Tag: Time Travel

Divider

Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man

Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man

Review by Travis Starnes Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man is the first book in a new series that follows along, and intertwines, with the re-launch of Doctor Who that started in 2005.  This book features the 9th doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston on the show, with Rose as his companion and takes place during the first season of the show.  In the book the Doctor and Rose have landed in 1920s England and must deal with a killer roaming the street, a missing TARDIS and a house full of secrets. I am a fan of the new run of Doctor Who, although not its earlier incarnations, and this is my first run at one of the Doctor Who books.  The first thing that really stands out to me is how close they held to the feeling of the show.  Both Rose and the Doctor read on the page just as… Read more »

Divider

In Retrospect

In Retrospect

Review by Travis Starnes In Retrospect is time travel story mixed with a who-dun-it style mystery set against a dystopian sci-fi backdrop.  It sounds like a strange mixture but Larson completely pulls off this interesting collogue of genres. When it comes to sci-fi, and especially dystopian and post-apocalyptic future (or in this case post-post-apocalyptic) sci-fi, the setting is what makes or breaks the book for me.  Larson did what I think works the best by creating a detailed world and just hinting at all this past information.  Similar to Tolkien’s work you can feel the history of the world the book never focuses on that far history.  You know there was some kind of apocalyptic event, that prior to that a limited form of time travel was invented and that after the event new civilizations rose to take the place of the old powers.  I would actually be interested to… Read more »

Divider

1633

1633

Another year has gone by and the residents of Grantville and the new United States are making their way in 17th century Europe.  In 1633 this new country will be reaching further into their world and continuing their conflicts with the Catholic countries that oppose them. 1633 is not only a quality sequel to its predecessors but one of the rare occasions that a sequel beats the original in some ways, although not all.  I would credit a lot of the advances this book makes to the addition of Weber partnering with Flint.  I can feel a lot of his structure and character work behind the Flint façade. As with 1632 the majority of characters are still pretty cliché.  However many of the major character, including previously minor characters who have been moved up to the big leagues, are getting fleshed out a bit more.  Raising the profile of already… Read more »

Divider

1632

1632

I have said it before and I will say it again, Eric Flint is the most upbeat sci-fi writer I have come across.  His good guys are pure, his bad guys are evil and deserve what they get, and you can see in his writing how much joy he has in telling the story.  He is the literary equivalent of methamphetamine, of course without the life crushing physical addiction. 1632 is the first in a series about a small town in West Virginia that has been torn from its place and time and dropped into southern Germany in 1632, hence the name.  For historians this time period has meaning but it is an unusual choice because it is not one of the flashy, popular moments in history.  The story is set in the midst of the Thirty Years War where Catholic run nations were fighting against those ruled by Protestants. … Read more »

Divider