A Bridge of Years [Paperback]

Robert Charles Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 6, 2011

Tom Winter thought the secluded cottage in the Pacific Northwest would be the perfect refuge—a place to nurse the wounds of lost love and happiness. But Tom soon discovers that his safe haven is the portal of a tunnel through time. At one end is the present. At the other end—New York City, 1963.

His journey back to the early 1960s seems to offer him the chance to start over in a simpler, safer world. But he finds that the tunnel holds a danger far greater than anything he left behind: a human killing machine escaped from a bleak and brutal future, who will do anything to protect the secret passage that he thought was his alone. To preserve his worlds, past and present, Tom Winter must face the terrors of an unknown world to come.

From Robert Charles Wilson, the Hugo Award-winning author of Spin, A Bridge of Years is a classic science fiction story of time-travel and human transformation.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wilson ( The Divide ) transforms a simple time travel novel into a moving reflection on love, despair and the resilience of the human spirit. Tom Winter is an alcoholic whose wife leaves him for a young environmental activist. In a desperate attempt to rebuild his life, Winter moves back to his hometown in the Pacific Northwest, into a 30-year-old house that is in incredibly good condition--although it has stood dormant for over a decade, no dust has gathered on any of the polished furniture. Winter can't believe his good luck: that is, until the cybernetic custodians of the house reveal themselves and beg for his help to repair the place, which serves as a time-bridge to New York, circa 1962. Despite the custodians' warning, Winter travels back to a New York that is still untouched by the Vietnam War, the Kennedy assassinations and AIDS. Among Greenwich Village's bohemian crowd he falls in love. Unfortunately, a murderous soldier from the future--also hiding in the past--discovers that Winter used the tunnel: the hunt leads back to the present and to an exciting, unexpected climax that proves Wilson is a magician indeed.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Returning to his hometown after a failed marriage, recovering alcoholic Tom Winter purchases a house only to discover that it connects with another time and place--and his desire to "start over" suddenly becomes a literal possibility. Wilson ( The Divide , LJ 12/89) excels at psychological suspense, as the spiritual and emotional challenges his characters face are as intense as the physical dangers. A solid addition to any sf collection.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Orb Books; Reprint edition (December 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765327422
• ISBN-13: 978-0765327420
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #585,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A More Literate Brand of SF October 31, 2009

By Russell Clothier

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Science Fiction has always been about ideas, about action and adventure - about The Story. The language used to tell the story, well, that's not as important. As long as it is not obtrusively bad, SF fans can live with workmanlike prose, if the ideas and events are interesting.

And then there is Robert Charles Wilson. Yes, he has ideas and plot twists like all SF authors. But man does he know how to WRITE! I am in awe of the subtlety and power with which he uses the English language. In a few sentences, he can evoke a sense of atmosphere or place that is deeper and clearer than any SF author I've read. His characters are complete, nuanced, flawed but endearing. His writing is lyrical, rich, even poetic. His novels are not just SF, they are literature, which is rare in the genre.

I know this review doesn't say much about the plot, which is well conceived and executed. You'll enjoy it, trust me. But the glory of a Robert Charles Wilson novel is not so much in the story as in the story-telling. I read a lot of SF, and I believe Wilson to be the finest Writer in the field. He is amazing. Prepare to be impressed.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique scifi story that succeeds as a romance as well! July 26, 2002

By AMC

Format:Paperback

Wilson is one of the today's best science fiction writers and "A Bridge of Years" is his most moving book. This story of a house that serves as a crossroad in time weaves together the unique romance of an unlikely couple, a reluctant soldier from the future and a mysterious caretaker from an enlightened era. Suspense and insight are expertly balanced in the three storylines. "A Bridge of Years" succeeds in pairing great characters with fascinating ideas and a love story that fits perfectly into the scenario. It's a great book for unlikely fans of science fiction as it offers more than just the usual revelations and situations.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Smooth read and a true pleasure July 18, 2005

By M. L. Leavitt

Format:Paperback

I enjoyed this book tremendously. The pace flowed quickly and smoothly throughout the entire book, and the conclusion, though a bit choppy, truly seemed appropriate for the situation. Thankfully, everything doesn't necessarily end on a perfect note, so I do appreciate that Wilson took the time to think about what "should" happen, rather than what everyone else would "like" to happen. There is a love story which flows in the middle of the book, but I don't think this was truly fully developed (the reason for the 4 stars). I did enjoy the technology and the frightening (and almost too-real) look at what the future holds, or may hold for us in the real world. The characters were well thought-out and though a bit hyperbolic, came across nicely. An excellent take on the future/past relationship without killing the concept. Overall, an excellent and quick read.

