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jetia13's review against another edition
4.0
not as good as the first, but always fun to go back to hang out with characters you used to know
jeffmauch's review against another edition
2.0
While I found the first book in the Time series enchanting and incredibly absorbing, this one was drawn out, boring at times, and long winded. The author does a good job of setting the stage of a given time period, but get overzealous with the unnecessary details. It almost like he's trying to show off the knowledge he's gain researching a historically accurate New York of the past, so much that he goes for pages and pages on things not relevant to the story or characters at all. I'm a little bummed at what this book became. There was a great direction that could of been taken hete, but instead the author chose to write an ode to a time period rather than tell the story we were waiting to hear.
jrc2011's review against another edition
2.0
Twenty five years later - the author, now in his 80s - decides to write a sequel. Why? I confess, I am still curious about the mechanism that they use for time travel. And, of course, the protagonist did change history so what happened to "The Project?"
Without too much retelling of backstory - the author much more clearly articulates the mechanism for time travel this time:
"...find a place that exists in both times unchanged; “Gateways,” he called them. And live in that place which also exists in the time you want to reach—dressing, eating, and thinking the way they did—and presently the ties holding you to the present will relax. Then blank out even the knowledge of these ties through self-hypnosis. And let your knowledge of the time you want to reach come flooding up in your mind. And there—in a Gateway existing in both times—you may, you just may make the transition."
However, by this point the protagonist has figured out other potential gateway locations and is able to just think himself around to different points of time.
Meanwhile, back in the 1970s, there's a team of researchers trying to make sense of historical anomalies -- for example, a world where WWI never happened (and by extension, perhaps WWII but we don't go so far as to talk about killing Hitler).
I'm not quite sure HOW anyone could remember the parallel timelines -- or the possible outcomes -- when our protagonist's interference nullified the birth of the director of the Project. So, how is it that different participants in the Project are now starting to have memories? And how on earth does one of the other time travelers actually stop Simon from changing that event?
It seems like he is tracked down, beaten and then in his mind recalls that event and was too late to stop meeting of the director's parents. That part confused me. And, of course - once they met and history resumed the original course, we go back to Ruben et. al. in "present day" about 4-5 years after the first story. It made no sense to me after several re-readings.
While a bit lessened, it seems the author can't resist his innate sexism and racism. In describing the name of his dog, inserts random comment: "Big black dogs, I’m afraid, are often Nig." And there are an equal number of uses of "girl/s" as "women/woman" -- which is even justified in text, noting that "girl" is not equating women to children, "The English language is hardworking; the meaning of a word can vary by context. And to compare using “girl” for “young woman” with the Southern use of “boy” for a black man is thoughtless, and just plain dumb." Oh, good - we're not being racist just sexist, thanks for clearing that up.
The Bechdel Test failure is ongoing -- Julia and the Jotta Girl being the primary female characters. The protagonist can't even refer to Helen by her name just by "Jotta Girl" from a childhood memory of poorly pronounced song lyric. And then there's ongoing gratuitous objectification of women:
"a pair of more than usually nice-looking young women walked by, glancing over at us, then walking on with just a tiny bit of extra hip-sway, maybe three eighths of an inch. Rube said, “Those are called girls, I think. Or used to be."
Much of the book consists opportunities for the author to wander off and indulge in relatively unimportant period fantasies that are orthogonal to the plot -- like the hyper-fetishistic focus on clothing and "set pieces" around airplanes, vaudeville and the Titanic. I don't even live in New York and could tell you that a building that looked like the prow of a ship would likely be the triangular Flatiron building (you don't need to get in a "hydro plane" to see that).
Now that we don't need elaborate gateways -- I need to be reminded why the protagonist, or even "Jotta Girl" are able to travel in time. What makes them different or special? We certainly don't get a sense of "Jotta Girl" as a special person because she's barely one dimensional.
I recommend "Kindred" for a really good, short time travel story -- it provides rich depth of characters, motive and substantial period description without being a whitewashed homage to "good ole days."
Without too much retelling of backstory - the author much more clearly articulates the mechanism for time travel this time:
"...find a place that exists in both times unchanged; “Gateways,” he called them. And live in that place which also exists in the time you want to reach—dressing, eating, and thinking the way they did—and presently the ties holding you to the present will relax. Then blank out even the knowledge of these ties through self-hypnosis. And let your knowledge of the time you want to reach come flooding up in your mind. And there—in a Gateway existing in both times—you may, you just may make the transition."
However, by this point the protagonist has figured out other potential gateway locations and is able to just think himself around to different points of time.
Meanwhile, back in the 1970s, there's a team of researchers trying to make sense of historical anomalies -- for example, a world where WWI never happened (and by extension, perhaps WWII but we don't go so far as to talk about killing Hitler).
I'm not quite sure HOW anyone could remember the parallel timelines -- or the possible outcomes -- when our protagonist's interference nullified the birth of the director of the Project. So, how is it that different participants in the Project are now starting to have memories? And how on earth does one of the other time travelers actually stop Simon from changing that event?
It seems like he is tracked down, beaten and then in his mind recalls that event and was too late to stop meeting of the director's parents. That part confused me. And, of course - once they met and history resumed the original course, we go back to Ruben et. al. in "present day" about 4-5 years after the first story. It made no sense to me after several re-readings.
While a bit lessened, it seems the author can't resist his innate sexism and racism. In describing the name of his dog, inserts random comment: "Big black dogs, I’m afraid, are often Nig." And there are an equal number of uses of "girl/s" as "women/woman" -- which is even justified in text, noting that "girl" is not equating women to children, "The English language is hardworking; the meaning of a word can vary by context. And to compare using “girl” for “young woman” with the Southern use of “boy” for a black man is thoughtless, and just plain dumb." Oh, good - we're not being racist just sexist, thanks for clearing that up.
The Bechdel Test failure is ongoing -- Julia and the Jotta Girl being the primary female characters. The protagonist can't even refer to Helen by her name just by "Jotta Girl" from a childhood memory of poorly pronounced song lyric. And then there's ongoing gratuitous objectification of women:
"a pair of more than usually nice-looking young women walked by, glancing over at us, then walking on with just a tiny bit of extra hip-sway, maybe three eighths of an inch. Rube said, “Those are called girls, I think. Or used to be."
Much of the book consists opportunities for the author to wander off and indulge in relatively unimportant period fantasies that are orthogonal to the plot -- like the hyper-fetishistic focus on clothing and "set pieces" around airplanes, vaudeville and the Titanic. I don't even live in New York and could tell you that a building that looked like the prow of a ship would likely be the triangular Flatiron building (you don't need to get in a "hydro plane" to see that).
Now that we don't need elaborate gateways -- I need to be reminded why the protagonist, or even "Jotta Girl" are able to travel in time. What makes them different or special? We certainly don't get a sense of "Jotta Girl" as a special person because she's barely one dimensional.
I recommend "Kindred" for a really good, short time travel story -- it provides rich depth of characters, motive and substantial period description without being a whitewashed homage to "good ole days."
epl's review against another edition
2.0
Extremely boring and drawn out. Felt like Finney was forced to write a sequel and had a word minimum to reach. Entire chapters dedicated to Si Morley just roaming the streets of New York and describing how they looked in 1912. Felt like this was just a vehicle to show some old photos of New York.
The plot was semi-decent, but the pacing was so off that the ending felt rushed while the first 75% was a drag.
Definitely did not capture the magic of the first book.
The plot was semi-decent, but the pacing was so off that the ending felt rushed while the first 75% was a drag.
Definitely did not capture the magic of the first book.
rebeccatc's review against another edition
3.0
This was a pretty good sequel to Time and Again. The premise is pretty far fetched but if you just go with it the plot is entertaining, and I like Finney's somewhat old-fashioned writing style. The first chapter which describes people who have unexplained memories of an alternate reality -- such as the man who remembers going to see the Titanic pull into the dock in New York in 1912-- was particularly good.
tabithar's review against another edition
3.0
In this sequel, we return to the life of Si and learn life is good for him but that others have been able to remember some things he changed in time. Si winds up returning to his original time and is sucked into trying to help prevent WWI. The story seemed to struggle greatly with flow. Though the publications are separated by many years, it seems as though perhaps the author was pushed into this book. Its not terrible but not really something I'd say NEEDS to be added to anyone's to read list. Taken as a book on its own, it might be close to a 2. As part of this series, I rate it 2.5.
My advice is read the first book and be content.
My advice is read the first book and be content.
stella323's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
thomcat's review against another edition
3.0
Like the character, but the story wasn't as good this time. The poignancy of the penultimate chapter was great, but didn't fit the rest of the book somehow. The beginning, while necessary, just felt clumsy to me.
rachelp's review against another edition
4.0
This is the sequel to Time and Again. I think the first book was a little more exciting, but of course I enjoyed both the books. This time Simon Morley travels to 1912 in an attempt to discover and safeguard the path of some important papers which may prevent World War I.