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A Rebel in Time
Can history be changed? Can the South still win the War Between the States? Colonel McCulloch thinks so, even though the war ended more than a hundred years ago. With gold, an automatic weapon, and some very special blueprints, he plans to go back in time and reverse the outcome of the Civil War.
315 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 1983
About the author
Harry Harrison
1,339 books1,057 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey) was an American science fiction author best known for his character the The Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), the basis for the film Soylent Green (1973). He was also (with Brian W. Aldiss) co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey) was an American science fiction author best known for his character the The Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), the basis for the film Soylent Green (1973). He was also (with Brian W. Aldiss) co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
November 16, 2014
Treasure of the Rubbermaids 21: The Great Dixie Machine Gun Time-Mowing Adventure Crossover!
At long last! BecauseI need a gimmick to drum up some votes to keep Patrick Rothfuss from passing me on the all time reviewer’s list the people of Goodreads demanded it, I proudly present the first crossover of two of my most popular features: The Treasure of the Rubbermaids and The Time-Mower Adventures!
The on-going discoveries of priceless books and comics found in a stack of Rubbermaid containers previously stored and forgotten at my parent’s house and untouched for almost 20 years. Thanks to my father dumping them back on me, I now spend my spare time unearthing lost treasures from their plastic depths.
1859 - Richmond, Virgina
“Hey, you just appeared out of thin air. You must be a time-traveler.”
“Yeah, after my laptop fused with my lawn mower by a freak lightning strike, I can use it to move through time. My name’s Kemper, and I’m from 2014. And since you immediately knew what was going on, I’m guessing that you’re a member of the club?”
“That’s right. I’m Sergeant Troy Harmon of the US Army. I’m from 1983. I‘m here on a mission that‘s vital to the future of America.”
“I’m just dicking around myself. So what’s the problem, Sergeant?”
“In ’83 I was brought in to a small secret government group that watchdogs classified projects. They were concerned that that a colonel named McCulloch in charge of the security of one of these operations started exhibiting odd behavior. He was buying large amounts of gold. When I interviewed him, he exhibited angry racist tendencies and was extremely uncooperative. Then he vanished suddenly after committing several criminal acts, and I learned that he had also stolen blueprints for an easily manufactured machine gun from the government archives.”
“Oh, shit! That crazy bastard was going to come back and give machine guns to the South in the Civil War!”
“Wow…. You figured that out remarkably fast. It took me a lot longer.”
“Really? I thought you when you put racist, time travel, machine guns and gold together it’s pretty obvious. But since the Union still won the war, and I never heard about any Confederate machine guns, it must never have happened, right?”
“That’s what we thought initially, too. One of the scientists working there told me that it could be that McCulloch started an alternate time line, but I wondered if the reason he failed was because I came back and prevented it. Plus, I hated the idea of his plan succeeding even if it was in a parallel universe. So I volunteered to come back and stop him.”
“You volunteered? Uh…Sergeant, forgive me for stating the obvious, but you’re African-American.”
“I’m not familiar with that term.”
“Oh, right. 1983... What I mean is that you’re black.”
“I am.”
“And you volunteered to come back in time when slavery was still legal and American society was incredibly racist?”
“I did.”
“Well, Sergeant, I gotta give you credit. That’s a brave thing you did.”
“Thank you. I admit that I have a few regrets about leaving 1983 forever.”
“You can’t go back?”
“No, our time travel method is one way…. Uh, that time-mower of yours, you can use it to go back to the future?”
“Yep. Once you settle McCullouch’s hash, do you want a ride?”
“Yes, please. This time sucks ass.”
*****
This particular Rubbermaid treasure is the result of Jeff's review of The Guns of the South which sounded incredibly familiar to me with it’s story of a time traveling racist giving machine guns to the Confederates in the Civil War, but I didn’t think I’d ever read any Harry Turtledove books. A little digging in the basement unearthed this paperback which I'd almost completely forgotten about, and I see that it was released almost a decade earlier than The Guns of the South. I don’t know what the story is there, so I won’t say that Turtledove completely LaBeoufed his book, but the plots sound more than a little similar.
