence of a man strongly resembling Will, scattered among historic events from hundreds of years ago right up to the present time. Jillian, determined to figure out this puzzle, begins to question people who might know more about Will. Meanwhile, Will, haunted by his secret past, is seeking a way to find redemption and peace.
It takes a while for this one to hook readers in, but Will’s story and epic ending are worth the wait. Johnson has chosen to tell this story in bits and pieces, flipping from character to character in a sometimes confusing manner. Paragraphs will jump from one point of view to another with no real transition. The switches can sometimes be a bit jarring, but Will’s story is fascinating as the pieces begin to come together. Readers will be drawn into the different stories, if they can get past the jumps. It also takes quite a while for historical elements to really appear; it is not until midway through the story that readers are transported back in time to Will’s original timeline. Overall, this is an intriguing historical time-slip fantasy.
