ISBN: 0-380-77978-1 Order from: Amazon.com
An intriguing take on time-traveling politics, this well-written novel is heavy on adventure, but suffers from several poorly-constructed plot elements, and a somewhat ineffectual protagonist.
Reviewed by David on November 18, 2000
Genre: Science Fiction (Time Travel, Humor)
Synopsis: In the future, the densely packed humanity discovers the secret of traveling through time. Dangerous and power-hungry, the trips are used for exploration, recovering disappeared species, and, of course, entertainment. Jake Bento is one of the worst experienced agents in the deadly occupation of time travel. When his First Trip to the unexplored Mesozoic with a Dinosaur expert Peg.
When not trying to to get into the pants of the beautiful paleontologist, not an easy task since Peg is both a practicing nudist and a Lesbian Teen Pack Mother, Jake is trying to keep Peg and himself from being stomped flat by the megafauna. When the majority of their equipment is destroyed in a storm, Jake and Peg start a long, dangerous, and exciting trip back through several wormholes and eras.
However, besides the danger of time travel, it appears that someone in the time travel business is intent on getting Jake killed. Or could this be job-induced paranoia?
Full Review: The descriptions and characters in this frequently amusing adventure are excellent. Some touches, like the use of transport portals to control the overcrowding of popular resorts, show impressive skill. However, some implications of time travel, a notoriously difficult subject, are left awkwardly hanging. In addition, the character interaction is occasionally strained. The suspected conspiracy seems strangely ineffective. Its motives appear weak, and its actions by turns remarkably subtle, and dangerously simplistic. The view-point character, Jake, despite appearance of high competence, proves ineffectual a few too many times, and Peg, intelligent, courageous and beautiful, sometimes seems flegmatic to the point of losing the reader's sympathy.
While enjoyable and fast-moving, with touches of humor and sense of wonder, the episodic nature of the narrative, and several plot problems prevent the novel from being truly satisfying.
Overall: 5.5; Plot: 5; Characters: 6; Style: 7; World-building: 6; Originality: 5.5;
Copyright date 1996, Avon Books (AvoNova), September 1996, Mass-market, 279 pages
ISBN: 0-380-77978-1 Order from: Amazon.com