4.0 out of 5 stars I recommend this book April 24, 2013

By SM

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I liked this book, a lot. I would give it a five, but I don't especially like the multi-viewpoint switches. I can see why they were necessary, but generally, it seemed like Mr. Wilson did not know who had the most interesting story. So it was told from the point of view of a number of people. However, this really is a small point.

Big Dumb Objects, Time Travel, and Replicator Machines are a big part of Science Fiction. This book had two, and Mr. Wilson did it with style and a sense of mystery.

I definitely recommend the book to my friends.

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent story, but the pacing seemed a little slow April 9, 2013

By orbops

Format:Paperback

Maybe it's because the back cover mentions that Tom goes back in time to 1963, to "a simpler,safer world", but it also tries to convey that era - so the novel itself seems a little too laid back and slows the pace down. The main character Tom is fleshed out really well, but the secondary characters could use more depth. The story itself is intriguing and is a breezy read, I just wish there would have been more focus on the other characters of the story, and of the time traveling aspect.

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Wilson's best novels March 18, 2013

By Bruno Corticelli

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

For once, Wilson has managed to give his novel an intriguing and coherent ending. Wilson knows how to create characters who are true to life yet never stereotyped. The story is original and the progression of the narration is cleverly done. After Spin, this is to date my favorite novel by Wilson.

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but unexciting SF February 7, 2013

By Stelios Touchtidis

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's perhaps unfair to give this book only 3 stars. After all, it's imaginative, *very* well-written, and consistent. It presents one of the better reasoned time-travel setups that I've seen (and I've seen a lot).

But too much of it is taken up with the rather timid adventures of basically a loser character. The people in the novel, confronted by nanotechnology that basically can restore life, and with time-travel, somehow manage to care more about their everyday lives and remaining petty. In a short story I could accept that, but in a novel it really drags. The antagonist, here a cyber-symbiosis dependent future conscript, is golem-like, unlikable and also under-achieving.

If you like low-IQ people lost among marvels, this may be the one for you. For me... three stars.

3.0 out of 5 stars "A Bridge of Years" by Robert Charles Wilson January 29, 2013

By Alexandro C. Telander

Format:Paperback

Bestselling author Robert Charles Wilson's book, A Bridge of Years, recently re-released in paperback, has an interesting play on the idea of time travel, but remains true to its "rule" that there are always repercussions when one plays around with time travel, even when someone thinks they've been given a second chance.

Tom Winter has made a right old mess of things, now without a job and a wife who's left him; he's hit rock bottom. With some leftover inheritance money he buys a simple little house in the secluded Pacific Northwest, looking to just get away from things for a while, and try to figure his life out. The only problem is the simple house he bought turns out to be a prime example of real estate where everything isn't as it seems or should be. It begins minutely with his unclean plate with a few leftovers that he leaves by the sink overnight; in the morning it has been licked clean by something.

At first he thinks it's nothing, but it keeps on happening and he tries to film it but the camera mysteriously shuts off during the filming. Then there's the weird sounds he keeps hearing, like little machines zooming around his house; a flickers of minute movement out of the corner of his eye. Then in the basement he discovers an extra room that leads to a tunnel that takes him back to another time and another place: 1963, New York City.

Wilson has fun playing around with time travel in this short novel, building the mystery and setting up a far more complex story than readers will be expecting. As to the answer of what is eating the leftover food and why, it is both gruesome and shocking, but at the same time makes perfect sense.

Originally written on April 9, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.

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