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Title: Time's Eye (A Time Odyssey, Book 1) by ARTHUR C. CLARKE, STEPHEN BAXTER ISBN: 0-345-45248-8 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 13 January, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.89 (19 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Great idea, so-so execution
Comment: This novel mixes themes from both Clarke's and Baxter's prior work - ancient intelligences, harvesting mind, pre-humans. The device in this novel is the creation of an earth composed of a patchwork of different timelines spanning 2 million years of history, culminating in 2037.
This sets up a world that allows exploration of the novelty of intersecting pieces from different timelines. The main plot centers around the events that lead to a battle between the armies Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan, aided by a small group of 21st century people and a contingent of a 19th century British army.
The main characters were well drawn, and I was felt that this world was real and interesting, mainly from the little details that are Baxter's trademark, especially the sense of smell.
Despite my being a huge Clarke and Baxter fan, I came away feeling this was not the best collaboration, certainly weaker than the "light of other days", and the ending had a definite Deux ex Machina problem. Baxter seems to be writing so much these days that maybe he is being stretched a little thin.
Overall this is an interesting read, but not up to the best that either author has written, with regards to theme and content.
(I used to be a little cynical that Baxter collaborated with Clarke to get a career boost from such a distinguished author. But his talent as an author is now so obvious that I have to wonder whether it isn't Clarke who is getting most of the benefit now.)
Rating: 4
Summary: Seems as though some pages were lost....
Comment: I read books and see movies to be entertained, and so I'm pretty willing to forgive that which strains credibility or which has been seen or written before as long as it's interesting. For the most part, "Time's Eye" delivers. Yes, there's a lot of copying from past ideas (another series of novels which hasn't yet been mentioned in the "pirated from" category is Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series, which was similar in feel at times). However, it's still an entertaining read.
I do have some issues with it, however. Ironically - or perhaps appropriately - it would seem as though paragraphs, pages, and perhaps even entire chapters were lost on their way to the printer. For example, at the top of page 183 [hardcover first printing], there's talk of leaving markers for another party, but there seems to be knowledge about that party - in particular, someone no longer being a part of it - that, as far as I remember, isn't something that should be known. Was there a paragraph somewhere in which the two parties communicated? If so, I must have missed it.
Also, while some of the character development is very well executed, other characters - in particular Sable, one of the cosmonauts - are given large parts without much development or motivation for their actions. While I understand that not all characters can be fully developed, I'd at least like a decent explanation for why major characters might do seemingly extreme things that would appear to be out of (expected) character.
Finally, the final meeting of the armies (mentioned on the cover, so no extra spoiler here) is very well discussed, with lots of detail, up until... the end. As in, "um, is it over now?". Seems like another chapter was left out here. Sort of like watching Star Wars (which, I'd imagine, anyone reading these reviews has seen), getting to the point where Darth Vader has started shooting at Luke's X-wing, and then cutting to the awards ceremony at the end, maybe with one of the characters saying "well, now, isn't it great that we destroyed the Death Star?". Seems to me like, between the two authors, someone might have written at least a page or two more, especially given that there was so much detail up to that point.
And, yes, the ending is weak, but that's expected in a series.
On the PLUS side, however, the historical perspective is very well done and makes me feel like I'm there. The scenery is painted with a fine brush (but only the foreground - the background is like a blurry matte painting). Character interactions (for the "good" guys) are entertaining. There isn't too much science (I love science, I'm a technical person, etc., but I hate having it shoved at me in a book because then I feel the need to analyze it). The superstrings explanation of things is good enough and vague enough that I don't try to pick it apart. The consequences of piecing together parts of Earth from different times - strange weather, etc. - are well described.
