Unwound Way

by Bill Adams, Cecil Brooks

Evan Larkspur dreamed of greater glory than his play writing could ever bring him. But his newfound career as officer on a star-survey mission ended in disaster almost as soon as it had begun. And when he returned home, the only survivor of a freak accident that had flung his ship out of known space, he found that a century had passed -- and though Larkspur the playwright was now famous, Larkspur the explorer was a wanted man.
Buried in his memory was the fate of his ship; hidden on his person was the star-access data that would have been worth several fortunes -- if it were not scrambled beyond repair. The repressive First Column government coveted that data and would not hesitate to strip Larkspur's mind in an attempt to decipher it.
There was nothing a deceased playwright or a vanished explorer could do against the Column. And so Larkspur fled to the fringe worlds, hiding his identity, intent only on survival -- until, on an obscure planet called Newcount Two, he discovered a powerful legacy he never knew he had . . .

Genres: Science Fiction

339 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 13, 1991

About the author

Author of The Unwound Way, The End of Fame, Tilt, and Dead Sirius. Short stories originally published in the Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock mystery magazines have now been collected on Kindle.

Reviews

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Science fiction, politics, art, secret agents, despotic governments, derring do makes for a convoluted plot, but one that I liked a lot.

[Scott Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's out of print, but it's got some good ideas about government and what we should fight for.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is just great fun. It's got adventure, romance, political philosophy, intrigue, fun tech, and even some great literary references. My favorite part is the J. Alfred Prufrock robot crab.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise behind having a sci-fi book centered around a poet or playwright is a novel idea and one that has not been explored much in the literary world. Unfortunately "The Unwound Way" is long winded and a bit chaotic between flashbacks. Descriptors in part two begin to give the book a little more solid footing, however finding the underlying principal of the book pointing towards a secret society is a bit cliche. The fact that this is a common theme between the two books the author has written points to the greater ideas put forth by Heinlein, Herbert and Hubbard that failed to gain popularity. Still, it is something to read that is not today's stereotypical fashion of books and has its own merit.

[The Big · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off well, and the suddenly took a perplexing turn that made no sense - until everything came together. A brilliant book overall, readers familiar with the workds of Shakespeare, and with Greek and Roman mythology, will love this one.

[Chas. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost gave it three stars. I liked many of the ideas in this book. The conspiracy theorys and philosophys. Not that I agree with them.
The writing itself is not that great. It kept my interest.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this more than I should have. An ambitious setting that ends up not being used that much. A fun romp through space and time in a space opera setting
Plot: Doesn't make too much sense
Style: Fun and high paced
Setting: Interesting, but not really explored
Characters: Fun and engaging

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars.