Times without Number [Import] [Hardcover]

JOHN BRUNNER (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 233 pages
• Publisher: ELMFIELD P (1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0705700429
• ISBN-13: 978-0705700429
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,881,500 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Time Travel Conundrum, June 28, 2009

By 

Paul Brooks (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Times Without Number (Mass Market Paperback)

The concept of time travel, one of the most conventional of science fiction themes, has been used and abused by numerous authors over many years. Truthfully I find these stories very challenging to take seriously. This book is no exception but the author's formidable knowledge of history, geography and religion does keeps the action moving along quite agreeably so you don't mull over the inherent absurdity of time travel and all it's related conundrums.

Author Brunner gives time travel an interesting twist in these three related and connected stories. The Spanish Armada defeated the English fleet in 1588 resulting in the conquest England. Now fast forward 400 years we have North America as a Spanish possession being exploited for natural resources and Catholic Dons ruling England. Somewhat incomprehensible with the discovery of time-travel is that no technology has evolved from what existed in the 16th Century. Travel is by horse drawn coaches and telecommunications are non-existent.

Brunner's attention-grabbing `alternate history" concept, participation by priests and Popes in the administration of the Society of Time and a sub-plot involving American Indian tribes did kept my interest on a superficial level.

Just to keep the record straight you should know the evolution of this title because it gives an insight into how authors can "fix-up" their stories for future sales. On the copywrite page to this book we are informed that shorter and substantially different versions of the three sections of this novel were published as three separate stories in British SF magazines. Then the three sections, with numerous minor alterations were published in 1962 by Ace as part of a "double novel" under the current title Time Without Number. The 1969 version, the edition reviewed, had been completely revised and considerable expanded. The page count the 1962 Ace edition was 139 and the 1969 Ace edition 156. This is not uncommon for Brunner. Many of his earlier books are expanded from magazine stories and from prior editions.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An entertainingly fresh contribution to the time travel genre, July 26, 2010

By 

Mark Klobas (Tempe, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Times Without Number (Mass Market Paperback)

Don Miguel Navarro is a man with a most unusual job. As a Licentiate of the Society of Time, he is a time traveling agent for a Spanish Empire that continues to thrive four hundred years after the Armada successfully conquered England in 1588. Tasked with observing the past, he is always on the lookout for improper uses of time travel lest it bring about changes to the present. A casual encounter at a party results in just such a discovery, one that leads Don Miguel to a sinister conspiracy that threatens to alter history and undo the entire empire itself unless it is stopped.

John Brunner's novel is a cut above most of its counterparts. A collection of three interlocking tales that were originally published as separate short stories, together they offer a series of entertaining adventures in an imaginative setting. His Spanish Empire is one not much more advanced technologically than its 16th century predecessor, with time travel apparently more an accident of alchemy than science. Such a premise allows Brunner to offer some fresh approaches to the concept, most notably in the notion of the careful management of time travel by religious authorities. This serves as a springboard for some interesting metaphysical observations that, when combined with Brunner's entertaining writing style, makes for a time travel novel that any fan of the genre will enjoy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent alternative reality and science novel, May 20, 2008

By 

Cypherpunk (NW AR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Times Without Number (Mass Market Paperback)

A classic novel from Brunner, dating from the 60s. This is an interesting tale that starts in 'modern' Spain, where the Reconquista and the Siglo de Oro never ended with Spain's bankruptcy and fall from world domination. Science has taken a completely different path, and technology revolves around time travel. The protagonist is a member of the time police. He is sent to the Americas to investigate disturbing suspicions that renegade time machines are being built and used to attack the Monarchy.

For as old as the novel is, it doesn't feel very dated. The fact that elements of history and alternate reality are thrown into the mix certainly helps. But, the story moves along quickly, the investigation is interesting, and the world that Brunner created is well-imagined. I think this novel stands up very well to many of the more well-known 'classics' from the time period.