Customer Reviews

There Will Be Time

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

 

 

This is one of my favorite books. It's one of the few I can reread about every year, and enjoy as much as when I first read it. Poul Anderson was one of the science fiction genre's brightest stars, able to write sword and sorcery fantasy and hard science fiction with equal facility. This story is one of his best.

Those familiar with Anderson's work will recognize that this book ties in (however peripherally) with some of his other stories, about a post apocalyptic future where a New Zealand/Micronesian amalgam culture known as the Maurai come to dominate the world after a nuclear holocaust, and having been less hard hit by the catastrophe, are left strong enough to impose their vision of a less industrialized, more ecologically balanced ideal on the rest of the world. This story concerns a group of time travellers (whose ability is inate, and due to a genetic mutation, rather than any external time machine), led by a charismatic, but bigoted and ruthless 19th century American, whose aim is to break the Maurai domination, and re-establish industrial civilization.

The book tells the story of a bright, thoughtful, 20th century American who at first joins this group, then rebels against the ruthlessness countenanced by the group's leader. (But despite this, the book is clearly not some politically correct paean to eco-nazism, and the Maurai philosophy is represented thoughtfully as a way which does embody some genuine good, but which also became rigid, dogmatic, and even repressive -- in fact this is one of the best aspects of the story: neither side is wholly right or wholly wrong, but are each representative of good ideas and bad mingled together. This is highly realistic, as two sides in any conflict almost always have their valid points as well as their indefensible wrongs.) In addition to the adventure of the main character's war against his erstwhile comrades, there is a twofold romance story (understated, but well written), an engaging account of the protagonist's activities in the late 12th/early 13th century Byzantine Empire, and an interesting philosophical speculation about the nature of time tavel and fixed destiny versus free will.

This book is now out of print, but pick up a used copy if you can. As I said, Anderson was one of the giants of the science fiction genre. There is no author writing today who is his equal. This is a great little story by a master of the field, and is simply entertaining in its own right as well, and well worth the read.

One of the cleverest of time travel novels, in this one a child is born with the mutant power to range through time. Otherwise normal, that power gets him into trouble, especially as he struggles to figure out what to do with it, and how to contact others of his own kind. A mutant who isn't a superman, a time travel story that has many suprising twists in a genre that often seems worn out, this work is HIGHLY recommended

In the genre of time travel stories, travel by will alone is fairly rare. This book posits that some very few people have an innate ability to move through time, as though walking.

The main character has to deal with this reality from birth, and he does so believably. This ability is more a curse than a blessing, and his struggle to find meaning in his bizarre life, isolated from the rest of the human race is poignant and palpable.

This is a love story, and a good one. Though I haven't seen my copy in years, I think about it often. If you can find this book, get it, and read it. You won't regret it.

Update 2.5 years later: I found a signed first edition copy of this book. I am never parting with it.

Time travel is one of my favorite sci-fi themes, and I've read dozens of books on the topic. Most sci-fi books are like James P. Hogan's hard sci-fi books, full of technology and long discussions between physicists. While There Will Be Time has some tech and some science dialogue, it's really a story about some very human themes like good vs evil, finding your purpose in life, and what obligations the strong have to care for the weak.

I read this first as a teenager, and thought about it for years. I found a used copy in my thirties that I've re-read several times, and I'm starting to wear that one out. This is one of those rare books that I know I'll read over and over until my eyes give out.

Jack Havig was born with a rare gift: he is able to travel through time. As a time traveler Jack is able to visit any era in history...or travel to the distant future. Learning who he is takes Jack many years, and through the course of those years Jack builds a fortune, falls in love, and, in his hunt for others like himself, finds an enemy that threatens what humanity is to become.

In There Will Be Time, Poul Anderson takes a concept which has been done time and again in science fiction and tells a tale that is exceedingly human and believable. Born with this gift, Jack's childhood is fraught with numerous episodes where he disappears...worrying his mother to no-end. Upon reaching adulthood, Jack is ceaselessly seeking a way to determine if he is the only one of his kind. I found Jack's maturation authentic and rational. If I had this ability to travel through time like Jack, I can easily see myself traveling through the same process of error and discovery.

