Twice Upon A Time -- Volume Two in the Pastmaster Series

Alex Balfour #2

by Allen Appel

Alex Balfour returns to the past in Allen Appel's 2nd book in the Pastmaster series. Here, Balfour travels back to 1876, visits the Centennial Exposition, takes a raft trip with Mark Twain (inadvertently inspiring some of Twain's books) and joins Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn. In the present, Alex's girlfriend Molly Glenn is captured by a crazed renegade American Indian who believes he is the reincarnation of Crazy Horse.

Genres: Time Travel, Science Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Fantasy

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[John Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Super book filled with many historical facts! If you are a student of history and enjoy time travel yarns, you should enjoy this book! Happy reading!

[Rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as the first entry on the series, but good enough.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as enchanting for me at the first book, but still an alright read.

rom The Critics
Publishers Weekly
In this new adventure, Alex Balfour, time-traveling hero of Appel's successful Time After Time, finds himself flung back 100 years to the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876. There he lives with a group of emancipated slaves, investigates the latest technological advances and runs into Mark Twain. He and Twain and one of the black men release two captured Indians from their exhibit, and the five embark on a trek West that includes a raft trip down the Mississippi. Meanwhile, Alex's girlfriend in this century is on assignment in South Dakota for the New York Times, covering recent unrest between Indians and the government. Shortly before the centennial anniversary of Custer's Last Stand, she is kidnapped by an Indian who believes he is the spiritual descendant of Crazy Horse, just as Alex, in the previous century, arrives at the Little Bighorn, trying to avert the slaughter he knows is imminent. Appel maintains firm hold on the strands of his plot, keeping Alex's sensibility consistently modern without becoming patronizing or sentimental toward the times. Suspense, period detail and the pleasant friction of Alex's temporal displacement will keep readers turning these pages. 25,000 first printing. (April)

[Chuck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not even realize this was part of a series. I have never felt compelled to read the whole thing. but it was a good read.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

All right read, but a disappointment after the first one.

[Anne]

The further adventures of Alex Balfour and Molly. Alex finds himself in Philadelphia at the time of the Centennial Exhibition and Molly is working on a story about an American Indian activist. Both find themselves headed for the Little Bighorn. This one took awhile to get going and was a bit preachy at times, but the final third of the book is riveting. Mark Twain, George Armstrong Custer, Crazy Horse, Uncle Remus, et al.