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The Time Masters
From outer space...Hurtled to Earth ten thousand years ago...two timeless beings become enmeshed in a weird and frightening twentieth century conflict...
- GenresScience FictionFiction
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
3 people are currently reading
136 people want to read
About the author
Wilson Tucker
66 books33 followersArthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker was an American mystery, action adventure, and science fiction writer, who wrote as Wilson Tucker.
He was also a prominent member of science fiction fandom, who wrote extensively for fanzines under the name Bob Tucker, a family nickname bestowed in childhood.
He was also a prominent member of science fiction fandom, who wrote extensively for fanzines under the name Bob Tucker, a family nickname bestowed in childhood.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 28, 2023
There's a great concept here and, potentially, a story I really would have enjoyed. But it didn't happen. Wilson Tucker (1914-2006) seems to have been in a hurry to finish the book. The paperback I have, printed in 1954 ( published in 1953), runs to 128 pages. It could easily have been expanded to more than 200 pages or so to make a better story...It's the story of private detective Gilbert Nash. Little do the people around him know that he has been around for 10,000 years. His spaceship crashed on Earth and "Nash" and the other survivors got scattered around the world, a world inhabited by savage primitives. Nash himself tweaks things here and there and helps the human race in developing civilization. But he's not the only one who has done that. Finally, Nash is involved in an investigation that points to another alien living on the planet. He is determined to find her...
March 22, 2013
Twentieth century guy who used to be Gilgamesh searches for heavy water but is opposed by evil sexy chick with superpowers. I think.
February 9, 2015
‘Gilbert Nash has no past
Secret Service authorities in charge of security for the top secret Ridgerunner Project don’t believe that. Everybody has a past, they reason. The trouble is, Gilbert Nash’s past they just wouldn’t believe even if he told them. It is a past wrapped up in the Project, the first attempt to send a spacecraft beyond the solar system. And the death of one of Ridgerunner’s top scientists a few days after seeing Nash doesn’t calm Security at all. Bu there is something else pretty weird going on. The dead scientist’s wife doesn’t seem to have a past either – and she has disappeared…’
Blurb from the 1974 Panther paperback edition
A late and very minor piece from Tucker, the premise of which is that a handful of humanoid aliens crash-landed on Earth ten-thousand years ago, and have been guiding Humanity toward civilisation. The aliens are extraordinarily long-lived, but age on Earth faster than normal because of a lack of ‘Heavy Water’. Thus, some of them, in the 1940s, gravitated to America and Germany when they began to experiment with nuclear power in order to gain access to the water.
Gilbert Nash seems to be the only surviving alien (who are only distinguishable from humans by their longevity and the yellow cast of their eyes). He is working as a private detective near a top-secret rocket base. One of the scientists, Hodgkins, engages him to find his wife Carolyn, who disappeared a few weeks previously, and when the scientist is subsequently found dead, Nash begins to suspect that the missing wife is one of the alien survivors, and that she is responsible for her husband’s murder.
Oddly, the aliens can interbreed with humans, and Nash discovers that one of the women he encounters during the course of the novel, is one of his descendants, and has inherited a little of his longevity.
It lacks the pace and characterisation of Tucker’s other work, and reads much like a first draft. One would have liked to have known more of what Nash has been doing for the last ten thousand years, although we are led to believe that he was the legendary Gilgamesh.
The denouement is flat and predictable, leaving one to suspect that the book was written and finished in a hurry. It is however, an interesting late example of the ‘aliens among us’ theme which was a popular trend particularly in the US, from the Fifties onward.
Secret Service authorities in charge of security for the top secret Ridgerunner Project don’t believe that. Everybody has a past, they reason. The trouble is, Gilbert Nash’s past they just wouldn’t believe even if he told them. It is a past wrapped up in the Project, the first attempt to send a spacecraft beyond the solar system. And the death of one of Ridgerunner’s top scientists a few days after seeing Nash doesn’t calm Security at all. Bu there is something else pretty weird going on. The dead scientist’s wife doesn’t seem to have a past either – and she has disappeared…’
Blurb from the 1974 Panther paperback edition
A late and very minor piece from Tucker, the premise of which is that a handful of humanoid aliens crash-landed on Earth ten-thousand years ago, and have been guiding Humanity toward civilisation. The aliens are extraordinarily long-lived, but age on Earth faster than normal because of a lack of ‘Heavy Water’. Thus, some of them, in the 1940s, gravitated to America and Germany when they began to experiment with nuclear power in order to gain access to the water.