When Jack finally does find others of his kind...and learns who they truly are; what their motives are, Jack's actions are completely plausible, even if the actual writing of this part of the novel felt a bit edited.

In fact, the only discernible flaw was that Anderson seemed so focused on the story he wanted to tell, that he denied diverging upon the tales of secondary characters with a ferocity one does not normally see in a novel. This is especially true of the denouement, which definitely could have been cushioned a bit more; elaboration would have been nice at several points.

Flaws aside, this is a fine, engaging tale. As a first sortie into a Poul Anderson world, There Will Be Time has left me looking forward to picking up another of Anderson's tales in the future.

...but by no means a classic. I like Poul Anderson because he qualifies under the classification of a "hard" science fiction writer. Meaning his books incorporate more scientific references than such books as Enders Game (not to say that wasn't an incredible book). Point being, I like the fact that I can read a book, enjoy a pleasant plot and absorb some nice scientific knowledge along the way.

That said, the plot of this book was nothing spectacular, but it was fun. It is the story of a small town kid from Midwest or Southern America (i forget) who is naturally endowed with the ability to time travel naturally. It is part of his biological make up. I have read from other reviews of Anderson's works that time travel as a pretty recurrent theme in his books and it gets a little tiring after a while. But this is my 2nd Anderson book and so far I am thoroughly pleased.

If you are looking for the Sci-Fi read of the century, see Ender's Game, Dune, Ringworld, etc. But if you are beyond those and just want some weekend fun in the realm of "hard" sci-fi, give it a chance. At worst you'll learn something. At best, you'll learn something and enjoy it!

Like H. G. Wells' Time Machine book, this book starts out well, exploring and describing the wonders of time travel, and then loses itself in a fictional "future" created by the author. It's difficult to suspend your disbelief in a future envisioned by a 1972 writer in a post-apocolyptic like world. Just like the Time Machine, the book changes to be less about time travel and more about the microcosm of his little fictional future. I guess I care more about the time travel itself than some of the "author's vision of the future" places it can take you.

Here's an inevitable but different take on the time travel story. It answers the question of where you would find other time travelers and what you would do when you found them. The place to find time travelers is apparently at Jesus' crucifixion. And what you do when you find them is to form a league of time travelers who can hopefully make the future a better place. Never have I seen any other time travel author touch on these ideas, but they do seem like obvious ideas.

This story was quite enjoyable and only took a couple of sittings to finish. The time travelers in this story have a genetic predisposition to time travel with their physical body instead of by using a time machine. Their period of time travel covers quite a large period of time from the crucifixion to ancient Rome to pre-Colombian America to 1970s America to the day of judgment and beyond. It covers themes of love and deception and also tries to answer the question of what the ultimate possibility could be for a time traveler.

I definitely think this time travel novel is a sadly overlooked one that should have become more famous than it did. Poul Anderson wrote several other novels with time travel themes that I'd like to delve into soon

If you read enough Poul Anderson, you'll find similarities amongst his works.

"Avatar" sees a group of people travelling through space, trying to find home.

"The Boat of a Million Years" follows a group of immortals, who start on earth and then head for the stars because they live forever.

"There Will Be Time" tells of a time traveller who influences the future of earth and then, yes!, decides to travel through space because time is only a minor inconvenience.

Anderson lays the ground rules for this time novel: Known events can't be changed, time travelers stay in the same place relative to Earth, you can meet your future/past self. And there's the ever-present suggestion of self-created time loops.

Good as far as time stories go, but unfortunately not a classic.

I have always been a big fan of sci fi, and of historical fiction, so I don't know how I missted this book. Im glad I finally saw a recommendation for it and read it. Not only did I enjoy the characters and plot, but I enjoyed mulling over the many ideas the author has about time travel, civilizations, and the future. My only quibble was that I wanted more history, esp about Constantinople, but I susped that would have detracted from his purpose. I plan on reading more of his time travel books, hope they are as good!