There Will Be Time

The final book in the time travel series for February is Poul Anderson's There will Be Time . This book did not make the 23 Best Time Travel Sci-fi book list that I've been using, off and on. 23 seemed like a very strange number, so I added a few to my own list. I had chosen There will Be Time because another of Anderson's time travel books did make the list - Tau Zero .

One of the more unusual twists in the novel is that the protagonist, Jack Havig is able to travel through time, not by use of a machine or device, but due to his having a genetic mutation that allows him to move through time.

As a time travel novel, the book is about average.....not especially good, nor especially bad. I'd rate it on a par with The Anubis Gates ; not the best I've ever read, although it is much better than either The Thief of Time or Time Enough For Love .

Jack Havig travels thru the past, present and future. However, after 70% of the story, he leaves Earth, never to return and the story continues with the non-time traveling Maurai Foundation. I really couldn't get into this last 30%. I found the whole Maurai Foundation story boring. I would have preferred that Anderson left the Maurai out of this novel altogether. 

My time travel series for March will begin with Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife . This story also deals with a man who travels through time due to a genetic disorder. My next post will feature the entire list for February.

The Thief of Time

Continuing along the time travel route, I've come to Terry Pratchett's The Thief of Time. As usual, I looked for a copy of the book's cover to go along with the blog post for the novel. I know that one can't always judge a book by the cover, but I should have known by this cover that this book was not for me.

I really could not get into this book. The story rambled on and on and on.....but going nowhere. It all seemed so very pointless to me. I couldn't make it through 30% of the ebook before I put it down to go on to something different. I've too many books on my list to drudge on through a book I can't enjoy.

I'm giving this one a rating of 0 out of 5 stars.....even lower than Time Enough For Love ,which I hated.

The Time Ships

Stephen Baxter's The Time Ships is a sequel to H.G. Wells' The Time Machine , officially authorized by the Wells estate to mark the centennial of the classic novel's publication. I've no information as to the how or why of their decision, but the Wells estate could not have made a better choice.

Baxter's novel is absolutely wonderful.

Baxter managed to write the novel from the prospective of a Victorian writer. I could feel Wells' spirit guiding his writing style. Baxter picked up the story where Wells stopped and he took the story to amazing heights. The novel is full of surprise twists and turns......going places where I never could have imagined.

One of the minor flaws in the original story was the lack of understanding on Wells' part of the various paradoxes brought about by time travel. Baxter takes care of that.

Of course, one of the advantages Baxter had over H.G.Wells is the advancement of scientific knowledge since the Victorian era. The Time Machine was written well before the work of Albert Einstein, and the later understanding of the science of Quantum Mechanics and String Theory.

I highly recommend that anyone thinking of reading this great Sci-fi novel read (or reread) The Time Machine before hand.

I'm giving The Time Ships a rating of 5 stars out of 5.

A Volkswagen Update

This afternoon I went with 3 American friends to have lunch at Cubiertos Restaurant in Sibulan. It was the first time I had visited this particular restaurant in quite some time......it's probably been more than a year.

Something new has been added.

My regular readers know that whenever I come upon a VW Beetle in the area, I will photograph said Beetle and post the photos to my blog. (now "blogs"). In Oct. 2018 I took photos of a VW parked at Cubiertos Restaurant that was basically serving as a large flower pot. One of the photos from that time is posted below.

 

Today, I find that that VW has been updated. Looking closely at the body, I'm sure it is the same VW....only now it's painted yellow and is no longer holding flowers.

I've no idea why the change was made. I'm simply reporting it.