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Timeline Wars #1
Patton's Spaceship
Combining the suspense of the detective thriller with the awesome wonder of space/time adventure. Crux of Battle begins an epic tale of a war across one million alternate Earths.
"One of the most able and impressive of SF's rising stars!" --The Washington PostAn exciting blend of time travel, alien invasion, and chase/action from the critically hailed author of Mother of Storms, Kaleidoscope Century, and other novels published by Tor.
325 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
29 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
John Barnes
263 books198 followersJohn Barnes (born 1957) is an American science fiction author, whose stories often explore questions of individual moral responsibility within a larger social context. Social criticism is woven throughout his plots. The four novels in his Thousand Cultures series pose serious questions about the effects of globalization on isolated societies. Barnes holds a doctorate in theatre and for several years taught in Colorado, where he still lives.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bar...
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bar...
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 10, 2011
Art historian Mark Strang's happy life ends on the Fourth of July Weekend. A terrorist group called Blade of the Most Merciful attacks his family--his father is an expert on terrorism--and kills his pregnant wife; his brother, and mains his sister for life. He and his father escape with minor injuries.
Now, Mark has found what he want to do in life--protect innocents. He starts 'Mark Strang Bodyguards". He meets up with an unusual professor called Harry Skena. He sooon finds himself in another timeline.
Harry Skena represents ATN--a group who is fighting to keep "The Closers" from controlling timlines. The Blade terrorist group was a front for the Closers, who have designs on conquering our timeline. Eager to strike back and those responsible for the Blade's terrorism, Mark agress to help ATN.
Things go wrong--naturally--and he ends up alone. Trapped in a timeline where Hitler won World War II--a common theme is SF.
John Barnes does a good job of describing a conquered America--and the last defenders of the Allies. What Mark brings to his allies is knowledge. I liked that. He has a few advanced weapons from his ATN allies when stranded--but mostly 'knowing' that certains weapons can be done is a big factor in the sucess of Mark's allies in his new timeline.
Fast-paced, well written with some neat ideas. It is more an adnveutre novel than character driven, though Mark is a fairly welw developed character. If you like adventures in your Sf and especially if you like time travel, this is for you.
Now, Mark has found what he want to do in life--protect innocents. He starts 'Mark Strang Bodyguards". He meets up with an unusual professor called Harry Skena. He sooon finds himself in another timeline.
Harry Skena represents ATN--a group who is fighting to keep "The Closers" from controlling timlines. The Blade terrorist group was a front for the Closers, who have designs on conquering our timeline. Eager to strike back and those responsible for the Blade's terrorism, Mark agress to help ATN.
Things go wrong--naturally--and he ends up alone. Trapped in a timeline where Hitler won World War II--a common theme is SF.
John Barnes does a good job of describing a conquered America--and the last defenders of the Allies. What Mark brings to his allies is knowledge. I liked that. He has a few advanced weapons from his ATN allies when stranded--but mostly 'knowing' that certains weapons can be done is a big factor in the sucess of Mark's allies in his new timeline.
Fast-paced, well written with some neat ideas. It is more an adnveutre novel than character driven, though Mark is a fairly welw developed character. If you like adventures in your Sf and especially if you like time travel, this is for you.
June 7, 2017
This book isn’t exactly what I had expected – and what I had expected is one of the reasons that it took me *counts* 20 years to read this book. Yes, really, 20 years. I knew of the series near to when it was first published in 1997, and I probably had a used copy of the first book shortly thereafter. And . . . . did no t read it until this year. 20 years later.
Why? I expected that this book would be just like every other book that involved time lines and multiple universes. There’s Simon Hawke’s TimeWars, several short stories (and possibly books) by Poul Anderson, a series by David Weber, etc. – lots and lots of books that involved either two or more forces battling wars within time (TimeWars; Anderson’s short stories), or across universes (Weber’s series, and, later in the series, TimeWars). And while I liked that kind of thing, there is such a thing as getting overwhelmed with the same topic getting repeated over and over again.
So, what is it exactly I got this time? The first 25.23% of the book was an interesting look at an action/suspense/private investigator-bodyguard mystery. Quite detailed, quite interesting, and quite emotional. And then, finally, we got to the science fiction part.
And we, the readers, find – two competing forces battling each other through multiple universes. But, before you can say ‘training montage’ (no training actually occurs), the guy being recruited, Mark Strang, gets himself separated from the time traveling people and – impulsively, stuck on another world – a timeline wherein Hitler won (one of the 800 such timelines (vast majority, for those following along, have Hitler lose)). He is there on this world, trying to figure out how to interact, taking out some of the ‘Closers’ (the name of the ‘evil’ faction involved in the ‘Timeline Wars’ (as the back over the book calls it), but mostly this isn’t fight between two different time periods/sets of timelines/etc. It is the journey of a man who found himself on the wrong world. A Nazi controlled world. A world wherein Nazi’s took over the USA – but there are still forces trying to fight back. And Mark attempts to find them.
This book surprised me at just how good it was – just how interesting and exciting everything was. And, for that matter, just how violent it was. (heck, there’s even mention of gorgeous naked (or where they topless?) female slaves . . . seen in passing, glimpsed, not important to the story – but unexpected in and of itself to see).
If I had to come up with a complaint, a flaw it would be one specific issue – because of reasons fully explained in the book, Mark Strang became a trained operative – skilled with martial arts (though that training started when he was a kid before the ‘reasons’ occurred), gun use, body-guarding, private investigating, and art history (he had been heading for a doctorate in art history when his world imploded). But it was stressed a large number of times that he had no military training. He didn’t exactly become a military genius, or anything like that, no, it’s just that he was shown with skills that it had been kind of stressed hard he hadn’t gotten. Counter-argument to that is that much of what he did could have been picked up when he went all ‘commando’ like back in his own time period. It’s just that he was shown to be a good skilled body-guard, not Rambo, prior to going to another world and . . . doing what he did (where, fair enough, he didn’t go Rambo, he just became a very good instructor of military security people – also, he did kind of go all Rambo like in a few occasions).
Right, so, quite fun, interesting, great book.
Rating: 4.36
June 7 2017
Why? I expected that this book would be just like every other book that involved time lines and multiple universes. There’s Simon Hawke’s TimeWars, several short stories (and possibly books) by Poul Anderson, a series by David Weber, etc. – lots and lots of books that involved either two or more forces battling wars within time (TimeWars; Anderson’s short stories), or across universes (Weber’s series, and, later in the series, TimeWars). And while I liked that kind of thing, there is such a thing as getting overwhelmed with the same topic getting repeated over and over again.
So, what is it exactly I got this time? The first 25.23% of the book was an interesting look at an action/suspense/private investigator-bodyguard mystery. Quite detailed, quite interesting, and quite emotional. And then, finally, we got to the science fiction part.
And we, the readers, find – two competing forces battling each other through multiple universes. But, before you can say ‘training montage’ (no training actually occurs), the guy being recruited, Mark Strang, gets himself separated from the time traveling people and – impulsively, stuck on another world – a timeline wherein Hitler won (one of the 800 such timelines (vast majority, for those following along, have Hitler lose)). He is there on this world, trying to figure out how to interact, taking out some of the ‘Closers’ (the name of the ‘evil’ faction involved in the ‘Timeline Wars’ (as the back over the book calls it), but mostly this isn’t fight between two different time periods/sets of timelines/etc. It is the journey of a man who found himself on the wrong world. A Nazi controlled world. A world wherein Nazi’s took over the USA – but there are still forces trying to fight back. And Mark attempts to find them.
This book surprised me at just how good it was – just how interesting and exciting everything was. And, for that matter, just how violent it was. (heck, there’s even mention of gorgeous naked (or where they topless?) female slaves . . . seen in passing, glimpsed, not important to the story – but unexpected in and of itself to see).
If I had to come up with a complaint, a flaw it would be one specific issue – because of reasons fully explained in the book, Mark Strang became a trained operative – skilled with martial arts (though that training started when he was a kid before the ‘reasons’ occurred), gun use, body-guarding, private investigating, and art history (he had been heading for a doctorate in art history when his world imploded). But it was stressed a large number of times that he had no military training. He didn’t exactly become a military genius, or anything like that, no, it’s just that he was shown with skills that it had been kind of stressed hard he hadn’t gotten. Counter-argument to that is that much of what he did could have been picked up when he went all ‘commando’ like back in his own time period. It’s just that he was shown to be a good skilled body-guard, not Rambo, prior to going to another world and . . . doing what he did (where, fair enough, he didn’t go Rambo, he just became a very good instructor of military security people – also, he did kind of go all Rambo like in a few occasions).
Right, so, quite fun, interesting, great book.
Rating: 4.36
June 7 2017
September 8, 2025
Huh. So we go from noirish PI detective novel, (first person hard-boiled narrator! Damsels in distress!) to sort of brief interlude setting up a very successful 1950s family (all of the now-adult children are above average- and obviously all train in martial arts! And obviously all make sure to gather every year on uh…4th of July. Because they love America.). Then some 50s sci-fi, then alternate history where Hitler won…but then eventually loses with (sort of) the help of our intrepid hero.
It’s a bit silly sometimes- and there’s never even an allusion to some sort of constraint that keeps the time traveling good guys from being more directly helpful. - “You can’t just give them the plans for a jet- it’ll cross the time streams!” (Or whatever). And in fact the world building suggests this is fine to do and only not done because of plot needs. And the efforts at showing how enlightened and liberal the protagonist is are…pretty awkward to read just 30 years later.
But you know what? It was a hoot, as my grandmother would say. Maybe I’ll even see if the library has any more in the series. Maybe.
It’s a bit silly sometimes- and there’s never even an allusion to some sort of constraint that keeps the time traveling good guys from being more directly helpful. - “You can’t just give them the plans for a jet- it’ll cross the time streams!” (Or whatever). And in fact the world building suggests this is fine to do and only not done because of plot needs. And the efforts at showing how enlightened and liberal the protagonist is are…pretty awkward to read just 30 years later.
But you know what? It was a hoot, as my grandmother would say. Maybe I’ll even see if the library has any more in the series. Maybe.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2017
John Barnes is an odd author-- he writes hard science fiction, but his field of science is sociology. So you get all this interesting speculation about why societies behave the way they do. This book is a non-stop action thriller that takes the protagonist into an alternate timeline where Nazis won World War II. He is an action hero, a well-educated bodyguard who kills bad guys like a video game or a movie like Die Hard, so there is a lot of violence, some of it described in detail. Overall it was entertaining, but a bit of a guilty pleasure. It was a less real world than some of Barnes' other books.
A friend tried to get me to read this in college, but I had some strange prejudices about "real" time travel and didn't pick it up at the time.
A friend tried to get me to read this in college, but I had some strange prejudices about "real" time travel and didn't pick it up at the time.
January 29, 2023
If you want a book with almost non-stop action this is it. This is an alternate history time travel book. It is really nice and fun meeting versions of people and places I know from my history studies. This is a fun book with the villains who are really bad. The good guys and gals are real flawed people working at doing their best, but they can and do make mistakes. The action is constant and interesting. Great read to unwind each day after hard day at work. I have had a week of those and this book hit the spot. :)
November 17, 2017
A great alternate history sci fi story. I'll be diving in to the rest of the series right away.
April 6, 2018
The first book in the Timeline Wars series this book is an interesting alternate time/dimension story.
January 30, 2025
A great read!
If you are a fan of the multiverse theory, you will really enjoy this story! It is action packed and it is alternate history, as well.
If you are a fan of the multiverse theory, you will really enjoy this story! It is action packed and it is alternate history, as well.
June 24, 2016
I like most John Barnes novels. Patton’s Spaceship is no exception. It’s got an interesting premise that has endless possibilities and I can definitely see the potential for sequels, of which there is at least one that I know of. I know because I have it and have read it.
In this book, Pittsburgh art historian Mark Strang's mainly happy life ends on a holiday weekend when a terrorist group called Blade of the Most Merciful attacks his family. His father is an academic expert on terrorism. They kill his pregnant wife, his brother, and permanently maim his sister. He and his father escape with minor injuries. Strang’s life is changed forever.
Strange discovers a new passion: a combination of revenge and protection of innocents. He founds a bodyguard company, hires some good muscle, apparently is well trained for an art historian, and carries a big 1911 .45.
One of the first times we run into him in this book is when he and his crew are trying to protect a young girl (maybe 10, 12) named Porter, and her mother, from her psycho father. Why her father is so psycho is not totally clear to me. But it gets pretty hairy there for a bit. He helps her escape though. Porter, we are told, is to play a major role in the future. At times, I felt like I was reading/watching The Terminator. But I never quite discovered what was so important about her. Odd.
After some time, he meets another professor in his office named Harry Skena. Skena is a front man for a group representing the ATN, a group fighting to keep “The Closers,” “aliens” from controlling different universe timelines. The Blade terrorist group was a front for the Closers, who want to conquer our timeline. Eager to strike back at those responsible for the Blade's terrorism, Mark agrees to help the ATN after thinking through how surreal everything seems, yet how it’s all making sense after thinking it through.
Before he knows it, he and Skena are in another timeline, or rather he is, because Skena’s dead, and he’s trapped there with no way back! In this timeline, he quickly learned that it’s the 1960s and that Hitler and the Axis won World War II and dominate the globe, and he better learn how to act in a world gone mad quickly or he’ll wind up dead.
There is a free zone though, in southeast Asia, of all places. Barnes does a good job of describing a conquered America and the last defenders of the Allies when Strang arrives in the US. In the free zone, he later enjoys having Strange meet his heroes such as General Patton and help them make an effort to fight the Axis. And what Strang brings to his new colleagues is knowledge. Future knowledge of future technology. Like flight. Rockets. Perhaps bombs? Many things. He doesn’t view himself as overly technical or knowledgeable, but just getting ideas across to the Allied scientists does a world of good, so he’s a huge help.
Some of the chapters have quite a bit of action and there’s plenty of excitement to be had. Of course, there’s a big, climactic ending. I won’t go into what or how things happen or end, but you can use your imagination. It’s fairly satisfying. I’d say, very satisfying, actually. After reading this book, I looked forward to the sequel. While I don’t view this as a five star book, I view this as a solid four-star book, certainly worth reading by anyone who enjoys alternative histories and time travel. Recommended.
In this book, Pittsburgh art historian Mark Strang's mainly happy life ends on a holiday weekend when a terrorist group called Blade of the Most Merciful attacks his family. His father is an academic expert on terrorism. They kill his pregnant wife, his brother, and permanently maim his sister. He and his father escape with minor injuries. Strang’s life is changed forever.
Strange discovers a new passion: a combination of revenge and protection of innocents. He founds a bodyguard company, hires some good muscle, apparently is well trained for an art historian, and carries a big 1911 .45.
One of the first times we run into him in this book is when he and his crew are trying to protect a young girl (maybe 10, 12) named Porter, and her mother, from her psycho father. Why her father is so psycho is not totally clear to me. But it gets pretty hairy there for a bit. He helps her escape though. Porter, we are told, is to play a major role in the future. At times, I felt like I was reading/watching The Terminator. But I never quite discovered what was so important about her. Odd.
After some time, he meets another professor in his office named Harry Skena. Skena is a front man for a group representing the ATN, a group fighting to keep “The Closers,” “aliens” from controlling different universe timelines. The Blade terrorist group was a front for the Closers, who want to conquer our timeline. Eager to strike back at those responsible for the Blade's terrorism, Mark agrees to help the ATN after thinking through how surreal everything seems, yet how it’s all making sense after thinking it through.
Before he knows it, he and Skena are in another timeline, or rather he is, because Skena’s dead, and he’s trapped there with no way back! In this timeline, he quickly learned that it’s the 1960s and that Hitler and the Axis won World War II and dominate the globe, and he better learn how to act in a world gone mad quickly or he’ll wind up dead.
There is a free zone though, in southeast Asia, of all places. Barnes does a good job of describing a conquered America and the last defenders of the Allies when Strang arrives in the US. In the free zone, he later enjoys having Strange meet his heroes such as General Patton and help them make an effort to fight the Axis. And what Strang brings to his new colleagues is knowledge. Future knowledge of future technology. Like flight. Rockets. Perhaps bombs? Many things. He doesn’t view himself as overly technical or knowledgeable, but just getting ideas across to the Allied scientists does a world of good, so he’s a huge help.
Some of the chapters have quite a bit of action and there’s plenty of excitement to be had. Of course, there’s a big, climactic ending. I won’t go into what or how things happen or end, but you can use your imagination. It’s fairly satisfying. I’d say, very satisfying, actually. After reading this book, I looked forward to the sequel. While I don’t view this as a five star book, I view this as a solid four-star book, certainly worth reading by anyone who enjoys alternative histories and time travel. Recommended.
October 22, 2018
It's really a 3.5 and I love alternate histories and parallel universe stories. Plus this one keeps right on moving. My favorite art historian turned body guard protagonist I've ever met. Not that I've ever met one before that I can remember, but "never say never? "
I'll read the next installment for sure Washington's Dirigible because this is the sort of book that makes you want to come back for more, hoping the next one will be just that much better than the first . . .
Plus those scenes are pretty fun takes on the if you could have dinner with "insert famous person here" question!
I'll read the next installment for sure Washington's Dirigible because this is the sort of book that makes you want to come back for more, hoping the next one will be just that much better than the first . . .
Plus those scenes are pretty fun takes on the if you could have dinner with "insert famous person here" question!
July 15, 2014
https://koeur.wordpress.com/2014/07/1...
Publisher: Open Road
Publishing Date: July 2014
ISBN: 9781453262597
Genre: SciFi
Rating: 3.8/5
Publisher Description: Mark Strang became a bodyguard and private investigator when terrorists killed his family; now he spends his days protecting Pittsburgh’s helpless and abused. But while on a mission to save the life of a ten-year-old girl, Strang is inexplicably cast into an alternate reality, transported to a different time on another Earth, where America was defeated in the Second World War and now suffers under the brutal yoke of Nazi oppression.
Review: Really weak cover art.
This was a lot of fun to read. The characters were interesting. Strang is fairly one dimensional, but needs to be in order to purvey a multiple universe jumping bad ass.
There were some fall downs in this novel. So in his new universe where they can replace/regrow eyes and hamburgered limbs with nano-bots, why hasn’t Strang brought that technology to his sister that lost her legs and one arm in a bombing by the “Closers”?. At the beginning it is made evident that Strang is not a shooter and/or is new to it. And I quote “I’d never fired a shot at anything but a paper target…since I was a kid”. Then about a third of the way through he states that he has won “contests” with the 1911 pistol. In one scene at “ten or more deaths” of the bad guys there is no reloading or mention of extra magazines. Since the 1911 pistol holds 7+1 rounds of ammo there is no way, other than having extended magazines, to take out 10 or more bad guys without reloading.
The premise of traveling to multiple parallel universes has a big appeal to readers. The author does a great job of constructing plausible scenarios in other timelines while creating engaging characters to inhabit them. I am looking forward to this series as long as the old love interest shtick doesn’t raise it’s ugly head. The hero and his stolen love never plays well as it relegates the story-line process to a diminutive. This story, if it keeps creatively expanding, could be a very solid series.
July 17, 2014
“Patton’s Spaceship” was published in 2014 and was written by John Barnes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bar...). This is the first book in the Timeline Wars series. Mr. Barnes has published over 30 novels.
