Customer Reviews

Tempus Fugit

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tempus Fugit is a delightful book in conception and partly in execution, but is vastly annoying in its manifold errors. It could have been a four-star book if the author had hired a good proofreader to examine the manuscript, and a five-star one with some attention to historical detail.

The personalities of the founders were enjoyable, but not completely accurate. I doubt that Washington would engage in the easy first-name camaraderie and repartee we see in the book. I believe that it was Alexander Hamilton in real life who once called him "George" and was made to know that this informal address was out of line. Speaking of Hamilton, he accused Jefferson of breeding mulatto children, selling them on the auction block, and making a profit of his own debauchery. Indeed Jefferson was not "enlightened" regarding slavery and equality of whites and blacks, and yet, I have never found that he used the "N-word" to the exclusion of all others in referring to the Negro race. Likewise, Franklin is known to have done more than admire the feminine figure, and yet his every waking thought was not focused upon sexual conquest, as we see in Tempus Fugit.

I jotted down dozens of historical and grammatical errors as I read the book, and I allowed many errors to pass unjotted, simply because I grew weary of reaching for my pencil. On page 183 there was even an error in our national anthem, for heaven's sake!

I hasten to say that Rowe engaged in an enormous amount of historical research and did do many things right in casting the founders' interpretation of modern marvels into their historical perspective. Yet he made many errors. Washington refers to his wife as "Martha," yet no one ever called her by that name. From an infant she was known as "Patsy." All her family and friends called her "Patsy." In later life some called her "Mrs. Washington" or "Lady Washington," but never "Martha." Rowe thinks that three presidents were impeached, when only two were. He suggests that Christians have changed the Bible, when the Qumran scrolls and other ancient documents prove that the Bible has been accurately transmitted. Rowe thinks that Jefferson founded the Republican Party, when in fact history credits him with founding the Democratic Party. He thinks that FDR was elected to three terms, not four. He thinks Washington actually had wooden false teeth.

There are many linguistic anachronisms also. "Hopefully" is used adverbially as Jefferson would not have used it. Washington uses "contact" as a verb, a usage not invented until early in the 20th century and still not universally accepted. I do not believe that 18th century men referred to all women as "wenches" nor to all paper as "parchment." "Mug" was not used in the sense of attacking to rob until 1865 or thereabouts.

Possibly the most distressing errors are the grammatical ones. These fall into two categories, those made by the founders and those made by the narrator. We know that Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin were skilled writers and speakers who would not have made innumerable grammatical errors. Nowadays many people approve the use of split infinitives. Rowe is one of them. However, as Rowe portrays the founders, they can hardly open their mouths without splitting infinitives, something they would never have done in real life. Each time I hear or read a split infinitive it jars on me. Normally when I read a book I can say that it contained three split infinitives, or whatever. Tempus Fugit uses them so wantonly and profusely that I soon lost count. When Rowe and the founders used multiple split infinitives on one page, my mind reeled. Even worse is the way the founders use the nominative case again and again when they should have used the objective. Franklin says "a historian," when he actually would have said "an historian." Washington says "between" when he means "among." Something tells me that the founders did not use contractions as copiously in real life as they do in this book.

I could go on and on and on, but you get the idea. Rowe plans a sequel. I beg and plead with him that he hires a proofreader and historian to examine his manuscript. Even with the innumerable errors, I found the book lively and entertaining. I easily got three stars worth of enjoyment from it, while at the same time lamenting HOW GOOD IT COULD HAVE BEEN.

I've always been facinated with historical fiction, more so than the encyclopedic versions. Reading these types of novels spurs me to research and learn about the people and their lives where I wouldn't otherwise.

I admit that the portrayal of Jefferson is unnerving, but I think the author was showing his own bravery on this point. Instead of massaging Jefferson into a Disneyesque ex-President, simply get into his character with what you know of him from your research and write him as you think he was. I think the author has succeeded in that I can view Jefferson in a roundabout fashion, not really adhering exactly to the manner in which he is depicted. But having shown his intellect, his racist, and "spoiled child" attitudes, it gives the reader a sense of who the man probably was.

