In War Times (Hardcover)

by Kathleen Ann Goonan (Author) "DR. ELIANI HADNTZ was only five foot three, though she had seemed taller in the classroom, and Sam had not suspected that her tightly pulled-back..." (more)
Key Phrases: cavity magnetron, New York, Pearl Harbor, Perham Downs (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. This engaging alternate-universe tale posits a quintessential enigma of civilization: can technology be prevented from doing as much evil as good? Goonan (Light Music) traces the career of amateur saxophonist Sam Dance, a young soldier who receives plans for a strange electronic device from his physics instructor, Magyar Gypsy Dr. Eliani Hadntz, after she seduces him on the eve of the attack on Pearl Harbor. She intends her "time machine"—melding physics and biology—to harness the human mind and rescue Europe from Nazi evil. As Sam experiences successive horrors of WWII, the love of jazz he and his friend Wink share enables them to build increasingly perfected models of Hadntz's device. Sam eventually plants the machines across the globe, hoping the technology will somehow cause various time-shifting realities and save humanity from its herdlike propensity for violence. Paralleling the evolution of modern jazz with the creative ferment of science, Goonan delivers a bravura performance. (May)
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From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–This alternate history with multiple threads blends bebop, physics, molecular biology, politics, and ethics into a compelling story of one family's journey through the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. Sam Dance is a soldier who, in early December 1941, has been sent by the army to study physics and other esoteric subjects in Washington, DC. One of his teachers, an Eastern European woman, seduces him and gives him a device–and the plans for it–that she says will change the course of world history. The next day, Pearl Harbor is attacked, and Sam spends the rest of the war trying to figure out what the object exactly does, and what his role is. This novel is full of thought-provoking ideas about people and conflict. Can people be changed at the molecular level to cause them to prevent war? Can societies thrive and prosper without war? What are the connections between music, especially jazz, and physics? Readers with some knowledge of World War II and of the postwar period will probably get the most out of this book, and they will enjoy seeing where events in the novel diverge from what really happened. But any reader who likes alternate histories; strong, appealing characters; and provocative ideas will find plenty to admire in Goonan's book.–Sarah Flowers, Santa Clara County Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (May 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765313553
• ISBN-13: 978-0765313553
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #503,093 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Trying to alter history while stumbling around in the dark, February 11, 2008

By	Rachel Thern "kiravae" (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

At the outbreak of World War II, Sam Dance's mysterious physics teacher gives him detailed instructions for building a "quantum machine" that can affect human behavior and possibly change the course of history. The next day, he finds out that his brother has been killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. This event sets his resolve to work on this device that may change the timeline and allow him to alter reality.

Throughout his WWII experiences he and his friend Wink try to build the device in their spare time, sometimes secretly receiving updated instructions. Their first finished device doesn't seem to do anything, but they continue in their attempts to make a better one. After the war, Sam begins to notice some curious anomalies.

This book was well-written, the characters likeable, and many scenes interesting, but I wasn't really able to really get into it or find it a page-turner. The characters seemed a little distant. I believe this might be because they have no agency - they are not controlling the flow of the story but reacting, having no idea whether their device will work and what it should do. When it appears changes may finally be occurring, they are still in the dark and so is the reader (one could argue that this is at least realistic - what character could get their head around everything?). History is finally presented as having nexus points at which it may be altered, but I found the choice of event the book focused on at the end to be a bit predictable.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GOONAN STRIKES HIGH AGAIN, July 4, 2007

By	Carolyn Quinn (Florida) - See all my reviews

Since following all of Goonan's books, I was thrilled to find she took a new turn toward combining a historical reference with a SF base. The book moved smoothly yet introduced many suprising twists and turns that kept me hooked. Her father, a WWII vet now 85 years old, helped lay the foundation and story line for the book through his experiences in Europe during the war. They have written a winning combination of SF and historical information intertwined with musical descriptions that is sure to be enjoyed by all science fiction readers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful, touching science fiction, June 27, 2007

By	GadgetGirl (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews

Goonan used to do more hard science fiction -- nano- and bio-tech. This is much more alternate history, and damn it, but it's good. Part of it is how well she's researched it (I read a review somewhere that said she used her own father's diary from the war), but a lot of it is how well she integrated what she's learned into the story. It's complex, and rich, and it rewards people who re-read books in a way I haven't seen since Tim Powers' The Anubis Gates.