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The Caltraps of Time
"[David I. Masson] began publishing sf with "Traveller's Rest" for NEW WORLDS in 1965; his fiction, including this extraordinarily intense study in the distortion of PERCEPTION, was assembled in _The Caltraps of Time_ (coll 1968), which single volume established his strong reputation as a writer of vigorously experimental, vivid, often scientifically sound stories. Notable among them, and reflecting his close and informed interest in LINGUISTICS, were "Not so Certain" (1967) and the brilliant TIME-TRAVEL story "A Two-Timer" (1966), told entirely in language appropriate to 1683, the year from which the inadvertent time traveller is whisked into the future. Each of DIM's stories seems to be a solution to some cognitive or creative problem or challenge ..." (John Clute, _The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction_)
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1968
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January 25, 2019
If this book were a cheese:
Today we taste and discuss a vintage product from the British Isles, a well-known producer of fromage of this type.
On first impressions The Caltraps of Time (such an evocative name!) brings to mind blue police boxes, medieval traps and a hint of horse dung on a cobbled street in another era. This venerable cheddar was first sold in 1968, and demand has seen it produced on numerous occasions since.
The Fromagier, David Masson, was not a prolific producer, and this is his only product. In this he is not alone – many great producers are known for one specialty, should that speciality be truly special. Does Masson meet this high bar? Could you confidently share his work with friends who have a nose for good (as the Spanish call it) queso? Read on as we open the crackers and sharpen our couteau á fromage!
So! To the goods themselves.
First Impressions:
Promising packaging, festooned with awards and recommendations from noted cheese-fanciers such as The Guardian and (himself a master in this field) Harry Harrison.
A faint hint of distant worlds emanates from the packaging, an aroma that will surely be powerful and satisfying once the packaging is removed.
Opening:
The wrapping removes easily, revealing a multi-part product that splits into seven separate segments, each one labelled with a name of some whimsy and color, numbered to be consumed in order.
The initial aroma is indeed rich and impressive, heady with the reputation this bruiser of a cheddar has built since it was first made. The early notes are redolent of time travel, temporal distortions and evocative, masterly language.
Tasting notes:
Early flavor of the first segments - labelled Two-timer and Travellers Rest is both strong and subtle, with a complexity that belies serious, sustained craftsmanship. Both segments are a riot of originality and rich flavor.
I don’t think it unreasonable to proclaim these sections of the round are instant, stone cold classics, and hold their own against anything the industry has produced then or since. If you’re a connoisseur, or even fancy yourself a fan of contemporary Kaas (As they call it in Holland!), you really must try these.
Sadly (and it really is sad) this quality is not uniform.
Like so many compilation-style products, the early notes are world class, while the later impressions and aftertaste are weak. The later in the numbered segments you progress, the more the flavor becomes muddled and confused, with several pieces leaving an unpleasant aftertaste from being improperly finished in the initial process of creation, or perhaps simply dulled by age.
There are some highlights to be enjoyed. Lost Ground is novel, and will excite a taster for a time, but feels unfinished, the long notes a little lacking. So too with Mouth of Hell, which initially excites then quickly fades.
Final summary:
The early parts of Masson’s offering will genuinely excite any fan of quality British produce (or indeed, any such produce of quality). Masson was clearly a craftsman of skill, and some of his work is world class. Sadly, like so many compilation-style offerings the best is loaded up front, while the mid and after notes are sadly lacking.
2.5 Gouda rounds out of five.
Today we taste and discuss a vintage product from the British Isles, a well-known producer of fromage of this type.
On first impressions The Caltraps of Time (such an evocative name!) brings to mind blue police boxes, medieval traps and a hint of horse dung on a cobbled street in another era. This venerable cheddar was first sold in 1968, and demand has seen it produced on numerous occasions since.
The Fromagier, David Masson, was not a prolific producer, and this is his only product. In this he is not alone – many great producers are known for one specialty, should that speciality be truly special. Does Masson meet this high bar? Could you confidently share his work with friends who have a nose for good (as the Spanish call it) queso? Read on as we open the crackers and sharpen our couteau á fromage!
So! To the goods themselves.
First Impressions:
Promising packaging, festooned with awards and recommendations from noted cheese-fanciers such as The Guardian and (himself a master in this field) Harry Harrison.
A faint hint of distant worlds emanates from the packaging, an aroma that will surely be powerful and satisfying once the packaging is removed.
Opening:
The wrapping removes easily, revealing a multi-part product that splits into seven separate segments, each one labelled with a name of some whimsy and color, numbered to be consumed in order.
The initial aroma is indeed rich and impressive, heady with the reputation this bruiser of a cheddar has built since it was first made. The early notes are redolent of time travel, temporal distortions and evocative, masterly language.
Tasting notes:
Early flavor of the first segments - labelled Two-timer and Travellers Rest is both strong and subtle, with a complexity that belies serious, sustained craftsmanship. Both segments are a riot of originality and rich flavor.
I don’t think it unreasonable to proclaim these sections of the round are instant, stone cold classics, and hold their own against anything the industry has produced then or since. If you’re a connoisseur, or even fancy yourself a fan of contemporary Kaas (As they call it in Holland!), you really must try these.
Sadly (and it really is sad) this quality is not uniform.
Like so many compilation-style products, the early notes are world class, while the later impressions and aftertaste are weak. The later in the numbered segments you progress, the more the flavor becomes muddled and confused, with several pieces leaving an unpleasant aftertaste from being improperly finished in the initial process of creation, or perhaps simply dulled by age.
There are some highlights to be enjoyed. Lost Ground is novel, and will excite a taster for a time, but feels unfinished, the long notes a little lacking. So too with Mouth of Hell, which initially excites then quickly fades.
Final summary:
The early parts of Masson’s offering will genuinely excite any fan of quality British produce (or indeed, any such produce of quality). Masson was clearly a craftsman of skill, and some of his work is world class. Sadly, like so many compilation-style offerings the best is loaded up front, while the mid and after notes are sadly lacking.
