The Other End of Time

Last updated
First edition (publ. Tor Books)
Cover art by John Harris The Other End of Time (novel).jpg
First edition (publ. Tor Books)
Cover art by John Harris

The Other End of Time is a 1996 science fiction novel by American writer Frederik Pohl. It is the first novel in The Eschaton Sequence, which is about the adventures of Dan Dannerman, an American government agent of the near future who becomes involved with the discovery of advanced and warring aliens. The novel is about Dannerman and a small group of people who explore an abandoned space station, only to find themselves abducted by aliens who use them for experiments.

Contents

Plot

The novel is set in the near future, in a world in which the United States is struggling with many problems, including weapons of mass destruction, ecological damage, crime and hyperinflation. Then strange messages from space aliens are received. Dr. Pat Adcock has a theory that the aliens have taken up the old Starlab space station. Adcock recruits pilots Jimmy Lin and Martin Delasquez, an elderly astronomer (Rosaleen Artzybachova), and close protection agent Dan Dannerman (who is actually a government secret agent).

When they first explore the Starlab, they find strange alien technologies. Then suddenly, they are transported through space. The aliens have kidnapped the group because the aliens, called "Beloved Leaders", are battling against a terrorist named the Horch. The aliens are battling for dominance of the "Eschaton", which gives eternal life. The humans then learn that they are just copies of their old bodies; their real bodies were sent back to the Earth with wiped memories. Other copies have been experimented on with vivisection.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews praises Pohl for taking "...a hoary science fiction cliche--alien abduction--and turn[ing] it on its head." [1] Kirkus Reviews calls the novel an "...impeccably crafted, absorbing, and enjoyable reworking of mostly familiar material that, while satisfyingly self-contained, seems perfectly poised for sequels." [2]

Related Research Articles

Grey aliens, also referred to as Zeta Reticulans, Roswell Greys or Greys, are purported extraterrestrial beings. They are frequent subjects of close encounters and alien abduction claims. The details of such claims vary widely. However, Greys are typically described as being human-like with small bodies, smooth, grey-colored skin; enlarged, hairless heads; and large, black eyes. The Barney and Betty Hill abduction claim, which purportedly took place in New Hampshire in 1961, popularized Grey aliens. Precursor figures have been described in science fiction and similar descriptions appeared in early accounts of the 1948 Aztec UFO hoax and later accounts of the 1947 Roswell UFO incident.

<i>Singularity Sky</i> 2003 science fiction novel by Charles Stross

Singularity Sky is a science fiction novel by British writer Charles Stross, published in 2003. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2004. A sequel, Iron Sunrise, was published that same year. Together the two are referred to as the Eschaton novels, after a near-godlike intelligence that exists in both.

Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropology" and speculates about human behavior and interactions.

William Bradley Strickland is an American writer known primarily for fantasy and science fiction. His speculative fiction is published under the name Brad Strickland except for one novel written as Will Bradley. By a wide margin his work most widely held in WorldCat participating libraries is The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer, which concluded the Lewis Barnavelt series created by John Bellairs (1938–1991).

Many of the tropes of science fiction can be viewed as similar to the goals of transhumanism. Science fiction literature contains many positive depictions of technologically enhanced human life, occasionally set in utopian societies. However, science fiction's depictions of technologically enhanced humans or other posthuman beings frequently come with a cautionary twist. The more pessimistic scenarios include many dystopian tales of human bioengineering gone wrong.

<i>Eon</i> (novel) 1985 science fiction novel by Greg Bear

Eon is a science fiction novel by American author Greg Bear published by Bluejay Books in 1985. Eon was nominated for an Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987. It is the first novel in The Way series; followed by Eternity.

<i>Heechee Rendezvous</i> 1984 science fiction novel by Frederik Pohl

Heechee Rendezvous is a science fiction novel by the American writer Frederik Pohl, published in 1984 by the Del Rey imprint of Ballantine Books. It is a sequel to Gateway (1977) and Beyond the Blue Event Horizon (1981) and is set about three decades after Gateway. It has been cataloged as the third book in a six-book series called Heechee or The Heechee Saga but Kirkus reviewed it as completing a trilogy and a German-language edition of the three books was published as the Gateway trilogy after all six were out.

<i>Learning the World</i> 2005 novel by Ken MacLeod

Learning the World is a science fiction novel by British writer Ken MacLeod, published in 2005. It won the 2006 Prometheus Award, was nominated for the Hugo, Locus, Clarke, and Campbell Awards that same year, and received a BSFA nomination in 2005. Since the book's publication MacLeod has written two short stories set in the same universe, "Lighting Out" and "Who's Afraid of Wolf 359?".

<i>The Last Theorem</i> 2008 novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl

The Last Theorem is a 2008 science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl. It was first published in the United Kingdom by HarperVoyager in July 2008, and in the United States by Del Rey Books in August 2008. The book is about a young Sri Lankan mathematician who finds a short proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, while an alien invasion of Earth is in progress.

<i>The Far Shore of Time</i> 1999 science fiction novel by Frederik Pohl

The Far Shore of Time is a 1999 science fiction novel by American writer Frederik Pohl. It concludes The Eschaton Sequence and the adventures of Dan Dannerman, an American government agent of the near future who becomes involved with the discovery of advanced and warring aliens.

<i>In the Courts of the Crimson Kings</i> 2008 novel by S. M. Stirling

In the Courts of the Crimson Kings is a 2008 alternate history science fiction novel by American writer S. M. Stirling.

<i>Across the Universe</i> (novel) 2011 novel by Beth Revis

Across the Universe is a trilogy of young adult science fiction novels written by American author Beth Revis. Chronicling the life of Amy Martin aboard a generation ship hundreds of years in the future, Across the Universe, the first novel published in 2011 by Razorbill, received a starred Kirkus review and made the New York Bestseller List for Children's Chapter Books.

<i>Ancillary Sword</i> Science-fiction novel by Ann Leckie

Ancillary Sword is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in October 2014. It is the second novel in Leckie's "Imperial Radch" space opera trilogy, which began with Ancillary Justice (2013) and ended with Ancillary Mercy (2015). The novel was generally well-received by critics, received the BSFA Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, and was nominated for the Nebula and Hugo awards.

<i>Star Rangers</i> (novel) 1953 novel by Andre Norton

Star Rangers, also known as The Last Planet, is a science fiction novel by the American author Andre Norton. The novel was published on August 20, 1953, by Harcourt, Brace & Company. This is one of Norton's Central Control books, which lay out the history of a galactic empire through events suggested by Norton's understanding of Terran history.

The Rapture Effect is a novel by Jeffrey A. Carver published by Tor Books in 1987.

Child of the Light is a novel by Janet Berliner and George Guthridge published by White Wolf in 1991.

<i>The Annals of the Heechee</i> 1987 science fiction novel by Frederik Pohl

The Annals of the Heechee is a science fiction novel by the American writer Frederik Pohl, published in 1987 by Ballantine Books. It is about a dead space explorer's machine-stored version who is trying to discover why the Assassins, a mysterious type of pure energy beings, are threatening the stability of the universe. It is part of Pohl's Heechee Saga, which is about the Heechee, a fictional alien race created by Pohl. The Heechee developed advanced technologies, including interstellar space travel, but then disappeared.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gateway Trip</span> 1990 anthology by Frederik Pohl

The Gateway Trip is a collection of science fiction "tales and vignettes", including a novella, by the American writer Frederik Pohl. It was published in 1990 by Del Rey Books. It involves one of Pohl's recurring creations, the Heechee universe. The Heechee are a fictional alien race which developed advanced technologies, including interstellar space travel, but then disappeared.

<i>The Boy Who Would Live Forever</i> 2004 science fiction novel by Frederik Pohl

The Boy Who Would Live Forever is a science fiction novel by the American writer Frederik Pohl. It was published in 2004 by Tor. It is about intrigues involving one of Pohl's recurring creations, the Heechee universe. The Heechee are a fictional alien race which developed advanced technologies, including interstellar space travel, but then disappeared. In the novel, humans use abandoned Heechee starships to explore space, while the Heechee aliens hide from a mysterious foe, the Kugel, in a black hole, all the while pursued by hate-crazed humans who are Heechee hunters.

<i>The Siege of Eternity</i> 1997 science fiction novel by Frederik Pohl

The Siege of Eternity is a 1997 science fiction novel by American writer Frederik Pohl. It is the second novel in The Eschaton Sequence. The Eschaton Sequence is about the adventures of Dan Dannerman, an American government agent of the near future who becomes involved with the discovery of advanced and warring aliens. In The Other End of Time, Dannerman is part of a group that is abducted by space aliens. In The Siege of Eternity, Dannerman and his cohort escape, only to find that they have been cloned and experimented on. Moreover, the aliens are battling for control of the powerful "Eschaton" a future which gives everyone eternal life.

References

  1. "The Other End of Time". www.kirkusreviews.com. Kirkus Reviews. 1 August 1996. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  2. "The Other End of Time". www.kirkusreviews.com. Kirkus Reviews. 1 August 1996. Retrieved 1 January 2020.