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kpfeifle's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
One of the better 50's pulp science fiction books.
ennakym's review against another edition
It just didn’t hold my attention. Too many male characters, possibly.
aranafyre's review
4.0
Time Traders:
Interesting book. I loved the concepts and ideas behind the story but the overall feel of the plot was disjointed.
Ross Murdock is a man who is constantly getting into and usually out of trouble with the law until this one judge gives him a choice. Ross chooses the secret government program. I really enjoyed Ross's perspective on the world in general but thought it could be better expressed. His training and getting to know Ashe was jumpy and undeveloped as well.
I loved the time travel parts. I really enjoyed the part anthropologist, actor, survivalist, explorer, and researcher roles Ashe and Ross took on. There were a lot of capture/escape parts that I agree with others may have made this a better game than book but they were enjoyable to read for the most part. There was a weird spot where Ross forgets he is not from the past that didn't flow well with his character.
I was surprised at how well it stood up once I saw it was published in 1958 even though I was reading the 2000 revised edition. Even with those small changes (for example Norton changed the Reds to the Russians) there is one spot were Ross tunes alien technology like a TV. Also there were literally no female characters at all. That was okay I terms of the story and then I didn't have to feel annoyed at 1950's gender dynamics being obvious in this story.
Galactic Derelict:
This is the second book in the Time Traders series and it was much better than the first book. For one, the narrator shifts from Ross to a new character Travis Fox. Fox is an Apache rancher wandering through an unused area of the ranch on a feeling when he stumbles upon the time traders group. I enjoyed his narration better. His introduction to the group felt rushed but flowed much better.
This story has a bit of time travel but a large chunk is the group accidentally become stuck on a space voyage. The different world they see were intriguing. The home planet of the collapsed empire was fascinating. I loved the challenge of using human anthropology skills on an alien race that is no longer there. I wish there had been more exploration but I loved the fact that they left that world with more questions than answers. The mysteries of a race were not easily explain away and they didn't magically learn the alien language.
Interesting book. I loved the concepts and ideas behind the story but the overall feel of the plot was disjointed.
Ross Murdock is a man who is constantly getting into and usually out of trouble with the law until this one judge gives him a choice. Ross chooses the secret government program. I really enjoyed Ross's perspective on the world in general but thought it could be better expressed. His training and getting to know Ashe was jumpy and undeveloped as well.
I loved the time travel parts. I really enjoyed the part anthropologist, actor, survivalist, explorer, and researcher roles Ashe and Ross took on. There were a lot of capture/escape parts that I agree with others may have made this a better game than book but they were enjoyable to read for the most part. There was a weird spot where Ross forgets he is not from the past that didn't flow well with his character.
I was surprised at how well it stood up once I saw it was published in 1958 even though I was reading the 2000 revised edition. Even with those small changes (for example Norton changed the Reds to the Russians) there is one spot were Ross tunes alien technology like a TV. Also there were literally no female characters at all. That was okay I terms of the story and then I didn't have to feel annoyed at 1950's gender dynamics being obvious in this story.
Galactic Derelict:
This is the second book in the Time Traders series and it was much better than the first book. For one, the narrator shifts from Ross to a new character Travis Fox. Fox is an Apache rancher wandering through an unused area of the ranch on a feeling when he stumbles upon the time traders group. I enjoyed his narration better. His introduction to the group felt rushed but flowed much better.
This story has a bit of time travel but a large chunk is the group accidentally become stuck on a space voyage. The different world they see were intriguing. The home planet of the collapsed empire was fascinating. I loved the challenge of using human anthropology skills on an alien race that is no longer there. I wish there had been more exploration but I loved the fact that they left that world with more questions than answers. The mysteries of a race were not easily explain away and they didn't magically learn the alien language.
tallyhotel's review against another edition
3.0
This one took me a bit. I read the first 38% in a rush, it went by so quickly. Then I got distracted, and found that I wasn't really interested in finishing it. It sat. Then, a few days ago, I had a convo with a co-worker about this book. He really liked it, and had read the next book in the series. Well, then! Finish it, I must! So, I picked it up and pushed it through. The first percent or two back into it was difficult and slow. Then I finally got back into it and managed to fly through the rest.
I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. I'm amazed at the way it stands up to time, although there was the unfortunate comment that dated it, about not achieving space travel.
I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. I'm amazed at the way it stands up to time, although there was the unfortunate comment that dated it, about not achieving space travel.
jonathanpalfrey's review against another edition
2.0
The story is competently told, in that it kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next. However, in retrospect, it leaves me unsatisfied because the story as a whole is not particularly plausible or interesting. Reading it passed the time, but left me wondering whether my journey had been at all worthwhile.
Characterization is rather uninteresting and lacking in variety. Although the author's a woman, women hardly appear in it; perhaps partly because of the parameters of the story, and partly because of the tastes of readers at the time.
