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The Time Dissolver
Armchair fiction presents extra large paperback editions of the best in classic science fiction novels. “The Time Dissolver” is an excellent time travel thriller by one of science fiction’s best authors, Jerry Sohl. What terrible thing was he made to forget? A man awakens with a clear memory of his date the night before. He rises to go on about his business as usual—finds he is in a room he has never seen before. He looks in the mirror…it is his face he sees all right—but aged! He went to sleep on May 15th of one year. He awoke the next day as expected—but eleven years later! The woman in the bed beside him awakens also—in terror at the sight of him. She too went to sleep on May 15th… Neither one had ever seen the other before!
- GenresScience Fiction
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
About the author
Jerry Sohl
88 books9 followersGerald Allan Sohl Sr. (December 2, 1913 - November 4, 2002) was a scriptwriter for The Twilight Zone (as a ghostwriter for Charles Beaumont), Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Outer Limits, Star Trek and other shows . He also wrote novels, feature film scripts, and the nonfiction works Underhanded Chess and Underhanded Bridge in 1973.
His 1955 Point Ultimate is a piece of Cold War invasion literature: in 1999, a faraway future history at the time of writing, the US lies under a cruel Soviet occupation, reinforced by a deadly artificial disease which makes conquered Americans dependent on the conquerors for the injections which keep them alive. But a dashing Illinois farm boy breaks out in revolt, killing a degenerate soviet governor and his "Commie" American collaborators. Eventually, he becomes a leading member of a very formidable resistance organization which is capable of breaking at will into the occupiers' security headquarters and springing prisoners out, and which had already established a clandestine space program under the Soviets' noses and established a sizeable colony on Mars.
In the far more low-key The Time Dissolver (1957) Sohl tells the story of a man and a woman who wake up one morning to find that, inexplicably, they had lost all memory of the past eleven years including any memory of how they ever came to meet and become married to each other, and who embark on a quest to find what happened and to trace back these eleven lost years. Aside from the science fiction aspects, the book captures the atmosphere of late 1950s America.
His 1955 Point Ultimate is a piece of Cold War invasion literature: in 1999, a faraway future history at the time of writing, the US lies under a cruel Soviet occupation, reinforced by a deadly artificial disease which makes conquered Americans dependent on the conquerors for the injections which keep them alive. But a dashing Illinois farm boy breaks out in revolt, killing a degenerate soviet governor and his "Commie" American collaborators. Eventually, he becomes a leading member of a very formidable resistance organization which is capable of breaking at will into the occupiers' security headquarters and springing prisoners out, and which had already established a clandestine space program under the Soviets' noses and established a sizeable colony on Mars.
In the far more low-key The Time Dissolver (1957) Sohl tells the story of a man and a woman who wake up one morning to find that, inexplicably, they had lost all memory of the past eleven years including any memory of how they ever came to meet and become married to each other, and who embark on a quest to find what happened and to trace back these eleven lost years. Aside from the science fiction aspects, the book captures the atmosphere of late 1950s America.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 24, 2026
This is a pretty good story of two people who wake up in bed together in California in contemporary 1957 with no memory of the previous eleven years. They split up and try to retrace their identities and gradually reunite at a mysterious Institute in Michigan. It's more of an amnesia mystery/medical procedural than a science fiction novel, despite the psychedelic sf cover on the first Avon edition by Richard Powers. (And I notice that by a weird coincidence today (2/24) was Powers' birthday.) The woman seems a bit more competent and intelligent than her husband, but it was 1957 so you know how that worked. Today it would probably be labeled as a suspense/thriller/mystery rather than as sf. I enjoyed listening to a fine reading of one of Sohl's interesting books that I never got around to via Librivox.
December 21, 2015
Good competent, simple and enjoyable old school 'mystery' (who am I?) scifi. Could/should have been shorter, but probably this was intentionally expanded to novel length. However, I enjoyed the pace and story. Sohl is known for writing scripts for Rod Sterling's Twilight Zone, and is worth a look if you like that sort of thing.
I, most certainly, do.
I, most certainly, do.
August 6, 2011
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1715010...
It's a low-key, subtle, short novel about a man and woman who wake up in a motel together one day in 1957 with no memory of each other, or of anything that has happened since 1946; and they have to explain 1950s America to themselves, and themselves to each other, before discovering what has actually happened to them. The alert reader will work out what the answer probably is by about halfway through the book, but the atmospherics are fantastic. I see that Sohl was more successful as a TV scriptwriter for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone and even Star Trek, so will look out for his stuff in future.
It's a low-key, subtle, short novel about a man and woman who wake up in a motel together one day in 1957 with no memory of each other, or of anything that has happened since 1946; and they have to explain 1950s America to themselves, and themselves to each other, before discovering what has actually happened to them. The alert reader will work out what the answer probably is by about halfway through the book, but the atmospherics are fantastic. I see that Sohl was more successful as a TV scriptwriter for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone and even Star Trek, so will look out for his stuff in future.
August 31, 2014
I simply couldn't put it down. This book instantly caught my attention with it's honesty. I don't normally enjoy books within the science fiction genre but this one took me by surprise. It wasn't concerned with creating aesthetic imagery based around new worlds and creatures but instead focused on the human imagination and anxieties we all face. Truly one of my favourite small reads!
July 3, 2026
So a Man, and a Woman wake up one morning in a Hotel Room with the last 11 1/2 Years of Their Memories all gone. This is such a Classic, yet Great beginning to the Mystery that is the Centre Piece of this book.
And it is quite the Enjoyable and Engaging book.
In the First Third of the Book the Reader follows Martin Sherwood, the Man who woke up in the motel room, as He slowly and meticulously follows the Thread of His Lost Memory. And slowly and meticulously He discovers just who He was over the Last 11 1/2 years.
I know that might sound a bit Boring but it isn't. The Narrative constantly moves forward with Each Small Discovery of His Past, but the Narrative just prefers to comfortably Take Its Time as it does move forward. It's a Dectective Story, and a Fascinating one at that. It actually allows the story to Breath a Bit before it Moves On.
About the 1/3 point in the story, the Reader returns to the Woman who woke up the Motel Room. And this is when We discover that She also has lost 11 1/2 years of Her Memory. And We discover Her name is Virginia Sherwood, and She is Martin Sherwood's Wife.
We follow Her for a bit, but pretty quickly She just becomes a Secondary Character to Martin Sherwood and His Quest. Which is too bad. Grudgingly We realise that She and Her Lost Memories are as an Important part of the Overall story as Martin Sherwood loosing His but.....being the Wife of the Main Character, Her Search for Her Memories tends to be relegated mostly to the Background Narrative.
Such a lost opportunity. Add about Fifty Pages to the Book, where We follow Viginia Sherwood on Her Personal Quest, and we have the Makings of a Great Novel. Oh Well.
At the Halfway Point In the story, Martin and Virginia Sherwood meet once again, in a House They apparently Own, and a Marriage neither of Them can remember. And We are confronted with the Facinating Spectacle of a Man and a Woman, thrown together by circumstances neither of Them can understand. Two people who cannot remember a single detail of Being Married for about six years, have no memory of anything They did together all that time, or even when and how They first met and got involved with each other.
And now that they are together again....just how are They going to move forward with the Rest of Their Lives. This is the proverbial Elephant in the Narrative that Dominates the Background of the story as Martin Sherwood moves forward, still seeking to solve the Mystery of The Lost Memories.
After that, at the 3/4 Point (Chapter 15), We discover The Sherwood Effect, as told to Us by Ollie, a Lab Assistant who worked at the Institute Martin Sherwood worked at. He Reveals All the Details of Martin Sherwood's Top Secret Work, and thus most of the Mystery in the story is Solved. Except for the Wrapping Up Details.
And from then on, The Plot becomes a "Movie of The Week" Television Script, a Writing Style Jerry Sohl excells at. A Gun is Produced, some Shots are Fired, Clichés happen, then there's a Bit of a Car Chase, etc......And everything is resolved before the Commercial Break.
A more Original and Interesting Ending could have brought the story's Rating up to 5 stars but....well, it's a Good Enough Ending as it is.
I have to admit I did like the Final Chapter which I thought was Pretty Good......No SPOILER Here..... But a Heart-to-Heart Talk About Elephants happens which Wraps Up the Story in a Satisfying Way.
So a Recommended Read and a story I wasn't expecting to read, but one I'm glad I did.
And it is quite the Enjoyable and Engaging book.
In the First Third of the Book the Reader follows Martin Sherwood, the Man who woke up in the motel room, as He slowly and meticulously follows the Thread of His Lost Memory. And slowly and meticulously He discovers just who He was over the Last 11 1/2 years.
I know that might sound a bit Boring but it isn't. The Narrative constantly moves forward with Each Small Discovery of His Past, but the Narrative just prefers to comfortably Take Its Time as it does move forward. It's a Dectective Story, and a Fascinating one at that. It actually allows the story to Breath a Bit before it Moves On.
About the 1/3 point in the story, the Reader returns to the Woman who woke up the Motel Room. And this is when We discover that She also has lost 11 1/2 years of Her Memory. And We discover Her name is Virginia Sherwood, and She is Martin Sherwood's Wife.
