The Fall of Chronopolis [Mass Market Paperback]

Barrington J. Bayley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1974

There is real time... and there is potential time.

By controlling the difference, the Chronotic Empire came into existence and maintained itself over a thousand years of human history. Its Time Fleets, armadas of time-travelling fortresses, patrolled its temporal borders relentlessly, blotting out potential-time deviations, erasing errors of history that might undermine the empire.

But nevertheless the empire's days were numbered, for somewhere in its own future was the century of the Hegemony, its implacable enemy.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Probably the most fully realized time paradox space opera from his pen. -- John Clute

Spectacular -- Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

The most original SF writer of his generation. -- Michael Moorcock --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

"The Fall of Chronopolis roasts all the chestnuts in a monumental hearth; causal loops abound, sub-plots are allowed to swallow their own tales, futures impinge on presents and pasts cavort with elsewheres. Bayley, however, employs a wealth of such devices, meshing them together so tightly that, while they may not seem fresh, they still startle." - Rhys Hughes --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 175 pages
• Publisher: DAW; First Edition edition (June 1, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879971142
• ISBN-13: 978-0879971144
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,739,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wide-Screen Baroque, September 18, 2001

By 

albemuth - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fall of Chronopolis (Paperback)

It is Astounding! Amazing! Thrilling! But also Philosophical! Cosmological! Metaphysical!

THE FALL OF CHRONOPOLIS is possibly the most sustained single novel from Bayley's pen, juggling its numerous plots that thread through excitement and literariness with the assuredness of a zen master. The massive time-fleets, armadas of spaceships the size of cities patrol the universe and battle against their eternal enemy, The Hegemony, through the jungles of time and pastures of space. The novel is brief but packs a punch that makes you dizzy from invention. It rewards several reads for all the subtext hiding behind the obvious and exciting surface, dealing with issues like the cyclic nature of the universe, fascism and religion for the sake of high drama. It is a vivid, visceral ride through the universe that will knock your senses wide open if you're attuned to this brand of extravagance.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time well spent, November 9, 2003

By 

events3 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fall of Chronopolis (Paperback)

This is, in all probability, the best time travel-related book I have read - surpassing even Asimov's END OF TIME.

The Story:
Captain Aton of the 3rd Time Fleet of the Chronotic Empire is engaged in conflict with the Hegemony from the future. Betrayed and court-martialed, he is about to embark on an unexpected and arduous task.

Time is uncannily like an ocean. The Chronotic Empire controls one part of the surface while the Hegemony occupies another (the future). The surface of time is a wave-function with the crests, or nodes, separated by 170 years from those in front and behind. Only at these nodes can someone travel from the past or future and remain without any continuous expenditure of chronotic energy. The Chronotic Empire controls seven nodes and the non-nodal historical time that surrounds them. The Empire continues to stretch its control over more and more nodes and the Hegemony, in fear that it's time frame will be overwhelmed by the temporally expanding Empire gets control of a device, a time distorter, which completely removes any object, person or place from existence anywhere in time - so that it or he/she never existed!

In the meanwhile, Hulmu, Lord of the Depths, is stirring far below the surface in the Gulf of Lost Souls. Hulmu a potential creature of the depths, along with his Minion and the heretical sect of Traumatics want Hulmu to become real and they can only do so by making sure that the fabric of real time becomes so distorted that creatures such as himself could come into existence. To do that Mankind must be eliminated.

Aside from a great & original story, there are various metaphysical concepts running through the work. Brilliant and Original - and reading it is, indeed, time well spent.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good time travel, September 6, 2007

By 

Joel W. Barnett (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fall of Chronopolis (Paperback)

This is a very good book, with an interesting premise: An empire that exists in time, not just space. The empire is under attack, and the method of battle is to go back in time and outflank the opponent by changing what happened in the past, hence changing the present.

The book is not long, but really packs a lot of great sci-fi ideas regarding time travel and society. It is a nice combination of action and ideas, you won't be bored.

I read the book quite some years ago, but as I recollect, I really did care about the characters, otherwise I wouldn't give the book a good rating.

Definitely worth a read.