Time fractures. Morality blurs. Identity is no longer fixed. What would you sacrifice to save a future that has already fallen?
Welcome to the official Reading Group & Book Club Guide for The Ends of Time by R. Morello.
This guide offers thought provoking themes, discussion prompts, character explorations, and creative activities to help deepen your club’s experience of the novella, whether reading in person, online, or asynchronously.
The Ends of Time is a high intensity, emotionally driven dystopian sci-fi thriller that follows Gary, a rebel fighter flung backward through a damaged time portal. Trapped in a brutal authoritarian future where the past has become a weapon, Gary must outmaneuver a totalitarian regime, save a boy he never meant to involve, and confront the younger version of himself.
Themes include:
Time manipulation and fate
Moral choices under extreme pressure
Identity and self reconciliation
Resistance vs. survival
The ethics of changing history
Gary meets his younger self, forcing a confrontation not just with memory, but possibility.
How do we change across years, and how much of our future self is already inside us?
The novella asks: If the future is broken, who has the right to fix it?
Is altering the past a moral obligation or a catastrophic overreach?
Gary and Josh’s friendship grounds the novella emotionally.
How far should loyalty carry in a collapsing world?
Ben’s innocence contrasts sharply with the violence around him.
What does it mean to protect childhood when the world itself is unsafe?
Dictator Thayne frames control as necessity.
What parallels do you see in history or modern society?
When timelines splinter, what choices are truly ours?
These questions are suitable for groups that have finished the book. Spoilers are avoided where possible.
Gary (The Stranger) behaves like a man worn down by years of loss, yet he repeatedly chooses compassion in moments of danger.
What does this say about his core nature?
Young Gary reacts to his older self with disbelief, fear, and conflict.
How would you react if confronted with your future self?
Josh provides humor even in life or death situations.
How does comic relief function in dystopian fiction? What purpose does Josh serve beyond comedy?
Ben’s trust in Gary is fragile but real.
What does their evolving dynamic say about found family?
Captain Beel is torn between orders and conscience.
Do you view him as a villain, a victim, or something in between?
Dictator Thayne believes himself to be the stabilizing force of civilization.
How do real world regimes justify similar actions?
The government uses time travel not for exploration, but for control.
Is technology inherently neutral, or does it inevitably reflect the values of its creators?
What ethical lines are crossed when a regime manipulates its own ancestry?
How does the book explore the idea of multiple versions of self, not just physically, but emotionally and morally?
Discuss how the novella blends high stakes action with intimate personal struggle.
Which element impacted you more?
What does the story suggest about the fragility of civilization?
Is the ending hopeful, tragic, ambiguous, or something more complex?
The pacing often shifts rapidly from intense action sequences to quiet moral debates.
How does this reflect Gary’s mental state?
Did the nonlinear sense of time enhance your understanding of the story’s stakes, or make them more disorienting (intentionally or not)?
How did the book challenge your expectations of dystopian or sci-fi tropes?
If The Ends of Time were adapted into a movie or streaming series, who would you cast as:
Gary / The Stranger
Young Gary
Josh
Ben
Captain Beel
Dictator Thayne
What tone should the adaptation take, gritty realism, neon-dystopian, retro-futuristic?
Ask readers to sketch what they think the “master timeline” looks like.
Where does it break?
Where might it be repaired?
This is fun because interpretive variations reveal how differently readers imagine the chronology.
Moral Dilemmas Roundtable
Present these prompts and let the group vote:
Would you change the past if it endangered your own future self?
Should innocent people be moved through time for “strategic” purposes?
Is one life worth risking a future civilization?
Choose a high stakes moment and rewrite it from:
Ben’s terrified perspective
Josh’s sarcastic internal monologue
Captain Beel’s conflicted viewpoint
A Planetary Police robot’s mechanical logic
This builds insight into both character and structure.
These prompts are ideal for Q&A events, blog tours, or virtual book clubs.
What inspired the world building of a future ruled by ancestors?
How did the idea of “meeting yourself” reshape the narrative?
Which character changed the most during the writing process?
What themes or questions do you hope linger with readers?
How does this book connect to your broader literary universe?
What emotional reaction did The Ends of Time leave you with?
Which character’s journey resonated the most and why?
What do you think happens after the final page?
How would you describe the book in one sentence to someone considering reading it?
