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À travers temps
Tout juste licencié, largué par Barbara, sa compagne, Tom Winter sombre dans la dépression et l'alcool. Aidé par son frère, il décide de revenir dans sa ville natale, Belltower, où il acquiert une maison banale et loin de tout. Elle a autrefois appartenu à un certain Ben Collier qui a mystérieusement disparu, dix ans plus tôt. Mais Tom sent que cette maison pourrait lui permettre de prendre un nouveau départ. Ce qu'il ignore, c'est que Collier était en fait un voyageur temporel ; il a été assassiné dans le jardin où il faisait des plantations et son corps a été caché dans la forêt voisine.
Cinquième roman de l'auteur, écrit en 1991, À travers temps est une des plus belles réussites de Robert Charles Wilson, un roman typique de sa veine mélancolique, humaniste et écologique.
Cinquième roman de l'auteur, écrit en 1991, À travers temps est une des plus belles réussites de Robert Charles Wilson, un roman typique de sa veine mélancolique, humaniste et écologique.
430 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1991
36 people are currently reading
1026 people want to read
About the author
Robert Charles Wilson
96 books1,680 followersI've been writing science fiction professionally since my first novel A Hidden Place was published in 1986. My books include Darwinia, Blind Lake, and the Hugo Award-winning Spin. My newest novel is The Affinities (April 2015).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
December 29, 2019
Had Stephen King been reading this novel? Because if he had, this was his inspiration for JFK 11.22.63. If not, well, I guess great minds think alike sometimes. RCW wrote this novel exactly 20 years before King’s JFK.
In 1989, after a broken marriage, Tom Winter comes back in his native town, buys a house and hopes to start all over. However, he soon finds out that his house is not an ordinary one. In the basement there is a tunnel which leads in New York, 1963.
After a brief visit, he decides to move permanently in 1963, to be free, at least for a few years, of the troubles which overwhelmed Earth at the end of the 80s and his own. But after a while, unforeseen events changed everything. He is not the only one who knows about the tunnel and there are others from other timelines who want to bring him back or kill him.
Beside being a time travel story, it is more one about changes, closure, accepting and dealing with hard times and not only, all wrapped up in RCW’s mesmerizing writing, featuring great characters, spiced here and there with a bit of humor, 60s references, environment awareness and a morale that escapism is not always the solution. But how great it is to escape now and then away from reality, especially when RCW is the MC.
In 1989, after a broken marriage, Tom Winter comes back in his native town, buys a house and hopes to start all over. However, he soon finds out that his house is not an ordinary one. In the basement there is a tunnel which leads in New York, 1963.
After a brief visit, he decides to move permanently in 1963, to be free, at least for a few years, of the troubles which overwhelmed Earth at the end of the 80s and his own. But after a while, unforeseen events changed everything. He is not the only one who knows about the tunnel and there are others from other timelines who want to bring him back or kill him.
Beside being a time travel story, it is more one about changes, closure, accepting and dealing with hard times and not only, all wrapped up in RCW’s mesmerizing writing, featuring great characters, spiced here and there with a bit of humor, 60s references, environment awareness and a morale that escapism is not always the solution. But how great it is to escape now and then away from reality, especially when RCW is the MC.
January 14, 2012
I kind of got this by accident. I really enjoy Robert Charles Wilson’s books and saw this available for pre-order on the Nook. I waited for months for the release date, then decided to get the audiobook because a credit cost less than the ebook. I was a bit surprised that the Audible Frontiers version was released in 2009, but just thought that the ebook version was new. As I’m listening, it seemed a bit dated. The current-day events in this time travel story occur in 1989. I did more research on the book and found out that it was originally published 20 years ago and was re-released in late 2011. I’m just saying this for disclosure because it really didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story.
What did affect my enjoyment was this similarity between this novel and Stephen King’s newest, 11/22/63 which I listened to last month. I kept thinking that this book was so much like that one and had to remind myself that Wilson wrote it 20 years before King wrote his. In both books, an ordinary guy from the present travels back to the past. King’s protagonist to 1958 and Wilson’s to 1962. They both get jobs, rent apartments, make friends and fall in love in the past. The both face great danger because of their time traveling. As much as I enjoyed this, I felt like I was re-reading 11/22/63 and that really isn’t fair to “A Bridge of Years”. This book is worth reading, just don’t read it too close to King’s book.
This audiobook is one of Jonathan Davis’s better narrations. His voice is perfectly suited to the story and his tendency to talk like William Shatner wasn’t as bad as usual.
What did affect my enjoyment was this similarity between this novel and Stephen King’s newest, 11/22/63 which I listened to last month. I kept thinking that this book was so much like that one and had to remind myself that Wilson wrote it 20 years before King wrote his. In both books, an ordinary guy from the present travels back to the past. King’s protagonist to 1958 and Wilson’s to 1962. They both get jobs, rent apartments, make friends and fall in love in the past. The both face great danger because of their time traveling. As much as I enjoyed this, I felt like I was re-reading 11/22/63 and that really isn’t fair to “A Bridge of Years”. This book is worth reading, just don’t read it too close to King’s book.
