Aliens highway time travel parallel dimensions and a burning woman...

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This was a book i read a few years ago, but forgot its name and author. It was about some aliens teaching humans some skills in a post apocalyptic earth poisoned by radiation with only the highways still standing. The heroine steals a device and travels to the past. Bit vague about it, but the hero is someone who is connected to his selves in multiple parallel dimensions. the burning woman part is an illusion caused by asynchrony between the heroines time frame and that of the world around her when the hero first sees her. It would be much appreciated if anyone can remember this book. Thanks in advance.

 

[apple_med]

some more details.. I remember that the only things left of the past are the great highways.The humans of the future can 'see' radioactive areas and avoid them.They are living a sort of hunter-gatherer life. There are some aliens and an alien ship. The benevolent aliens are teaching the post apocalypse human survivors. The heroine is one of their favourite students.
But she sets off into the past against the aliens orders to try and prevent the apocalypse after stealing an alien device. The heroine's mother is sent back in time with a futuristic device (grenade like??) to stop her.
Meanwhile the hero - current time - has some sort of link with his corresponding selves in multiple parallel worlds.
Somewhere towards the middle of the book there is a scene where the heroine is accosted by her mother. She throws the device meant to kill her but the hero catches it instead. The device does not destroy him but instead fuses his personalities from across the parallel worlds.
The hero is blinded as a result of the explosion, but can sense his surroundings due to his newly acquired superpowers. I don't remember if they stopped the apocalypse or not. Does this ring any bells for you?

 

[beenorthern]

This is *The Armageddon Blues* by Daniel Keys Moran.

 

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Thank you!! I had almost given up hope of ever finding this one. You, sir, are spot on! I'm off to finally scratch that itch.Yay!