2.5 Gouda rounds out of five.
June 17, 2025
D. I. Masson bija skotu bibliotekārs un speciālists angļu valodas jautājumos, par kādiem es noteikti neesmu dzirdējis un nespētu arī izprast. Darba mūža laikā tapuši raksti par fonētiku dzejā. Un 10 daiļliteratūras stāsti - gan zinātniski fantastiski, gan spekulatīvi. Tie visi izdoti šajā grāmatā.
Kā jau ar stāstu apkopojumiem gandrīz vienmēr ir - kaut kas patīk un kaut kas patīk mazāk. Daļa stāstu ir īpaši konceptuāli un pārāk sarežģīti manai saprašanai, sevišķi, ja stāstā iekļauj man nesaprotamus, bet interesantus lingvistiskus pekstiņus, to te netrūkst. Un tas viss ar laika dažādām izpausmēm, tā, lai pavisam salauztu prātu. Profesoram Mauriņam te būtu kur izvērsties lekcijās par dažādajiem laika veidiem un aspektiem.
Lai rastos lielāka nojausma vai varbūt pat saprašana par notiekošo, stāsti noteikti jālasa vairāk nekā vienu reizi, jo šī nepavisam nav vienkārša literatūra.
Trāpīgi un aktuāli ir autora ievadvārdi otrajam, papildinātajam izdevumam (2002. gadā):
"Now, when the frontiers of strict scientific hypothesis read like science fiction, but the conduct of global affairs reads like a set of fifth-rate films dreamt up by moronic scriptwriters, and humanity gets on with the business of running the Sixth Major Extermination of Species, I invite you to relax with the imaginations of a slightly more innocent decade.
The White Queen enjoyed believing in six impossible things before breakfast; here you can believe in a dozen, a few of which may be possible, or at least secrete a truth: the chaos at the heart of language; the fires beneath us; the dimensional complexities of time; parallel universes; the fragility of civilization."
Kā jau ar stāstu apkopojumiem gandrīz vienmēr ir - kaut kas patīk un kaut kas patīk mazāk. Daļa stāstu ir īpaši konceptuāli un pārāk sarežģīti manai saprašanai, sevišķi, ja stāstā iekļauj man nesaprotamus, bet interesantus lingvistiskus pekstiņus, to te netrūkst. Un tas viss ar laika dažādām izpausmēm, tā, lai pavisam salauztu prātu. Profesoram Mauriņam te būtu kur izvērsties lekcijās par dažādajiem laika veidiem un aspektiem.
Lai rastos lielāka nojausma vai varbūt pat saprašana par notiekošo, stāsti noteikti jālasa vairāk nekā vienu reizi, jo šī nepavisam nav vienkārša literatūra.
Trāpīgi un aktuāli ir autora ievadvārdi otrajam, papildinātajam izdevumam (2002. gadā):
"Now, when the frontiers of strict scientific hypothesis read like science fiction, but the conduct of global affairs reads like a set of fifth-rate films dreamt up by moronic scriptwriters, and humanity gets on with the business of running the Sixth Major Extermination of Species, I invite you to relax with the imaginations of a slightly more innocent decade.
The White Queen enjoyed believing in six impossible things before breakfast; here you can believe in a dozen, a few of which may be possible, or at least secrete a truth: the chaos at the heart of language; the fires beneath us; the dimensional complexities of time; parallel universes; the fragility of civilization."
June 24, 2025
Der Linguist Masson hat nur eine Handvoll SF-Geschichten geschrieben, die wohl alle in diesem Bändchen enthalten sind. Trotzdem scheint er einigen Eindruck hinterlassen zu haben. In der "Encyclopedia of Science Fiction" hat er einen nicht so kleinen Eintrag.
Ich fand die Stories nicht uninteressant, zum Teil sogar gut. Manche fand ich aber sehr schlecht erzählt, v.a. die längste "Verlorener Boden (Lost Ground)". Hier hat er 2 unabhängige Ideen verarbeitet: 1. Gefühle liegen wie Wetterlagen in der Luft 2. Es gibt einen Ort wo eine Art Zellen Fenster in andere Zeiten öffnen. Zeitreisen scheinen es ihm sehr angetan zu haben, sie kommen in mehreren Stories vor.
Interessanter war "Weniger sicher (Not so Certain)". Hier geht es um eine Alien-Sprache, die nicht so eindeutig ist, wie machen Expeditionsteilnehmer glauben. Hier hat Masson sein Interesse an Sprachen kompromisslos ausgelebt.
Sowieso habe ich so den Eindruck, dass der Autor seine Interessen "durchsetzte", ohne Rücksicht auf die Verdaubarkeit durch den Leser.
Insgesamt waren zuviele Stories dabei, die mir nicht gefielen.
Ich fand die Stories nicht uninteressant, zum Teil sogar gut. Manche fand ich aber sehr schlecht erzählt, v.a. die längste "Verlorener Boden (Lost Ground)". Hier hat er 2 unabhängige Ideen verarbeitet: 1. Gefühle liegen wie Wetterlagen in der Luft 2. Es gibt einen Ort wo eine Art Zellen Fenster in andere Zeiten öffnen. Zeitreisen scheinen es ihm sehr angetan zu haben, sie kommen in mehreren Stories vor.
Interessanter war "Weniger sicher (Not so Certain)". Hier geht es um eine Alien-Sprache, die nicht so eindeutig ist, wie machen Expeditionsteilnehmer glauben. Hier hat Masson sein Interesse an Sprachen kompromisslos ausgelebt.
Sowieso habe ich so den Eindruck, dass der Autor seine Interessen "durchsetzte", ohne Rücksicht auf die Verdaubarkeit durch den Leser.
Insgesamt waren zuviele Stories dabei, die mir nicht gefielen.
May 12, 2014
THE COWPATS OF ALL TIME!!!
Where do I start?
Ten short stories in the only published work of David I Masson.
Trouble is - they weren't short enough!
In my opinion, they should have never seen the light of day, let alone be published for public consumption.
Confusing doesn't even scratch the surface.
It's as if a hundred children have been lined up and each one asked to write a couple of lines, then to put the lot together as short stories.
There's no sensible build up, it's all utterly incoherent, and the whole sorry mess is boring.
Even the names of the people in every story are ridiculous.
I rifled through the ten stories presuming that one of them would be readable.
No such luck.