If you decide to read sf of the 1950s, you shouldn't expect much of the writing style. The writing here sometimes seems a bit clunky, but mostly I suppose it's no worse than many other tales of that period.
I first read it 5 years ago, and read it again now (2021) because I'd forgotten everything about it, so I felt I was reading it for the first time, again. At least for me, it's unmemorable.
Characterization is rather uninteresting and lacking in variety. Although the author's a woman, women hardly appear in it; perhaps partly because of the parameters of the story, and partly because of the tastes of readers at the time.
If you decide to read sf of the 1950s, you shouldn't expect much of the writing style. The writing here sometimes seems a bit clunky, but mostly I suppose it's no worse than many other tales of that period.
I first read it 5 years ago, and read it again now (2021) because I'd forgotten everything about it, so I felt I was reading it for the first time, again. At least for me, it's unmemorable.
heregrim's review against another edition
2.0
Time Traders felt chunky, like there was a lot going on outside the scope of the main character that always just managed to save him. It was the always that annoyed me. Still the historical depth struck me and I found I enjoyed the history while not particularly caring for the characters and story. Onto Galactic Derelict which if chapter 1 is any indication the same outside force will be saving Travis...
Galactic Derelict did have the same blind luck saving everything. Still the alien worlds and the exploration was a much better story even if it didn't have the historical strength that saved the first one.
Galactic Derelict did have the same blind luck saving everything. Still the alien worlds and the exploration was a much better story even if it didn't have the historical strength that saved the first one.
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
4.5
Rating: 4.5 stars
Yes, I picked up this book based purely on premise. What can I say, most things involving the words "time travel" are like a siren's song to me. And I seem to have had good fortune with this picking-it-up-because-time-travel recently, because The Time Traders was awesome!
Basically, it is about Ross Murdock, a felon with a criminal record, who "volunteers" for Operation Retrograde, a covert government operation. You can guess what this operation involves: time travel. The Soviets have snuck into an uncharted period of history and, using some outdated technology, created formidable new weaponry. At first unwillingly, but with growing determination, Murdock joins the team engaged in this timey-wimey Cold War conflict.
Now from that description you probably assume it was written in the past 20 years or so. Nope, far from it. This book is the most sneaky classic I have ever read - it was published in 1958! Honestly, I read through all 500 of those pages without even the slightest clue. "Intro to classics" is written all over this book. It should be its tagline: The Time Traders: Read This If You Thought Classics Were Impossible To Understand. No classic author I have read has ever come as close to modern prose as Andre Norton did. And that's not to say either old- nor new-style prose is bad, just that I get how Tolkien's writing can take a bit of getting used to, and some people are reluctant to touch him or his peers with a ten foot pole. But The Time Traders was published literally four years after The Lord of the Rings, and yet it feels more like four decades.
So get ready. As many Time Traders books I can get my hands on, I will be reading.
Yes, I picked up this book based purely on premise. What can I say, most things involving the words "time travel" are like a siren's song to me. And I seem to have had good fortune with this picking-it-up-because-time-travel recently, because The Time Traders was awesome!
Basically, it is about Ross Murdock, a felon with a criminal record, who "volunteers" for Operation Retrograde, a covert government operation. You can guess what this operation involves: time travel. The Soviets have snuck into an uncharted period of history and, using some outdated technology, created formidable new weaponry. At first unwillingly, but with growing determination, Murdock joins the team engaged in this timey-wimey Cold War conflict.
Now from that description you probably assume it was written in the past 20 years or so. Nope, far from it. This book is the most sneaky classic I have ever read - it was published in 1958! Honestly, I read through all 500 of those pages without even the slightest clue. "Intro to classics" is written all over this book. It should be its tagline: The Time Traders: Read This If You Thought Classics Were Impossible To Understand. No classic author I have read has ever come as close to modern prose as Andre Norton did. And that's not to say either old- nor new-style prose is bad, just that I get how Tolkien's writing can take a bit of getting used to, and some people are reluctant to touch him or his peers with a ten foot pole. But The Time Traders was published literally four years after The Lord of the Rings, and yet it feels more like four decades.
So get ready. As many Time Traders books I can get my hands on, I will be reading.
itabar's review against another edition
4.0
Read this years ago and just finished listening to the audio.
Wow! This book has held up amazingly well! Good paced plotting, interesting characters.
Wow! This book has held up amazingly well! Good paced plotting, interesting characters.
lapingveno's review against another edition
2.0
This story overstayed its welcome; I can't imagine ever having the stamina to survive the rest of the (7-book!) series.
The whole thing felt like a drunken, rambling game of adventure sci-fi bingo. Free Space, Time Travel, Communist spies, Bronze Age civilization, Aliens. Bingo!
I'm a fan of cheese, but apparently even I have a limit.
The whole thing felt like a drunken, rambling game of adventure sci-fi bingo. Free Space, Time Travel, Communist spies, Bronze Age civilization, Aliens. Bingo!
I'm a fan of cheese, but apparently even I have a limit.