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The Galactic Time Trap
A mysterious lander is found on the far side of the Moon containing a glass bottle with a message in it for humanity. A space station and teams of scientists are sent to the edge of the solar system, further than anyone had ever ventured before. After two generations, the object under study had faded from the popular imagination. If it was only a natural phenomenon then why the warning to bring lots of guns?When Carl Vandor signed up for the secret government project as a test pilot he had no clue what his real job would be. As the first time traveler he had only one problem. Determining the date when his spacecraft would time travel to was still a work in progress. At first all went well. Then a time jump leaves him desperately lost in time and space. As he and his AI autopilot, Ava struggle to find their way back home, they encounter mystery after mystery. What were the secrets Ava was hiding from him? What were the strange glowing objects that sometimes darted faster than light between 3C-999 and interstellar space? Who was trying to kill them? With each time leap, he comes closer to discovering a use for time travel that could never have imagined.
277 pages, Paperback
Published December 23, 2015
6 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 18, 2018
Listened to in audio form. The narrator did a decent job.
As to the work - a solid 3, for a number of reasons.
While a middling interesting read (listen) in terms of ideas it does suffer from a Mary Sue feeling resulting in more and more eye rolling as the plot progresses and the author actually literally talks up his other writing in the text with such statements as "I wonder why he wasn't more popular" comment from a character (as the author's writing is clearly awesome...). He also ranks his work with other authors in the text with which he would like to compare but falls rather short of.
The interaction between the male protagonist and female deuteragonist has a fair few issues. It is understandable that her role and his role have some reasons for bits of this but it would have been so easy to make the wondering by both feel much less two dimensional as opposed to along the fairly blinkered lines it ended up. "Her man" hey? Not a convincing crutch or narrative ploy - got old well quick but kept chipping away at my credulity.
I write not to discourage the author, but to hopefully spur onwards. There is promise here, but it gets swallowed by pandering to some juvenile tropes and self congratulation.
Good ideas - but the characterisation and structure falls short. You can do better, I can tell. Good luck.
As to the work - a solid 3, for a number of reasons.
While a middling interesting read (listen) in terms of ideas it does suffer from a Mary Sue feeling resulting in more and more eye rolling as the plot progresses and the author actually literally talks up his other writing in the text with such statements as "I wonder why he wasn't more popular" comment from a character (as the author's writing is clearly awesome...). He also ranks his work with other authors in the text with which he would like to compare but falls rather short of.
The interaction between the male protagonist and female deuteragonist has a fair few issues. It is understandable that her role and his role have some reasons for bits of this but it would have been so easy to make the wondering by both feel much less two dimensional as opposed to along the fairly blinkered lines it ended up. "Her man" hey? Not a convincing crutch or narrative ploy - got old well quick but kept chipping away at my credulity.
I write not to discourage the author, but to hopefully spur onwards. There is promise here, but it gets swallowed by pandering to some juvenile tropes and self congratulation.
Good ideas - but the characterisation and structure falls short. You can do better, I can tell. Good luck.
October 13, 2019
A well written Scifi
A well written sci-fi that balances adventure and combat with a good sense of wonder and exploration. An interesting take on the time travel concept with a solution to the Fermi Paradox. The story line is relatable and the main characters grow through out the story. Over all this book is a very good read and is enjoyable. The science in the story was a good approximation of what was understood at the time of its writting, it fits with the state of knowledge and the potential course of future developments. If you like thinking Sci-fi stories ,this one ask a lot of good questions, and comes up with some interesting options as future technologies come into reality. Book ends at a jumping off point with a lot of potential. I was so impressed by the authors style, I purchased several other of his works, hoping they keep to the same high level of style and story telling as this book showed. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend.
A well written sci-fi that balances adventure and combat with a good sense of wonder and exploration. An interesting take on the time travel concept with a solution to the Fermi Paradox. The story line is relatable and the main characters grow through out the story. Over all this book is a very good read and is enjoyable. The science in the story was a good approximation of what was understood at the time of its writting, it fits with the state of knowledge and the potential course of future developments. If you like thinking Sci-fi stories ,this one ask a lot of good questions, and comes up with some interesting options as future technologies come into reality. Book ends at a jumping off point with a lot of potential. I was so impressed by the authors style, I purchased several other of his works, hoping they keep to the same high level of style and story telling as this book showed. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend.
October 15, 2023
This book was fine. I think there were some fun ideas but lots didn't seem to go anywhere. The story head jumped between characters unexpectedly at times and things seemed to just, happen.
I enjoyed the time travel ideas that were explored though and the recursive loop of things intentionally improving designs. But other ideas were just lost or dropped off and I think its a shame more wasn't detailed
I enjoyed the time travel ideas that were explored though and the recursive loop of things intentionally improving designs. But other ideas were just lost or dropped off and I think its a shame more wasn't detailed
September 26, 2017
Many of the books I rate on Goodreads get a 5 when they really deserve a 4.something. I hate giving lower marks for something that is better. This John Stilwell book deserves a solid 5!! It's been a very long time since I've devoured such a good story. The pace kept me riveted and the surprise ending still has me thinking.
To all SiFi fans...read this book.
To all SiFi fans...read this book.
August 5, 2023
Fun and interesting
This was a fun and interesting read. The story was well done. The characters well fleshed out. Highly recommend this.
This was a fun and interesting read. The story was well done. The characters well fleshed out. Highly recommend this.
October 6, 2016
An excellent different take on the problems of time travel. How would it work if you could only do time travel by diving between a pair of rotating black holes? And your vector determined the time distance. This is the story of the first human to travel in time and his AI companion. A well written story, hard to put down.
November 21, 2019
Ok, I finished it. Just barely but I did it. The audio book was hard for the narrator to read and the narrator needed all the help he could get. There were a couple of interesting ideas that were never delivered on (I kept waiting and hoping) and beyond that not much of a story with a cliche ending.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews