Only appearing in two of the stories (Doomsday Book and Blackout/All Clear), Colin is a 13 (and later) 17-year-old boy who gets to be involved in the history research at Oxford University in 2056 – 2060AD, which happens to involve time travel. It’s kind of funny because if Colin were a more important character in the series, he may have come across as a “Mary Sue” – being a kid character who can do everything that all the adult characters can do and more besides. But the best thing about this young man is that he is simply a teen who happens to be close enough to the university to be involved a bit.
That’s it – Colin comes across as an interesting young man who is (obviously) entranced by the possibility of time travel and wants to get involved. For me, he represents my favourite thing about all of these stories, which is the well developed and fleshed-out characters who represent the everyman (and woman) put into extraordinary circumstances and trying to come through as best they can.
If you haven’t tried the series yet, it is well worth your while (I’m currently reading Blackout the first of the Blackout/All Clear diptych (a two-volume work made up of matching parts – can also refer to artwork), so don’t send me spoilers, but so far these are really great time travel stories.
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