The Time Connection

by Thomas F. Monteleone

Front cover has a spine edge crease and a little edge wear. Page browning but no marks, very intact. Ships quickly and packaged carefully!

Genres: Science Fiction

190 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a nice old-fashioned sf novel that could have come from the Golden Age of pulp or an episode of the original Outer Limits. It involves a portal found in a prehistoric cave that leads to a time-travel adventure to a future wracked with interstellar warfare and a desperate last-ditch attempt at human survival. It's a slickly written straight-ahead narrative, fast paced and lots of fun.

[Alien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ein Anthropologe sucht in der Wüste Neumexikos nach Beweisen dafür, dass es Neandertaler in Amerika gab. Er trifft auf eine mysteriöse junge Frau Marianne, die auch in der Wüste rumstolpert. Sie hat übersinnliche Fähigkeiten, etwas rief sie in die Wüste. Auch der Anthropologe spürte was Seltsames bei einer Höhle, die er grad erst entdeckt hat. Als sie am nächsten Tag zurückkehren und in die Höhle eindringen, finden sie ein Portal in eine andere Welt. Sollen sie durchgehen? Wider die Vernunft tun sie es. Sie geraten in eine Sandwüste mit grünem Himmel. Sie finden Wracks von Panzern. Offenbar war Krieg. Ein Panzer ist noch funktionsfähig. Mit Hilfe eines Hirn-Interfaces kann Marianne ihn steuern. Er ist auf sie programmiert. Wie seltsam. Sie sind im Jahr 2800. Sie werden von einem großen Spinnenrobot angegriffen aber können ihn vernichten. Der Panzer gibt Auskunft, dass es sich um einen außerirdischen Roboter handelt. Um vollen Zugriff auf die Informationen zu bekommen, müssen sie nochmal in unsere Zeit zurück. Marianne hat von ihrer Mutter ein seltsames Kästchen geerbt, das wohl die Zugangscodes enthält.

Sehr ausführlich wird alles ausgebreitet. Fast wie in einem Jugendbuch. Es langweilt. Die Dialoge sind hohl. Die Handlung wird immer unglaubwürdiger. Abgebrochen auf Seite 50 von 150

[Jon Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a scanned paperback copy on the Internet Archive. Published in 1976, it's a middling bit of sci-fi fluff that felt low-stakes and unsatisfying throughout. An anthropologist from Back East is looking for signs of ancient humans in the desert of the American West. He forms an unlikely relationship with a mysterious small-town woman who seems to have psi abilities. She is compelled or called by her psi-stuff to visit a cave in the desert, where in its depths they discover a time portal. Stepping through this portal, they are transported to the future Earth of the 29th century. The planet has been devastated and depopulated by interstellar war with an alien race. Robots and automated fighting vehicles roam through the wreckage, and it is from these machines the woman learns she has been sent from the past on a mission. Does she hold the key to stopping the war and restoring the planet? Yawn. In a week, I probably won't remember ever having read this book. Three out of five stars.

[John Bruni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun pulpy adventure about the future of humanity. Two strangers are drawn to the same cave for separate reasons. It turns out that there is a portal in this cave, and it leads to a distant future where humanity no longer exists, and the world is populated by aliens and robots. Finding out how the earth ended up that way is a lot of fun and very interesting. I thought it would wind up along the lines of a similar TFM book, but I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't. My only problem is that in some places, it feels a bit cold and calculating, like a chess game instead of a story. That's just a minor quibble, though. This is a lot of fun.

[Kev · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating yarn somewhat derivative of an Original Series episode of 'The Outer Limits': 'Demon with a Glass Hand' staring Robert Culp and the iconic LA Bradbury Building. Only this one takes place in the desert southwest present time and thousands of years in future. I've always been haunted by this one since 1976. 'Relay Breakdown' by Synergy off 'Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra' I burned into my brain as a soundtrack.

[Snakes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started as an Indiana Jones type adventure in the desert where the characters dropped through a time portal, into the future. Thereafter the narrative became pretty predictable and silly. Robots, aliens, and a future war, with a dull denouement that involved “the people of the future” wearing white jumpsuits. Inadvertently corny and just average.

[Tess Barnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

He kept forgetting about the dog? The author needed a better editor to tighten the story line and character/relationship development.

[Laurence Hidalgo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hokey beginning, adequate sci-fi middle, predictable and somewhat dissatisfying ending.

[Rolen · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I find interesting is that this book has some striking similarities to "Demon with a Glass Hand" Outer Limits episode. I wouldn't be surprised if Thomas F. Monteleone wrote this book shortly after watching that episode...

The book itself is decent, but not incredible. The characters were a bit placid to anything and everything. Even though they were in a completely new world with new amazing things all around them they just didn't seem to care about any of it and they were oddly acceptive of their situation.

[Thee_Dragonfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Action adventure sci-fi. An Earth woman of destiny and her companion discover a gateway into the future. After a desperate war, the futurists have left war machines to be discovered by the woman so she may liberate them and restore order after a mad dash to the epicenter of a deserted city that could lead to destruction or rebirth. Fantastical and improbable, but a fast-paced, easy and entertaining book to read.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, but a forgettable book. It feels like the world could be deep and interesting, but that the book scrapes the surface. The end leaves me wanting more, but the total story felt like an unsatisfying finish to an interesting journey.

I would gladly give this book to friends to read, but see no reason to keep it on my shelf.

[PRJ Greenwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those utter gems of a book you're happy to discover. My local School of Arts library had this little old forgotten hardback hidden away in a dusty corner of its SF&F section. I'm glad I took the risk and retrieved it from its tomb, because what is inside the cover is a wonderful story.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice fun read. It reminded me of why I started reading SF in the first place, all those many years ago. Thanks Tom Monteleone.