Time Traders [Mass Market Paperback]

Andre Norton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2001

To anyone who glanced casually inside the detention room the young man sitting there did not seem very formidable.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

At the end of this century Ross Murdock is given the choice between prison and a dangerous role in a secret mission. Accepting the latter, but determined to escape at the first opportunity, the intelligent young man finds himself involved in a project which demands that he be projected back to various periods in history. For the Americans, aware that the Russians, somewhere in time, have learned the secret of space travel, must for the sake of national safety, obtain the same secret. Hurled back into the earliest ages of man, Ross' volatile intelligence is, for the first time, stimulated as he risks death, posing as a member of prehistoric worlds. By the time the Americans gain control of the secret, Ross is rehabilitated and is a willing participant in the benevolent army of the future. An interesting idea, well handled by Andre Norton, science fiction expert, who projects his reader deftly both backwards and forwards in time and injects his narrative with considerable and interesting historical information. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Baen (July 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671318292
• ISBN-13: 978-0671318291
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #524,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( N ) > Norton, Andre

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unnecessary Revisions Weaken a Classic, August 24, 2001

By 

R. D. Clark (Wide awake on the edge of the world.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time Traders (Mass Market Paperback)

If you're like me, you read these novels as a youngster in the late 50's or early 60's, and you were drawn in not just by the no-wasted-motion adventure/scifi style for which Ms. Norton became so well loved, but by the glimpses of a not-too-distant future that was clearly based on a somewhat uncertain present. The style is still there in this new edition, but the future, sadly, is gone. For reasons that elude me, the political/cultural milieu of the original near-future has been updated (the Bad Guys are no longer "Reds," they're from a post-USSR-breakup "resurgent Russia"), and the result is not a good fit. The narrative and characterizations still have that squeaky-clean Fifties feel, so the 90's references feel anachronistic. Part of the pleasure of reading classic sf is to enjoy the retro flavor; this attempt to overlay a contemporary veneer simply rings false. What's worse, the paperback edition, which I purchased, bears no indication anywhere that these revisions exist. I discovered them only as I read along and became increasingly disturbed by things that didn't fit. If you want to read a classic, and especially if you want to relive the experience of reading the classic you remember from your youth, do yourself a favor and track down the original text.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully fun stuff! [R.I.P. Andre Norton 17 March 2005], August 20, 2001

By 

Steven Eldredge (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time Traders (Mass Market Paperback)

There is nothing quite like the type of space yarn that the great and greatly prolific Andre Norton wrote in the 1950s and 1960s. Well-crafted, colorful, exciting, with a wonderful sense of strangeness and awe to the settings and descriptions, these books never fail to delight, no matter how many times you read them. Even the elements which tend to date these novels add a sort of nostalgic charm that I find irresistable. Baen Books is to be applauded for its plan to re-publish a lot of her out-of-print novels in these omnibus editions. If you have yet to get into Andre Norton, now is a good time. You are bound to have a fun fun time!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An all time great Sci Fi book., October 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Time Traders (Paperback)

This was the first Sci Fi book I read 35 odd years ago. And it launched me into reading all her other stories and the other great Sci Fi authors too. It is fun to reread this book now for it takes place late in the 20th century. The Cold War fears of that time (remember it was written in the 50's) are all thru the book and very familiar to one who grew up then. This book and the following three are still very good reads. They are full of adventure and bold ideas and you do wnat them to end, And now I see where Ms Norton and another author are writing new Time Trader books. I cannot wait!!!