Customer Reviews

The Dechronization of Sam Magruder: A Novel

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The Dechronization of Sam Magruder is an intriguing story of science and adventure. It is about a scientist who constructs a time machine, is accidentally transported to the dinosaur age and is, as you may have guessed, unable to return. The story is an account of this journey through his eyes and the eyes of the future...

An excellent book, even though it has its flowing horribly compromised by old-fashioned theories (e.g. Simpson says dinosaurs are cold-blooded), for it was written on the last decade. I'd give two reasons for you to read it : the explanations concerning chronology (a future discipline) are very neat; and it has a highly philosophical content. Stephen Gould's posface is nearly undispensable while understanding the text.

Worht reading; specially for fans of the so-called "hard SF"...

This slim novella, by the late and distinguished paleontologist, was
found in his papers after his death. It's just so-so as fiction, in my
opinion, but the book is worth your attention for the two elegant essays
included. The first, by Arthur C. Clarke, outlines the history of time-travel
stories, and includes more recommendations for classic dinosaur tales.
Sir Arthur notes, with admirable succintness, that "the most convincing
argument against [real] time travel is the remarkable scarcity of [real]
time travellers."

Stephen Jay Gould was a student of Simpson's, and contributes a
graceful and elegaic essay on Simpson's novella, career and life --
which, I must say, I enjoyed more than the story. An exceptional
piece, not to be missed if you have any interest in Gould or Simpson.

Simpson's novella does have its charms -- it has a nice mock-
Victorian club-story opening, not unlike Clarke's Tales from the
White Hart, and is oddly compelling despite the amateurish writing.
Sam Magruder, a chronologist in 2162, is accidentally "dechronized"
into the late Cretaceous, with no possibility of rescue, and spends the
rest of his life evading, eating and studying dinosaurs. It's certainly
not "the best time travel story since HG Wells" as the cover blurb
avers, but it's worth a look. Sadly, the story's paleontology is
now quite out of date.

Peter D. Tillman
Consulting Geologist, Tucson & Santa Fe (USA)
(Review first published in the Arizona Geological Society newsletter, 1-02)

In the year 2162, the eminent chronologist Sam Magruder mysteriously disappeared while running an experiment. Some years later, while arguing about the possibility of being totally alone, the evidence is produced that Sam Magruder did not die in 2162, but was transported back in time some 80 million years! Engraved upon sandstone slabs, found in a bed of shale, is found the story of Sam Magruder's existence in the late Cretaceous period. Alone, with no hope of ever seeing another human being again, Sam survived, and this is his story.

The famous paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson penned this short story, apparently for his own amusement, but it is a masterpiece. Considering Dr. Simpson's field, I would have assumed that this story would be entirely about what Sam found in the Cretaceous, but that's only part of the story. As the opening chapter tells, this is the story of a modern (OK, future) man's coming to grips with his situation, one containing only danger and isolation.

I am sure that my words do not do justice to this story. This work is complex and fascinating beyond some lengthy works produced by noted authors. I recommend it to everyone.

I admit it: I am a sucker for time travel stories. They don't even have to be any good. I'll still read them, and probably like them.

This book, however, is quite good. It takes the time-slip convention and turns it into a scientific "fact" by giving it a fancy sounding name: dechronization. Just the fact that it uses a pseudo-term like that would make it a favorite with me even if it was written in gibberish, but I have a thing about neology. Since reading this book, I have started slipping the word "dechronization" and all its variants into conversation whenever possible. It is my hope that one day this word will be common koine.

The other notable point of this book the reaction of Magruder to the dechronization. Since he is a chronologist, he knows that the chances of his being re-dechronized are beyond impossible. So he has absolutely no chance of seeing another person. Ever. But he doesn't give in to the hopelessness that I know I would feel. He continues to live. He takes a lesson from Robinson Crusoe, and makes a good life there in the middle of nowhere (or in this case nowhen).

All in all, I think this is a must-read for wannabe time travelers like myself. Or maybe just anyone who likes the linguistic oddities inherent in time travel.

Simpson is considered to have been the world's foremost expert in the physiology and functioning of dinasours. As such, his fiction presents a strikingly accurate and fascinating look at the ecosystem of the dinasaur. His look at chronology and time functioning is unscientific and a bit juvenile, but this book is a real adventure!

This is such a great little story! The bright pink cover is at odds with the storyline but don't let that put you off, I actually quite like it...it's 'quirky'. A very quick read and therein lies it's only flaw....it ended too soon. I hung on every word and would have liked to see many, many more of them.

The book was only ever intended as an amusement for the author, but by chance was it found after his death and published, and lucky for us that it was.

Short synopsis would be that an academic (Sam McGruder) from the far future (the year 2162), travels back in time to a place in prehistory where dinosaurs roamed, with no chance of ever getting back. Now, it's not JUST the story that hooks the reader, it's all the thought provoking ideas that the story presents too. What would 'I' do? How would 'I' cope? Would I cope?!

I wanted it to go on and on and on......

It's very short so any details I give are likely to be spoilers but suffice to say it's a great book and one not to be missed. From the moment you pick it up it will draw you in. Even if it's not your usual type of reading material, it's still worth the read.

In the year 2162, the eminent chronologist Sam Magruder mysteriously disappeared while running an experiment. Some years later, while arguing about the possibility of being totally alone, the evidence is produced that Sam Magruder did not die in 2162, but was transported back in time some 80 million years! Engraved upon sandstone slabs, found in a bed of shale, is found the story of Sam Magruder's existence in the late Cretaceous period. Alone, with no hope of ever seeing another human being again, Sam survived, and this is his story.

The famous paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson penned this short story, apparently for his own amusement, but it is a masterpiece. Considering Dr. Simpson's field, I would have assumed that this story would be entirely about what Sam found in the Cretaceous, but that's only part of the story. As the opening chapter tells, this is the story of a modern (OK, future) man's coming to grips with his situation, one containing only danger and isolation.

I am sure that my words do not do justice to this story. This work is complex and fascinating beyond some lengthy works produced by noted authors. I recommend it to everyone.

This is a book-within-a-book story of a man who goes back in time 80 million years, proving that his theory of time travel works yet living out his life absolutely isolated from human contact.

Sam Magruder lives in 2162. We first learn of his amazing adventure when slabs of stone from 80 million years ago are discovered to contain "universal Swahili" - the language of 2162 - chronicling Maguder's amazing time jump. He writes of how he figures out "when" he is, how he survives, and of his musings on his purpose now that he can't ever get back to his life in 2162.

This is a treasure of a book. I really enjoyed the descriptions of how he survived the first days, how he tried to make sense of what happened to him, and how he got through his life.

Surrounding the 8 slabs of Magruder's story is philosophical argument about his life and its meaning by the Universal Historian, the Common Man, the Pragmatist, the Ethnologist, and Pierre Precieux, discoverer of the slabs. Each represents a different philosophical viewpoint. One thing that was terribly amusing was that Magruder's discussion of his (lack of) sex life was eliminated from the general translation available to the general public, but kept, for scientific accuracy in the official text.

Surrounding the book-within-a-book, are an introduction by Arthur C. Clarke, an afterward by Stephen Jay Gould, and a memoir by Joan Simpson Burns, daughter of the author, George Gaylord Simpson. All are well thought out and interesting reads on their own.

This book was found after the author's death by his daughter. He was the preeminent paleontologist of the 20th century, and this book is, according to Clarke, Gould, and his daughter, unconsciously autobiographical and revelatory of his strengths and weaknesses.

An excellent book, even though it has its flowing horribly compromised by old-fashioned theories (e.g. Simpson says dinosaurs are cold-blooded), for it was written on the last decade. I'd give two reasons for you to read it : the explanations concerning chronology (a future discipline) are very neat; and it has a highly philosophical content. Stephen Gould's posface is nearly undispensable while understanding the text.

Worht reading; specially for fans of the so-called "hard SF"...