This audiobook is one of Jonathan Davis’s better narrations. His voice is perfectly suited to the story and his tendency to talk like William Shatner wasn’t as bad as usual.
May 22, 2025
What would you do if you found a door to the past, the 1960s, and could leave your failed marriage and life in the present behind? That's the premise of "A Bridge of Years" by Robert Charles Wilson. Isn't that a compelling idea? To escape the boring everyday life and explore the years of your childhood and youth again?
This is exactly what Tom Winter, the main character, gets when he returns to the small and remote town of his childhood. He has lost his wife, his job and buys a house that has been uninhabited for several years. When he arrives at this house, it is totally clean and everything is in very good condition, even though no one has cleaned it. Very strange! He starts to live in this house and also finds a job, which is rather boring. At least he seems to be on the good side again. Then he finds out more about this house, which seems to have invisible helpers. Finally, he removes a wall in the basement and there is a tunnel through which he steps into New York City, 1962...
What at first seems to be a rather ordinary time travel story develops into something I really did not expect. There is a mysterious being living in this time tunnel and also a Terminator-like man from the future who seems to be hiding in the past to avoid the wars of the future...
It was a very entertaining read and Wilson is one of the best writers who is able to introduce us to characters and make us feel of them. That is great! Like Wilson’s other books, in its core, it is a deep humane story that should captivate everyone that thinks SF is best when it deals with individuals and their problems and challenges.
I do not want to give away much more of the story as it would totally ruin the reading pleasure. Just this: do not expect this story to be ordinary! At some point, the weird consequences of time travel will kick in, so it might even be too weird!
"A Bridge of Years" is for fans of "Replay" by Ken Grimwood, which in my honest opinion is the best time travel book ever! Wilson follows in Grimwood's footsteps and creates his own time travel story that will stay in my head for a long time!
This is exactly what Tom Winter, the main character, gets when he returns to the small and remote town of his childhood. He has lost his wife, his job and buys a house that has been uninhabited for several years. When he arrives at this house, it is totally clean and everything is in very good condition, even though no one has cleaned it. Very strange! He starts to live in this house and also finds a job, which is rather boring. At least he seems to be on the good side again. Then he finds out more about this house, which seems to have invisible helpers. Finally, he removes a wall in the basement and there is a tunnel through which he steps into New York City, 1962...
What at first seems to be a rather ordinary time travel story develops into something I really did not expect. There is a mysterious being living in this time tunnel and also a Terminator-like man from the future who seems to be hiding in the past to avoid the wars of the future...
It was a very entertaining read and Wilson is one of the best writers who is able to introduce us to characters and make us feel of them. That is great! Like Wilson’s other books, in its core, it is a deep humane story that should captivate everyone that thinks SF is best when it deals with individuals and their problems and challenges.
I do not want to give away much more of the story as it would totally ruin the reading pleasure. Just this: do not expect this story to be ordinary! At some point, the weird consequences of time travel will kick in, so it might even be too weird!
"A Bridge of Years" is for fans of "Replay" by Ken Grimwood, which in my honest opinion is the best time travel book ever! Wilson follows in Grimwood's footsteps and creates his own time travel story that will stay in my head for a long time!
July 26, 2019
This late eighties time travel SF is very sedate and careful, focused more on characters and mystery than anything directly related to the two main timelines. Early sixties and late eighties. The SF aspect and plot is actually rather sophisticated, building some nice rules and much better method, and the hints and descriptions of our future and even a much more distant future kept me going nicely.
But what was the best part of the novel?
It read like a thriller/horror. :) Lots of careful character build-up, curiosity, awe, and exploring new situations, if not times. Just with this aspect, I had a great time.
Yes, there is a lot of great time travel SF novels out there, but so many lack good characters and heart. This one succeeds on that level. :) It's not flashy, but it kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire time.
But what was the best part of the novel?
It read like a thriller/horror. :) Lots of careful character build-up, curiosity, awe, and exploring new situations, if not times. Just with this aspect, I had a great time.
Yes, there is a lot of great time travel SF novels out there, but so many lack good characters and heart. This one succeeds on that level. :) It's not flashy, but it kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire time.
