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New World Trilogy #3
Timefall
It has been years since Joshua the Scribe, Lon the Vampire, Jasmine the Neuroman, and Beauty the Centaur journeyed to save their lost families from the strange Queen in the City With No Name. And as time went on, they were visited by ghosts of themselves, sometimes aiding in their quest and sometimes just a haunting presence. But were they really ghosts? Or were they simply incarnations of their own souls, visiting from another time to learn from them as well as to teach and to save their own world from the imminent destruction of the Timefall?
In this climactic denouement to the dystopian future envisioned in World Enough, and Time and Time's Dark Laughter, the first two books in this trilogy, a new Joshua and friends fall through a complex weave of time tunnels, landing in the terrain of the first adventures. But to their dismay, they discover that the fates of both times are interdependent, and the new world's Joshua must enlist forces from the old to save the whole tipping universe from extinction.
Bestselling author James Kahn ‹ doctor, writer, and musician ‹ has worked with celebrated filmmaker Steven Spielberg, Star Wars creator George Lucas, and renowned sci-fi editor Judy Lynn Del Rey. Not only do his fiction credits include the movie tie-ins for Return of the Jedi (on The New York Times bestsellers list for months), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and Poltergeist, he's also written for such television shows as Star Voyager and Warrior Princess.
In this climactic denouement to the dystopian future envisioned in World Enough, and Time and Time's Dark Laughter, the first two books in this trilogy, a new Joshua and friends fall through a complex weave of time tunnels, landing in the terrain of the first adventures. But to their dismay, they discover that the fates of both times are interdependent, and the new world's Joshua must enlist forces from the old to save the whole tipping universe from extinction.
Bestselling author James Kahn ‹ doctor, writer, and musician ‹ has worked with celebrated filmmaker Steven Spielberg, Star Wars creator George Lucas, and renowned sci-fi editor Judy Lynn Del Rey. Not only do his fiction credits include the movie tie-ins for Return of the Jedi (on The New York Times bestsellers list for months), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and Poltergeist, he's also written for such television shows as Star Voyager and Warrior Princess.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1984
1 person is currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
James Kahn
49 books115 followersJames Kahn is an ER doctor, novelist, TV writer-producer, and singer-songwriter. In addition to many original novels (including the sci-fi trilogy World Enough and Time, Time’s Dark Laughter, and Timefall) he authored the novelizations of Return of the Jedi, Poltergeist, The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
His television credits span the genres, from St. Elsewhere, to William Shatner’s TekWar, to Xena: Warrior Princess. He was a Supervising Producer on Star Trek: Voyager, Co-Executive Producer on Melrose Place, Emmy-nominated for his work on All My Children, medical advisor on Spielberg’s ET: The Extraterrestrial; and produced the feature film The Bet, which won Best Feature at the LA Femme Film Festival, 2013.
He’s previously released four Americana music CDs, including Waterline, The 12th Elf, Man Walks Into A Bar, and The Meaning of Life. Matamoros is the first simultaneous novel and CD release, and his first foray into deeply researched historical fiction.
His television credits span the genres, from St. Elsewhere, to William Shatner’s TekWar, to Xena: Warrior Princess. He was a Supervising Producer on Star Trek: Voyager, Co-Executive Producer on Melrose Place, Emmy-nominated for his work on All My Children, medical advisor on Spielberg’s ET: The Extraterrestrial; and produced the feature film The Bet, which won Best Feature at the LA Femme Film Festival, 2013.
He’s previously released four Americana music CDs, including Waterline, The 12th Elf, Man Walks Into A Bar, and The Meaning of Life. Matamoros is the first simultaneous novel and CD release, and his first foray into deeply researched historical fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 5, 2014
reviews.metaphorosis.com
2.5 stars
A paleontologist goes to the South American jungle to explore a strange box with intriguing contents. He finds himself caught up in a mix of prophecy, time travel, and the struggle to save the universe.
I read James Kahn's first book, World Enough and Time, sometime in the mid or late 80s, borrowed from a relative. I don't recall why, but somehow I had the impression that it was a classic. I read the sequel, Time's Dark Laughter a few years later. Even though I wasn't really that impressed with the books, they've stuck in my mind as wrongly overlooked masterpieces (wrongly overlooked interesting books, anyway).
