Time's Last Gift [Paperback]

Philip Jose Farmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1979

British issue of the revised text of this novel. Here Farmer returns to his "Tarzan" theme, this time with time travel.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Panther; 2nd British edition (1979)
• ASIN: B000KKCG8Y
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plot-twists and surprises make this time travel novel a fun read., August 27, 2006

By 

J. Ocampo (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time’s Last Gift (Paperback)

When four elite scientists journey 14,000 years into the past, mysterious questions about the journey, one of the crew members, and the very nature of time threaten to destroy the landmark mission, and with it, the lives of the four scientists.

Though Farmer's piece is packed with interesting questions and suprising answers about time travel, the novel actually starts out pretty slow. The first 60 pages mostly detail the group's encounters with prehistoric man and the prehistoric world in general. Though it is well written and features above-average character development, it did not grab my attention like the rest of book. Perhaps anthropology types would enjoy this part of the book more than I did.

After getting acquainted with the four scientists, all highly regarded in their respective fields, Farmer picks up the pace. Marital problems between two of the scientists and the unusual habits of another raise some peculiar questions about the psychological effects of time travel and about the possibility that one of the travelers is a scientific anamoly.

Throughout the book, there is action and gradual foreshadowing.

The grand finale of the book is masterfully done and has a surprise that I won't give away.

Though perhaps not the definitive time-travel novel, Time's Last Gift still has enough plot twists and suspense to be called a real page turner.

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a masterpiece, but fun!, September 23, 2011

By 

M. Richardson "Bugman" (Honolulu) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time's Last Gift (Mass Market Paperback)

A friend of mine, John Long (the famous climber), recommended this book to me. I actually really liked it, and as far as sci-fi goes this was a fun book with an interesting premise, quirky-acting characters, and a mostly unpredictable plot. Best of all, the story involved the pleasant twists one would expect from a good story about time travel. I generally don't comment on other's reviews, but one reviewer noted somewhat oddly that the story's characters could not likely have covered as much ground during their travels as portrayed in the story, and I will second on this slightly odd observation. Summary: Read it if you enjoy time travel stories. Lastly, be sure to check out "Venus on the Half Shell", my favorite by this same author.

3.0 out of 5 stars Readable, but not very sci-fi-ish, July 19, 2011

By 

Noneya Biznez "horsenbuggy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time's Last Gift (Mass Market Paperback)

I love a good time travel story. And while this book would not have been possible without the premise of time travel, there's not much actual time travel in it. That is to say that the whole story essentially covers one "scientific" expedition into the past. Farmer uses 180+ pages to cover virtually the same amount of story that Bradbury covers in the short story "A Sound of Thunder."

That doesn't mean that I didn't like the book. I did. And, of course, Farmer fleshes out the characters both modern and prehistoric and the prehistoric setting much more than Bradbury does in his short story. But don't read this thinking that the main characters will time hop to many different periods. There is discussion of other expeditions, but we don't experience them. I think it would have been interesting for this to have become a series, maybe one book covering each expedition. Then the underlying plot "surprise" could have been revealed slowly and more captivatingly.

However, my main problem with this book was that the scientists didn't act like scientists AT ALL. They repeatedly emphasized that the goal of the expedition was to OBSERVE and then violated that completely by LEADING the native people. They showed them new technology and pushed them to travel to places and meet people they never would have met. To a certain extent, Farmer tries to write his way around that by claiming that everything the scientists did had already been done. But I don't buy that. I guess you have to accept his premise to enjoy this book. (And I did enjoy the book.)

My other issue with the book had to do with how much actual ground they covered on foot. It just seems crazy that whole group of people, including kids and old people, were able to walk from France through Spain to Northern Africa and back up through Italy to France in such a short time. I get that land bridges existed then that don't exist now. I'm not concerned about the route. I just don't think they could have done it as quickly as Farmer claims that they did. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, though.

OK, so it sounds like I didn't like book. I did. In fact, I got through it in about 4 hours. Comparatively, I've been stuck in Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" for weeks. Ultimately, I think "The Martian Chronicles" is better material but it is WAY SLOW. This book is light, quick and fun fare.