January 26, 2016
I love science fiction stories that let you know what you are in for and then deliver on their promises. A Bridge of Years does that and more. I listened to this book on audio and loved it. The narrator was excellent and the writing style really captivated me. I had recently read Stephen King's 11/22/63 and wasn't sure I wanted to dive into another "time tunnel" book, but Wilson has a unique style and worked for me on a variety of levels. For one, he lets you know you are reading a sci-fi book straight away. He sets up an intriguing premise with some bold action, without it being a cheat, and then lets you wander into the story at a slower pace, knowing the stakes. For those who like Jack Finney style of languid musings on the past, this book has that, but it layers it over a more edgy and potentially violent backbone. In Finney's Time And Again I tended to get lost in the slow pace of the narrative description, never really knowing where it was headed. When the ending finally came, it felt forced. Wilson avoids that mistake and draws the reader toward the conclusion with steadily building tension and a sense of inevitability.
The characters are likable and while their choices are not always the most realistic, you want to follow them and see how their story ends. I felt especially intrigued by the villain of the story whom Wilson imbues with enough sympathetic traits for you to see things from his perspective and feel the pressure driving his actions. Overall Wilson does a great job of avoiding common cliches and instead offers the reader something new. The story begs questions about how we might handle similar circumstances and whether a known past, safe and immutable, is preferable to a changing and capricious future.
As a lover of time travel adventure, this book was exactly what I hope for in a novel. It has earned a place in my list of favorite time travel books and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys quality science fiction.
The characters are likable and while their choices are not always the most realistic, you want to follow them and see how their story ends. I felt especially intrigued by the villain of the story whom Wilson imbues with enough sympathetic traits for you to see things from his perspective and feel the pressure driving his actions. Overall Wilson does a great job of avoiding common cliches and instead offers the reader something new. The story begs questions about how we might handle similar circumstances and whether a known past, safe and immutable, is preferable to a changing and capricious future.
As a lover of time travel adventure, this book was exactly what I hope for in a novel. It has earned a place in my list of favorite time travel books and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys quality science fiction.
November 1, 2024
A time travel story written in 1991 by one of my favorite SF authors, Robert Charles Wilson. One of his earlier books, it's about a man with nothing to live for in 1989 who then finds a way from his house back to the past. Not the distant past, but 1962 and in New York. He decides to stay there, not realizing a terrible threat to his life exists there.
Would you go back into the past to live if you could? And what era and place would you choose? New York-particularly bohemian Greenwich Village- in the early 60s seems a good bet.
Interesting to read this after reading Stephen King's "11/22/63," also about a man going back to the 60s. But in that story, the protagonist has a purpose-to change history by preventing the assassination of JFK on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas. In Wilson's story, written before King's, the man has no intention of changing history and just intends to live out the rest of his life in the past. I prefer King's story, as I would be interested in trying to change history, just to see what would have happened if Kennedy had not been murdered on that Friday in November ( which I remember so well as an 11-year old on that day).
Wilson's book is a fast read and I read it within a day. I thought the characters were interesting, as well as the situation, which gave me something to think about. But, if you have to choose, I would take King's book on the time travel theme over Wilson's.
Would you go back into the past to live if you could? And what era and place would you choose? New York-particularly bohemian Greenwich Village- in the early 60s seems a good bet.
Interesting to read this after reading Stephen King's "11/22/63," also about a man going back to the 60s. But in that story, the protagonist has a purpose-to change history by preventing the assassination of JFK on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas. In Wilson's story, written before King's, the man has no intention of changing history and just intends to live out the rest of his life in the past. I prefer King's story, as I would be interested in trying to change history, just to see what would have happened if Kennedy had not been murdered on that Friday in November ( which I remember so well as an 11-year old on that day).
Wilson's book is a fast read and I read it within a day. I thought the characters were interesting, as well as the situation, which gave me something to think about. But, if you have to choose, I would take King's book on the time travel theme over Wilson's.
May 26, 2014
I have an image of Robert Charles Wilson as a kindly, well turned out gentleman of independent means sitting at his escritoire carefully penning a few well chosen words while the log fire burns cheerily and his over indulged cat lies curled on it’s favourite armchair. This gentle novel has done nothing to dispel this pleasant vista. As with all Wilson’s work that I’ve read, his character based style is heavily rooted in the earlier classics of the genre making for a pleasant and deeply satisfying read. The engagingly simple plot revolves around a house on a time travel network, its original occupant ten years ago, its lonely & disillusioned current occupant and his excursions to 1962 New York, a soldier from the future, lots of little machine bugs and, of course, the inevitable post-human creators of the time network. Some of his work’s endings are a little confusing and seem rushed but in this case the ending is perfect; thought-provokingly ambiguous – simple but clever.
Being a great fan of the Hard SF and Space Opera sub-genres, it makes a lovely change to just get comfy and take a break from hectic action, multi-threaded plot lines, unpronounceable names and strange physics. As with ‘Blind Lake’, my only negative comment regards the publishing; this novel is an American imprint and the poor quality paper is very thin – part of the pleasure of reading is the feel of the book in your hands and this book feels limp and flimsy. However, despite the ‘feel’, I still thoroughly enjoyed ‘A Bridge of Years’; it is a mystery to me why RCW is not more widely read.
