A woman with a remarkable memory is chosen as the 23rd Hero to travel back in time to 16th century France to prevent climate change, facing challenges of self-discovery, romance, and environmental activism along the way. The novel blends elements of time travel, romance, and dystopian science fiction, offering a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of courage, destiny, and the transformative power of love.

Reader Review Summary

Rebecca Anne Nguyen's stunning debut novel "The 23rd Hero" is a captivating blend of time travel adventure, environmental activism, and epic romance that will leave readers enthralled from beginning to end. Set in a vividly realized dystopian future ravaged by climate change, the book follows Sloane Burrows, a young woman blessed/cursed with an infallible photographic memory. Despite her shame about this "freak" ability instilled by her father, Sloane gets recruited by a mysterious time travel Program to become their latest "Hero" - tasked with traveling back to 16th century France to reshape history and prevent ecological catastrophe before it starts.

What makes The 23rd Hero truly shine is Nguyen's superb worldbuilding skills and her deft juggling of multiple genres. The dystopian vision of a world on the brink of collapse due to environmental neglect feels chillingly plausible, lending urgency and stakes to Sloane's time-traveling mission. At the same time, Nguyen excels at rendering the past, immersing readers in beautifully detailed Renaissance France scenery and culture. The addition of a tender but sizzling romance between Sloane and Bastian, the man who has haunted her dreams for years, imbues the high-concept sci-fi story with a profound emotional core.

Sloane herself is a terrifically well-rounded and compelling heroine to get behind. Her struggle to overcome the shame ingrained by her father's mistreatment of her special ability and embrace her power forms the crux of her moving character arc. Resourceful, whip-smart, and disarmingly self-deprecating, she is the kind of hero readers will be fervently rooting for every step of the way through her extraordinary journey of self-discovery across the centuries. The soulful chemistry she shares with Bastian is incredibly engaging and swoon-worthy.

Beyond the gripping central plot and characters, Nguyen deserves ample praise for her thematic ambition in seamlessly blending weighty real-world topics like climate activism into a work of speculative fiction entertainment. While brimming with humor, romance, and thrilling time travel escapism, The 23rd Hero also packs a sobering environmental message about mankind's terrifying potential for ecological destruction if we do not course correct soon. Nguyen's creative idea of resurrecting a caring relationship between society and nature through reframing spirituality and faith is both thought-provoking and a tantalizing "what if?" concept.

With its lush atmospheric settings, emotional character journeys, and racing pace that never lets up, The 23rd Hero is simply a stellar, enormously satisfying piece of speculative fiction from a talented new voice. Nguyen skillfully juggles genres with stunning results - this is a sweeping romantic adventure, imaginative sci-fi tale, and impassioned call for climate action all rolled into one. Fans of genre-blending and thoroughly imaginative storytelling have a new must-read on their hands. The future looks bright for this promising author.