What is even more galling is the introduction, where the stories are upheld as some great treasures of science fiction, that could have been lost to posterity.
They should have been binned at birth!
Couldn't understand any of it.
I haven't even got the nerve to deposit this book on the local charity shop.
Where do I start?
Ten short stories in the only published work of David I Masson.
Trouble is - they weren't short enough!
In my opinion, they should have never seen the light of day, let alone be published for public consumption.
Confusing doesn't even scratch the surface.
It's as if a hundred children have been lined up and each one asked to write a couple of lines, then to put the lot together as short stories.
There's no sensible build up, it's all utterly incoherent, and the whole sorry mess is boring.
Even the names of the people in every story are ridiculous.
I rifled through the ten stories presuming that one of them would be readable.
No such luck.
What is even more galling is the introduction, where the stories are upheld as some great treasures of science fiction, that could have been lost to posterity.
They should have been binned at birth!
Couldn't understand any of it.
I haven't even got the nerve to deposit this book on the local charity shop.
July 14, 2010
So far as I know, this 1968 collection is all that Masson wrote. If so, he certainly quit while he was ahead. These are great SF stories, including one recognised classic of the genre.
Lost Ground is an impressive time-mess story, although the second of its big ideas, emotional weather, is a puzzling inclusion: either the story is cleverer than me, or it's a tad undisciplined. Not So Certain details some of the difficulties we might encounter in seeking to talk to aliens; but it's less a story than a light essay.
With Mouth Of Hell the collection takes off: one simple idea, a vast hole in the surface of the (unspecified) planet, is enough for Masson to evoke an atmosphere of High Strangeness, and then slyly undercut it.
A Two-Timer is a wonderful tale of a time-travelling chancer from the 17th-century who steals the unsecured time machine of a traveller from 1964 and comes forward to that time. The thing is written in first-person, through the language and perceptions of 300 years ago, and contains much witty satire on modern life, along with the usual gleeful ingenuity of time-travel stories.
The Transfinite Choice smoothly solves the problem of global overpopulation by time-slicing our existence; with, of course, a twist or two in the tale. Psychosmosis is some kind of cryptic allegory in which speaking of the dead is taboo, since those who do so disappear instantly. It's weakened by having no particular thread or single protagonist, but remains a worrying read.
If I say the final, famous story, Traveller's Rest (on the strength of which I spent years looking for this book) is the most perfect in this collection, it is no criticism of the other tales: Traveller's Rest is one of the most perfect science-fiction stories ever. Our protagonist, H, is a lowly soldier in the endless, insanely pyrotechnic war at the northern end of the bewildering time-gradient that runs up and down his world. Relieved from duty, he is able to travel south to an ordinary life for many years, while only minutes pass on the battleline. It's a superb entwining of an idea, a story and a metaphor.
Ideas are what these stories are about, although there is some decent characterisation in Traveller's Rest and, particularly, A Two-Timer. Masson is clearly knowledgeable on a range of subjects, enriching his stories with detail. It's a shame that he didn't write more, but it's great that he wrote this much.
Lost Ground is an impressive time-mess story, although the second of its big ideas, emotional weather, is a puzzling inclusion: either the story is cleverer than me, or it's a tad undisciplined. Not So Certain details some of the difficulties we might encounter in seeking to talk to aliens; but it's less a story than a light essay.
With Mouth Of Hell the collection takes off: one simple idea, a vast hole in the surface of the (unspecified) planet, is enough for Masson to evoke an atmosphere of High Strangeness, and then slyly undercut it.
A Two-Timer is a wonderful tale of a time-travelling chancer from the 17th-century who steals the unsecured time machine of a traveller from 1964 and comes forward to that time. The thing is written in first-person, through the language and perceptions of 300 years ago, and contains much witty satire on modern life, along with the usual gleeful ingenuity of time-travel stories.
The Transfinite Choice smoothly solves the problem of global overpopulation by time-slicing our existence; with, of course, a twist or two in the tale. Psychosmosis is some kind of cryptic allegory in which speaking of the dead is taboo, since those who do so disappear instantly. It's weakened by having no particular thread or single protagonist, but remains a worrying read.
If I say the final, famous story, Traveller's Rest (on the strength of which I spent years looking for this book) is the most perfect in this collection, it is no criticism of the other tales: Traveller's Rest is one of the most perfect science-fiction stories ever. Our protagonist, H, is a lowly soldier in the endless, insanely pyrotechnic war at the northern end of the bewildering time-gradient that runs up and down his world. Relieved from duty, he is able to travel south to an ordinary life for many years, while only minutes pass on the battleline. It's a superb entwining of an idea, a story and a metaphor.
Ideas are what these stories are about, although there is some decent characterisation in Traveller's Rest and, particularly, A Two-Timer. Masson is clearly knowledgeable on a range of subjects, enriching his stories with detail. It's a shame that he didn't write more, but it's great that he wrote this much.
January 2, 2016
I have just finished reading this. It's science fiction but not the conventional sort. The stories within are more concerned with with the redefining of experiences and situations, with language and communication and the subtleties of meanings under the stresses of time dilation and time shifts, than with the standard themes and props of the genre...
David I. Masson flourished briefly at the end of the 1960s thanks to New Worlds magazine and 'New Wave' SF, which encouraged experimentation and a heightened awareness of literary techniques. It was a cultural progression within the genre that sought to broaden the horizons of readers and thus the next generation of writers, and although the general impact wasn't quite as revolutionary as had been hoped, it did sufficiently change enough perspectives to make a full return to ordinary SF almost inconceivable.
There were many failures among the 'New Wave' experiments but in my view the successful work that emerged made the whole movement worthwhile. Masson was one of the best products of this shift, though hardly typical of it; and The Caltraps of Time, his only book, contains the entirety of his oeuvre: ten stories that are radical enough to earn him lasting respect as a highly original and significant intellectual writer.
The first story in this book is also the earliest, 'Traveller's Rest', and it is really very remarkable, the sort of thing that Stanislaw Lem or Borges (if Borges had done SF) might have written. 'Psychosmosis', 'Mouth of Hell' and 'Lost Ground' are also superb. Masson is a bit like a cross between John Sladek and the Strugatsky Brothers with a touch of Ian Watson. For a small minority of SF writers the question "Is this possible?" is less important than "Is this logically rigorous even though it's impossible?" And generally I prefer fiction that takes the latter approach to the former because it seems more conducive to greater imagination and invention.
