Customer Reviews

Rivers of Time

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Nine short stories about the adventures of Sir Reginald Rivers and his time traveling safaris. Big game hunting is done and gone in the present. But in the past there is bigger game than any that was EVER avilable in the modern world. Now let Reggie tell you nine tales from his history, nine tales of hunting millions of years ago, where humans and human behavior sometimes proves more dangerous than any Tyrannosaurus Rex or saber-tooth cat.
Great book for anybody interested in hunting, interested in animals who have been extinct for millions of years or a fan of De Camp's work.

L. Sprague de Camp, one of the masters of the time travel story once wrote a story called A Gun For Dinosaur staring Reginald Rivers and his time safari. Almost thirty-five years later he began writing more stories about Mr. Rivers and dinosaur hunting. These stories were collected into a volume called RIVERS OF TIME.

These stories begin in much the same way with Reginald Rivers explaining company policy to a new client. Rivers then proceeds to narrate a tale of a previous safari to explain his point. The other common thread is that while being surrounded by dinosaurs of all shape and sizes, the real trouble and danger comes from the people.

The first story, A Gun For Dinosaur, was slightly rewritten to bring it more up to date with accepted dinosaur knowledge and theory. One story even has a client wanting to witness the meteor strike that wiped out the dinosaurs while another has a religious team trying to disprove evolution.

So, if you like time travel, dinosaurs and good human interaction, try and pick up this collection.

A collection of short stories- starting with A Gun For Dinosaur and continuing with a dozen others or so- this book has only one main theme: Reginald Rivers is a time safari guide. He travels back to various ages-- from the near prehistory to before the time dinosaurs roamed the earth, and the centuries between-- sheperding clients on various adventures. In this book you will find out what de Campe considers the best gun to hunt dinosaurs with, why motorized transport might not be wise in dinosaur times, and why women can confuse more than the simple issues in a hunt. If you are a fan of de Camp, and his studious writing, then this is a book for you. This is particularly a good read for people interested in hunting, and in dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, keeping in mind that the author writes first and foremost about people.

In an afterward to _Rivers of Time_ (1993), L. Sprague de Camp writes that in 1954, he read a story by "a colleague" that told of hunting dinosaurs by time machine. While de Camp does not identify either the author or the story, he is almost certainly referring to Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder" (_Collier's_, 1952). De Camp wrote a rebuttal that he considered more scientifically accurate called "A Gun for Dinosaur". It was published in _Galaxy_ in 1956.* The story was well-received, but it was never given the classical status of the Bradbury tale.

Time passed. In 1990, Robert Silverberg asked de Camp for a sequel for one of his original story anthologies. De Camp, who was between books, obliged with a series of six more sequels narrated by his hero, Sir Reginald Rivers: "Crocamander Quest" (_The Ultimate Dinosaur_, 1991), "Miocene Romance" (aka, "Pliocene Romance," _Analog_, 1993), "The Synthetic Barbarian" (_Asimov's_, 1992), "The Satanic Illusion," (_Asimov's_, 1992), "The Big Splash," (_Asimov's_, 1992), and "The Mislaid Mastodon," (_Analog_, 1993). Two more stories-- "The Cayuse" and "The Honeymoon Dragon"-- were apparently written especially for the book.

The stories follow a formula. They are all narrated by Reginald Rivers, that Old Hand at time traveling and big game hunting. Rivers finds that human foibles, prejudices, and insanities lead to disasters or near-disasters in ages past. I was particularly fond of the episode in which some staunch anti-evolutionists plan to go back in the past to settle a theological dispute. But then there is the balmy young Clifton Standish who wants to go back to the time of the cave men to shoot dinosaurs. Or Courtney James, the spoiled, psychotic playboy in the original story.

In his perceptive study of literary taxonomy, Northrup Frye states that there are two basic elements of satire: "One is wit or humor founded on fantasy or a sense of the grotesque or absurd, the other is an object of attack" (_Anatomy of Criticism_, 1957, 224). The choosing of an object of attack is, Frye states, a moral choice.

Who are the objects of de Camp's attack? We have a clue on page 119 when a young man warns Rivers to "beware the fanaticism gene". Rivers points out the problem in attending to this warning: "How do you tell, just by looking at a bloke, whether he's got it?" The answer, of course, is that you can't. But sometimes a person's behavior will give a clue. Fundamentalists and feminists, rabid hunters and vocal vegetarians... narrow-minded extremists of all stripes are de Camp's targets. I suspect that many of the people whom de Camp has pilloried in _Rivers of Time_ will Not Be Amused. Such people rarely are.

* Another brilliant rebuttal (of a very different sort) to Bradbury's tale is Alfred Bester's "The Men Who Murdered Mohammed" (_Fantasy and Science Fiction_, 1958).

_Reference_: Frye, Northrup. _Anatomy of Criticism_. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1957.

Good collection of short stories (all are designed to stand alone as a result there is some redundency to them)all involving time travel, hunting and the local fauna of the different times (dinosaurs, extinct mammals, etc..) the wacky characters Reginald Rivers takes on safari. Told from RR's point of view in a very realistic, matter of fact way you will think a time machine is available in St. louis to rent. Good fun and more involved in the characters then the dinosaurs and other creatures. Also fresh look/theory at the dangers of time travel paradox

L. Sprague DeCamp (1907-2000), noted science fiction and science author had published in 1993 a collection of his related "time-travel" stories under the title "Rivers of Time". The book consists of nine stories and an afterword by the author. Seven of the ten stories had been previously published between the years 1956-93. The BAEN paperback is the only edition ever published of this title to date - 2011.

Each story concerns the adventures of Reginald Rivers co-proprietor of a business that takes clients way-way back in time on safaris to hunt big game - to be more specific dinosaurs and their kin and cousins. He relates to us interested readers amusing, and yes interesting tales of the nincompoops and dolts he has had to put up with in order to maintain his cash flow.

Reginald speaks with a heavy dosage of Australian slang and a keen knowledge of the eras and the correct biological names for the inhabitants. While this is certainly impressive of the author's knowledge of science and "down-under" slang I found it at times, well overwhelming and distracting. Nonetheless a good, quick read.