All in all, I was very entertained, and, since that's why I read books, it worked for me. After finishing (a few hours ago), though, I'm left wondering if perhaps a dozen or so pages, in the right places, might have made it a much better read. I do look forward to the sequels. I hope they're a bit more solid. I understand that, in a series, the first book can't answer all questions. But, in this one, some things were left undescribed that, as far as I can tell, SHOULD have been described/explained in that they don't seem to be something to leave for sequels. To go back to the Star Wars analogy, it's OK to leave Darth Vader spinning out of control and out of the picture - will he be back? - but you sort of need to see the Death Star explode. It's something which the first movie SHOULD show. Likewise, in this book, some things weren't explained well enough.
The CD seems to be very interesting, but honestly I haven't looked at it yet.
Fundamentally, this is a good read and one which goes down gently. Yes, there are issues with it, but it's still worth reading unless you are opposed to hearing about ancient armies and their practices and hygiene. Otherwise, it's a fun ride.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Mixup of Time
Comment: Time's Eye is the first novel in A Time Odyssey series. In the North-west Frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan, four groups find themselves separated from their own times. Moreover, silvery globes fixed in mid air are scattered throughout the landscape, apparently observing local activity.
In this novel, a UN surveillance helicopter in 2037 is fired upon by a Pastun adolescent, damaging the tail rotor. The pilot, Casey Othic, breaks his leg in the emergency landing, but the co-pilot, Abdikadir Omar, and the observer, Biseasa Dutt, are not injured. All the fluttering and smoke attract the attention of nearby soldiers, who think the contraption is a Russian machine.
The soldiers are Tommies and sepoy troops from Jamrud, a fort in the English Raj of 1885. Included among them are two correspondents, the Anglo-Indian Ruddy and the American Josh White. They surround the smoking machine and order the occupants to surrender their weapons and exit the device. They have to help extricate Casey from the distorted frame.
A British patrol also finds a pair of "man-apes" wandering the plains. The mother and child look very much like chimpanzees, but they have longer legs and a truly upright posture. The helicopter crew decide that they are australopithecines from at least two million years in the past.
In low earth orbit, a Soyuz re-entry vehicle from 2037 is lost in time after launching from the International Space Station on a routine crew rotation. Musa, Kolya and Sable use their instruments to scan the planet, but can find only a few locations with signs of large populations. The capsule communications gear cannot detect any radio sources, but Sable uses a discarded amateur rig to locate two sources, one of which is the UN helicopter radio.
In this story, the UN personnel share information with the Soyuz crew and determine that they are stranded in the thirteenth century. The British capture some scouts from an army translocated from 326 BC and send Biseasa and Abdikadir with some of the Raj troopers to make contact. The Soyuz crew land and find themselves among a Mongolian empire.
This story is a well crafted tale of time dysfunctions and mixed histories, much like Dickson's Time Storm, but with a static timescape. It is also much like Stirling's Island in Time novels or Flint's Grantville series on a grander scale. However, it adds the omnipresent silvery spheres, which Biseasa senses are observation devices. She has gained an impression of a very old species, maybe from the earliest formed stars, which she names the Firstborn. Apparently these aliens have caused the time dysfunctions or, at least, are busily observing the phenomenon.
Despite the hype, this novel does not present any new notions. Unlike Clarke's The Other Side of the Sky, it does not set a new standard for SF works. The only high-tech idea is the use of superstring theory to (vaguely) explain the time dysfunctions.
The story does have a lot of name dropping, from Rudyard Kipling to Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great, and even more use of famous locales. The Kipling inclusion is probably a tribute to a fellow SF writer, but the other contrived coincidences are rather tacky. Nonetheless, the story is well written and entertaining, the best joint work produced by these authors to date.
Recommended for Clarke and Baxter fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of alternate history and castaways in time.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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Title: Coalescent by STEPHEN BAXTER ISBN: 0345457854 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 02 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Beyond Infinity by Gregory Benford ISBN: 044653059X Publisher: Aspect Pub. Date: 18 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter ISBN: 0312871996 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: March, 2000 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Omega by Jack McDevitt ISBN: 0441010466 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 04 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: Hybrids by Robert J. Sawyer ISBN: 0312876904 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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