David Brin's Out of Time: Yanked! (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Nancy Kress (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

It's 2345.

THE FUTURE NEEDS HEROES!

They must reach back in time to find them.

WHAT IF THEY COME FOR YOU?

In 2345 there is no war, no pollution, no disease, no crime--but utopia has a price. . .

About the Author

David Brin has written or contributed to a dozen works of fiction and science fiction, has a Ph.D. in astrophysics, and has been a professor and a NASA consultant.

Nancy Kress is the author of fourteen books of fantasy and science fiction, including both novels and short-story collections.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (June 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380799685
• ISBN-13: 978-0380799688
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,402,122 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Yanked simplistically promotes savagery above rationality., August 8, 1999

By A Customer

Yanked! is the first of the "Out of Time" young adult novels following a series premise created by the well-known science fiction author David Brin. Established science fiction author Nancy Kress has written a formulaic and simplistic novel featuring formulaic and simplistic characters. In the year 2339, human society has reached the stage in which rationality, gentleness and kindness have supplanted greed, savagery and deceit. Because the members of this society no longer possess these qualities, euphemistically designated in the novel as stick-to-itiveness or "grit," they use a computer to "yank" various teens selected from the "Ten Thousand Heroes" of the past to solve the particular problem now facing them. If any of the kids are not then returned to their own time unharmed and with all memory of their adventures in the future erased, the society that "yanked" them may be destroyed and the universe itself may actually be torn apart by the time paradox. Nevertheless, members of this enervated future "Utopia" are so uncertain of their own ability to solve problems that they are willing to take this risk. A black basketball player given to sexist remarks about "babes" and a shy, bookish girl are "yanked" from the 1990's, and joined by a girl from Dark Ages Iceland, a boy pickpocket from nineteenth-century London, and one boy from the 2339 society. They are sent to rescue a colony of children marooned on a faraway planet. The humans were provided with a method to teleport across vast distances by mysterious "Gift Givers," but neglected to test it before using it to teleport a space ship across the galaxy. Only when the ship arrived at the new planet did they learn that this method of teleportation results in the death of anyone over the age of sixteen, and the children on the ship saw their parents die horribly in front of them. The "Yanks" team is sent not only to rescue the children but also to find a clue left for the way to earn the next present offered by the "Gift Givers". They must rush to discover the clue before it is found by the youngsters of a competing alien species who are also teleporting to the planet. Only the youngsters of either race can use this method of teleportation. This set-up could have allowed a plot in which the "Yanks" team learned to befriend and understand the kids from the alien species. Instead, Kress opts to show the teens using deceit, savagery and greed to combat the alien kids who are themselves cruel and greedy. This tediously wordy novel shows the "Yanks" team learning to use their various "talents" to try to rescue the marooned children, win out over the aliens, and overcome their own constant squabblings among themselves. One important plot element demonstrating the team's special abilities involves the kids discovering that training native creatures to be used for the savage sport of cock fighting is essential to their plot to outwit the aliens. In another example, the boy from 2339 is considered to be a weakling and a liability by the rest of the team until in a fit of anger he tries to beat another team member to death. As a result, the boy he attacked works to prove his worth to the team with a deceitful plot to trick the aliens by turning their predilection for gambling against them. Additionally, the book's "surprise" ending is so clumsily foreshadowed that I was able to figure it out completely from the earliest heavy-handed hint. This book is a major disappointment from such major science fiction writers as David Brin and Nancy Kress. It is particularly disturbing that it glorifies deceit and savagery above rationality, self-control and kindness when deceit, violence and brutality are among the major problems plaguing our schools today.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Teens Taken to the Future, January 4, 2005

By	Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In the twenty-fourth century, the Earth is a happy and healthy place. War and disease have been wiped out. It is a utopia. Humanity has become peaceful and calm. So when mysterious aliens nicknamed Givers came and gave humanity the ability to reach the stars with transporters, humans were no longer prepared to face the dangers of a new frontier. As special problems arise, they search in time for special individuals with "grit" and bring them forward to help out. Because teleporters don't seem to work with adults, teenagers are the ones yanked to the future.

This first volume has two teens from 1999 yanked to the future to join two others from even further in the past. Their mission, if they accept it, is to teleport to a lost colony and find a secret hidden there by a dying ship's captain. Another alien race also seems to know about the secret and are sending their own people.

The secret concerns one of the steps humanity must take before the Givers will convey even more powerful secrets and abilities. It would not be good for the more belligerent aliens to gain the secret first.

A pretty good start to this series with some nice explanations for the story's framework. Interesting aliens and an important deadline add to the mix and make the book move fairly quickly. A very pleasing read that helps recapture some of the wonder of early science fiction.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great start, July 1, 1999

By A Customer

Nancy Kress jump starts this series. Like the idea of real today kids being pulled into this action adventure. I have ordered both Tiger in the Sky by Sheila Finch and The Game of Worlds by Roger MacBride Allen. I hope they handle their parts of the series as well as Nancy Kress.