David I. Masson flourished briefly at the end of the 1960s thanks to New Worlds magazine and 'New Wave' SF, which encouraged experimentation and a heightened awareness of literary techniques. It was a cultural progression within the genre that sought to broaden the horizons of readers and thus the next generation of writers, and although the general impact wasn't quite as revolutionary as had been hoped, it did sufficiently change enough perspectives to make a full return to ordinary SF almost inconceivable.
There were many failures among the 'New Wave' experiments but in my view the successful work that emerged made the whole movement worthwhile. Masson was one of the best products of this shift, though hardly typical of it; and The Caltraps of Time, his only book, contains the entirety of his oeuvre: ten stories that are radical enough to earn him lasting respect as a highly original and significant intellectual writer.
The first story in this book is also the earliest, 'Traveller's Rest', and it is really very remarkable, the sort of thing that Stanislaw Lem or Borges (if Borges had done SF) might have written. 'Psychosmosis', 'Mouth of Hell' and 'Lost Ground' are also superb. Masson is a bit like a cross between John Sladek and the Strugatsky Brothers with a touch of Ian Watson. For a small minority of SF writers the question "Is this possible?" is less important than "Is this logically rigorous even though it's impossible?" And generally I prefer fiction that takes the latter approach to the former because it seems more conducive to greater imagination and invention.
February 20, 2020
Really enjoyed: Traveller's rest, A Two-timer, the show must go on
Somehow liked: transfinite choice, mouth of hell
The other stories either didn't appeal to me or were too difficult to follow
Somehow liked: transfinite choice, mouth of hell
The other stories either didn't appeal to me or were too difficult to follow
September 30, 2018
David I Masson was a great science fiction writer – and I can confidently say that, because I’ve read his entire published works. But that's not a huge feat of reading - his entire output consisted of 10 short stories collected in one volume. But what great stories they are. As the title suggests, time is a central factor in most of the tales, and Masson handles this admittedly common ingredient of science fiction with a flair that puts him above many other science fiction writers. Straight-out time travel becomes hilarious in one tale about an educated 17th century gentleman who finds himself in 1960s Britain; in other stories time is bent and warped in more complicated ways and Masson conveys the nature and effects of this very well, without getting too technical. (Only one story, The Transfinitive Choice, is a slight struggle as it deals with great complexity about time and parellel universes). In one story, peoples' depressive mood-swings brought about by changes in the weather are medicated with fast-acting antidepressants - was Masson foreseeing today's over-medicated world? Apart from the time-centred tales, in one story, human explorers (including specialist linguists) get to grips with an alien language and syntax; another is a short, surreally satirical dystopian tale with a disturbing amount of gratuitous violence. But my pick of the bunch is “Mouth of Hell”, a great piece of hard, science-based science fiction about the exploration of an extraordinary landform on another world. At the end you feel like you’ve read far more than 13 pages – Masson fits so much detail in. Most of the stories were first published in New Worlds science fiction magazine in the 1960s and leave you wishing that Masson had been a fulltime writer or at least found time to write more outside of his day jobs as a librarian and curator.
September 24, 2014
I enjoyed this book as I always enjoy collections of short stories. Not quite as good as some collections I've read. There are seven stories in this collection and some hit the mark for me more than others.
"Lost Ground" is a strange tale about weather which affects people's moods. That's quite an odd concept to get your head around. The tale moves forward with the hero stumbling upon an area of England where there are random patches which exist in different times causing the incautious to move from period to another.
I found the mood-weather in this to be a bit too weird for me. The time-travelling aspect was interesting but was wrapped up too soon.
"Not So Certain" is a rather heavy read about a group of humans trying to communicate with intelligent aliens. They've got the basics of the language worked out but certain nuances keep tripping them up. I feel this might have been a better read had I got a degree in linguistics!
"Mouth of Hell" is a curiously compelling story about a team of explorers who encounter a massive gaping hole many miles deep. whilst part of the team are climbing down into the hole they experience deep psychological effects of the scale of the terrain. I really enjoyed this one.
"A Two-Timer" is a tale of a chap from the 17th century who steals a traveller's time machine. The 17th century man moves forward to 1964 where he is, not surprisingly, dazzled by the technology and society. The amusing part for me, reading this 50 years after it was written and not having lived anywhere near that decade, was trying to wrap my head around what life in the 60s was like. Rather a good read, though probably for different reasons than when it was originally written.
"The Transfinite Choice" deals with a man flung into the far (and very crowded) future. Happily the man is given useful work to do in try to bring down the numbers of people there. A truly novel idea is developed to deal with this. Quite an interesting read but not the best in the collection.
"Psychosmosis" is a strange tale indeed. When someone dies anyone with the same name has their name changed. Quite bizarre until it transpires that saying a dead person's name makes you disappear. I did enjoy this one and felt drawn in a bit by the mystery of the names.
"Travellers Rest" was probably the best story of the collection in my opinion. Dealing with a soldier fighting in a war in a place where times run at different rates depending on how far south he goes. A very strange scenario but certainly one that captures the imagination. This story was my favourite of all of them.
Overall, the scenarios presented in the stories are certainly interesting. Sometimes I found Masson's writing style a bit difficult to follow, especially when his characters talk in depth about linguistics where I became totally lost! When not flailing around in linguistic jargon I did enjoy what I read and would probably read more of his work if there was any!
"Lost Ground" is a strange tale about weather which affects people's moods. That's quite an odd concept to get your head around. The tale moves forward with the hero stumbling upon an area of England where there are random patches which exist in different times causing the incautious to move from period to another.
I found the mood-weather in this to be a bit too weird for me. The time-travelling aspect was interesting but was wrapped up too soon.
"Not So Certain" is a rather heavy read about a group of humans trying to communicate with intelligent aliens. They've got the basics of the language worked out but certain nuances keep tripping them up. I feel this might have been a better read had I got a degree in linguistics!