We follow Her for a bit, but pretty quickly She just becomes a Secondary Character to Martin Sherwood and His Quest. Which is too bad. Grudgingly We realise that She and Her Lost Memories are as an Important part of the Overall story as Martin Sherwood loosing His but.....being the Wife of the Main Character, Her Search for Her Memories tends to be relegated mostly to the Background Narrative.
Such a lost opportunity. Add about Fifty Pages to the Book, where We follow Viginia Sherwood on Her Personal Quest, and we have the Makings of a Great Novel. Oh Well.
At the Halfway Point In the story, Martin and Virginia Sherwood meet once again, in a House They apparently Own, and a Marriage neither of Them can remember. And We are confronted with the Facinating Spectacle of a Man and a Woman, thrown together by circumstances neither of Them can understand. Two people who cannot remember a single detail of Being Married for about six years, have no memory of anything They did together all that time, or even when and how They first met and got involved with each other.
And now that they are together again....just how are They going to move forward with the Rest of Their Lives. This is the proverbial Elephant in the Narrative that Dominates the Background of the story as Martin Sherwood moves forward, still seeking to solve the Mystery of The Lost Memories.
After that, at the 3/4 Point (Chapter 15), We discover The Sherwood Effect, as told to Us by Ollie, a Lab Assistant who worked at the Institute Martin Sherwood worked at. He Reveals All the Details of Martin Sherwood's Top Secret Work, and thus most of the Mystery in the story is Solved. Except for the Wrapping Up Details.
And from then on, The Plot becomes a "Movie of The Week" Television Script, a Writing Style Jerry Sohl excells at. A Gun is Produced, some Shots are Fired, Clichés happen, then there's a Bit of a Car Chase, etc......And everything is resolved before the Commercial Break.
A more Original and Interesting Ending could have brought the story's Rating up to 5 stars but....well, it's a Good Enough Ending as it is.
I have to admit I did like the Final Chapter which I thought was Pretty Good......No SPOILER Here..... But a Heart-to-Heart Talk About Elephants happens which Wraps Up the Story in a Satisfying Way.
So a Recommended Read and a story I wasn't expecting to read, but one I'm glad I did.
April 22, 2018
This sounds like more of a psychadelic sci-fi than it really is. It's more of a hard-boiled detective type story with a sci-fi element. Like an episode of Black Mirror. A man awakes next to a woman with no recollection of how he got there and over time learns that he can't remember anything from the previous decade or so. As he retraces his steps he learns about the man he became and finally learns the secret to his amnesia.
I always like to imagine how these pulp sci-fi novels could get adapted into film, particularly if they had been made at the time they were written. This could be a pretty great one, but a contemporary telling of the story from the wife's perspective might be the more compelling version.
I've been working my way through all of Jerry Sohl's books and they've all been really compelling. This one is no exception.
I always like to imagine how these pulp sci-fi novels could get adapted into film, particularly if they had been made at the time they were written. This could be a pretty great one, but a contemporary telling of the story from the wife's perspective might be the more compelling version.
I've been working my way through all of Jerry Sohl's books and they've all been really compelling. This one is no exception.
July 31, 2017
This is a Jerry Sohl book that I missed the first time around. John Stith mentioned it was available on e-book and I bought it.
It very much reminds me of the type of books that John writes, with a big idea and relatively normal people. At least *real* people.
I'm glad it was re-released.
It very much reminds me of the type of books that John writes, with a big idea and relatively normal people. At least *real* people.
I'm glad it was re-released.
December 14, 2024
classic amnesia-mystery that never gets a satisfying explanation. and the male protagonist had me raging with his constant "where's dinner?" attitude towards his wife who's ALSO experiencing amnesia. but her losing 11 years of memories isn't as important because she's just a housewife and he's a genius scientist. she should have taken the chance to dump that dummy
August 22, 2023
I listened to this as part of The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack. It was an enteremting space story. I have listened to a number of novels by the author. I would recommend to readers of space opera novels. 2023
February 9, 2025
An amnesiac ex-scientist investigates his own memory loss. Sohl favours gentle SF intrigue in pursuing his premise, working in a low-key human element rather than driving forward with the psychological breakdown/conspiracy thrills of, say, Eric Frank Russell’s With a Strange Device (1964).
September 29, 2024
Once again I expected a sort of pulpy detective novel and was surprised with a nice science fiction mystery. Probably could have sped up a few parts but in general quite nice.
April 13, 2021
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. As a fan of the Twilight Zone, I felt like this could have been extend version of the Twilight Zone episode. Which I have since found out that Jerry Sohl later wrote three Twilight Zone episodes. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a Twilight Zone fan and fan of classic 50's science fiction.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews