Customer Reviews

A bridge of years

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed this book tremendously. The pace flowed quickly and smoothly throughout the entire book, and the conclusion, though a bit choppy, truly seemed appropriate for the situation. Thankfully, everything doesn't necessarily end on a perfect note, so I do appreciate that Wilson took the time to think about what "should" happen, rather than what everyone else would "like" to happen. There is a love story which flows in the middle of the book, but I don't think this was truly fully developed (the reason for the 4 stars). I did enjoy the technology and the frightening (and almost too-real) look at what the future holds, or may hold for us in the real world. The characters were well thought-out and though a bit hyperbolic, came across nicely. An excellent take on the future/past relationship without killing the concept. Overall, an excellent and quick read.

Wilson is one of the today's best science fiction writers and "A Bridge of Years" is his most moving book. This story of a house that serves as a crossroad in time weaves together the unique romance of an unlikely couple, a reluctant soldier from the future and a mysterious caretaker from an enlightened era. Suspense and insight are expertly balanced in the three storylines. "A Bridge of Years" succeeds in pairing great characters with fascinating ideas and a love story that fits perfectly into the scenario. It's a great book for unlikely fans of science fiction as it offers more than just the usual revelations and situations.

Science Fiction has always been about ideas, about action and adventure - about The Story. The language used to tell the story, well, that's not as important. As long as it is not obtrusively bad, SF fans can live with workmanlike prose, if the ideas and events are interesting.

And then there is Robert Charles Wilson. Yes, he has ideas and plot twists like all SF authors. But man does he know how to WRITE! I am in awe of the subtlety and power with which he uses the English language. In a few sentences, he can evoke a sense of atmosphere or place that is deeper and clearer than any SF author I've read. His characters are complete, nuanced, flawed but endearing. His writing is lyrical, rich, even poetic. His novels are not just SF, they are literature, which is rare in the genre.

I know this review doesn't say much about the plot, which is well conceived and executed. You'll enjoy it, trust me. But the glory of a Robert Charles Wilson novel is not so much in the story as in the story-telling. I read a lot of SF, and I believe Wilson to be the finest Writer in the field. He is amazing. Prepare to be impressed.

Following a divorce and a desperate need to start over, alcoholic Tom Winter leaves Seattle to return home to Belltower where he buys a three decade old house not occupied for over ten years, but maintained in pristine condition by an apparent phantom housekeeping service. The previous occupant Ben Collier lived there from 1964 until he vanished in 1980. Tom thinks his luck has changed as there is not one iota of dust anywhere and everything works.

However, he wonders if he is having the DTs when the "Tidiness Elves" clean his dishes. He soon meets his ghosts the cybernetic caretakers who plead with him to repair the abode as Tom learns the basement contains a tunnel that on the other end takes a traveler to Greenwich Village circa 1962. Ignoring the custodians' warning not to enter the tunnel, Tom lands in May 1962 where he meets Joyce Casella in Washington Square Park. They are attracted to one another, but she fears he lost his mind to LSD or something similar. However, a marauder Billy Gargullo who killed Ben targets Tom and Joyce.

This is a reprint of a 1991 classic time traveler relationship drama. The exciting story line is filled with action, a vague future filled with war and horrific climate change, and a purposely not fully developed bittersweet romance. Character driven, fans who appreciate a complex somewhat convoluted thriller will want to read Robert Charles Wilson's terrific time travel treatise as the protagonist struggles to cope psychologically (accentuated with the right on target climax) even more than the physical stalking by a killer.

Harriet Klausner

This book tells its tale in several different aspects: there is a wonderfully bittersweet story of a still-young man, who has loved and lost, and is somewhat defeated by life. His character, and the others, are drawn beautifully.
There is also the 'comic book monster' side of the story, also done wonderfully, in full technicolor 'kapow'.
Then there is the travel-back-in-time aspect, with its pensive, thoughtful, longing for what might have been, if different choices had been made.
If Wilson has a fault, it is that his novels tend to end with a whimper, rather than a bang. The endings always seem a little bit less climactic than I would like. But up until that point, Robert Charles Wilson is a wonderful, wonderful writer.
This book will break your heart, scare you, amuse you, and then break your heart again. Wow.

Getting over a divorce and coming home to eat humble pie and work in his brother's used car lot, an ordinary guy buys a small cozy house in the woods of Washington state and soon notices something strange is afoot. When he falls asleep in front of the TV with a dirty plate in front of him, it's always clean in the morning. In fact, if he didn't know better, he would think some little elf had snuck in and washed it. Combine that with some strange dreams with Wilson's characteristic obsession with bug like creatures, and the discovery of a lifetime - a secret tunnel in the basement that leads...to another time! At first, everything is wonderful, but the tunnel comes with some dangerous baggage. It's a great, easy read that you won't be able to put down. Wilson always creates the great everyman characters and his plots always have that wonderful quality of mixing the fantastic with the ordinary. Why this really bizarre thing could be happening right next door to you! I enjoyed this one more than any other of his books. I think it's his tightest and it's a lot of fun.

I was turned on to Robert Charles Wilson by a friend of mine. I was skeptical about reading sci-fi, since lately I've been into Hunter S. Thompson and Mario Puzo. I must say though I was blown away. Those of you who have been fortunate enough to read The Harvest will know exactly what I mean. Even though A Bridge of Years isn't quite as gripping, you still find yourself asking questions like 'what if I had the choice' and 'what if I were given that opportunity.' I thought The Harvest started out a bit slow, but this book jumps right into the action. The way Wilson writes makes his books very believable, they're not far-fetched at all. Great reading for most age ranges. The bad news is that these titles are now out of print, I actually came to this site looking for them. If you're ready to take an insight into yourself, and if you can find them, I highly recommend Wilson no matter what genre you prefer to read.

The pace of the story is just right, the characters so real and the narrator sets just the right tone. One of my favorite books.

I like time travel stories, so I bought this book along with some others.
The idea of time travel to 1962 and that's it (from the description) seemed a crashing bore. I left this book for last on the pile to read.
Finally when I began to read it I read the back cover etc and it said more about the story that led me to give it a try.

It turned out this book is really good and one of the most satisfying reads I've had for awhile.
The characters are well defined and what I thought would be cliche turned out to be a well examined and well written story with lots of humanity in it.
Rather than bore me to death I kept reading just to see what would happen next. Robert Charles Wilson is pretty good if he can get me to do that with
a book I thought I would have to trudge through based on the premise.

I've been reading RCW for a few years now and he's become one of my favorite authors.

This book, though one of his early works, is remarkably well written and fast-paced.

If your a fan of RCW, I would say there's nothing here to dissapoint, to those that have not read him before, I highly recommend this book.

One caution, RCW tends not to wrap things up in a nice neat bow. He builds a framework for a story but mostly he focuses on the characters and the journey they take through the book. If your the type of person that wants everything answered and neat/complete endings, then RCW may not be for you.