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mrawdon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
chfugal's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Library ebook
Samantha recommended
I found it too convoluted,
Samantha recommended
I found it too convoluted,
jhouses's review against another edition
3.0
Los títulos de sus capítulos, tomados de los cuentos seminales del género del viaje en el tiempo, nos dan una pista de lo que vamos a encontrar: un relato de ciencia ficción clásica, en la linea de [a:Isaac Asimov|16667|Isaac Asimov|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1341965730p2/16667.jpg], [a:Arthur C. Clarke|7779|Arthur C. Clarke|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1357191481p2/7779.jpg] o [a:Robert A. Heinlein|205|Robert A. Heinlein|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1192826560p2/205.jpg] incluyendo el giro final. En ese sentido, la historia resulta un poco larga para la premisa que la sostiene y la caracterización del futuro que nos espera un poco simple para los gustos actuales. Pero se deja leer y no cae en las trampas habituales de los viajes temporales.
malus23's review against another edition
3.0
Just remembered having read this when the synopsis of another book sounded similar. Might have to see if I can find another copy somewhere, although I remember it being so very very 80's - could be painful to revisit.
mschlat's review against another edition
4.0
It's a odd duck, but it quacks quite nicely....
First off, this is a Time Travel novel (capitalization intended). We have paradox and consequences and rules and messages from the future and chronal instability and characters seeing the same events in different orders. It's more than a puzzle story, but the puzzle emphasis is huge (think Connie Willis for a more modern example).
Secondly, there is a large emphasis on mortality. Our two protagonists are Bill Smith (an employee of the NTSB) and Louise Baltimore (our time traveller). Bill is examining a crash between a DC-10 and a 747 in which everyone died. Louise travelled back in time to snatch the soon-to-be-dead passengers off the planes and help resuscitate a far future where lifespans are short and disease rampant. In short, the first third of the book has a lot of death. Nothing too gory, but directly viewed and fairly sobering.
Thirdly, we have a romance. The novel (and some of the characters) try to make it up as a "meet cute" --- the term is actually used by the book --- but our two heroes are broken people, not Hepburn and Grant. And the romance is more yearning for meaning and connection than watching sparks fly. But, it's still a romance and a pretty strong driver throughout the book.
Finally, we have an ending --- or actually, several endings --- that addresses the whole cosmic issue of playing with time. The end result is a work that totters on a knife edge between cute (puzzle aspects, romance) and meaningful. As a whole, it worked for me. I read very quickly, enjoying the plot, and I'm still pondering the book now. In some sense, it's a spiritual cousin to Heinlein's Job, which has the same strange balance of humor and cosmic perspective.
First off, this is a Time Travel novel (capitalization intended). We have paradox and consequences and rules and messages from the future and chronal instability and characters seeing the same events in different orders. It's more than a puzzle story, but the puzzle emphasis is huge (think Connie Willis for a more modern example).
Secondly, there is a large emphasis on mortality. Our two protagonists are Bill Smith (an employee of the NTSB) and Louise Baltimore (our time traveller). Bill is examining a crash between a DC-10 and a 747 in which everyone died. Louise travelled back in time to snatch the soon-to-be-dead passengers off the planes and help resuscitate a far future where lifespans are short and disease rampant. In short, the first third of the book has a lot of death. Nothing too gory, but directly viewed and fairly sobering.
Thirdly, we have a romance. The novel (and some of the characters) try to make it up as a "meet cute" --- the term is actually used by the book --- but our two heroes are broken people, not Hepburn and Grant. And the romance is more yearning for meaning and connection than watching sparks fly. But, it's still a romance and a pretty strong driver throughout the book.
Finally, we have an ending --- or actually, several endings --- that addresses the whole cosmic issue of playing with time. The end result is a work that totters on a knife edge between cute (puzzle aspects, romance) and meaningful. As a whole, it worked for me. I read very quickly, enjoying the plot, and I'm still pondering the book now. In some sense, it's a spiritual cousin to Heinlein's Job, which has the same strange balance of humor and cosmic perspective.
corymojojojo's review against another edition
4.0
4.5. This book just a bunch of fun, and a really creative take on time travel that I haven’t seen before. People from the future “snatch” people from the past who are going to die or go missing anyway—in this case a major plane crash—to use them for a certain purpose that I won’t spoil. I feel as though most time travel stories utilize the idea that time has hard and strict rules and that can make for interesting and complex consequences. Varley goes a different route and instead wrote a story where time travel is, frankly, pretty darn forgiving: the butterfly effect basically doesn’t exist. You CAN change things in the past, but only as long as it’s minor enough that time can course correct soon after. That doesn’t mean there aren’t rules and consequences though; the whole book is a fun romp in which the characters are dealing with unique time paradox scenarios. While it wasn’t the most incredible piece of writing, it was a definitive page-turner and I had a blast.
darmclough's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
furicle's review against another edition
2.0
Read this last night. It's Varley for sure - more typical than I expected. But come on - a deus ex machina named BC for an ending? Makes me wonder what else I missed on the way through (I did catch some of the chapter titles).
In the end I guess the whole universe was just too unremittingly depressing for me to like it. Not shocking repulsive, just repetitively dull and dreary, especially the ending. The light at the end of the tunnel was too small, too far away and too dim to brighten it up at all.
In the end I guess the whole universe was just too unremittingly depressing for me to like it. Not shocking repulsive, just repetitively dull and dreary, especially the ending. The light at the end of the tunnel was too small, too far away and too dim to brighten it up at all.
thomcat's review against another edition
4.0
Clever and thoughtful time travel story, with a dash of 80s style. When I first read this I didn't realize the chapter titles were related to Time Travel short stories - even though it is one of my favorite genres. I wonder if anyone has put together a collection of these notables?
This tale is mostly told from two perspectives - a current day air crash investigator and a far future rescue team leader. A few twists and a nice pace keep the novel going at a good clip. The ending, with both a culmination of action and a full explanation, felt a bit rushed.
First read more than 15 years ago (as part of a friends short-lived book club), I subsequently watched the movie. The latter had more 80s style but was not as good as the book (natch). None of our brief discussion (at the time) was captured (that I know of). A reread was the best way to write a review. Additionally, I am reading this book as part of an 80s challenge - one book per year. This follows nicely from Heinlein's [b:Friday|17208|Friday|Robert A. Heinlein|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1315410828s/17208.jpg|1415529].
This tale is mostly told from two perspectives - a current day air crash investigator and a far future rescue team leader. A few twists and a nice pace keep the novel going at a good clip. The ending, with both a culmination of action and a full explanation, felt a bit rushed.
First read more than 15 years ago (as part of a friends short-lived book club), I subsequently watched the movie. The latter had more 80s style but was not as good as the book (natch). None of our brief discussion (at the time) was captured (that I know of). A reread was the best way to write a review. Additionally, I am reading this book as part of an 80s challenge - one book per year. This follows nicely from Heinlein's [b:Friday|17208|Friday|Robert A. Heinlein|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1315410828s/17208.jpg|1415529].