I obtained this novel for free through https://www.netgalley.com for review. This is a Science Fiction novel that includes time travel and alternate histories. The novel is written in the first person. Some of the novel is set in Pittsburgh, PA, but much of it is in other locations.
The main character is Mark Strang. Mark’s wife, mother and brother have been killed in a car bomb that was intended for his father. His father had been writing about the middle eastern terrorist group the Blade of the Most Merciful and they had responded with an attack. Mark drops out of college where he has almost finished his Phd in Art History and becomes a body guard after a second failed attack.
Years later Mark is approached by acadamecian Harry Skena for body guard services. It turns out that he has been delving into organized crime and found a link to Blade of the Most Merciful. They are now after him and he needs protection. As Mark tries to keep Harry alive, he encounters a group from a different time line - Athenians - who are at war with those who are behind Blade of the Most Merciful. Mark joins with them and takes on a mission in another timeline where he meets several historical figures who are on the loosing side of a World War II where the Nazis won.
I thoroughly enjoyed the nine hours I spent reading this novel. It was well written and I liked the characters. I also liked the different spin on time travel and alternate history it takes - several parallel universes each with a different time line. The book reminds me of stories by Harry Turtledove. I rate this novel a 5 out to 5.
Other book reviews I have written can be found at http://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.
I obtained this novel for free through https://www.netgalley.com for review. This is a Science Fiction novel that includes time travel and alternate histories. The novel is written in the first person. Some of the novel is set in Pittsburgh, PA, but much of it is in other locations.
The main character is Mark Strang. Mark’s wife, mother and brother have been killed in a car bomb that was intended for his father. His father had been writing about the middle eastern terrorist group the Blade of the Most Merciful and they had responded with an attack. Mark drops out of college where he has almost finished his Phd in Art History and becomes a body guard after a second failed attack.
Years later Mark is approached by acadamecian Harry Skena for body guard services. It turns out that he has been delving into organized crime and found a link to Blade of the Most Merciful. They are now after him and he needs protection. As Mark tries to keep Harry alive, he encounters a group from a different time line - Athenians - who are at war with those who are behind Blade of the Most Merciful. Mark joins with them and takes on a mission in another timeline where he meets several historical figures who are on the loosing side of a World War II where the Nazis won.
I thoroughly enjoyed the nine hours I spent reading this novel. It was well written and I liked the characters. I also liked the different spin on time travel and alternate history it takes - several parallel universes each with a different time line. The book reminds me of stories by Harry Turtledove. I rate this novel a 5 out to 5.
Other book reviews I have written can be found at http://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.
September 5, 2014
Patton's Spaceship by John Barnes
This is another time travel, multiple universe novel. That is not a criticism merely an observation. This story introduces the Closer's a multiverse villain and the Athenians a counter balancing time space police force. Mark Strang is introduced as a professional bodyguard who acquires a very personal reason for a vendetta.
Home grown terrorists are the lead in of the story. Mark Strang is the thread that weaves through the story. The story leads through parallel universes and ends up with a world where Hitler won WWII. There is even a young protégé in the wings of the name Porter. Porter is important to multiple universes. I smell the influence of the Terminator series. In all fairness there are so many time traveler, multiverse, parallel world books that it would be pretty difficult not to see so similarities between plots. That does not denigrate this book.
The plot was reasonably complex, the action was robust and interesting. I always enjoy the named personalities and their alter egos in the alternate universes. Patton in this book, appeared to be much more likeable than he was in our universe.
I liked the book and hope to read further in the series.
Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bar...
This is another time travel, multiple universe novel. That is not a criticism merely an observation. This story introduces the Closer's a multiverse villain and the Athenians a counter balancing time space police force. Mark Strang is introduced as a professional bodyguard who acquires a very personal reason for a vendetta.
Home grown terrorists are the lead in of the story. Mark Strang is the thread that weaves through the story. The story leads through parallel universes and ends up with a world where Hitler won WWII. There is even a young protégé in the wings of the name Porter. Porter is important to multiple universes. I smell the influence of the Terminator series. In all fairness there are so many time traveler, multiverse, parallel world books that it would be pretty difficult not to see so similarities between plots. That does not denigrate this book.
The plot was reasonably complex, the action was robust and interesting. I always enjoy the named personalities and their alter egos in the alternate universes. Patton in this book, appeared to be much more likeable than he was in our universe.
I liked the book and hope to read further in the series.
Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bar...
April 8, 2015
Patton's Spaceship (1997) 320 pages by John Barnes.
This book starts in what could be our Earth. This Earth is in a timeline that is just one of millions. Some timelines are very similar, some are vastly different. The timeline of the Closers was the first to discover how to move between them and are intent on turning events in a particular direction, totalitarian society, which they can then take over.
Mark Strang is a professional bodyguard whose father investigates and writes about terrorist organizations. Mark quickly gets involved in trying to protect our timeline from these terrorists. A fluke lands him in another timeline. This one is a 1960s world where Hitler won WWII.
Mark is stranded there, and being stranded, has to try his best to turn that world into something better.
There was a lot of action, the first chapter fight scene seemed to be described in minute detail. I thought Barnes did a good job of fleshing out his characters, at least that of Mark. It did seem quite straightforward good vs. evil. Not much in between. There was one glaring error, where he said Hydrogen gave four times the lift of Helium. It's closer to (28-1)/(28-4), it's the displaced N2, O2 and H2O that provide lift for a blimp or dirigible.
I enjoyed it. The book was good enough that the next book that I'm reading is the second timeline wars novel.
This book starts in what could be our Earth. This Earth is in a timeline that is just one of millions. Some timelines are very similar, some are vastly different. The timeline of the Closers was the first to discover how to move between them and are intent on turning events in a particular direction, totalitarian society, which they can then take over.
Mark Strang is a professional bodyguard whose father investigates and writes about terrorist organizations. Mark quickly gets involved in trying to protect our timeline from these terrorists. A fluke lands him in another timeline. This one is a 1960s world where Hitler won WWII.
Mark is stranded there, and being stranded, has to try his best to turn that world into something better.
There was a lot of action, the first chapter fight scene seemed to be described in minute detail. I thought Barnes did a good job of fleshing out his characters, at least that of Mark. It did seem quite straightforward good vs. evil. Not much in between. There was one glaring error, where he said Hydrogen gave four times the lift of Helium. It's closer to (28-1)/(28-4), it's the displaced N2, O2 and H2O that provide lift for a blimp or dirigible.
I enjoyed it. The book was good enough that the next book that I'm reading is the second timeline wars novel.
July 8, 2014
It all started with a body-guard job for Mark Strang. Actually, it all started with a terrorist act that cost him his wife and mother. After that, he went from being a art historian PhD canidate to a bodyguard. After delivering 10-year-old Porter Brunreich and her mother to the airport, fending off Mr. Brunreich twice, Mark got another job protecting Harry Skena from The Blade, the terrorist group that had impacted his life before. During the subsequent events, Mark Strang had to rescue Porter Brunreich in Portland, Oregon, followed Blade members into a time gate and eventually found his way to a world where Hitler had won World War II with outside help. After a whole series of fun adventures, Mark Strang got himself to where he could assist Free Zone fighters in taking the war to the Nazis and freeing the world. This is just volume one of the Timeline Wars series, so I am eagerly awaiting for Washington's Dirigible!
November 25, 2014
Barnes is a writer of ambitious and intelligent SF (Earth Made of Glass, Orbital Resonance).
He is apparently also a writer of slapdash trashy potboilers like this novel. I think we're supposed to like Mark Strang because he experienced personal tragedy, but realy he is remarkably unappealing. He is rich, handsome, and good at everything but can't be bothered to have any relationship more human than sex with a prostitute or beating people up, which he enjoys a lot. Actually, he goes beyond a taste for beating people up, he enjoys destroying whole countries with hydrogen bombs. Nice.
I want the grownup Barnes back.
He is apparently also a writer of slapdash trashy potboilers like this novel. I think we're supposed to like Mark Strang because he experienced personal tragedy, but realy he is remarkably unappealing. He is rich, handsome, and good at everything but can't be bothered to have any relationship more human than sex with a prostitute or beating people up, which he enjoys a lot. Actually, he goes beyond a taste for beating people up, he enjoys destroying whole countries with hydrogen bombs. Nice.
I want the grownup Barnes back.
January 25, 2015
I picked this series up because I liked the Directive 51 series. Overall, the plot and characters were interesting but this was obviously an earlier writing attempt by Barnes. The character development was stunted and sometimes stereotypical. The concept of multiple timelines was interesting and he did a good job of exploring the possibilities of alternate histories. However, for an exemplary demonstration of this technique, I recommend Harry Turtledove - specifically, Guns of the South.
Other nitpicks include the poor quality of editing - misspellings, missing words, etc. The series wasn't rife with these errors but it was distracting at times.
Other nitpicks include the poor quality of editing - misspellings, missing words, etc. The series wasn't rife with these errors but it was distracting at times.
July 8, 2014
Patton’s Spaceship is just plain fun Science Fiction. Mark Strang is a strong main character. He ends up in an alternate Earth where he is aided by other characters taken out of our past history. There is non-stop action and great danger with Mark right in the middle of it all. I loved the book. It is the first book in the three book Timeline War Series. I plan on reading all three. Since it is a re-issue I will not have to wait to read the next two.
Patton’s Spaceship was first issued in the 1990 and this is a reissue with a new cover.
Patton’s Spaceship was first issued in the 1990 and this is a reissue with a new cover.
December 5, 2015
A terrific thriller to start with and some great small scenes, but then the entire book founders on the reefs of infodump and high concept as we enter an ahistorical timeline-time-travel-fantasy in which the bad guys are perfectly okay to kill or nuke because they're *literally* worse than Nazis. (We even get a over the top sadism scene to prove it.) Still fun for various action scenes, and historical personages in different timelines, but the interesting detective noir at the beginning was more fun to me than the slight and glossy fantasy that followed.
December 16, 2013
I'm reading this in the "Timeline Wars" omnibus.
It's solid, but just not as good as I expected from the setting. The protagonist seems a bit too unlikely and pretty "Mary Sue". The action is sometimes very hard to follow (especially with the title scene - speaking of which, the title is very misleading). Also, the environment as a whole seems a hair too implausible, in ways that the characters lampshade.
It's solid, but just not as good as I expected from the setting. The protagonist seems a bit too unlikely and pretty "Mary Sue". The action is sometimes very hard to follow (especially with the title scene - speaking of which, the title is very misleading). Also, the environment as a whole seems a hair too implausible, in ways that the characters lampshade.
July 17, 2014
John Barnes can be hit or miss with me, really liked some, could not get into others. With Patton's Spacehip, the first in the Timeline Wars series, Barnes seems to be channeling the late great Jack Chalker. Simply a good fun romp (maybe even a stampede) through alternate timelines, our hero ends up in an alt 1960's where the Nazi won WWII. While there is absolutely nothing new in this tale it doesn't ever take itself too seriously.
November 6, 2014
I don't usually give glowing reviews to time travel/alternate reality books because time paradoxes give me headaches but I made an exception for this one. Look forward to reading every book in this series.
August 24, 2016
Although classified as SF this is more of an old-fashioned adventure story but with time lines and alternate histories. It was quite a fun read, it's fast-paced and easy reading. I'm not sure I will continue with the series so I will give it 2.5-3 stars.
June 15, 2008
Fun pulpy time travel book, which is high praise given my lifelong antipathy for time travel SF.
April 27, 2013
Not as great as Barnes' other series, but still fun.
February 15, 2014
liked it, pretty good for an afternoons read, don't go in expecting serious high tech time travel story
August 16, 2014
Extremely readable & fast moving. This book is a great way to take a mini-vacation.
January 31, 2015
I really enjoyed the story and the characters. At times the back stories became somewhat tedious, but all in all it was a good read. I am getting the next time-line story.
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