The Time Ships [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen Baxter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 27, 1995

There is a secret passage through time

...and it leads all the way to the end of Eternity. But the journey has a terrible cost. It alters not only the future but he "present" in which we live.

A century after the publication of H. G. Wells' immortal The Time Machine, Stephen Baxter, today's most acclaimed new "hard SF" author, and the acknowledged Clarke, returns to the distant conflict between the Eloi and the Morlocks in a story that is at once an exciting expansion, and a radical departure based on the astonishing new understandings of quantum physics.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What if the time machine from H.G. Wells' classic novel of the same name had fallen into government hands? That's the question that led Stephen Baxter to create this modern-day sequel, which combines a basic Wellsian premise with a Baxteresque universe-spanning epic. The Time Traveller, driven by his failure to save Weena from the Morlocks, sets off again for the future. But this time the future has changed, altered by the very tale of the Traveller's previous journey.

Review

"A major new talent!" -- -- Arthur C. Clarke

"A stunning talent!"

-- -- Locus

"A major new talent!" -- Arthur C. Clarke

"A stunning talent!" -- Locus

"Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and Robert Hcinlein succeeded...and now Stephen Baxter joins their exclusive ranks, writing science fiction in which the science is right. A sheer pleasure to read!" -- New Scientist

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager (November 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061056480
• ISBN-13: 978-0061056482
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A definite must-read for any true sci-fi reader, October 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Time Ships (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first time I have ever read Stephen Baxter, and already I am anxious for more of his work. This book was probably one of--if not the--most imaginative sci-fi novels I have ever read. It starts out with the Time Traveller, determined to save Weena--the Eloi girl he left behind in the far future--taking another fateful trip into the future. But instead of a repeat of the original Wells book, but with a save-the-damsel-in-distress storyline, it turned into an epic journey through alternate histories and future worlds that are just astonishing as you read the book.

It takes you to visions of alternate futures, as well as pasts, such as a sphere around the sun, a war-torn Earth of 1939, the Paleocene era of fifty-million years ago, an alternate reality with machines as the heirs of man, and finally to the most fantastic vision of an infinite universe created and ruled over by the true power of the human Mind. The book closes with the Traveller being returned to his own reality so that he is able to go and save Weena in the far-off age of 800,000 years hence(I wont give away the ending).

Throughout the book, Stephen Baxter gives you insights into the world of Quantum Physics, an aspect that brings the book to have a more real-world feel than some bizarre odyssey. Stephen Baxter is a true visionary. Someone who is able to see the current trends of science and incorporate them into a masterfully executed story. This book, in my opinion, is among the greatest sci-fi masterpieces of all time. The story never gets too technical, but never reaches down to the level of a child-like fantasy story. It is a story not only about time travel, but about the nature of mankind itself. but the most important thing that this book teaches you is that no matter where you are, or what you do, the future is a world of infinite possibilities and it is up to us choose the right ones throughout our lives. For who knows what the future holds? Possibilities, my friend. Possibilities, indeed.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Did Not Want This Book To End!, January 12, 2004

By 

Jan Heaberlin (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Time Ships (Mass Market Paperback)

Only recently did I learn of Stephen Baxter's authorized sequel to Wells' "The Time Machine", one of my favorite books. This is without a doubt the best sci-fi story I have ever read. Baxter's beginning blends beautifully with the ending of Wells' story and explains why the Time Traveller never returned to his home in 1897.

Baxter's creativity brings a sense of wonder to the reader that is pure joy and adventure. (While reading it, I even listened to the sound track from the original "Time Machine" movie and the Russell Garcia score just made the entire experience even better). The story's ending was very emotional and showed that, for all the Time Traveller had seen and experienced - from the beginning of time to the end of the world - it was his human feelings toward another that mattered the most.

One last observation - It was my thinking that Baxter left the story open ended for another possible sequel involving the Time Traveller's adventures with the Morlocks. I can only hope that is true, for he has all the time in the world...

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Sequel to H.G. Well's "The Time Machine", April 30, 2005

By 

Sir George Martini "Verbalosity" (Fromage, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Time Ships (Mass Market Paperback)

Be prepared to spend more than a few hours reading "The Time Ships", because you won't be able to put it down. Stephen Baxter writes in H.G Well's style that builds on the events found in the original book. The reader can effortlessly follow a seamless transition of the time traveler's adventure to save Weena from the Morlocks, with a few surprises.