What do you think?
Rate this book
Jake Conger/Wild Talents Division #2
The Panchronicon Plot
What better way to get rid of political enemies than to shove them back into the past and maroon them there? It isn't exactly murder but it sure could raise hob with history!
That was what was happening when they yelled for the Wild Talents Division. The actual time machine was a secret known only to the president—who was apparently the culprit. But someone like Jake Conger would be just weird enough to be able to locate the kind of nut who could travel in time himself.
It's Ron Goulart with as whacky and wonderful a novel as any he's written. Back to Old Vienna, back to the Middle Ages, back to Ancient Rome—it's a mystery trail through time conducted by a madman and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat with suspense and falling off it with laughter at the same time!
That was what was happening when they yelled for the Wild Talents Division. The actual time machine was a secret known only to the president—who was apparently the culprit. But someone like Jake Conger would be just weird enough to be able to locate the kind of nut who could travel in time himself.
It's Ron Goulart with as whacky and wonderful a novel as any he's written. Back to Old Vienna, back to the Middle Ages, back to Ancient Rome—it's a mystery trail through time conducted by a madman and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat with suspense and falling off it with laughter at the same time!
- GenresScience FictionHumor
156 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
43 people want to read
About the author
Ron Goulart
603 books99 followersPseudonyms: Howard Lee; Frank S Shawn; Kenneth Robeson; Con Steffanson; Josephine Kains; Joseph Silva; William Shatner.
Ron Goulart is a cultural historian and novelist. Besides writing extensively about pulp fiction—including the seminal Cheap Thrills: An Informal History of Pulp Magazines (1972)—Goulart has written for the pulps since 1952, when the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction published his first story, a sci-fi parody of letters to the editor. Since then he has written dozens of novels and countless short stories, spanning genres and using a variety of pennames, including Kenneth Robeson, Joseph Silva, and Con Steffanson. In the 1990s, he became the ghostwriter for William Shatner’s popular TekWar novels. Goulart’s After Things Fell Apart (1970) is the only science-fiction novel to ever win an Edgar Award.
In the 1970s Goulart wrote novels starring series characters like Flash Gordon and the Phantom, and in 1980 he published Hail Hibbler, a comic sci-fi novel that began the Odd Jobs, Inc. series. Goulart has also written several comic mystery series, including six books starring Groucho Marx. Having written for comic books, Goulart produced several histories of the art form, including the Comic Book Encyclopedia (2004).
Ron Goulart is a cultural historian and novelist. Besides writing extensively about pulp fiction—including the seminal Cheap Thrills: An Informal History of Pulp Magazines (1972)—Goulart has written for the pulps since 1952, when the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction published his first story, a sci-fi parody of letters to the editor. Since then he has written dozens of novels and countless short stories, spanning genres and using a variety of pennames, including Kenneth Robeson, Joseph Silva, and Con Steffanson. In the 1990s, he became the ghostwriter for William Shatner’s popular TekWar novels. Goulart’s After Things Fell Apart (1970) is the only science-fiction novel to ever win an Edgar Award.
In the 1970s Goulart wrote novels starring series characters like Flash Gordon and the Phantom, and in 1980 he published Hail Hibbler, a comic sci-fi novel that began the Odd Jobs, Inc. series. Goulart has also written several comic mystery series, including six books starring Groucho Marx. Having written for comic books, Goulart produced several histories of the art form, including the Comic Book Encyclopedia (2004).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 19, 2020
Jake Conger is called back from retirement by the Wild Talent Division to investigate no less a personage than the president, who's apparently been misbehaving with his time machine. Set in the far-future world of 2021, it's a weird and wacky romp through time, played for absurdity and laughs much more than for satire or social commentary. Much of the humor is no longer as socially acceptable as it was when published in 1977. (But I've got to admit to getting a chuckle or three from the drag-queen lizard-men.) The ending is a bit abrupt, as if he hit his word count and then moved on to the next project. Goulart is always entertaining and amusing, and you'd have to make an effort to take it seriously enough to find offense.
April 25, 2014
I read this book a few months ago, liked it and thought it was a fairly nice science fiction parody. It didn't leave much behind, but at least it had the laughs, which it was aiming for anyway. There isn't anything that memorable about The Panchronicon Plot, it's already starting to fade from my memory, but I had fun reading it and that is not a bad thing.
January 18, 2018
This is one of Goulart’s books I read way back in the 80s. This is the second of three novels featuring Jake Conger of the Wild Talents Division – a government agency that employs people with particular superpowers (Conger’s is invisibility). Here, Conger is called out of retirement by his boss Geer to stop the President of the United States, who has apparently gone loopy and is somehow getting rid of his political enemies by sending them back in time and brainwashing them with new identities. Conger’s mission: find out how he’s doing it, stop him, and rescue the people marooned in the past. As usual, Goulart takes a great idea and applies it to his standard template: straight-man hero encounters a succession of oddball characters that advance him towards his goal. Also as usual, Goulart’s humor is the kind that few would dare to write today (such as Vice President Runningwater, who speaks Hollywood Indian when he drinks too much). The main weaknesses here are the time travel bits, which don’t make much sense if you look too closely, and the ending, which even by Goulart standards is too rushed. That said, it’s not meant to be taken seriously, and it’s mostly fun while it lasts.
May 31, 2018
Classic Goulart
April 8, 2015
The Panchronicon Plot (1977) 159 pages by Ron Goulart
The plot is very thin, the scenes are very quick it's more of a long short story. I wouldn't say novelette or novella, I'm sticking with long short story. It's not so much the story that is the selling point of this book, but rather the Goulart way of telling it. The dialogue is meant to be witty and humorous. The characters are recollecting their Uncle who did this or that.
There's an old west marshal who thinks his sidekick should go undercover in disguises. He asks Jake what his partner looks like. He immediately says "an Indian in drag," denoting the weakness of the disguise.
Anyway, Jake Conger on semi-retirement from the Wild Talents Division is approached by his old boss, Geer, who says the president has gone loco and stashed all of his rivals back in history. The first thing Jake does is track down Buford True, a man who can time travel without the use of a time machine. They end up going to Vienna 1897 to find one of the men the president stashed.
There are many time hops, the action mostly follows Jake Conger, with the one exception following True.
The enjoyment of this book is in following the cutesy dialogue, the stereotyped idiosyncratic characters, and laughing along as you go. If you're not a fan of Goulart's style you're going to be miserable. I've read and enjoyed short stories that I've read, so I knew what I was getting, and after the first five pages you'll know, too.
The plot is very thin, the scenes are very quick it's more of a long short story. I wouldn't say novelette or novella, I'm sticking with long short story. It's not so much the story that is the selling point of this book, but rather the Goulart way of telling it. The dialogue is meant to be witty and humorous. The characters are recollecting their Uncle who did this or that.
There's an old west marshal who thinks his sidekick should go undercover in disguises. He asks Jake what his partner looks like. He immediately says "an Indian in drag," denoting the weakness of the disguise.
Anyway, Jake Conger on semi-retirement from the Wild Talents Division is approached by his old boss, Geer, who says the president has gone loco and stashed all of his rivals back in history. The first thing Jake does is track down Buford True, a man who can time travel without the use of a time machine. They end up going to Vienna 1897 to find one of the men the president stashed.
There are many time hops, the action mostly follows Jake Conger, with the one exception following True.
The enjoyment of this book is in following the cutesy dialogue, the stereotyped idiosyncratic characters, and laughing along as you go. If you're not a fan of Goulart's style you're going to be miserable. I've read and enjoyed short stories that I've read, so I knew what I was getting, and after the first five pages you'll know, too.
January 20, 2011
Cute bit of sci-fi fluff that is more sitcom than 'Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy'.
The humor is consistently chuckle worthy, and Goulart does seem to have a kooky world that follows its own rules, but the plot is very thin, there's little suspense and the characters are very flat. More types then people.
Plus, being written in the 70's, the humor will come across as pretty politically incorrect and sexist.
That said, the planet of drag queen lizard men and the really heavy handed american indian character are pretty funny.
Fun way to waste a couple hours, but nothing great.
The humor is consistently chuckle worthy, and Goulart does seem to have a kooky world that follows its own rules, but the plot is very thin, there's little suspense and the characters are very flat. More types then people.
Plus, being written in the 70's, the humor will come across as pretty politically incorrect and sexist.
That said, the planet of drag queen lizard men and the really heavy handed american indian character are pretty funny.
Fun way to waste a couple hours, but nothing great.
July 3, 2009
See my review of "Wildsmith".
October 16, 2013
Decent book. Had some good moments to it. However, it ends abruptly.
Read
March 20, 2018Another silly story by Ron! Humor, short chapters, I love all of his books.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews