Wednesday, June 26, 2013

A Brief History of Time Travel / John Rasor



I'd like to welcome our newest pal, Michael Thal, who does the first half of a double shot today for his debut. Read what BigAl has to say about the same book later today. Michael is the author of The Legend of Koolura, available from Amazon US (ebook or paper) and Amazon UK (ebook or paper).


Reviewed by: Michael Thal

Genre: Non-Fiction

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

John Rasor is the author of three books, Roadkill, How Lost Got Lost, and A Brief History of Time Travel. He grew up in California during the 50s and 60s, served in the armed forces, and had a professional career in manufacturing and aerospace. During his later years he enjoyed a job as a Hollywood messenger where he mined interesting inside information for his time travel book. He recently moved to Arizona to be near his adult children and grandchildren.

For more, visit his website.

Description:

A Brief History of Time is like an encyclopedia of time travel stories providing brief summaries of books, movies, TV shows, and short stories that use time travel in their plots. The book includes classic time travel stories such as H.G.Wells’ The Time Machine and Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court to literary works like Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein to Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. The book also delves into TV series like “Star Trek,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, “Lost,” and “Fringe” picking those shows highlighting a time travel adventure.

Appraisal:

In a folksy first person writing style, John Rasor delves into the world of science fiction, specifically all literature, movies, short stories, and TV programming that features time travel in its plot. Rasor writes brief summaries of each work providing readers with his personal opinion of each work. This technique is reinforced later in the book when he reiterates a few of his favorites in his “Ten All-Time Favorite Time Travel Stories.” His number ten is Dean R. Koontz’s novel, Lightning, while number one is the entire five seasons of “Fringe”. Again, Rasor provides in-depth analysis of each, which is often repetitive.

It is highly recommended to read this book with a pen and paper nearby as you’ll want to jot down stories you’d like to read or watch. This reviewer suggests skimming through sections that would spoil stories you wish to enjoy for personal entertainment—Rasor’s primary purpose of writing this tome.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four stars


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