When I saw this newer book on NetGalley, my first reaction was "Huh. Very similar to that other guy's books." Reading a little further, I thought "Wait! Same guy? New sequel? Exciting!" Of course, it turns out that this sequel actually came out in the '80s; I just hadn't noticed it. Kahn has recently reissued them as ebooks, with some new material.
I couldn't remember much about the first two books, even with the help of Goodreads, Wikipedia, and other aids. Nonetheless, I started this book with some anticipation.
Timefall works as a standalone book. It eventually refers pretty heavily to events earlier in the series, but none of it is hard to decipher, and the early portion is self-explanatory. Kahn himself comes in in extensive fore- and afterwords to provide some structure (I presume this is part of the new material).
Unfortunately, the book is also just not very good. It's certainly not the exciting discovery I had anticipated. Instead, it's a fairly standard jungle jewel adventure with some time travel mixed in. It's fast-paced easy reading, but the characterization leaves something to be desired, and there's a lot that happens for authorial convenience. It's written for the Indiana Jones period - not surprising, since Kahn wrote the novelization for one of the Indiana Jones films not long earlier.
The book careens along in an adventure sort of way until suddenly the previous books turn up, in strange twists that, while they aren't confusing, don't really seem related to the story. I think of it as: California, jungle, jungle, adventure, jungle, vague and complex metaphysical risk to existence of the entire universe, jungle, adventure, weird metaphysics, California. In the end, I could comprehend what was happening, but none of it really made very much sense. Two key actors are introduced and then dropped completely. The solutions to the end of the universe turn out to be a) really obvious, and b) brow-furrowingly "wait, I thought it had to be..." The actual saving of the universe is left as a problem for the reader.
All in all, disappointing. Separate from that, it's just not a book I can recommend. If you read the first two books, loved them, and have them firmly in mind, go to it. Otherwise, nostalgia is better in the imagination; visits to old haunts are seldom satisfying.
NB: Received free copy from Net Galley.
I read James Kahn's first book, World Enough and Time, sometime in the mid or late 80s, borrowed from a relative. I don't recall why, but somehow I had the impression that it was a classic. I read the sequel, Time's Dark Laughter a few years later. Even though I wasn't really that impressed with the books, they've stuck in my mind as wrongly overlooked masterpieces (wrongly overlooked interesting books, anyway).
When I saw this newer book on NetGalley, my first reaction was "Huh. Very similar to that other guy's books." Reading a little further, I thought "Wait! Same guy? New sequel? Exciting!" Of course, it turns out that this sequel actually came out in the '80s; I just hadn't noticed it. Kahn has recently reissued them as ebooks, with some new material.
I couldn't remember much about the first two books, even with the help of Goodreads, Wikipedia, and other aids. Nonetheless, I started this book with some anticipation.
Timefall works as a standalone book. It eventually refers pretty heavily to events earlier in the series, but none of it is hard to decipher, and the early portion is self-explanatory. Kahn himself comes in in extensive fore- and afterwords to provide some structure (I presume this is part of the new material).
Unfortunately, the book is also just not very good. It's certainly not the exciting discovery I had anticipated. Instead, it's a fairly standard jungle jewel adventure with some time travel mixed in. It's fast-paced easy reading, but the characterization leaves something to be desired, and there's a lot that happens for authorial convenience. It's written for the Indiana Jones period - not surprising, since Kahn wrote the novelization for one of the Indiana Jones films not long earlier.
The book careens along in an adventure sort of way until suddenly the previous books turn up, in strange twists that, while they aren't confusing, don't really seem related to the story. I think of it as: California, jungle, jungle, adventure, jungle, vague and complex metaphysical risk to existence of the entire universe, jungle, adventure, weird metaphysics, California. In the end, I could comprehend what was happening, but none of it really made very much sense. Two key actors are introduced and then dropped completely. The solutions to the end of the universe turn out to be a) really obvious, and b) brow-furrowingly "wait, I thought it had to be..." The actual saving of the universe is left as a problem for the reader.
All in all, disappointing. Separate from that, it's just not a book I can recommend. If you read the first two books, loved them, and have them firmly in mind, go to it. Otherwise, nostalgia is better in the imagination; visits to old haunts are seldom satisfying.
NB: Received free copy from Net Galley.
February 24, 2021
This excellent novel hooks you into its story and carries you along from the first page. It intertwines a future and a past story, where the one saves the other, and thus this group of humanity. The story is an excellent and well-paced story for young adults and adults. The main characters are people such as you know and recognize around you, with dilemmas to face both of their own making and thrust upon them. They grapple, mostly courageously, with what they face, but are also realistically drawn, and therefore flawed, people. Through all they must face, they cling to what is good, and their love and good intentions for others. The setting and the invented future are coherent, and make sense within the constraints of the novel. Nothing jars. There is much for young adults to think about and talk with others about, if this novel is chosen for study, and for anyone to think about if read as a stand-alone. I really enjoyed this book!
August 19, 2020
One of my all-time favorite lucky finds, I saw this in a Half Price Books and snagged it: best US$3 I ever spent.
Though this is the last part of a trilogy, it is approachable. No doubt I missed a lot, but it's possible ignorance enhanced my enjoyment. This has a classic genre structure of the Burroughs strip, a story which ends basically at it's beginning after a picturesque trip through exotic locales and incredible adventures, but with three unforgettable scenes, and the story carries a weight of lived experience rare in such works.
I love this one, and now it's available as an ebook, so you don't have to chance across a copy.
Though this is the last part of a trilogy, it is approachable. No doubt I missed a lot, but it's possible ignorance enhanced my enjoyment. This has a classic genre structure of the Burroughs strip, a story which ends basically at it's beginning after a picturesque trip through exotic locales and incredible adventures, but with three unforgettable scenes, and the story carries a weight of lived experience rare in such works.
I love this one, and now it's available as an ebook, so you don't have to chance across a copy.
March 15, 2024
Conclusion to Khan's time trilogy is a radical departure from the first two novels, and a welcome one. It's a challenging read, less fantasy, more Lovecraft and H Rider Haggard. I was never fully on board with his dream/drug reveries, but here they're put to good use as philosophy. All in all this trilogy has been inventive, thrilling, and unpleasant in places; if it just misses being a classic it is only that the narrative is often breathless and sequencing seems often more coincidental than fateful. Of course the series dispenses with coincidence and fate, so the author is fully aware that he is gaming time as salvation.
September 26, 2014
I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
Originally reviewed at West Coast Book Reviews
After requesting Timefall from Netgalley, I bought and read the first two in the series; World Enough, and Time and Time's Dark Laughter. With the exception of the last two pages which through me into something unexpected, I thoroughly enjoyed both.
I wasn't disappointed with Timefall. It starts with the discovery of a very ancient skull and an expedition to learn more about its origins. Joshua and his friends find hidden civilizations and fight to prevent the end of everything by the end of time itself. Lots of action and so many themes from the first two books echo through this one.
I also enjoy Kahn's prose. As I found in Incarnate his pacing and choice of words lure you in so when the action comes, it feels like you've passed through something solid. Even in contemporary settings, there is a sense of the fantasy. I was concerned that since Timefall is set in the current day there would be a big sense of disconnect from the previous novels. For me, there wasn't. I loved the moment's of recognition of characters and events echoed from the previous books.
I'm not certain of the science of time as presented in Timefall, it's not my specialty, but since the characters believed it and it was presented so simply and plausibly, I was able to follow.
Had I read this series when it was first printed, I would have been glad to pick it up as a re-read as I have with so many other great science fiction and fantasy series from my past, rediscovering it. The experience would have been very different for me then, than it is now. Joshua, Lon and Jasmine would be understood differently and for me they would have been different people then. Much like the Joshua, Lon and Jasmine in Timefall are fundamentally similar to their doppelgängers in World Enough, and Time and Time's Dark Laughter.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dover Publications for the opportunity to read this book.
Originally reviewed at West Coast Book Reviews
After requesting Timefall from Netgalley, I bought and read the first two in the series; World Enough, and Time and Time's Dark Laughter. With the exception of the last two pages which through me into something unexpected, I thoroughly enjoyed both.
I wasn't disappointed with Timefall. It starts with the discovery of a very ancient skull and an expedition to learn more about its origins. Joshua and his friends find hidden civilizations and fight to prevent the end of everything by the end of time itself. Lots of action and so many themes from the first two books echo through this one.
