Customer Reviews

One Million Centuries

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are two versions of "One Million Centuries" - the original which was published in 1967 and was the author's first commercial sale, and this revised version which came out in 1981.

The original edition of the book began with a chapter set in the 20th century, in which Robert Parker, a helicopter pilot, is involved in a crash while on a recue mission in Antarctica. Parker's co-pilot is killed, Parker is frozen alive, to recover a hundred million years later in a very different world.

In this later version, Richard Lupoff followed the advice of James Blish, and dropped the first chapter; this version begins with Parker waking up in the remote future. He also completely rewrote the final chapter and made a few minor changes in between.

In both books Parker finds himself in a strange world of lush vegitation with exotic creatures such as the "Kissers," deadly giant butterflies which will give an acid kiss to anyone who touches their food. Humans still exist, but their cultures are completely different and their technology stretches to swords and javelins.

Parker begins a quest to find his way back to the 20th century ...

Not as good as most of Lupoff's later work, but a fun read nonetheless.

Transported from racially-conscious times to a world where everyone is brown-skinned with oriental-like eyes (due to racial blending over the centuries), our hero wakes in a tropical setting. He quickly is involved in a somewhat primitive culture and meets a lovely young woman. Two other centers of civilization exist nearby... one living inside an extinct volcano and one behind forbidding walls. The first of these is completely pacifistic and scientifically advanced in many ways. They are only concerned with beauty and variety, building amazing structures and decorating themselves in shimmering clothes and body paint. The other is militaristic and intent on conquering the world, making slaves of everyone. Our hero meets interested women, including the one pictured on the cover, but returns to the more primitive culture. There, he finds a way to defeat the militarists.

Having, myself, lived through the racial turmoil of the 50's and 60's, it isn't impossible to understand the viewpoint of our black hero as he learns to live in a world where race is irrelevant.