"Mouth of Hell" is a curiously compelling story about a team of explorers who encounter a massive gaping hole many miles deep. whilst part of the team are climbing down into the hole they experience deep psychological effects of the scale of the terrain. I really enjoyed this one.
"A Two-Timer" is a tale of a chap from the 17th century who steals a traveller's time machine. The 17th century man moves forward to 1964 where he is, not surprisingly, dazzled by the technology and society. The amusing part for me, reading this 50 years after it was written and not having lived anywhere near that decade, was trying to wrap my head around what life in the 60s was like. Rather a good read, though probably for different reasons than when it was originally written.
"The Transfinite Choice" deals with a man flung into the far (and very crowded) future. Happily the man is given useful work to do in try to bring down the numbers of people there. A truly novel idea is developed to deal with this. Quite an interesting read but not the best in the collection.
"Psychosmosis" is a strange tale indeed. When someone dies anyone with the same name has their name changed. Quite bizarre until it transpires that saying a dead person's name makes you disappear. I did enjoy this one and felt drawn in a bit by the mystery of the names.
"Travellers Rest" was probably the best story of the collection in my opinion. Dealing with a soldier fighting in a war in a place where times run at different rates depending on how far south he goes. A very strange scenario but certainly one that captures the imagination. This story was my favourite of all of them.
Overall, the scenarios presented in the stories are certainly interesting. Sometimes I found Masson's writing style a bit difficult to follow, especially when his characters talk in depth about linguistics where I became totally lost! When not flailing around in linguistic jargon I did enjoy what I read and would probably read more of his work if there was any!
June 18, 2015
Well, I didn't have any expectations going into this read and, having finished it, I still don't know what to think of it.
Christopher Priest provides the introduction and I can see how these stories must have been influence on him. In particular the connection between "Traveller's Rest" and Inverted World is pretty clear. But generally he wasn't nearly as good a writer and it seems also clear to me why he didn't produce any more SF than this handful of stories contained within this collection.
His two primary concerns are with time and language. We see stories featuring time dilation, disruption and travel. And the effects on language that these imply feature heavily.
In "Doctor Fausta" we see two parallel universes in which time flows in the opposite direction. Some people are able to travel between these universes that are very similar yet oddly different. Naturally their manner of speech in each universe reflects these differences.
In "Traveller's Rest" time moves at different rates. The further south one travels, the slower it moves. It increases exponentially as one moves north that approaches an apex to which they cannot see into yet they are at war with a mysterious race that lives beyond it but which they have never seen. Once again, the effects of this time dilation is reflected in the language of the characters in the story.
"A Two Timer" features a traveller from the 17th century who discovers a time machine temporarily abandoned by it's owner that he uses to come to the present day. The first person narrative is naturally in an antiquated dialogue and the story explores the mystifying nature of our contemporary life through the eyes of this protagonist.
The above are among my favourites but others really fell flat for me. "Psychosmosis" just seemed pointless. "Not So Certain" too technical an analysis of an imaginary alien language that was just plain boring to someone not interested in the field. "Take It or Leave It" I just couldn't get into and abandoned.
So, like most collections a mixed bag but this was especially so. Even the stories I liked were weak in terms of character construction and dialogue. However, I would still recommend this collection to others, especially if you share an interest in the two dominant themes.
Christopher Priest provides the introduction and I can see how these stories must have been influence on him. In particular the connection between "Traveller's Rest" and Inverted World is pretty clear. But generally he wasn't nearly as good a writer and it seems also clear to me why he didn't produce any more SF than this handful of stories contained within this collection.
His two primary concerns are with time and language. We see stories featuring time dilation, disruption and travel. And the effects on language that these imply feature heavily.
In "Doctor Fausta" we see two parallel universes in which time flows in the opposite direction. Some people are able to travel between these universes that are very similar yet oddly different. Naturally their manner of speech in each universe reflects these differences.
In "Traveller's Rest" time moves at different rates. The further south one travels, the slower it moves. It increases exponentially as one moves north that approaches an apex to which they cannot see into yet they are at war with a mysterious race that lives beyond it but which they have never seen. Once again, the effects of this time dilation is reflected in the language of the characters in the story.
"A Two Timer" features a traveller from the 17th century who discovers a time machine temporarily abandoned by it's owner that he uses to come to the present day. The first person narrative is naturally in an antiquated dialogue and the story explores the mystifying nature of our contemporary life through the eyes of this protagonist.
The above are among my favourites but others really fell flat for me. "Psychosmosis" just seemed pointless. "Not So Certain" too technical an analysis of an imaginary alien language that was just plain boring to someone not interested in the field. "Take It or Leave It" I just couldn't get into and abandoned.
So, like most collections a mixed bag but this was especially so. Even the stories I liked were weak in terms of character construction and dialogue. However, I would still recommend this collection to others, especially if you share an interest in the two dominant themes.
March 1, 2017
Complete collection of short stories by David Masson.
He was a well educated librarian and as his writing output is quite manageable, I guess he only wrote a story when he really felt the urge. So, this book is not to be rated lightly, it contains all the Sci-Fi tales a litarate man with a life span of 91 years had in him and deemed worth telling. But now, as I am through with it, I think it is a pity that he did not give his ideas away to more established writers. On the other hand, his ideas were pretty new at the time (hence the term 'New Age', I guess) and few authors of the time would have been prepared to build a story around his concepts.
Tales told:
Traveller's Rest: A good story about time being compressed the more, the nearer one reach a certain spatial horizon. Confusing at first, with a few nice details (length of name analogue to distance to horizon, etc.), gets clearer and has a really nice twist at the end. The twist makes this otherwise good story great for me.
A Two-Timer: Time travel story. A guy in medieval England witnesses the arrival of a man in strange contraption which turns out to be a time machine. He then 'borrows' the machine and travels to the present, or what was the present when Masson wrote the story. (1966, I think.) Masson concentrated on changes in the language and cultural development. The story is written in first person perspective and therefore the English is archaic and takes some getting used to. (Especially for me, as English is not my first language.) It must have been one hell of a job to write a whole story like that and Masson must have put a lot of research in it. Or maybe he knew everything that was necessary already and thought he should pack his knowledge in a time travel story. Anyway, the tale itself is not very interesting, I am afraid. Honorable mention for the effort.