Gilbert Nash seems to be the only surviving alien (who are only distinguishable from humans by their longevity and the yellow cast of their eyes). He is working as a private detective near a top-secret rocket base. One of the scientists, Hodgkins, engages him to find his wife Carolyn, who disappeared a few weeks previously, and when the scientist is subsequently found dead, Nash begins to suspect that the missing wife is one of the alien survivors, and that she is responsible for her husband’s murder.
Oddly, the aliens can interbreed with humans, and Nash discovers that one of the women he encounters during the course of the novel, is one of his descendants, and has inherited a little of his longevity.
It lacks the pace and characterisation of Tucker’s other work, and reads much like a first draft. One would have liked to have known more of what Nash has been doing for the last ten thousand years, although we are led to believe that he was the legendary Gilgamesh.
The denouement is flat and predictable, leaving one to suspect that the book was written and finished in a hurry. It is however, an interesting late example of the ‘aliens among us’ theme which was a popular trend particularly in the US, from the Fifties onward.
December 22, 2020
Wilson Tucker has sadly gone under the radar even during his lifetime. He is a top flight writer and has written such classics as The Lincoln Hunters and The Year of The Quiet Sun.
The Time Masters is a tale of an ancient alien spacecraft that gets holed by a meteor right near the Earth, and the few survivors make it to land. . .in the prehistoric times. Mankind is still crawling up from savagery. These aliens look like humans but their life span is tremendous. Their inner makeup is different. They also need to drink what we now know as heavy water, the radioactive waste of making atomics.
It is now 10,000 years later and America is ready to step outside of Earth, barely. There are only two of theses aliens left and one of them is desperate to get home.
The Time Masters is a tale of an ancient alien spacecraft that gets holed by a meteor right near the Earth, and the few survivors make it to land. . .in the prehistoric times. Mankind is still crawling up from savagery. These aliens look like humans but their life span is tremendous. Their inner makeup is different. They also need to drink what we now know as heavy water, the radioactive waste of making atomics.
It is now 10,000 years later and America is ready to step outside of Earth, barely. There are only two of theses aliens left and one of them is desperate to get home.
May 1, 2017
-Desactualizado en forma y fondo, pudo tener encanto en su momento. Quién sabe.-
Género. Ciencia ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. Los servicios de seguridad de un proyecto secreto localizan a un hombre que no parece tener pasado. Él, Gilbert Nash, es supuestamente un detective privado al que un científico de ese proyecto recurre para saber qué ha sido de su esposa. Cuando el científico fallece, los agentes se ponen más nerviosos y Gilbert sabe que, igual que él, hay otros que no son lo que parecen.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. Los servicios de seguridad de un proyecto secreto localizan a un hombre que no parece tener pasado. Él, Gilbert Nash, es supuestamente un detective privado al que un científico de ese proyecto recurre para saber qué ha sido de su esposa. Cuando el científico fallece, los agentes se ponen más nerviosos y Gilbert sabe que, igual que él, hay otros que no son lo que parecen.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
August 9, 2020
Solid, competent, diverting
May 10, 2019
I first read this in the early 70s when it first came out in paperback in the UK. I remember that I loved it and it was on my shelf until my brother walked off with it. I then promptly forgot about it. Reading "Wrath of God", about the great earthquake that destroyed Lisbon, I was reminded that the hero, Gilbert Nash, in "The Time Masters" lost his wife there. I was overcome by a real desire to re-read the book but couldn't remember its name. After a deal of research I discovered "The Time Masters" and was able to get an old, second-hand, copy.
I'm glad I did.
I've read some pretty negative reviews of the book on Goodreads which surprise me, but then, one man's meat and all that. I liked the story. I thought it was a well-written but easy read. There are no surprises in the story, we know very early on what our hero is. The authorities also have their suspicions about our man Nash but have no idea of the real situation.
Readers will be familiar with similar scenarios; Highlander springs to mind, but this must have been one of the first and, in my opinion, far outdoes any poor imitations. The ending is left open, to some extent, as if further adventures could follow... but sadly they never did.
I'm glad I did.
I've read some pretty negative reviews of the book on Goodreads which surprise me, but then, one man's meat and all that. I liked the story. I thought it was a well-written but easy read. There are no surprises in the story, we know very early on what our hero is. The authorities also have their suspicions about our man Nash but have no idea of the real situation.
Readers will be familiar with similar scenarios; Highlander springs to mind, but this must have been one of the first and, in my opinion, far outdoes any poor imitations. The ending is left open, to some extent, as if further adventures could follow... but sadly they never did.
November 15, 2019
Another selection from my 1970’s Science Fiction Book Club collection. This one relates to the use of nuclear power for rocket fuel to send a spaceship to faraway galaxies. The setting is Knoxville, and the time is the “near future” (from the early 70’s, that is). The project is called “Ridgerunner” and its director is a man named Cummings, with his assistant Ditky, along with Shirley Hoffman, Ditky’s secretary.
Into this setting comes a man named Gilbert Nash (who has yellow eyes), whose existence had suddenly occurred in 1940, when the Manhattan Project was underway. He has been a co-worker of Cummings and Ditky, and had indeed saved Ditky’s life some two years ago. Now, Ditky is seeking the assistance of Gregory Hodges, a private investigator, to look into the disappearance two weeks prior of Ditky’s wife Carolyn. Sheo had also come on the scene abruptly in 1940 and also has yellow eyes. Shortly after this meeting, Ditky dies of an apparent suicide.
So what is the relationship between Carolyn and Nash? Why dis she disappear? Why did Ditky kill himself? And what is the connection of these findings with the development of atomic-powered deep-space probes? The remainder of the book concerns itself with parsing out this mystery, in large part with the able and underestimated assistance of Ms. Hffaman. Along the way there are very intriguing references to Sumerian mythology and the epic of Gilgamesh, which I quite enjoyed (it is also referenced in great depth in another book I just finished, “Snow Caash,” but I digress).
The book has a prologue which for the longest time seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the story, and I found it helpful to reread the prologue after finishing the book.
This was a relatively short book, with an interesting premise, but somehow for me not as gripping as I might have expected (perhaps had it been written by Agatha Christie or James Patterson…) Three stars, OK but not great.
Into this setting comes a man named Gilbert Nash (who has yellow eyes), whose existence had suddenly occurred in 1940, when the Manhattan Project was underway. He has been a co-worker of Cummings and Ditky, and had indeed saved Ditky’s life some two years ago. Now, Ditky is seeking the assistance of Gregory Hodges, a private investigator, to look into the disappearance two weeks prior of Ditky’s wife Carolyn. Sheo had also come on the scene abruptly in 1940 and also has yellow eyes. Shortly after this meeting, Ditky dies of an apparent suicide.
So what is the relationship between Carolyn and Nash? Why dis she disappear? Why did Ditky kill himself? And what is the connection of these findings with the development of atomic-powered deep-space probes? The remainder of the book concerns itself with parsing out this mystery, in large part with the able and underestimated assistance of Ms. Hffaman. Along the way there are very intriguing references to Sumerian mythology and the epic of Gilgamesh, which I quite enjoyed (it is also referenced in great depth in another book I just finished, “Snow Caash,” but I digress).
The book has a prologue which for the longest time seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the story, and I found it helpful to reread the prologue after finishing the book.
This was a relatively short book, with an interesting premise, but somehow for me not as gripping as I might have expected (perhaps had it been written by Agatha Christie or James Patterson…) Three stars, OK but not great.
August 21, 2021
Minor spoilers follow.
While it's hard to accept extraterrestrials who are basically just improved humans, I guess Superman is a thing that people like, and generally science fiction should get a pass on one hard-to-swallow idea so that the author can explore and follow through on the consequences of that idea.
So, on average, The Time Masters delivers. It's definitely got that pulp feel, but there's a plot that is going somewhere and doesn't seem overly padded by the author's need to increase the word count.
Major spoilers follow.
And the idea explored in Chapter 9, where it's revealed Gilbert Nash has been fathering a silent sub-race of long-lived immortals would be an awesome backstory for a role-playing game. It's just unfortunate that that idea has to come hand-in-hand with the realization that Nash has been flirting with his descendant for the past several chapters.
my favorite quote: "Suppose, just suppose, that every detective or spy or secret agent of whatever authority or source wore some sort of identifying badge or clothing- a long red cloak perhaps, wouldn't it be a ludicrous sight for the townspeople to see Dikty slipping along the street in his flapping red cloak, to see Nash tripping along behind him in his, and then by merely turning their heads, to see the third party sneaking along in the rear!"
While it's hard to accept extraterrestrials who are basically just improved humans, I guess Superman is a thing that people like, and generally science fiction should get a pass on one hard-to-swallow idea so that the author can explore and follow through on the consequences of that idea.
So, on average, The Time Masters delivers. It's definitely got that pulp feel, but there's a plot that is going somewhere and doesn't seem overly padded by the author's need to increase the word count.
Major spoilers follow.
And the idea explored in Chapter 9, where it's revealed Gilbert Nash has been fathering a silent sub-race of long-lived immortals would be an awesome backstory for a role-playing game. It's just unfortunate that that idea has to come hand-in-hand with the realization that Nash has been flirting with his descendant for the past several chapters.
my favorite quote: "Suppose, just suppose, that every detective or spy or secret agent of whatever authority or source wore some sort of identifying badge or clothing- a long red cloak perhaps, wouldn't it be a ludicrous sight for the townspeople to see Dikty slipping along the street in his flapping red cloak, to see Nash tripping along behind him in his, and then by merely turning their heads, to see the third party sneaking along in the rear!"
March 14, 2024
6.8/10 wish we could do half stars here
Still new when it comes to reading for fun.
I actually enjoyed this a fair amount I just felt the writing style lost me at points but maybe I don’t have enough books under my belt.
Sort of a crime/ sci fi story
A part I really liked was the whole “subtle” backstory explanation part with the Gilgamesh tie ins it really put me in Nash’s head and what he’s been through and how bugs and trees have different relationships with “time” as well as the heavy water alien explanation lore
It left me wanting more, more depth more lore more sci fi boom pow.
A few things felt like they ended too loosely but the book is short and there were chunks where I was fully entertained hope to re read this someday with a stronger brain for taking in words.
Still new when it comes to reading for fun.
I actually enjoyed this a fair amount I just felt the writing style lost me at points but maybe I don’t have enough books under my belt.
Sort of a crime/ sci fi story
A part I really liked was the whole “subtle” backstory explanation part with the Gilgamesh tie ins it really put me in Nash’s head and what he’s been through and how bugs and trees have different relationships with “time” as well as the heavy water alien explanation lore
It left me wanting more, more depth more lore more sci fi boom pow.
A few things felt like they ended too loosely but the book is short and there were chunks where I was fully entertained hope to re read this someday with a stronger brain for taking in words.
August 15, 2025
Perfectly serviceable '50s--VERY '50s--pulp SF. Some neat ideas but lacking in execution. I think he'd have been better off tightening it up into a more tantalizing short story. Or maybe he could've tried to write the epic he only summarizes in recollection here, but I suppose that wasn't what publishers were paying for at the time. As it is, Wilson Tucker spreads the action awfully thin to pad out even a short novel.
June 2, 2021
Amusing at the beginning, as it reads like an SF version of Dragnet. The story finishes at what appears to be a “cliffhanger”. Is this part 1 of some series ? Hard to tell.
It’s not worth it to read any future parts; it was barely worth it to read part 1.
It’s not worth it to read any future parts; it was barely worth it to read part 1.
December 22, 2020
Loved this book one of my first reads back in the 60’s. Only disappointment was ending, would have liked to see a better wrap up or maybe a sequel
March 29, 2021
the book is a bit longwinded but the premise and the whole story concept, extremely fascinating
September 19, 2020
Those involved in the top-secret Ridgerunner project are about to complete work on the first rocket designed to probe beyond the solar system, and Secret Service agents becoming frantic over the presence of one Gilbert Nash, a man without a past. A Science Fiction Book Club selection.
March 4, 2024
This is an early book from Tucker and not one of his best.
May 29, 2015
1981 grade B+
2002 grade B+
2002 grade B+
December 29, 2018
6/10. Media de los 2 libros leídos del autor : 6/10
January 31, 2024
4.25 / 5
May 29, 2018
Me gustó bastante, no es lo que esperaba en absoluto. Esa mezcla de noir y ciencia ficción es interesante y novedoso incluso hoy en día y aunque la historia de alienígenas ancestrales está muy vista a día de hoy pues aquí se hace novedosa también porque nos pone en el punto de vista de uno. Lo que no entiendo es por qué no hay una película basada en este libro hecha ya cuando se escribió. Hace falta muy poco presupuesto para rodar esta historia y durante los 50 lo hubiera petado al juntar los dos grandes géneros de esa década. ¡Si hasta hay una femme fatale extraterrestre! Es que bueno, el concepto de esta novela es la polla.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews