Customer Reviews

Ripping Time

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Meaning Kit Carson, his grandaughter, Margo, Skeeter Jackson and the rest of the residents of Time Terminal 86, and this time they have to deal with that unknown "gentleman" of Victorian England known as Jack the Ripper. May as well get a couple of flaws out of the way first...As some of the other reviewers have pointed out, this is in two parts, which is needless. The book would not have been absurdly large had it all been published as a single volume, so to actually complete the story, you'll need to go ahead and buy the second book "The House That Jack Built" as well. There is also some bad writing here in a place or two...a few run-on sentences that just go on and on, to the point you find yourself having to go back and reread the passage more than once to figure out what is meant.This is not really a criticism, but the authors obviously accept the James Maybrick Diary (published a few years ago as "The Diary of Jack the Ripper") as geniune. There are some convincing arguements in favor of the diary, but just as many arguements, and just as compelling, that it is false. That said, what you are left with is a "ripping' (lousy pun intended) good story. You have a crooked polictian (isn't this becoming just a bit of cliche character now?) with his own agenda, murdering anyone who gets in the way, including his own daugther, who manages to avoid the planned hit with the help of a mysterious private investigator, and flees down the Victorian England "gate" to escape the pursuing hit men, and guess who is waiting on the other side? Actually, the "Whitechapel Murders" forms a second plot, in which a team of investigators are trying to positivly ID the Ripper,but they are in for a big surprise when they do. A pretty good book, but you do have to have both of them...

I recommend this book highly but be warned, It does not have a conclusion but a "to be continued.." on the last page. I eagerly await "The House that Jack Built" but would have appreciated a warning that "Ripping Time" is only the first half the story. I hate reading in installments and would have shelved it until the conclusion (I hope?) came out, had I known. So, If you are like me, buy it and wait for the rest of the story. If not, buy it and read it now, then wait. But BUY it. While waiting, check out the previous books in this series. They provide many of the characters who appear in "Ripping Time" and are enjoyable reads on thier own.

Although it was overly graphic, I did find the story lines compelling. As another reviewer commented I was really worried that they would "neatly" tie up the story as fewer and fewer pages remained. I'm glad that wasn't done, but really resent no warning that the story would be "to be continued".

If I were you, I would read this book, but not until after the sequel "The House That Jack Built" is released. It's not worth it until then!

There's little I hate more than reading a book only to find out I have to wait another year to finish it. This book is very much a cliffhanger, so wait until the sequel is out to even start it. The story itself is good, if a bit too detailed in the grisly parts and a bit long-winded in places. If they'd warned me ahead of time that it was only half a book, I'd probably rate it 4*'s

If I had realized you could write a "novel" without a conclusion, I could have written one a long time ago. I liked the characters but I don't buy books without an ending. Any more of Mister Aspin's books I read will have to come from the library. Since I really want to know how this one comes out, I'll go there and see if they have a copy of the next one.

I had really enjoyed Time Scout and its sequel, Wagers of Sin, so I eagerly grabbed a copy of Ripping Time when I found it. The characters were pale imitations of the earlier works in the series. They are now motivated by nothing beyond pure revenge, and the graphic violence in the story (not only in describing Jack the Ripper) gives the whole novel a depressing feeling. Had I not enjoyed the first two books so much, I would not even have finished it.

Granted, I did begin to feel interested in the outcome, but only in time to find out that the book doesn't end-- it's just to be continued in a future story. But no matter, these characters are all shallow enough that I will completely have forgotten about them by the time the next book comes out. Buy the sequel? I don't think so.

I got suspicious about 100 pages before the end of the book thinking that it would be difficult to tie everything up. Sure enough, another of Linda Evans' books that is continued without warning. I've been waiting for over 2 years for the 2nd part to her "Far Edge of Darkness" novel and it still hasn't been released. Very irritating.

I found the violence to be much more graphic than earlier books in the series; needlessly so. It simply made the book longer so that the authors could make it a 2 parter, and it bogged down what could have been an interesting story line. Don't bother with this one unless you enjoy vivid descriptions of people being cut up. If you do, this book's for you!

I would have given this book three stars except for its major flaw.

Its one major flaw is that the story stops dead with a "to be continued". In other words, you've purchased half a book and read half a story with no guarantee that part 2 (and maybe part 3...) will ever be published.

Another flaw in this book is that you need to have read earlier books in the series to understand some of the action and many of the references. The earlier books at least had an ending.

I have to say that I was very disappointed with this book from Robert Asprin. I have enjoyed everyone of his books before this. (except for Mirror friend... which I have yet to find.) I have to say this is by far the least satisfying of his books. I usually have trouble putting down his books but this one I had trouble picking up again after I had put it down. I felt that there were far to many separate story threads running at the same time, all of which stopped and started awkwardly making it difficult to involve myself fully into the story. This book seemed in my mind to have been written more along the lines of a TV show rather than a book. Especially with the sudden stop instead of a conclusion. A Cliff hanger in a tv show Is fair enough because the next episode is usually just a week away, but in a novel where there is at least a six months to a years wait between books I personally feel that this is not fair to the reader. Especially as Robert Asprin has been pretty poor at sticking to either his publishers or indeed his own schedules as far as his writing goes. The last few Myth books have essays from the author regarding his writing block and apologies to the publisher and the fans for this and promises for further Myth books which have still to see the light of day. I wonder if this is a new attempt to make himself stick to a schedule.

This is nowhere near the authors best work but I will look forward to the conclusion when it finally comes.

Regards Andrew

A very good story. Continuation of past characters with broader insite of each. While the story has a tendency to lag, for my taste, the analysis and description of the Ripper, the crime and the historical time is excellent. I read the story in on sitting and look forward the next installment. Asprin and Evans have hit upon a winning series