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protoman21's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I'm a sucker for time travel stories so this was right up my alley. I especially enjoyed how it was just a regular guy and he reacted to the situation like a lot of people would. The end felt rushed and it left me with some unanswered questions...not sure if that was intentional or not.
rabbidtomato's review against another edition
3.0
Joe Haldeman's "The Accidental Time Machine" has a lot of parallels to the HG Wells classic. It starts out really strong, but kind of tapers off as the book goes on.
The premise of the time machine always going forward exponentially is a nice twist, each jump bringing our protagonist further and further into the future. The twist at the end concerning his old boss was a nice touch too.
That said, the most engaging parts were the discovery and first few months of the time machine. As he travels further and further into the future the tension drops dramatically and is more of a tour into the various societies of tomorrow. The underlying conflict gets passed aside, but it is interesting to see yet another view on Haldeman's future perspective.
The premise of the time machine always going forward exponentially is a nice twist, each jump bringing our protagonist further and further into the future. The twist at the end concerning his old boss was a nice touch too.
That said, the most engaging parts were the discovery and first few months of the time machine. As he travels further and further into the future the tension drops dramatically and is more of a tour into the various societies of tomorrow. The underlying conflict gets passed aside, but it is interesting to see yet another view on Haldeman's future perspective.
songwind's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a good read. The pacing and characterization were enjoyable. Nevertheless, there were some problems with it.
It was a "time travelogue." The main character went skipping through the time stream, stopping here and there to experience the earth at that time. There is nothing particularly wrong with that, but it was less satisfying than a book based on a specific goal or plot.
The mechanism behind the time machine was also less than satisfactory to me.
It was a "time travelogue." The main character went skipping through the time stream, stopping here and there to experience the earth at that time. There is nothing particularly wrong with that, but it was less satisfying than a book based on a specific goal or plot.
The mechanism behind the time machine was also less than satisfactory to me.
athnyx230's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
benderrodriguez's review against another edition
3.0
Charming little book. Had quite a charged excitement early on but there isn't really much of a quest, rather a curiosity of the unknown which makes you start to lose interest until another relatively prominant character pops up. Definitely not up to scratch compared to his other War and Peace works.
rpych2's review
4.0
This was a fun read. It was very interesting to see so many different time jumps and see so many different versions of the same exact place and how the main character deals with them. That’s what I love most about time travel I think, the different settings and how the main characters fit in and deal with a completely new place. And the paradoxes, you’ve gotta love paradoxes, especially those that work themselves out.
humanignorance's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. The narration of the book was informal but engaging. The characters were well-developed, and the different time periods they found themselves in were insightful commentaries on human societies, in addition to giving the characters interesting situations to react to. As is typical of time travel novels, not everything seemed internally consistent, and upon finishing I was left with quite a few annoying questions.
tani's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this more than I did. I thought Haldeman did a good job keeping the action going, and I liked some of the social commentary, but I didn't really care for the characters.