This isn’t bad as far as time travel stories go. It’s fast paced with a light breezy style that doesn’t get too bogged down in any timey-wimey aspects. However, there’s a frustration to reading it that may not be entirely the author’s fault.
My copy of this has a picture of a Confederate soldier holding a machine gun on the cover along with the picture of a man in a modern suit with a Confederate flag as the background and the tag line “The South Will Rise” under the title. On the back, there’s a drawing of Robert E. Lee along with the schematic of a machine gun with this little blurb that asks what if the North could still lose the Civil War.
Then you start reading it, and there’s this racist colonel hoarding gold while working on a top secret project. Then he murders some people and vanishes when he realizes he’s being investigated. Troy Harmon learns about the time travel and the machine gun plans, and yet he still doesn’t figure out that he’s gone back in time until halfway through the book.
So any reader probably knows where this was going the entire time, but the first half of the book plays out like it’s a giant mystery. Anyone hoping for extensive action in the past will probably be disappointed because all of the 1859 stuff happens after that. The whole thing ends up feeling pretty lightweight and thin.
Maybe Harry Harrison intended for the book to start out as a modern mystery that took a sci-fi turn but the marketing gave it away. The book might play better if you didn't know what was coming. But when you’ve got Robert E. Lee and Confederate soldiers with machine guns on the cover, it feels like a huge let down when you don’t get more of that.
At long last! Because
The on-going discoveries of priceless books and comics found in a stack of Rubbermaid containers previously stored and forgotten at my parent’s house and untouched for almost 20 years. Thanks to my father dumping them back on me, I now spend my spare time unearthing lost treasures from their plastic depths.
1859 - Richmond, Virgina
“Hey, you just appeared out of thin air. You must be a time-traveler.”
“Yeah, after my laptop fused with my lawn mower by a freak lightning strike, I can use it to move through time. My name’s Kemper, and I’m from 2014. And since you immediately knew what was going on, I’m guessing that you’re a member of the club?”
“That’s right. I’m Sergeant Troy Harmon of the US Army. I’m from 1983. I‘m here on a mission that‘s vital to the future of America.”
“I’m just dicking around myself. So what’s the problem, Sergeant?”
“In ’83 I was brought in to a small secret government group that watchdogs classified projects. They were concerned that that a colonel named McCulloch in charge of the security of one of these operations started exhibiting odd behavior. He was buying large amounts of gold. When I interviewed him, he exhibited angry racist tendencies and was extremely uncooperative. Then he vanished suddenly after committing several criminal acts, and I learned that he had also stolen blueprints for an easily manufactured machine gun from the government archives.”
“Oh, shit! That crazy bastard was going to come back and give machine guns to the South in the Civil War!”
“Wow…. You figured that out remarkably fast. It took me a lot longer.”
“Really? I thought you when you put racist, time travel, machine guns and gold together it’s pretty obvious. But since the Union still won the war, and I never heard about any Confederate machine guns, it must never have happened, right?”
“That’s what we thought initially, too. One of the scientists working there told me that it could be that McCulloch started an alternate time line, but I wondered if the reason he failed was because I came back and prevented it. Plus, I hated the idea of his plan succeeding even if it was in a parallel universe. So I volunteered to come back and stop him.”
“You volunteered? Uh…Sergeant, forgive me for stating the obvious, but you’re African-American.”
“I’m not familiar with that term.”
“Oh, right. 1983... What I mean is that you’re black.”
“I am.”
“And you volunteered to come back in time when slavery was still legal and American society was incredibly racist?”
“I did.”
“Well, Sergeant, I gotta give you credit. That’s a brave thing you did.”
“Thank you. I admit that I have a few regrets about leaving 1983 forever.”
“You can’t go back?”
“No, our time travel method is one way…. Uh, that time-mower of yours, you can use it to go back to the future?”
“Yep. Once you settle McCullouch’s hash, do you want a ride?”
“Yes, please. This time sucks ass.”
*****
This particular Rubbermaid treasure is the result of Jeff's review of The Guns of the South which sounded incredibly familiar to me with it’s story of a time traveling racist giving machine guns to the Confederates in the Civil War, but I didn’t think I’d ever read any Harry Turtledove books. A little digging in the basement unearthed this paperback which I'd almost completely forgotten about, and I see that it was released almost a decade earlier than The Guns of the South. I don’t know what the story is there, so I won’t say that Turtledove completely LaBeoufed his book, but the plots sound more than a little similar.
This isn’t bad as far as time travel stories go. It’s fast paced with a light breezy style that doesn’t get too bogged down in any timey-wimey aspects. However, there’s a frustration to reading it that may not be entirely the author’s fault.
My copy of this has a picture of a Confederate soldier holding a machine gun on the cover along with the picture of a man in a modern suit with a Confederate flag as the background and the tag line “The South Will Rise” under the title. On the back, there’s a drawing of Robert E. Lee along with the schematic of a machine gun with this little blurb that asks what if the North could still lose the Civil War.
Then you start reading it, and there’s this racist colonel hoarding gold while working on a top secret project. Then he murders some people and vanishes when he realizes he’s being investigated. Troy Harmon learns about the time travel and the machine gun plans, and yet he still doesn’t figure out that he’s gone back in time until halfway through the book.
So any reader probably knows where this was going the entire time, but the first half of the book plays out like it’s a giant mystery. Anyone hoping for extensive action in the past will probably be disappointed because all of the 1859 stuff happens after that. The whole thing ends up feeling pretty lightweight and thin.
Maybe Harry Harrison intended for the book to start out as a modern mystery that took a sci-fi turn but the marketing gave it away. The book might play better if you didn't know what was coming. But when you’ve got Robert E. Lee and Confederate soldiers with machine guns on the cover, it feels like a huge let down when you don’t get more of that.
May 27, 2024
I have always enjoyed reading about history--and that got me into alternate history...For some reason, I've long been interested in such questions as: What if the South had won the Civil War? When I was a kid, I got a hold of a book titled "If the South Had Won the Civil War" by Mackinlay Kantor ( published in book form in 1961). I found it interesting, especially as it was written as a history text (set in an alternate universe). Kantor has Lee winning the Battle of Gettysburg, but also it took another alteration of history to achieve the Confederate victory--the death of US Grant (due to a fall from his horse) during the Vicksburg campaign. It's an accident that leads to the defeat of the Union forces outside Vicksburg. Another AH book about the Civil War is considered a classic-"Bring the Jubilee" by Ward Moore, pub. in 1953. In this one, an historian goes back in time to study Lee's great victory at Gettysburg--and changes history so that the Rebels lose the battle and the war.. Harry Harrison's "A Rebel in Time"(1983) also involves a time-traveler who goes back to the time of CW- in order to change the outcome of the war. In this case, a racist Southerner goes back in time to the 1850s, before the war actually begins, to help the Southerners win when the war comes. An American soldier-an African-American-volunteers to go back to thwart the Southerner's plans. Interestingly, history is changed--but the Union still wins. It's really a so so story and I was not very impressed by it. But there was a fairly good idea in there...
March 14, 2019
Been struggling to finish a number of books recently. Been falling asleep almost as soon as I've read a page. Enjoyment of the book seemed to change nothing so I thought I'd opt for one of my comfort reads in the hope it would kick start my reading again.
Not even a book I've loved since my early teens and have read probably about 10 times (normally in one or two sittings max)could break through my fatigue and to complicate matters I came down with a nasty head cold stretching this out to 7 days form beginning to end.
OK so I've scored this as a 4 when perhaps it is only really a 3 like many of Harrison's shorter novels, but I did read it early and it gave me a love of time travel stories for which I am eternally grateful. It also gave me a desire to find out more about the American Civil War and any book that has that effect is a winner in my mind. It also doesn't wrap everything up nicely but has an open ending where you can decide for yourself what happens.
Not even a book I've loved since my early teens and have read probably about 10 times (normally in one or two sittings max)could break through my fatigue and to complicate matters I came down with a nasty head cold stretching this out to 7 days form beginning to end.
OK so I've scored this as a 4 when perhaps it is only really a 3 like many of Harrison's shorter novels, but I did read it early and it gave me a love of time travel stories for which I am eternally grateful. It also gave me a desire to find out more about the American Civil War and any book that has that effect is a winner in my mind. It also doesn't wrap everything up nicely but has an open ending where you can decide for yourself what happens.
November 17, 2014
I'm a bit vexed on this one. Within the narrative, the time-travel was teased at for *far* too long to be so central an element of the text as to be mentioned in its very title. Also, the paralyzing fear of altering the past that so suffuses the actions of the 'good guys' made many of the late-game decisions cause me to be unable to suspend disbelief.
That said, it wasn't a *bad* book. I was intrigued enough to keep reading, and even though the mystery of the the noir-esque murder-subplot at the beginning is completely undermined by the basic premise of the text, I still was engaged in the storytelling.
Whilst I must say that Turtledove's _Guns of the South_ did the modern-weapons-in-the-Civil-War thing better, I think that the decision to have a Brother be the one to disrupt the aims of white supremacy here was definitely a nice touch!
That said, it wasn't a *bad* book. I was intrigued enough to keep reading, and even though the mystery of the the noir-esque murder-subplot at the beginning is completely undermined by the basic premise of the text, I still was engaged in the storytelling.
Whilst I must say that Turtledove's _Guns of the South_ did the modern-weapons-in-the-Civil-War thing better, I think that the decision to have a Brother be the one to disrupt the aims of white supremacy here was definitely a nice touch!
May 18, 2024
How have I never read this 1983 book till now?
Time travel, Civil War, and strong characters are all here. Be aware that there is un-politically-correct language used because of the time.
An ultra-secret lab is guarded by stiff security run by an obsessed colonel who has delusions of grandeur. He wants to change the outcome of the Civil War by providing the South with advanced weapons. Can he time-travel? Who will stop him?
Top notch!
Time travel, Civil War, and strong characters are all here. Be aware that there is un-politically-correct language used because of the time.
An ultra-secret lab is guarded by stiff security run by an obsessed colonel who has delusions of grandeur. He wants to change the outcome of the Civil War by providing the South with advanced weapons. Can he time-travel? Who will stop him?
Top notch!
July 23, 2009
A Rebel in Time by Harry Harrison is a time travel / alternate history story that starts as a straight up mystery. Sergeant Harmon is sent to investigate a large amount of missing gold and some violent crimes all tied to a missing Colonel McCulloh.
Eventually Harmon learns of a secret government time machine project. To everyone's surprise, McCulloh has managed to make the machine work well enough to transport himself and his stolen gold back in time, a few years before the start of the Civil War.
The exciting bit of the book is supposed to be Sergeant Harmon going back in time at great personal risk both from the time travel itself and because he's a black man going into the South. Unfortunately the situation felt so contrived that it left me cold.
There was too much attention paid to making McCulloh EVIL and Harmon GOOD that neither character was all that credible or interesting. The good parts of the book (the time travel, science fiction bits) get lost in an otherwise humdrum Civil War re-enactment.
Eventually Harmon learns of a secret government time machine project. To everyone's surprise, McCulloh has managed to make the machine work well enough to transport himself and his stolen gold back in time, a few years before the start of the Civil War.
The exciting bit of the book is supposed to be Sergeant Harmon going back in time at great personal risk both from the time travel itself and because he's a black man going into the South. Unfortunately the situation felt so contrived that it left me cold.
There was too much attention paid to making McCulloh EVIL and Harmon GOOD that neither character was all that credible or interesting. The good parts of the book (the time travel, science fiction bits) get lost in an otherwise humdrum Civil War re-enactment.
October 23, 2017
I read this a long time ago, simply because I used to read 2000AD comic, and in it was Slippery Jim DiGriz, and from that I began to read more and more of Harrison's works. It was then that I borrowed from the library a copy of this, and read it, and then read it again.
I found its impact on me to be a very strong one, not just from the nature of the book, but from the moral nature of its author. Harrison clearly was a very good man.
In time family members bought me a first edition signed hardback copy of this book, and later I acquired a first edition copy of the paperback.
As a novel, it is an easy and enjoyable read. Like most of Harrison's works, they stand the test of time well, and always remain contemporary. As always, Harrison handles the conflict over race and ethnicity well, and of course I would love to see this made into a film one day, but I doubt anyone could do justice to the book.
Get a copy, read it, and I guarantee you will see this the same way I do. A first class novel from a first class writer.
I found its impact on me to be a very strong one, not just from the nature of the book, but from the moral nature of its author. Harrison clearly was a very good man.
In time family members bought me a first edition signed hardback copy of this book, and later I acquired a first edition copy of the paperback.
As a novel, it is an easy and enjoyable read. Like most of Harrison's works, they stand the test of time well, and always remain contemporary. As always, Harrison handles the conflict over race and ethnicity well, and of course I would love to see this made into a film one day, but I doubt anyone could do justice to the book.
Get a copy, read it, and I guarantee you will see this the same way I do. A first class novel from a first class writer.
May 1, 2019
Basically we have a present-day racist military commander who leverages a top secret time machine to travel back to pre-Civil War America to bolster the Confederate cause by introducing modern weaponry and a stash of gold. He's fittingly pursued in present and past by a black man who precariously has to navigate 1860 Dixieland in order to bring the commander to justice. It's a fucking absurd premise, but a guilty pleasure read. Probably not worthy of 3 stars but why not?
December 6, 2025
I bought this book (second hand) c. 2000, and I remember comparing it to The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The World; in particular, I remember thinking that this book takes a more in-depth look at time travel logic, to avoid plot holes. That makes sense, because this book was published 12 years later (1983 vs 1971), so Harrison had time to improve as a writer.
Re-reading it, the main thing that struck me is how long it takes to get going! I don't think it really counts as a spoiler to say that this book involves time travel and the American civil war, because that should be obvious from the title and the cover illustration. However, that "mystery" takes up half of the book! My copy has 315 numbered pages, although the story starts on page 7; the protagonist goes back in time on page 182. There are some important plot points here: However, it's frustrating when we (as the audience) are waiting for the characters to catch up with us.
Ishmael had a similar premise, but it alternated between the two time periods. Maybe it would have been better to start this book in media res? Night Watch is another example, where they get to the point very quickly, although that has the advantage that the main character (Vimes) has been introduced in prior books of the series.
Looking at other genres, if I read a murder mystery story then it's not a surprise when someone gets murdered, but the events leading up to that should serve a purpose by establishing motives etc., i.e. giving information that you need in order to appreciate what happens after the murder. In this case, I honestly think that the present day scenes could have been condensed down to a single chapter.
In universe, it's an odd choice to send a black man back to a time of slavery. The plot justifies that to some extent by saying that it's a one-way trip (implying that most people wouldn't want to volunteer), but the real-world reason is to show what he experiences. The second half of the book is where it gets good, with the descriptions of life in the 1850s.
Some of the dialogue feels a bit stilted, but it serves the purpose of conveying the necessary information to the reader. There's an interesting mixture of present tense and past tense in the book (separate from the time travel aspects), e.g. chapter 1 starts by describing the area around Washington DC (present tense) but then describes what the characters did (past tense). I think that works well, and I definitely prefer that over the whole book being written in present tense (a modern trend).
All in all, I'd say this isn't quite as good as I'd remembered, but I still enjoyed reading it.
Re-reading it, the main thing that struck me is how long it takes to get going! I don't think it really counts as a spoiler to say that this book involves time travel and the American civil war, because that should be obvious from the title and the cover illustration. However, that "mystery" takes up half of the book! My copy has 315 numbered pages, although the story starts on page 7; the protagonist goes back in time on page 182. There are some important plot points here: However, it's frustrating when we (as the audience) are waiting for the characters to catch up with us.
Ishmael had a similar premise, but it alternated between the two time periods. Maybe it would have been better to start this book in media res? Night Watch is another example, where they get to the point very quickly, although that has the advantage that the main character (Vimes) has been introduced in prior books of the series.
Looking at other genres, if I read a murder mystery story then it's not a surprise when someone gets murdered, but the events leading up to that should serve a purpose by establishing motives etc., i.e. giving information that you need in order to appreciate what happens after the murder. In this case, I honestly think that the present day scenes could have been condensed down to a single chapter.
In universe, it's an odd choice to send a black man back to a time of slavery. The plot justifies that to some extent by saying that it's a one-way trip (implying that most people wouldn't want to volunteer), but the real-world reason is to show what he experiences. The second half of the book is where it gets good, with the descriptions of life in the 1850s.
Some of the dialogue feels a bit stilted, but it serves the purpose of conveying the necessary information to the reader. There's an interesting mixture of present tense and past tense in the book (separate from the time travel aspects), e.g. chapter 1 starts by describing the area around Washington DC (present tense) but then describes what the characters did (past tense). I think that works well, and I definitely prefer that over the whole book being written in present tense (a modern trend).
All in all, I'd say this isn't quite as good as I'd remembered, but I still enjoyed reading it.
December 21, 2022
Time travel and very well executed.
I'm going to write here that you should read this book and underneath there'll be a few spoilers; however you can just read this first paragraph to see if you should invest time in reading this book. The answer is yes you should. It's a book of 2 halves and works really well to build up tension and has a great narrative. It was written in the early 80's but that doesn't date it. It does tackle some heavy issues but these( at times may seem harsh, especially in some of the language) are dealt with in a well written way. Highly recommended.
Now the slight spoilers.
As I said above the story is in 2 halves. The first is well crafted and doesn't drag in getting our protagonist to wear he needs to be. Troy is a character that grows during the story and is well rounded. The villain of the piece is a b*stard to be honest. His prejudices coming out little by little to show what a nasty piece of work he is. The set up works fine. Even the second half is well crafted and brings that world to life. A couple of times though the narrative changes to other perspectives, obviously to show us what our lead cannot be seeing/involved in. These pop up out of nowhere and are gone as quick. It seems a bit odd with it not happening till so late and I find it strange. It doesn't take away from the story but seems a bit tacked on to keep the narrative clear. Miner quibble though. I enjoy the works of Harrison and can't wait to experience more by him.
I'm going to write here that you should read this book and underneath there'll be a few spoilers; however you can just read this first paragraph to see if you should invest time in reading this book. The answer is yes you should. It's a book of 2 halves and works really well to build up tension and has a great narrative. It was written in the early 80's but that doesn't date it. It does tackle some heavy issues but these( at times may seem harsh, especially in some of the language) are dealt with in a well written way. Highly recommended.
Now the slight spoilers.
As I said above the story is in 2 halves. The first is well crafted and doesn't drag in getting our protagonist to wear he needs to be. Troy is a character that grows during the story and is well rounded. The villain of the piece is a b*stard to be honest. His prejudices coming out little by little to show what a nasty piece of work he is. The set up works fine. Even the second half is well crafted and brings that world to life. A couple of times though the narrative changes to other perspectives, obviously to show us what our lead cannot be seeing/involved in. These pop up out of nowhere and are gone as quick. It seems a bit odd with it not happening till so late and I find it strange. It doesn't take away from the story but seems a bit tacked on to keep the narrative clear. Miner quibble though. I enjoy the works of Harrison and can't wait to experience more by him.
February 27, 2023
After reading some of the other reviews, I was actually afraid to be disappointed in this book. However, my opinion is that this is probably one of Harrison's best works.
His writing discipline is impeccable here. He starts from a very contemporary reality, and the first part is more a detective story, without any SF- or fantasy frills, except the existence of a time machine. Even if the main character travels back in time to 1864 to follow someone who wants to change history, he is confined to what can be done with the things from that time.
Harrison has a broad range, from the satiric and outrageous to the very well researched, almost documentary. This book is very much an example of the latter.
His writing discipline is impeccable here. He starts from a very contemporary reality, and the first part is more a detective story, without any SF- or fantasy frills, except the existence of a time machine. Even if the main character travels back in time to 1864 to follow someone who wants to change history, he is confined to what can be done with the things from that time.
Harrison has a broad range, from the satiric and outrageous to the very well researched, almost documentary. This book is very much an example of the latter.
May 4, 2022
Double time travel story.
First, flash back to the early 80's when it was written, and when I first read it. Reminded me how much has changed in everyday life since then. Besides some of the basics on things like computers, there was also the societal changes on race, sexism, drinking at work, dating, etc.
Second, the time travel story itself in the book, which is fun.
The writing is aged some. You can tell Mr. Harrison was educated in the first half of the 20th century. But good, solid writing - sort of like Alistair MacLain or Alfred Hitchcock.
Fun, quick, easy read and trips through time were entertaining.
First, flash back to the early 80's when it was written, and when I first read it. Reminded me how much has changed in everyday life since then. Besides some of the basics on things like computers, there was also the societal changes on race, sexism, drinking at work, dating, etc.
Second, the time travel story itself in the book, which is fun.
The writing is aged some. You can tell Mr. Harrison was educated in the first half of the 20th century. But good, solid writing - sort of like Alistair MacLain or Alfred Hitchcock.
Fun, quick, easy read and trips through time were entertaining.
November 10, 2017
A mixed bag. The first half of the story is a "who done it" and the science fiction part kinda sneaks in and then becomes the vehicle for the pursuit of the bad guy in the Antebellum South. The best part of the struggle is that our intrepid hero is black and has to pursue the murderer in an area where he's likely to be picked up as an escaped slave and perhaps killed on the spot.
I'm not a big detective story reader, so the first half, although well done, moved kinda slow for me. The second half of the book woke me up and the story came alive.
I'm not a big detective story reader, so the first half, although well done, moved kinda slow for me. The second half of the book woke me up and the story came alive.
January 11, 2022
I first read this book many years ago (30+?) and looked forward to reading it again. It didn't disappoint. A fantastic story with a very engaging central character. I admit to being fascinated by time travel and this is one of the good ones for me. Admittedly it is dated now by scientific and technological advances but that fails to take away from the story itself. If you like time travel you will love this I think.
August 12, 2024
An African American Vietnam vet pursues a criminal time traveler bent on helping the South win the Civil War. The villain wants to build simple machine guns for the Confederate army. The story includes effective details on the Underground Railroad and John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. The novel exemplifies Harrison’s skill at writing unpretentious science fiction adventures.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2024
This time travel adventure takes a while to get going, but is a lot of fun once it does.
The plot is similar to the much later Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove, but unlike that novel, A Rebel In Time has no sympathy for the Lost Cause and centers around a Black cop sent back to stop the plot to supply the South with powerful weapons from the future.
The plot is similar to the much later Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove, but unlike that novel, A Rebel In Time has no sympathy for the Lost Cause and centers around a Black cop sent back to stop the plot to supply the South with powerful weapons from the future.
December 11, 2017
I enjoyed this - but it's not Harry Harrison at his best. There are some interesting questions, and I have to say I enjoy the fact that 'can you imagine what life is like in 2015' has now become a dated line!
July 26, 2021
A pulpy time travel sci-fi adventure. The modern (1980s) segment is the weakest but once they get to the 1860s it becomes a fun romp with a very satisfying ending for any civil war history fans tired of the lost cause narrative.
March 8, 2026
Not without its charms and interesting in for someone interested in the development on the history of the fiction of time travel. Beyond that the arrow straight plot and not-particularly-deep characters leaves it unenthralling.
September 24, 2018
Fun read, as usual. But another case of bad cover design spoiling almost half the book. All the characters puzzled why that guy is doing that weird stuff? Oh, right, I saw the cover, I know why.
June 15, 2019
Why go in time to the point you can't return, if you can go a few weeks back, when time machine was used for the first time, and prevent everything..?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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April 22, 2022I'm just going to quote Cody from AlternateHistoryHub on this one: "This is like Back to the Future but with racism".
There.
That's the review.
There.
That's the review.
July 7, 2023
Second time reading
First book I read in the Army in the mid eighties. Entertaining then as it was now. Good choice for those looking for science fiction with a bit of history.
First book I read in the Army in the mid eighties. Entertaining then as it was now. Good choice for those looking for science fiction with a bit of history.
December 15, 2024
Another one of Harry Harrison's alternative history stories, something he does well.
I thought the choice of protagonist was a nice touch (no spoilers)
I thought the choice of protagonist was a nice touch (no spoilers)
April 13, 2025
Great time travel yarn
Did Not Finish
April 22, 2026Gave up at the half way mark. I’ve enjoyed a lot of Harrison’s novels over the years, but this one is not one of them. Aimless chitchat, wooden characters, poor pacing… I could go on. Give it a miss
February 20, 2018
If you do not like (i) time travel stories (ii) alternate history and (iii) historical fiction, you are unlikely to be fond of this novel. Harrison combines these three (admittedly, not dissimilar) genres into one crime novel. Sherlock Holmes here is an FBI agent named Troy Harmon, and the antagonist is a modern-day racist and white suprematist who got hold of a one-way time machine and blueprints of the WWII British submachine gun, STEN, famous for its simplicity (one gun could be produced in less than 5 man-hours at a cost of ¾ pound). Notoriously low quality compared to other WWII submachine guns, STEN would be deadly in the Civil War. Troy Harmon is charged with investigating several mysterious events around Washington, D.C., and eventually uncovers Col. McCulloch plot… But it is too late, the villain has escaped into the antebellum U.S. and started building secret STEN factories to supply the Confederates in the imminent Civil War. The only course of action still open to Troy is to pursue the scoundrel into the 19th century. One “but” though: Sgt. Harmon is African-American… The hot pursuit ends in Harper's Ferry, the time-criminal is killed and the factories destroyed – and Troy joins a USCT regiment to continue to contribute to the victory of the Union, now as a foot soldier. Many say that Harry Turtledove’s “Guns of the South” is a better variation of the theme “Rebs acquire modern arms”. I tend to agree, but the two books are sufficiently different and both are interesting in their own right.
December 6, 2013
Excellent science fiction detective yarn about a black intelligence officer who follows a bigoted army colonel bak to pre Civil War Virginia. The colonel has brought gold coins to build an arms manufacturing plant. He plans to manufacture the Sten submachine gun and supply the confederate cavalry. The intelligence officer must prevent the colonel from creating an alternate history without creating time paradoxes.
October 30, 2012
All the hallmarks of an enjoyable story but none of the pace or tension one would expect. The introduction of the time machine was far too delayed and the final import of its operating possibilities mentioned briefly but utterly ignored for far too long. The lead is almost too good, except for his clear fanaticism for the US. Still, it's a part of history...
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