Being a great fan of the Hard SF and Space Opera sub-genres, it makes a lovely change to just get comfy and take a break from hectic action, multi-threaded plot lines, unpronounceable names and strange physics. As with ‘Blind Lake’, my only negative comment regards the publishing; this novel is an American imprint and the poor quality paper is very thin – part of the pleasure of reading is the feel of the book in your hands and this book feels limp and flimsy. However, despite the ‘feel’, I still thoroughly enjoyed ‘A Bridge of Years’; it is a mystery to me why RCW is not more widely read.
May 30, 2012
The premise is pretty neat. Tom Winter buys a house in a isolated rural area--and mysterious things begin happening. He eventual tears down a basement wall--and discovers a tunnel that ends in New York City, 1962.
The story is well told. I really liked one point--we do not remember everything after decades have passed. When Tom is in 1962 he remembers the 'big names' of course--Kennedy, Kruschev, Castro and so on. But many of the other times he had forgotten--he was only ten years old in 1962. Everybody wonders why he is unaware of this or that current event.
The more dramatic part of the sotry is: Billy Gallagher, a future soldier, has also fled into the past. He wants the secret of time travel to remain his alone--and he is willing to kill to do so......
Solid characterizations; an interesting premise and good writing make this an enjoyable SF novel. I recommended it for any SF fan; particularly if time travel stories are a type of Sf you enjoy.
The story is well told. I really liked one point--we do not remember everything after decades have passed. When Tom is in 1962 he remembers the 'big names' of course--Kennedy, Kruschev, Castro and so on. But many of the other times he had forgotten--he was only ten years old in 1962. Everybody wonders why he is unaware of this or that current event.
The more dramatic part of the sotry is: Billy Gallagher, a future soldier, has also fled into the past. He wants the secret of time travel to remain his alone--and he is willing to kill to do so......
Solid characterizations; an interesting premise and good writing make this an enjoyable SF novel. I recommended it for any SF fan; particularly if time travel stories are a type of Sf you enjoy.
January 12, 2023
A book written in the early 90's that takes place in the 80's, and goes all the way back to the 1960's. What more can a time travel nerd like myself ask for? I came across A bridge of years while on my never ending voyage to read all the time travel books I can get my hands on. This one didn't disappoint. This is my first time reading anything by Robert Charles Wilson. I enjoyed his writing so much I just snagged a copy of Spin. Reading this book makes me wonder if Stephen King was influenced by this book while writing 11/22/63 cause I definitely see a few similarities. All in all it had a good blend of time travel, action, some cheesiness, and a little bit of romance. 5/5 for me.
February 6, 2016
This was a group read for the "Time Travel " group, however it arrived a bit late and I was a month behind everyone else reading it :)
It was an enjoyable book and kept me engrossed all the way through. You can see that he has left himself an opening for a sequel should he ever wish to write one, however that did not detract from the story at all, and I would certainly read a sequel should it ever appear.
I will also read more by Robert Charles Wilson, a good writer.
It was an enjoyable book and kept me engrossed all the way through. You can see that he has left himself an opening for a sequel should he ever wish to write one, however that did not detract from the story at all, and I would certainly read a sequel should it ever appear.
I will also read more by Robert Charles Wilson, a good writer.
June 21, 2014
A very enjoyable book. This novel is a good display of RCW's smooth writing style. By the title you know going in that the book deals with time travel, and I was impressed with how effortless RCW tied different stories together and skipped around in time without confusing the reader. The novel has the common save-the-earth theme, and is chock full of 1960s nostalgia, and while I personally would prefer less of that stuff and more sci-fi, this book is easily four stars.
October 12, 2018
This is a very smooth story construction. The time travel mechanism and the motivations and relative abilities of the characters involved all feel very natural; often times - and especially in time travel stories - you find that the events of the book are driven by how the author wanted to structure the story, but this book definitely doesn't feel to me like it was reverse engineered from what he wanted to happen.
While I empathize a lot more with Archer than with Winter, I understand that people like Winter do exist, so his actions seem very natural. Even the sort of "environmental Millenarianism" that I usually find a bit off-putting seemed very reasonable in this book, a little bit of world-building to flesh out Billy's back-story.
The weirdest thing about this book is the ending.
Finally, I should probably compare this to 11/22/63 , since the books have fairly similar premises. The story arcs are very different, this one is a bit more tightly plotted, but in 11/22/63 the "time travel into the past" part of it plays a much bigger role. Additionally, this one has a much more satisfying ending. The ending of 11/22/63 was a total cop-out.
4 of 5 stars
While I empathize a lot more with Archer than with Winter, I understand that people like Winter do exist, so his actions seem very natural. Even the sort of "environmental Millenarianism" that I usually find a bit off-putting seemed very reasonable in this book, a little bit of world-building to flesh out Billy's back-story.
The weirdest thing about this book is the ending.
Finally, I should probably compare this to 11/22/63 , since the books have fairly similar premises. The story arcs are very different, this one is a bit more tightly plotted, but in 11/22/63 the "time travel into the past" part of it plays a much bigger role. Additionally, this one has a much more satisfying ending. The ending of 11/22/63 was a total cop-out.
4 of 5 stars
March 10, 2016
Viele Elemente rund um das Zeitreise-Portal gefielen mir gut. So z.B. wie der Protagonist versucht ist, in der Vergangenheit eine Beziehung zu führen, das aber scheitert. Ein interessanter, entmutigender Aspekt, wenn jemand aus der nicht allzu weiten Zukunft mit einer jungen Frau zu tun hat, und genau weiss, dass viele ihrer revolutionären Gedanken und Erkenntnisse in wenigen Jahren völlig belanglos sein werden.
Was mir gar nicht gefiel war der Plot um den "Bösewicht" aus der noch weiter entfernten Zukunft. Einen genetisch aufgewerteten Supersoldaten, der sehr skrupellos vorgeht.
Was mir gar nicht gefiel war der Plot um den "Bösewicht" aus der noch weiter entfernten Zukunft. Einen genetisch aufgewerteten Supersoldaten, der sehr skrupellos vorgeht.
August 6, 2020
This is an early (1991) Robert Charles Wilson novel, although some of the characteristics of his writing are already present - a sympathetic middle-aged male protagonist in a world gone slightly mad. In this case, Tom Winter is a divorced laid-off engineer who buys a secluded house in the Pacific Northwest in 1989. The house turns out to be one end of a time portal to 1962 New York. But the time tunnel is already in use by a dangerous killer from the disastrous late 21st century. I was afraid initially that this would be a retread of the plot of the Terminator movies (1984), but it is a quite different story; a better one. I've read all of Wilson's recent books, and now it looks like I'll be seeking out his older backlog too.
January 31, 2016
This is a great book which time travel enthusiasts will enjoy. It has a bit of everything, science, paradox, love, travel to the past, travel from the future etc. The type of time travel is a time tunnel, but there is also some advance technology from the future which is explained enough to satisfy the reader, but not in so much detail to bore the pants off of those of us who don't eat up the scientific theory side of time travel novels.
The story follows several paths which are intertwined, and most f the characters are very relatable even the "villain"
The story follows several paths which are intertwined, and most f the characters are very relatable even the "villain"
June 3, 2018
The way the author painted pictures was great.
The problem was he kept going over and over the same canvas, expressing and re-expressing the same thoughts. Building word count?
Eventually, it became repetitious enough that I stopped caring about the mystery.
The problem was he kept going over and over the same canvas, expressing and re-expressing the same thoughts. Building word count?
Eventually, it became repetitious enough that I stopped caring about the mystery.
December 15, 2018
(I would actually rate this a strong 3.5 stars if possible.)
Wilson loves to play around with time travel and time paradoxes and A Bridge of Years is one of his earliest efforts, originally published in 1991.
In a few superficial ways it is reminiscent in structure to King's 11/22/63 (though it's important to note King's novel came out 20 years later) in that a young man travels back to the early 60s and then pretty much falls in love with the era (and a woman) and wants to stay there. The specifics of Wilson's story have a much stronger science fiction flavor than King's, though Wilson doesn't go into great detail on how the time travel and other future tech works.
Because it's time travel, there are complications.
I found the protagonist Tom Winter, a 30 year old man coming out of a failed relationship and lost job as rather curious--there is a setup for the inevitable character arc of him finding himself, but that never exactly happens. He learns things about himself, but by the end he has only a vague plan for moving forward (without spoilers--I won't say where he is at story's end). In a way it's anticlimactic, but at the same time I rather liked that it bucked convention, even if it is less viscerally satisfying overall.
The realtor character of Doug "I want to believe in weird shit but have never really seen anything" Archer is entertaining, and serves as a reliable foil to the more conservative tom.
The purported villain of the piece is another young man named Billy, a soldier thrust from the future into the past and equipped with golden armor that makes him virtually indestructible and fills him with an insatiable appetite to kill. This is easily the most chilling aspect of the story, taking the common concept of fusing a person to machinery to augment and enhance their abilities, but to chemically change them to absolutely need to kill. I have no difficulty imagining future governments creating these kinds of soldiers if the technology existed.
Less impressive is how quickly everyone jumps into bed together. I guess causal sex is timeless. :P
Also, unlike King's million-page behemoth, A Bridge of Years feels a bit too short, leaving the whole 1962 part of the story feeling a bit underdeveloped. We are shown (and told) how Tom comes to want to stay in the past, but it never feels overly convincing. His erstwhile 1962 girlfriend Joyce offers a more nuanced take on the era (obviously having a better feel for living in it), but even she never gets more than sketches.
Still, the sketches are effective and while the ride is short, I did enjoy it. Wilson doesn't bog down the story with a lot of explanations about how the time travel works, and this is for the best. He lays down a few rules early on, then uses them to buttress the rest of the story.
If you like a good time travel yarn and don't want to get bogged down in an epic-length adventure, A Bridge of Years is a solid entry in the crowded field of time travel novels.
Wilson loves to play around with time travel and time paradoxes and A Bridge of Years is one of his earliest efforts, originally published in 1991.
In a few superficial ways it is reminiscent in structure to King's 11/22/63 (though it's important to note King's novel came out 20 years later) in that a young man travels back to the early 60s and then pretty much falls in love with the era (and a woman) and wants to stay there. The specifics of Wilson's story have a much stronger science fiction flavor than King's, though Wilson doesn't go into great detail on how the time travel and other future tech works.
Because it's time travel, there are complications.
I found the protagonist Tom Winter, a 30 year old man coming out of a failed relationship and lost job as rather curious--there is a setup for the inevitable character arc of him finding himself, but that never exactly happens. He learns things about himself, but by the end he has only a vague plan for moving forward (without spoilers--I won't say where he is at story's end). In a way it's anticlimactic, but at the same time I rather liked that it bucked convention, even if it is less viscerally satisfying overall.
The realtor character of Doug "I want to believe in weird shit but have never really seen anything" Archer is entertaining, and serves as a reliable foil to the more conservative tom.
The purported villain of the piece is another young man named Billy, a soldier thrust from the future into the past and equipped with golden armor that makes him virtually indestructible and fills him with an insatiable appetite to kill. This is easily the most chilling aspect of the story, taking the common concept of fusing a person to machinery to augment and enhance their abilities, but to chemically change them to absolutely need to kill. I have no difficulty imagining future governments creating these kinds of soldiers if the technology existed.
Less impressive is how quickly everyone jumps into bed together. I guess causal sex is timeless. :P
Also, unlike King's million-page behemoth, A Bridge of Years feels a bit too short, leaving the whole 1962 part of the story feeling a bit underdeveloped. We are shown (and told) how Tom comes to want to stay in the past, but it never feels overly convincing. His erstwhile 1962 girlfriend Joyce offers a more nuanced take on the era (obviously having a better feel for living in it), but even she never gets more than sketches.
Still, the sketches are effective and while the ride is short, I did enjoy it. Wilson doesn't bog down the story with a lot of explanations about how the time travel works, and this is for the best. He lays down a few rules early on, then uses them to buttress the rest of the story.
If you like a good time travel yarn and don't want to get bogged down in an epic-length adventure, A Bridge of Years is a solid entry in the crowded field of time travel novels.
January 4, 2020
The construction of the plot, especially in the opening chapters, felt too byzantine for its own good, and I'm not convinced about the depth of Tom Winter's personal crisis. Under normal circumstances, I'd have probably rated this 3.5 stars if I could, but I will bump it up to 4 stars for its compelling, must-finish nature, and its terrifying glimpse of the future...a future that feels even more real now in 2020 than it did when this was published in the early 90s.
October 7, 2025
An interesting take on the time travel theme. Kinda gory in bits toward the end.
April 16, 2022
You buy a new house in the Pacific Northwest. Turns out there are tiny machines living with you. Bug sized. And they tidy up and leave you alone. Except for that creepy tendency to ask, "Help us"
Then you find a man-made tunnel hidden in your basement. Of course you follow it, to see where it leads. From your country home in the Pacific Northwest, to Manhattan. Greenwich Village. From 1989 to 1962.
But someone else found it first. Someone from the future. Someone who likes to kill and is very good at it.
What if all that happened, then that killer from the future decides that you are a threat which needs to be dealt with?
Cool idea; fun story. I enjoyed this, as I usually enjoy Robert Charles Wilson's work.
Then you find a man-made tunnel hidden in your basement. Of course you follow it, to see where it leads. From your country home in the Pacific Northwest, to Manhattan. Greenwich Village. From 1989 to 1962.
But someone else found it first. Someone from the future. Someone who likes to kill and is very good at it.
What if all that happened, then that killer from the future decides that you are a threat which needs to be dealt with?
Cool idea; fun story. I enjoyed this, as I usually enjoy Robert Charles Wilson's work.
February 1, 2018
Maybe it's because the back cover mentions that Tom goes back in time to 1963, to "a simpler,safer world", but it also tries to convey that era - so the novel itself seems a little too laid back and slows the pace down. The main character Tom is fleshed out really well, but the secondary characters could use more depth. The story itself is intriguing and is a breezy read, I just wish there would have been more focus on the other characters of the story, and of the time traveling aspect.
January 30, 2013
Bestselling author Robert Charles Wilson’s book, A Bridge of Years, recently re-released in paperback, has an interesting play on the idea of time travel, but remains true to its “rule” that there are always repercussions when one plays around with time travel, even when someone thinks they’ve been given a second chance.
Tom Winter has made a right old mess of things, now without a job and a wife who’s left him; he’s hit rock bottom. With some leftover inheritance money he buys a simple little house in the secluded Pacific Northwest, looking to just get away from things for a while, and try to figure his life out. The only problem is the simple house he bought turns out to be a prime example of real estate where everything isn’t as it seems or should be. It begins minutely with his unclean plate with a few leftovers that he leaves by the sink overnight; in the morning it has been licked clean by something.
At first he thinks it’s nothing, but it keeps on happening and he tries to film it but the camera mysteriously shuts off during the filming. Then there’s the weird sounds he keeps hearing, like little machines zooming around his house; a flickers of minute movement out of the corner of his eye. Then in the basement he discovers an extra room that leads to a tunnel that takes him back to another time and another place: 1963, New York City.
Wilson has fun playing around with time travel in this short novel, building the mystery and setting up a far more complex story than readers will be expecting. As to the answer of what is eating the leftover food and why, it is both gruesome and shocking, but at the same time makes perfect sense.
Originally written on April 9, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews, check out Bookbanter.
Tom Winter has made a right old mess of things, now without a job and a wife who’s left him; he’s hit rock bottom. With some leftover inheritance money he buys a simple little house in the secluded Pacific Northwest, looking to just get away from things for a while, and try to figure his life out. The only problem is the simple house he bought turns out to be a prime example of real estate where everything isn’t as it seems or should be. It begins minutely with his unclean plate with a few leftovers that he leaves by the sink overnight; in the morning it has been licked clean by something.
At first he thinks it’s nothing, but it keeps on happening and he tries to film it but the camera mysteriously shuts off during the filming. Then there’s the weird sounds he keeps hearing, like little machines zooming around his house; a flickers of minute movement out of the corner of his eye. Then in the basement he discovers an extra room that leads to a tunnel that takes him back to another time and another place: 1963, New York City.
Wilson has fun playing around with time travel in this short novel, building the mystery and setting up a far more complex story than readers will be expecting. As to the answer of what is eating the leftover food and why, it is both gruesome and shocking, but at the same time makes perfect sense.
Originally written on April 9, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews, check out Bookbanter.
March 23, 2016
I really enjoyed the questions this book sparked in my mind. Would I choose to stay back in time if the option felt "safer". If I didn't have much going for me in my own present day....
I don't know. I DO know that if I had the opportunity to time travel to the past I would not pass it up for anything!!
Anyway, the book starts right out with a bunch of action. The reader doesn't really know what's going on because it seems all a bit futuristic. Plausible, though. Not too "out there". Keep it simple.
Later it comes together nicely. I enjoyed hearing about Tom's trips to NYC. Joyce and the other people he met there. The romance, the glamor. He found a place where he seemed to belong and people wanted him. Much different from the life he left behind in 1989.
There is a scene where he ponders saving his parents. Of course back in 1963 they are not dead yet. He would just tell them not to get into the car that night. He goes round and round with the paradox and the implications. Good stuff.
Meanwhile, back in modern day, we follow Archer and Kate while they figure out how to solve the problem of the half man creature out in the shed!
The ending was my absolute favorite! I love when an ending wraps up so sweet! I honestly did not see it coming.
I don't know. I DO know that if I had the opportunity to time travel to the past I would not pass it up for anything!!
Anyway, the book starts right out with a bunch of action. The reader doesn't really know what's going on because it seems all a bit futuristic. Plausible, though. Not too "out there". Keep it simple.
Later it comes together nicely. I enjoyed hearing about Tom's trips to NYC. Joyce and the other people he met there. The romance, the glamor. He found a place where he seemed to belong and people wanted him. Much different from the life he left behind in 1989.
There is a scene where he ponders saving his parents. Of course back in 1963 they are not dead yet. He would just tell them not to get into the car that night. He goes round and round with the paradox and the implications. Good stuff.
Meanwhile, back in modern day, we follow Archer and Kate while they figure out how to solve the problem of the half man creature out in the shed!
The ending was my absolute favorite! I love when an ending wraps up so sweet! I honestly did not see it coming.
June 6, 2015
Would give it a 3.5 if possible. Robert Charles Wilson is one of my favorite sci-fi authors. He always presents thoughtful perspectives/speculations, his characters have dimension, and his prose can at times be lyrical. I'm actually judging this book in light of Wilson's own later work, as (so we would expect) he has only gotten better with time.
I enjoyed the book, though in the wake of many other things that have been written since the employ themes of nanotechnology, the marriage of man-machine, not to mention time-travel, the story now had a certain sense of conventionality about it (might have been revelatory at the time of its publication date).
There is one thing that bugged me, though, as a resident of the Pacific Northwest: Wilson keeps talking about the pine forests that dominate the landscape. Shame! He should know better, given that at the time he wrote this book he was living in BC. The coastal Northwest forests are dominated by firs, not pines, and we're eager to point out to newcomers the difference.
I enjoyed the book, though in the wake of many other things that have been written since the employ themes of nanotechnology, the marriage of man-machine, not to mention time-travel, the story now had a certain sense of conventionality about it (might have been revelatory at the time of its publication date).
There is one thing that bugged me, though, as a resident of the Pacific Northwest: Wilson keeps talking about the pine forests that dominate the landscape. Shame! He should know better, given that at the time he wrote this book he was living in BC. The coastal Northwest forests are dominated by firs, not pines, and we're eager to point out to newcomers the difference.
September 26, 2013
In 1989, fresh from a traumatizing divorce, Tom Winter moves back to his hometown, buying a house on the outskirts of the woods. He notices the house is in remarkably good condition, considering it's supposedly been empty for the last 10 years, but then he discovers stranger things - robotic bugs performing maintenance and a time-traveling tunnel that leads to the New York City of 1962, hidden in the basement. Escaping the present and shacking up with a nice 60's beatnik girl seems like a good idea at the time...
But the tunnel was jammed open by a Terminator-like AWOL soldier from the 22nd century and the 60's may not be the safe haven they seem to be. Toms ex-, a ghost-chasing real estate agent, and the original custodian of the time-tunnel may all have to try to get Tom back before it's too late
A definitely mainstream-thriller feel to this book, but quite entertaining. Not one of my favorite books, but not bad either.
But the tunnel was jammed open by a Terminator-like AWOL soldier from the 22nd century and the 60's may not be the safe haven they seem to be. Toms ex-, a ghost-chasing real estate agent, and the original custodian of the time-tunnel may all have to try to get Tom back before it's too late
A definitely mainstream-thriller feel to this book, but quite entertaining. Not one of my favorite books, but not bad either.
July 3, 2012
Fun read! It was creepy enough to give me a few thrills, but not creepy enough that I felt uncomfortable or freaked out reading it alone in a hotel room while out of town on a business trip. Also, it's set largely in the Pacific Northwest, which I have newly acquired firsthand knowledge of (there is a teeny tiny passage featuring a hummingbird that drew me completely into the book/moment - love it!). The time travel aspect of the book has the potential to be like Every Sci-Fi Book Ever (blah blah blah paradox-cakes), and we have a signature Robert Charles Wilson Sad Trombone Moment ("How did you know about [commonly understood phenomenon]?" "I read a lot of science fiction novels as a kid." :::sad trombone:::), but overall the book managed to avoid getting dragged down in time travel/sci-fi cliches. I thought the message was good, but I'll admit to having Views about nostalgia, so YMMV.
Short version: well worth the download!
Short version: well worth the download!
March 29, 2018
This book opens with a bloody bang and slowly unravels to reveal a tormented future and the way a man from the late-80s used a time tunnel to escape his problems. The characters are adequately likeable, and the villain is more complex than most are made out to be. The effects of the future are just as important to the story as the scenes in the past, if not moreso.
One of my favorite things about time travel books is the thing this book is lacking, a hyper-detailed overview of the time-traveler's observations in the time destination. Although the new location says 60s because of the drug use, the emphasis on music and political leanings, and the different landscape of New York, it didn't give me a sense that I was there and seeing it with the awe of someone who just stumbled through time upon it.
I read this with the Time Travel book club.
One of my favorite things about time travel books is the thing this book is lacking, a hyper-detailed overview of the time-traveler's observations in the time destination. Although the new location says 60s because of the drug use, the emphasis on music and political leanings, and the different landscape of New York, it didn't give me a sense that I was there and seeing it with the awe of someone who just stumbled through time upon it.
I read this with the Time Travel book club.
September 20, 2008
Although science fiction, this time-travel book explores the personal experiences of the travellers. How does the experience sit with those who travel? What is its impact on their live? Do they really want to spend their time in a different era? Add a brutal mercenary from the future running from his own conscription, and another level is added to the story; moving the plot along at a breakneck pace.
A quick read, and a fascinating study in one's realizations and actions when confronted with the understanding of "place."
Read it.
A quick read, and a fascinating study in one's realizations and actions when confronted with the understanding of "place."
Read it.
July 8, 2018
Not bad, but there's not so much happening either. The portal and house mystery is an interesting, but stereotypical setup. The restoration of the original time traveler is quite fascinating and by far the best part of the book. A lot of the rest is time traveler soap opera.
September 19, 2021
Classic Robert Charles Wilson. Man, do I love his books. This one was great—crazy time-travel stuff, a villain who was multifaceted (I actually felt sorry for the guy), and a really great plot. Definitely recommend it. My only complaint was it was a tad slow in places.
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