Not so certain: Humans made contact with an alien species (not for the first time, I think) and the story revolves around the fine nuances in the alien language. Again, a nice effort. Alas, it is not very gripping. At least Masson tried a little pun at the end, but in my option this constructed pun underlines even more that the story itself does not lead anywhere but is more of a thought experiment.
The Transfinite Choice - The problem of overpopulation is solved by sending people to parallel dimensions. A good story with an interesting premise, but the readability of it is somewhat diminished by Massons fixation on the changes a language must undergo in the course of centuries. What's more, I did not really understand the ending.
Psychosmosis - Once again, a concept that was completely new to me, but a story feebly told. In short: People vanish, and if other people speak the names of the vanished, they vanish themselves.
The Show must go on - Bad story. Some kind of dystopia where crime and violence are so normal that nobody cares anymore. The story goes nowhere.
Doctor Fausta - The deeper I am in the book, the more I think Masson should have given his fabulous ideas to people who know how to make a story out of them. Parallel dimensions again, this time with reversed time directions. If you switch from dimension A to B, spend five years there and switch back, you arrive in dimension A five years before you left. Give this idea to Neil Gaiman or John Scalzi and enjoy the result. Here, it is rather poor. I think I am losing patience with Masson, as I recognise a pattern. Good idea, lacking ability to create a story out of it, ruins it all with his fixation on language development.
Take it or leave it - My advice: Leave it.
Mouth of Hell - Starts nice, with an expedition that reaches an area which is pretty hostile and unexplorable. Decades later it seems to be explored and open to tourists anyway. I don't know, maybe Masson anticipated what would for example happen to Mount Everest, which was out of reach for humans until Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed the summit and where now, a mere sixty years later, hordes of tourists are brought up and down on the wrong claim that it is harmless nowadays. Not very interesting story anyway.
Lost ground - Interesting concept (again) about ... hm ... well, a growing area which is uncertain about the time it is in? As usual, could have been written better.
I think Masson is not so much respected for his stories themselves but more for the ideas and concepts he created in them. These must have been strong influences for some authors. Christopher Priest, for example, who wrote the foreword to my edition, most definitely has read 'Traveller's Rest' before he wrote 'Inverted World'.
But for me this book did not do much. Masson was obviously very interested in language, and he had some really queer ideas. I do not share his great interest in possible language development and related topics, I am more interested in the mindboggling ideas, but unfortunately they can be found only in some of his stories, and hardly any of them lead anywhere. He was no particularly good story teller, I am afraid.
He was a well educated librarian and as his writing output is quite manageable, I guess he only wrote a story when he really felt the urge. So, this book is not to be rated lightly, it contains all the Sci-Fi tales a litarate man with a life span of 91 years had in him and deemed worth telling. But now, as I am through with it, I think it is a pity that he did not give his ideas away to more established writers. On the other hand, his ideas were pretty new at the time (hence the term 'New Age', I guess) and few authors of the time would have been prepared to build a story around his concepts.
Tales told:
Traveller's Rest: A good story about time being compressed the more, the nearer one reach a certain spatial horizon. Confusing at first, with a few nice details (length of name analogue to distance to horizon, etc.), gets clearer and has a really nice twist at the end. The twist makes this otherwise good story great for me.
A Two-Timer: Time travel story. A guy in medieval England witnesses the arrival of a man in strange contraption which turns out to be a time machine. He then 'borrows' the machine and travels to the present, or what was the present when Masson wrote the story. (1966, I think.) Masson concentrated on changes in the language and cultural development. The story is written in first person perspective and therefore the English is archaic and takes some getting used to. (Especially for me, as English is not my first language.) It must have been one hell of a job to write a whole story like that and Masson must have put a lot of research in it. Or maybe he knew everything that was necessary already and thought he should pack his knowledge in a time travel story. Anyway, the tale itself is not very interesting, I am afraid. Honorable mention for the effort.
Not so certain: Humans made contact with an alien species (not for the first time, I think) and the story revolves around the fine nuances in the alien language. Again, a nice effort. Alas, it is not very gripping. At least Masson tried a little pun at the end, but in my option this constructed pun underlines even more that the story itself does not lead anywhere but is more of a thought experiment.
The Transfinite Choice - The problem of overpopulation is solved by sending people to parallel dimensions. A good story with an interesting premise, but the readability of it is somewhat diminished by Massons fixation on the changes a language must undergo in the course of centuries. What's more, I did not really understand the ending.
Psychosmosis - Once again, a concept that was completely new to me, but a story feebly told. In short: People vanish, and if other people speak the names of the vanished, they vanish themselves.
The Show must go on - Bad story. Some kind of dystopia where crime and violence are so normal that nobody cares anymore. The story goes nowhere.
Doctor Fausta - The deeper I am in the book, the more I think Masson should have given his fabulous ideas to people who know how to make a story out of them. Parallel dimensions again, this time with reversed time directions. If you switch from dimension A to B, spend five years there and switch back, you arrive in dimension A five years before you left. Give this idea to Neil Gaiman or John Scalzi and enjoy the result. Here, it is rather poor. I think I am losing patience with Masson, as I recognise a pattern. Good idea, lacking ability to create a story out of it, ruins it all with his fixation on language development.
Take it or leave it - My advice: Leave it.
Mouth of Hell - Starts nice, with an expedition that reaches an area which is pretty hostile and unexplorable. Decades later it seems to be explored and open to tourists anyway. I don't know, maybe Masson anticipated what would for example happen to Mount Everest, which was out of reach for humans until Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed the summit and where now, a mere sixty years later, hordes of tourists are brought up and down on the wrong claim that it is harmless nowadays. Not very interesting story anyway.
Lost ground - Interesting concept (again) about ... hm ... well, a growing area which is uncertain about the time it is in? As usual, could have been written better.
I think Masson is not so much respected for his stories themselves but more for the ideas and concepts he created in them. These must have been strong influences for some authors. Christopher Priest, for example, who wrote the foreword to my edition, most definitely has read 'Traveller's Rest' before he wrote 'Inverted World'.
But for me this book did not do much. Masson was obviously very interested in language, and he had some really queer ideas. I do not share his great interest in possible language development and related topics, I am more interested in the mindboggling ideas, but unfortunately they can be found only in some of his stories, and hardly any of them lead anywhere. He was no particularly good story teller, I am afraid.
August 7, 2019
This was my first read of anything short-story like in the sci-fi category. Unfortunately it wasn't great reading. Masson had a real penchant for exploring language and he delves way too deeply into the concept of phonemes and language, such that it comes across more as an educational text rather than a good read (and I'm a school teacher).
Traveller's Rest has real potential and is just about engaging, but the shortness of the the story means that some key concepts are not fleshed out enough and leave the reader more confused than entertained. In the end it almost wraps up with the glib observation of 'War...what is it good for?'
A two-timer is just odd...
Not So Certain was just a language lesson and the challenge of communicating with an alien species.
The Transfinite Choice was one of the better offerings and features a nice twist at the end that I appreciate.
Psychosmosis was also an enjoyable read, exploring the concept of crossing over to other realities.
The Show Must Go On is a dark look at human indifference (and potentially a commentary on where the world is heading). I didn't mind this one but god help us if we as a species ever turn this level of a blind-eye on the wrongs of the world.
Doctor Fausta is the longest of the short stories on offer and looks at time travel or duplications in time across two dimensions. It is interesting in many ways but in the end devolves to a point of highlighting that human beings will look to exploit for personal gain.
Take it or Leave It...interesting but ultimately depressing in the end.
Mouth of Hell was enjoyable.
Lost Ground - This too was enjoyable, concerning itself with alternate dimensions and a man's ability to cope with loss and grief in the search for answers.
Overall I really was left wanting a story about some magical caltraps that allowed the user to travel through time. Perhaps short stories are not for me because I yearn for more depth, or perhaps these short stories just didn't do it for me.
In the end this is a book I will not return to. I can accept that David I. Masson's works may have been influential in their time but 50 years later they do not resonate all that well.
Cannot recommend...1 out of 5 stars.
Traveller's Rest has real potential and is just about engaging, but the shortness of the the story means that some key concepts are not fleshed out enough and leave the reader more confused than entertained. In the end it almost wraps up with the glib observation of 'War...what is it good for?'
A two-timer is just odd...
Not So Certain was just a language lesson and the challenge of communicating with an alien species.
The Transfinite Choice was one of the better offerings and features a nice twist at the end that I appreciate.
Psychosmosis was also an enjoyable read, exploring the concept of crossing over to other realities.
The Show Must Go On is a dark look at human indifference (and potentially a commentary on where the world is heading). I didn't mind this one but god help us if we as a species ever turn this level of a blind-eye on the wrongs of the world.
Doctor Fausta is the longest of the short stories on offer and looks at time travel or duplications in time across two dimensions. It is interesting in many ways but in the end devolves to a point of highlighting that human beings will look to exploit for personal gain.
Take it or Leave It...interesting but ultimately depressing in the end.
Mouth of Hell was enjoyable.
Lost Ground - This too was enjoyable, concerning itself with alternate dimensions and a man's ability to cope with loss and grief in the search for answers.
Overall I really was left wanting a story about some magical caltraps that allowed the user to travel through time. Perhaps short stories are not for me because I yearn for more depth, or perhaps these short stories just didn't do it for me.
In the end this is a book I will not return to. I can accept that David I. Masson's works may have been influential in their time but 50 years later they do not resonate all that well.
Cannot recommend...1 out of 5 stars.
November 9, 2022
This book is a series of short stories on a general science fiction theme. There are some really good stories in the book, but there also some really tedious ones. Overall, I didn't much get on with the book because of this variable quality.
The book started well. The first two stories were innovative and interesting. the author managed to capture my attention and to retain it. The writing then started to become a bit more obscure and self-indulgent. I didn't really like that, and I found the later stories tried my patience considerably. In some stories the language too difficult to absorb. In others, I found that there were far too many characters. The author didn't make it easy for the reader, which is fine, but it begs the question of for whom the writer was writing. It certainly wasn't for me.
The book is well thought of and has attracted some favourable comment. I can only say that I am well out of step with those sentiments and, apart from the opening stories, I feel that they detracted from my enjoyment. The book is a collection of stories that were originally published in science fiction magazines. Perhaps this approach leads the reader to read the pieces in a different way? In a magazine, I find it easier to discard an article that I don't much like. I find it far harder in the confines of a book.
It's fair to say that I didn't get on with the book and on that basis wouldn't recommend it. As I said, others do recommend it highly, and I do wonder what they can see that I can't. I guess that will remain an unanswered question.
The book started well. The first two stories were innovative and interesting. the author managed to capture my attention and to retain it. The writing then started to become a bit more obscure and self-indulgent. I didn't really like that, and I found the later stories tried my patience considerably. In some stories the language too difficult to absorb. In others, I found that there were far too many characters. The author didn't make it easy for the reader, which is fine, but it begs the question of for whom the writer was writing. It certainly wasn't for me.
The book is well thought of and has attracted some favourable comment. I can only say that I am well out of step with those sentiments and, apart from the opening stories, I feel that they detracted from my enjoyment. The book is a collection of stories that were originally published in science fiction magazines. Perhaps this approach leads the reader to read the pieces in a different way? In a magazine, I find it easier to discard an article that I don't much like. I find it far harder in the confines of a book.
It's fair to say that I didn't get on with the book and on that basis wouldn't recommend it. As I said, others do recommend it highly, and I do wonder what they can see that I can't. I guess that will remain an unanswered question.
April 22, 2018
Opening story 'Traveller's Rest' is, simply put, one of the finest SF short stories ever written. It's masterful combination of strangeness, world-building and emotional heft is unique, and a how-to lesson every aspiring SF writer should take to heart.
It is, then a real shame that almost every other story in the collection is rooted in the 'New Worlds' experimentation of its origin and cannot transcend that datedness. To make it worse, some of the stories appear to be more like exercises in academic humour and seventies political satire than genuine tales of speculative fiction. The number of times I found myself wading through lists of jammed-together word-puns wore me down to the point I thought the ens of this 200-page collection would never come.