I have always thought a motion picture of George Washington would be like Superman in real life. His physical nature seems so daunting that I can't imagine such a movie, if done well, being less than an Acadamy award sweep. Washington was an extraordinary human and to see him come to life in this book was wonderful.

The book portrays Franklin as a genius beyond compare and that is as it should be. Of course I didn't know he was a rogue and I'll happily look for more history of the man. I think I like him quite a bit more than I ever gave thought and want to research him as much as I can.

The book is wonderful, if you like this sort of thing. I think it's easy to take advantage of history when writing fiction, but Rowe seems to have done an enormous amount of research to back his writing. And the writing itself is consistent and well done. I never once felt uncomfortable with the prose. The story is light at times and dark at others, but overall, I loved it...and hope Rowe writes a sequel to compare.

A great read, held me from start to finish. A little hard to swallow the dialog, but still it's believeable considering the time which the founders came from. Can't wait for the next in the series.

This is a well written and well researched book that keeps you turning pages the whole way through. Rowe has provided a wonderful novel that will entertain and inform you. Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin are vivid characters and Rowe gives us a special glimpse into the "what if's" of America's founders. Great read, highly recommended!

Well researched book that shows the Founders weaknesses as well as their strengths. He is a little soft on Washington and more than a little too harsh on Jefferson. But still does a reasonably good job presenting them as real human beings, which I found very refreashing.
We tend to build up our heroes. That`s only natural, but we should never forget that even the greatest of men are still only men. Everyone has their flaws and the Founders were no exceptions.
All in all it`s a fun read and presents a lot of good history that is no longer taught in our schools, but should be.

"... Jefferson paused. When he'd first signed The Declaration of Independence, exuberance was tempered by fear, for the document was a royal death warrant as well as a proclamation of freedom."

The quote from Mr. Rowe's book sums up what I really enjoyed about the book. Mr. Rowe takes a subject that we should all know (Jefferson is the author of the Declaration of Independence), and injects it with fresh detail and insight. It is obvious that he has done his research.

The premise of the story is very interesting. Although the use of the 18th century vernacular is tough at first, you get used to it and start to appreciate it. Viewing the modern world through the Founder's eyes is refreshing.

Another quote that had me rolling on the floor showcases the humor inherent in the founders entering into our modern age. "Franklin hit the rightmost button and the device made a popping sound. Colored sunlight filled its screen and from somewhere inside it a deep voice boomed, 'This is CNN!' Washington and Jefferson dropped the cipher pamphlet and phone, fell into seated positions ...Franklin joined them, and the founding fathers took their first hit of modern America's most powerful drug."

Definitely a good read and worthwhile to see what the founding fathers would think of our modern society and the government they founded.

I couldn't put this book down and it lingered in my mind for weeks after reading it.

It's clear from the details in Rowe's elegant prose that he conducted extensive research. And he didn't shirk from writing sometimes less-than-flattering portraits of these iconic men based on what he learned about them. The book is all the better for this "warts and all" approach. In the glossy, Disney-fied culture that is America today, revisionist history that gives us a more realistic view of our roots is welcome -- especially when it's as well written as this.

...because not only does "time fly" for its protagonists, it also flies for the reader who turns its pages.

The premise on which Tempus Fugit begins is that three of our Founding Fathers--George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin--are duplicated out of time by some unknown agency, a year or two before their respective deaths, and deposited together in the modern-day United States at the Mount Rushmore monument with $100,000 in seed money. The story follows their adventures as they learn to cope with and try to blend into this brave new world and find answers to the primary question on their minds: what sort of nation has their fledgling Republic grown up to be? They also wonder about the identity of the strange agency that brought them to this new time, and what its purpose might have been, though answers to that question are less forthcoming.

Tempus Fugit is quite well-written, structurally and dramatically. The prose is neither amateurish nor impenetrable. Even the 18th-century-idiomatic dialogue of the Founding Fathers is surprisingly readable; where context does not suffice to illuminate meaning, the author provides convenient footnotes to explain obsolescent usages or historical contexts. In fact, there is so much historical information that the book sometimes seems like 2/3 novel and 1/3 political history textbook. However, it manages to present the history very naturalistically, only resorting to footnotes when character dialogue does not cover it completely.

Reading the book, one has the sense that Rowe put a great deal of research into its writing, learning our Founding Fathers inside and out. He does not pull any punches, either; the threesome are presented as human beings with feet of clay, rather than the idols whose faces we carve into mountains and put on currency. Washington is a man of more action than thought, who can act impetuously and without mercy when necessary. Franklin is a genius, but a very lecherous and bawdy one who is prone to earthy humor and whose occasionally scathing wit can cause even his best friends to cringe. And Jefferson is a childish, hypocritical racist who can't change his thinking no matter how hard he tries--and his attitudes get both him and the others into trouble more than once. The trio of Founding Fathers do not get along perfectly; they sometimes bicker over group decisions, and an old grievance causes tension between Washington and Jefferson despite Jefferson's attempts at reconciliation.

It should be noted that the book doesn't pull punches where obscenity is concerned, either. The F-word is used from time to time, as well as a certain N-word that was in common usage in a neutral sense in the Founders' day but has since come to be considered a racial epithet. (Coming to terms with this is one of the adjustments the Founders have to make in getting accustomed to the present-day.) There is also some graphically-described violence, as the threesome are accosted by a pair of thugs who discover the hard way that it's not wise to mug even a 65-year-old George Washington. And at times the book's humor becomes a touch earthy, especially on the part of Franklin.

But despite these unpulled punches, the book is great fun. The Founding Fathers come across as real people, with their little foibles and idiosyncrasies. It's amusing to watch them make guesses based on incomplete information and get some things wrong, but a lot of things remarkably right. Rowe doesn't present them as some kind of backwoods bumpkins; he reminds us that Franklin and Jefferson were among the brightest intellects of their time, classically educated and keen thinkers--and if Washington wasn't as brilliant, he was at least blessed with abundant common sense. Placed into this strange new situation, their reactions are clear-minded and rational as they set out to learn as much as they possibly can. And some of the situations they get into along the way are absolutely hilarious--for example, the Founding Fathers' reactions to daytime television are not to be missed.

If the narrative has any serious flaws, they are only that from time to time incidental characters spout off dialogue that sounds incredibly artificial, almost like they were giving a prepared speech. People don't talk like that in real life, but it is necessary that the points they make be overheard by the Founders so that they can discuss what people think of them, or of events that happened after them. Also, the book is obviously the first in a series, so it does not so much end as come to a stopping point.

All in all, Tempus Fugit is a great work of historical speculative fiction, and much the sort of thing I would have expected to come out of a political SF house like Baen, rather than being self-published. I'll be looking forward to the sequel, which is apparently due sometime in spring, 2007.

The initial pages of the book are a bit cumbersome but once the founding fathers have established their presence in the 21st century, Rowe brings history to life and places the reader amidst the trio of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin. What an absolute delight! The research Rowe has invested pays big dividends as we are privy to the inner most thoughts of our founding fathers... their "past" thoughts as they constructed the United States' foundation juxtaposed against their "current" thoughts as they view our world today... and ultimately the evolution of their founding principles. It's a simple concept and a question often posed: What would our founding fathers think of the USA today? But Rowe goes beyond the simple answers and obvious criticisms and invites the reader into a lively discussion about our world today and our founders' original vision. Motivating, inspiring, and humbling.

The writing in this book is very amateurish. It is roughly the quality you would expect from a high school sophomore who received a B-. If you go to the author's web site, you can read a few excerpts there and see this for yourself.

An even worse problem is that the characters do not act as you would expect. They seem more like lampoons of the founding fathers, rather than the fathers themselves.

Despite these flaws, Rowe deserves some credit for presenting an interesting, if far-fetched, scenario and including a few mildly humorous scenes in it.