Time Travel Books and best questions

[hracctsold]

Have been interested in this subject all of my life, and have read some goood books on it and some not so good. Any thoughts on the subject? <br />Did you like the movie Frequency, or agree with how they brought the past and present together?

 

[cookie_thief]

I don't remember Frequency. When did it come out? What was it about?

 

[avaunt]

I sort of liked the movie, the tone it struck was nice, but i thought it dragged its bottom a little.<br /><br />A really super time travel story, is "There will be Time" by Poul Anderson. just special the way it handles the theme. Another that is a different take, is "Times last gift" by Phillip Jose Farmer.<br /><br />But my favourite of all, HAS it all, great writing, superb characterisation, and amazing ideas.<br /><br />This is "The Anubis gates", by Tim Powers. If you read this, you will love it, and read all his work, I know this for a fact.

 

[hracctsold]

Thanks for the tips, I am always looking for a good book. I have heard and seen those writers, but never explored their writings.<br /><br />I agree with your thoughts on the movie. It had nice content, but I seem to think that if the past was changed, the present would also be different, unless you were insulated from that stream of actions. How could a person have two active past memories in mind, the one would seemingly replace the other. If a person could view those actions from a third person position, that may be possible. <br /><br />Which brings up the thoughts of Marty and Back to the Future. Side note, Chris Lloyd is a fantastic actor. Who else could play the reverend from Taxi, a klingon from Star Trek, and a bum from the flop of a movie called Dennis the Menise? But when Marty went back to 1955 he changed his present state in 1985.<br /><br />That to me seems to be the only realistic course to take. But who can really tell?<br /><br />Has anyone experienced "The Sphere" by Michael Chrichton? Of recent books, that has more twists and turns then most. It has a delightful time twist, and many other turns as well. It kept me to the very last page, and I could envision other threads of action from that end. But DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT waste your time with the movie. IT IS NOT WORTH IT!!!!

 

[avaunt]

You will have a hard time finding the works of PJ Farmer in the USA, my friend. He fell out of favour LONG ago, because he wrote what was considered porn in a few of his novels, and about the time of Ron Reagen becoming pres, the religious right forced the publishers to black mark Farmer.<br /><br />You ought to read a story called "Maker of Universes" a five book series, by Farmer. It is alternate worlds sort of. great story.

 

[jmilsom]

Although not really a hard SciFi look into time travel, I must confess to enjoying Michael Moorcock's "Dancers at the End of Time" series. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[jmilsom]

I must add "'Now Wait for Last Year" by P.K.Dick - quite a different take on time travel and a classic! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

Frequency was very interesting and quite good. Other nice time travel films have been of course the "back to the future" triology, "Time after time", and "timescape". With novels, other than the superlative original "Time Machine" Asimov's "End of Eternity was both good and original, especially in the way it dealt with the time travelling paradoxes.<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[mcbethcg]

I love time travel stories, although I think it is probable that time travel may be impossible. <br /><br />I enjoy thinking about the effects of time travel on the universe.<br /><br />Generally, time travel stories have one of three approaches.<br /><br />1) Time travel only occurs in such a way that it had always happened, and does not change the present in any way when it occurs- in fact, the time travel is necessary to make the present possible. In these stories, it is possible that you might be your own great-grandfather. I hate this approach. TV series often take this approach so that they can simplify the story line. If time travel were possible, I definitely think this is the least likely possibility.<br /><br />2) Time travel destroys the present state of the universe and recreates it into a different form. You go back in time and kill grand dad, and return to the present and find that someone else is living in your home and nobody knows who you are. Gerrold explored this alot in "The man who folded himself" where the traveler repeatedly remade history until the world was unrecognizable, and eventually exterminated the human race.<br /><br />3) You create a paralel splinter universe. There is now a universe where you killed grand dad, but the old one remains. These stories are probably most common in written science fiction.

 

[hracctsold]

Has anyone ever heard of a short story called, "The Sounds of Thunder"? I think it was written by Ray Bradbury, but not totally sure. It is suppose to be at the theater soon, but expanded to make a full movie.<br /><br />The idea of the book is to take a hunting trip back in time and shoot extinct animals that would not matter to the future/present time frame. The trouble comes when someone violates that rule. The thought is that time is a very fragile thing that can be easily broken, and I do not really think that is at all possible. I seem to agree with those that say it is just the opposite. <br /><br />Although I personally do not think time travel is really possible, I have read that some really do think it is not only possible, but likely. What I take issue with is the true likelihood of a multiverse concept. I seem to think those researchers are seeking answers to match their thoughts and ideas. What are any thoughts to this book or other thoughts out there?

 

[mcbethcg]

I have no problem with multiverse concepts- this universe came into being, at some point, out of nothing and I see no reason why an infinite number of universes could not similarly come into being.<br /><br />In addition, I think that quantum physics points to the possibility of a multiverse. The copenhagen meeting decided against the possibility, but only really out of gut feeling, IMO. No evidence either way. It was either "collapsing wave functions" or a multiverse.

 

[hracctsold]

The idea of universes being created at the same time is no problem, but to say that at a specific point in time when I turn to the left and not the right, or choose to engage in an action or not, that that action alone creates a new universe, that has the sound of more fiction then truth to it.

 

[JonClarke]

To this list must be added two more (at least)<br /><br />4) To protect oneself from the consequences of changing the past, time travellers must create an external reality (Asimov's "End of Eternity" uses this approach. <br /><br />5) Time travel into one's own past is impossible, because of the paradoxes. however, one can travel into the past of a parallel universe almost exactly the same as ours. Michael Creighton's "Timeline" does this.<br /><br />Jon<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[avaunt]

6)<br />Reality protects itself actively against paradox, so that you CAN go back, but nothing you do changes anything, and if you try too hard, you get stepped on.

 

[JonClarke]

7) reality protects itself against time paradox by always preventing the construction of time machines (Larry Niven wrote a story to this effect).<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[hracctsold]

But is that a wholly different timeline, in addition to the first timeline, or does that new one replace that first one already affected. Back to the future just changed the main timeline with new cause and effects, and only Marty and the Doc knew about it. An if you would think about it, they were the only two NOT affected by that timeline, so they could see the change.<br /><br />There was a dorky TV movie called 12:01, that had a sciencist perform an experiement that caused the whole world to loop back to the previous day continually. The only one not affected by it was the good guy who had a electric shock accident at that same time which caused him to be immuned to that loop. He spent the whole movie trying to stop that experiement from happening. <br /><br />Do you also think it is fairly easy to change the timeframe of events, or as some of the points already given have pointed out, would it not be that simple to completely reverse that flow. But that would throw a monkey wrench into Harry Turtledove's books of alternete(sp?) history though.

 

[avaunt]

That Harrison book , was the single worst book, of a very pedestrian writer.<br /><br />He LIVES in America, and somehow it slipped his mind, that in the SOUTH, any black man, riding a horse, would be stopped, questioned EXTREMELY hard i.e. with vicious brutality, and then hung?. LET ALONE the fact that he had the man armed.<br /><img src="/images/icons/rolleyes.gif" /><br /><br />His recent books about how the USA could have invaded GB, then Europe [wanker] are just pathetic. I wouldn't allow myself to dignify him with a wish that he die in agony.<br /><br />Oh, Wait, I am wrong there. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />

 

[JonClarke]

They both sounded rather silly books to me, so with your reccommendation I give them a miss. Few of Harrison books come up to the standard of "A transatlantic Tunnel", with its nuclear-powered trains and coal-powered aircraft both great fun.<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[hracctsold]

Speaking of sequels, did you ever run accross a novel called, "Time Machine II"? It was a modern written piece that explored the concept of a modern man who was adopted and found he had a different past then he thought. His father was the time traveler, and he found the details to the time machine, and changed his future and past. The end of the book has him meeting and becoming his father's friend. But his father wanted his son to be born in his father's present time, but was detoured to WW2 England, where he the son was born. It is a little convoluted, but interesting how complex time travel and intervention can be. There is much more twist and turns revealed in the book, like how they ended up beyond the future time where Weena was born, how his parents were killed, and many such things.

 

[Swampcat]

<font color="yellow">"...Stephen Baxter's "Timeships"."</font><br /><br />I read that about a month ago and enjoyed it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>

 

[berna]

One of the best books for me about time travel is "Timemaster" by the late "Robert L. Forward". This is really hard SF, although finding negative matter may be more difficult that the way he puts it.

 

[spacechump]

<i>"...Stephen Baxter's "Timeships"."<br /><br />I read that about a month ago and enjoyed it.</i><br /><br />Stephen Baxter is good all around. His books are packed with technical details that delight this engineer plus he has entertaining storylines. Read the trilogy Manifold: Time, Manifold: Space and Manifold Origin...though each can be considered its own separate book. I must say though that "Titan" depressed the crap out of me.

 

[vogon13]

There is a movie called Memento where the main character, Leonard Shelby (played by Guy Pearce) suffers a severe head injury during a home invasion when his wife is murdered. The effect of the injury is that he can no longer form new memories and can only maintain a chain of thought for 10 to 15 minutes. Leonard spends most of the movie in a search for his wife's killer. This is not easy with his condition. The movie experiments with the narrative stream by having the scenes of the movie play in reverse chronological order. This simulates in the audience the very problem from which Leonard suffers. The movie opens many chains of thought; casaulity, recollection, who we are, how we perceive reality, etc. The movie has been interpreted many ways, virtually everyone who sees it comes away with a different angle. I've spent time contemplating that perhaps Leonard is normal and that time itself is malaciously inflicting this chronological reversal on him. His wife's murder has not yet occured, as an independent obseverer would see, but Leonard and the audience are stranded on a paradoxical mobius surface in time. Many people who see this movie hate it, but I feel it is a real pearl and rich in exciting topics for contemplation. It's not a standard time travel story, the narrative device is certainly unusual, but it's a well crafted tale, never the less. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>