I also enjoy Kahn's prose. As I found in Incarnate his pacing and choice of words lure you in so when the action comes, it feels like you've passed through something solid. Even in contemporary settings, there is a sense of the fantasy. I was concerned that since Timefall is set in the current day there would be a big sense of disconnect from the previous novels. For me, there wasn't. I loved the moment's of recognition of characters and events echoed from the previous books.
I'm not certain of the science of time as presented in Timefall, it's not my specialty, but since the characters believed it and it was presented so simply and plausibly, I was able to follow.
Had I read this series when it was first printed, I would have been glad to pick it up as a re-read as I have with so many other great science fiction and fantasy series from my past, rediscovering it. The experience would have been very different for me then, than it is now. Joshua, Lon and Jasmine would be understood differently and for me they would have been different people then. Much like the Joshua, Lon and Jasmine in Timefall are fundamentally similar to their doppelgängers in World Enough, and Time and Time's Dark Laughter.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dover Publications for the opportunity to read this book.
July 23, 2013
A Quickie Review
James Kahn, author of the original Return of the Jedi novelization, weaves his own sci-fi fantasy tale in Timefall, a book which combines elements of Lucasfilm's Indiana Jones and Christopher Nolan's Inception. The story definitely enraptured me; compared to the other books I've been reading lately, the writing and flow of the plot is amazing. Fans of time-travel stories and/or mind-bending tales should definitely seek this out, although it may prove hard to find, as it appears to be out of print.
Content Concerns: Roughly ten profanities, including a single use of an unfit-for-network TV expression. The violence isn't graphic, but there is a lot of intensity, and at least one character appears to die. A few sexual references are present, though there's nothing graphic, save for one almost-sex scene. Not for young children.
Score: 3.75/5
James Kahn, author of the original Return of the Jedi novelization, weaves his own sci-fi fantasy tale in Timefall, a book which combines elements of Lucasfilm's Indiana Jones and Christopher Nolan's Inception. The story definitely enraptured me; compared to the other books I've been reading lately, the writing and flow of the plot is amazing. Fans of time-travel stories and/or mind-bending tales should definitely seek this out, although it may prove hard to find, as it appears to be out of print.
Content Concerns: Roughly ten profanities, including a single use of an unfit-for-network TV expression. The violence isn't graphic, but there is a lot of intensity, and at least one character appears to die. A few sexual references are present, though there's nothing graphic, save for one almost-sex scene. Not for young children.
Score: 3.75/5
October 19, 2014
Most of this book is told as a first person account of events in the life of a palaeontologist who has been investigating a very strange box. The box has no opening, is covered in hieroglyphs in an unknown language and, when it is accidentally broken, is found to contain a skill . . . This sparks an expedition to where it was found and adventures galore.
Sorry, think I needed to read the two earlier books in the series to fully understand and enjoy this book. I normally love time travel/sci fi type books but somehow this one didn't grab me. As I said, I think it may be because I haven't read the earlier books but it also didn't make me want to do so and I struggled to finish it. I may go back and try again at some time in the future but somehow doubt it. I recommend other people start with the first book in the series - World Enough and Time by James Kahn - and work their way up to this one, then they may find it much more enjoyable!
Sorry, think I needed to read the two earlier books in the series to fully understand and enjoy this book. I normally love time travel/sci fi type books but somehow this one didn't grab me. As I said, I think it may be because I haven't read the earlier books but it also didn't make me want to do so and I struggled to finish it. I may go back and try again at some time in the future but somehow doubt it. I recommend other people start with the first book in the series - World Enough and Time by James Kahn - and work their way up to this one, then they may find it much more enjoyable!
September 5, 2014
Purportedly a diary written by time-traveling Joshua, this is a pretty good story about the cyclical circular nature of time and how things can go wrong. Sort of an intellectual Indiana Jones-type, Joshua has a mystery dropped in his lap. Joshua, a friend and his wife investigate this artifact and he starts learning things that directly contradict his view of the world. The story tells of his journey to belief and his attempts to follow his new beliefs. Sorry I missed the previous stories in the trilogy, but could still keep up which is always a good thing. Received free copy for review.
March 31, 2015
Great little Adventure / Fantasy book, really hooked me to be honest :)
April 28, 2017
he really lost the plot here
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews