- Library User
The Time Collector
Updated: Jul 1, 2021
The Time Collector by Gwendolyn Womack
Reviewed by L. Bennett
Until I read this novel I had not heard of psychometry, the purported ability to sense or experience the past by touching artifacts. Gwendolyn Womack, author of this book, develops her story around this ability as vested in Roan West and his colleagues. In roaming antique stores and garage sales the psychometrists have seen historic events, some of which are so real that without proper training and assistance a few psychometrists have been lost, unable to return to the present.
Roan, a loner by choice, used his well-developed ability to return valuable historic objects to the descendants of the person who once owned the items. Lurking at the edge of his craft, however, are things found so far from their time or place of origin that there is no obvious explanation for their placement. A group of psychometrists try to find the answer, individually and collectively working their way around the globe chasing the clues provided through their ability to touch the past. Roan avoids them until his friend disappears and other psychometrists are in jeopardy. The book follows Roan's efforts to find his friend and in the process he helps his colleagues untangle the mystery. I enjoyed it.