So, basically, all three stars of this review are for the extraordinary 'Traveller's Rest, and that's a crying shame...
It is, then a real shame that almost every other story in the collection is rooted in the 'New Worlds' experimentation of its origin and cannot transcend that datedness. To make it worse, some of the stories appear to be more like exercises in academic humour and seventies political satire than genuine tales of speculative fiction. The number of times I found myself wading through lists of jammed-together word-puns wore me down to the point I thought the ens of this 200-page collection would never come.
So, basically, all three stars of this review are for the extraordinary 'Traveller's Rest, and that's a crying shame...
December 31, 2023
Absolutely the worst. Awful beyond measure. There is a saying that if one million monkeys are given one million typewriters, eventually, over billions of years they might randomly produce one of the works of Shakespeare. I would like to offer a much more simplistic variation of that axiom and state that a dozen monkeys banging one typewriter for three hours will produce David Masson’s “The Caltraps of Time.” It was out of print for decades and is apparently one of the few novels chosen by Gollancz to represent only one of their two infrastructural publishing criteria in their Masterworks series: obscure.
December 14, 2024
Extraordinary
Compared to most SF that was written back in the1960s and1970s, which I grew up with, these stories focused much more on POV than situations, even if the situations are vivid and unusual. Masson only ever wrote this handful of stories, but I understand they strongly influenced the New Age writers that made their mark at this time. All the stories are excellent, displaying the author's knowledge of language and linguistics and seamlessly combining this knowledge with original science fiction. "Traveller's Rest" is mind blowing.
Compared to most SF that was written back in the1960s and1970s, which I grew up with, these stories focused much more on POV than situations, even if the situations are vivid and unusual. Masson only ever wrote this handful of stories, but I understand they strongly influenced the New Age writers that made their mark at this time. All the stories are excellent, displaying the author's knowledge of language and linguistics and seamlessly combining this knowledge with original science fiction. "Traveller's Rest" is mind blowing.
August 8, 2021
A collection of stories should be rated on its best work. "Traveller's Rest" is one of the great SF stories of all time. "The Two Timers" is very good, and there is other strong work here as well. There are also some lesser stories, one or two outright failures, but at it's best this is great work, for that it gets 5 stars.
July 17, 2020
What once was interesting and innovative now comes across as wilfully obscure and tedious.
January 8, 2018
Review for Traveller's Rest
This was a fascinating story. In this world Masson creates, as one travels south, one travels down-time (time moves slower) while as one travels north, one travels up-time - where time moves very quickly. I loved how Masson further illustrates this by abbreviating names in the up-time latitudes down to initials, while in the south (down-time), one accesses the more complete (and very lengthy!) names of places and people. This was an excellent device, and added to the puzzle.
The story follows H, a soldier on the Frontier. He's right near the sight-barrier, and the enemy is on the far side. Just twenty metres from his position. But he's only there for a relatively short time - as he's soon Relieved and must return to the South, where many years have passed since he left.
I won't say any more about the plot, as to discuss too much more is to give it all away. But suffice it to say I really enjoyed this story. It was a puzzle to pick apart, food for thought, and all I expect from a story that investigates the concept of time. And a few other questions.
This was a fascinating story. In this world Masson creates, as one travels south, one travels down-time (time moves slower) while as one travels north, one travels up-time - where time moves very quickly. I loved how Masson further illustrates this by abbreviating names in the up-time latitudes down to initials, while in the south (down-time), one accesses the more complete (and very lengthy!) names of places and people. This was an excellent device, and added to the puzzle.
The story follows H, a soldier on the Frontier. He's right near the sight-barrier, and the enemy is on the far side. Just twenty metres from his position. But he's only there for a relatively short time - as he's soon Relieved and must return to the South, where many years have passed since he left.
I won't say any more about the plot, as to discuss too much more is to give it all away. But suffice it to say I really enjoyed this story. It was a puzzle to pick apart, food for thought, and all I expect from a story that investigates the concept of time. And a few other questions.
December 1, 2014
Thematically innovative and imaginative science fiction stories which blend intelligent approaches to time travel, language/communication and time dilation with everyday, human experience. Some stories are weaker than others and an attempt to ground abstract scientific ideas in explanation/reality isn't always successful and can leave you feeling quite ostracised. However, I really enjoyed the playfulness of style and language and particularly adored questions raised such as: what happens to human relationships within time dilation? What if weather notably altered emotional states? And how would we deal with language barriers when communicating with aliens and/or humans from the past or future?
January 4, 2022
The first story in this collection, Traveller's Rest, is one of the best sf short stories I have ever read, just brilliant. The second story, A Two-Timer, is a wonderful entertainment. The rest of the stories have their moments but never approach the heights of the first two. And yes this book contains every sf story Masson ever wrote.
Traveller's Rest (1965)
A Two-Timer (1966)
Not So Certain (1967)
The Transfinite Choice (1966)
Psychosmosis (1966)
The Show Must Go On (1970)
Doctor Fausta (1974)
Take It or Leave It (1970)
Mouth of Hell (1966)
Lost Ground (1966)
Traveller's Rest (1965)
A Two-Timer (1966)
Not So Certain (1967)
The Transfinite Choice (1966)
Psychosmosis (1966)
The Show Must Go On (1970)
Doctor Fausta (1974)
Take It or Leave It (1970)
Mouth of Hell (1966)
Lost Ground (1966)
July 20, 2016
It's not easy to come to an overall conclusion when it comes to a book of short stories. Most of these stories are based on wordplay, as Masson was a huge proponent of languages, and as such some of them can be hard to get into, but the ideas are interesting and work best in short story form as a longer version of these stories could have been pretty tedious.
February 11, 2016
Of the 10 stories in this I enjoyed four. Most are complicated, convoluted and too technical to be entertaining. You might find something interesting in Traveller's Rest; Mouth of Hell; The Show Must Go On; and Lost Ground but even then they don't justify the printing of this book.
Definitely at the worst end of the SF Masterworks spectrum.
Definitely at the worst end of the SF Masterworks spectrum.
January 13, 2012
Okay, not bad and of its time. The stories are inventive, but after a while the language plays became a little repetative. Worth the read but nothing really knocked me out.
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