4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Story Telling, November 16, 2003
Portals In A Northern Sky is a fresh and new concept on time travel that rivals Michael Creitons wonderful "Timeline" at it presents a mystery adventure of a family migration across the continent from the east to the west where several of its characters find common threads in their genealogy just like many of us might do if we had the ability to see all of the events of the past. The book begins in Alaska and after many twist and turns has its surprising and complex climatic end in Alaska. It is like reading three novels in one with lots of philosophy, history, intrigue, a journey back and forth in time.
For Science Fiction lovers it has an examination of the ramifications for governments to no longer have secrets, for Mystery lovers it has crime and murder, for Adventure lovers it has searching for gold in Alaska, for Classic lovers it has several summaries of some American classic literature with various philosophical ideas in interpretations and for History lovers it has many of the great events in American history mentioned.
The novel is a puzzle where in the end all of the pieces fit together to form a very large picture of past and present letting know that know one can foresee the future. This is a must read for anyone who is interested in creative three-dimensional plots and interesting characters.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blends science fiction with action adventure, November 7, 2002
Portals in a Northern Sky is a novel by Charles Douglas Hayes that blends science fiction with action adventure, as a new technology is developed which allows people to see the past in real time and thereby forever changes America as its citizens know it. Individuals from the present and the past cross paths and influence one another in this uniquely woven, dramatic and serious story about strictly logical consequences. Portals In The Northern Sky is confidently recommended reading which will especially appeal to science fiction fans in general, and those who appreciate finely crafted speculative fiction in particular.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
More philosophy than fiction, August 16, 2003
PORTALS IN A NORTHERN SKY is a novel that seems to be a bit unsure of what it wants to be. Part science fiction, part fantasy, part historical, it wanders across two centuries introducing a plethora of characters whose interconnectedness is gradually revealed as the plot progresses.
The underlying thread is the invention of a machine that allows one to view incidents in the past, a window on history. James Tall Tree, a Native American and the National Science Advisor, announces the development of the system to an eclectic group of people all of whom are well-known in their respective fields: a psychologist, an evangelist, a sociologist, an antiestablishment historian and a Libertarian capitalist. Their purpose is to advise him-and, by extension, the President of the US-on how to present the discovery to the world in a way that will minimize the potential negative impact.
At the same time, self-made millionaire Bob Thornton abandons his life as an investment genius and sets off on a quest for enlightenment to Alaska, Tall Tree's mentor, academic Adam Whitehead, flees into the Alaskan wilderness to die, convinced he is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, and Dallas policeman Vince Terrell also plans a journey to the last American frontier-after he exacts revenge on the drug dealer responsible for his sister's death.
Author Charles Douglas Hayes is a firm believer in the importance of ongoing self-education. He also clearly has a deep and abiding love for the Alaskan wilderness, which he describes in vivid and compelling detail. However, his novel, despite its potential, tries to cover too many issues and ends up shortchanging all of them.
In fact, once one gets past the various historical vignettes that begin the book, the frame story of the "history viewer" becomes just that-a framework on which to hang lengthy philosophical discussions on the importance of self-education between Bob Thornton and Ruben Sanchez, the bookstore owner-cum-self-educated philosopher who gives him a ride to Alaska. This would be fine if their relevance to the main plot-as well as those of some of the other seemingly unrelated vignettes-were tied together sooner.
This isn't to say Mr. Douglas's book isn't worth reading. The roundtable about the potential impact of the "history viewer" raises some compelling questions about just how much we really DO want to know the accurate versions of our past. But PORTALS IN A NORTHERN SKY should be read for what it is: a philosophical debate rather than a true novel. It is intended to educate, not entertain.
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