F/SF

After enjoying Silverberg's Up the Line, I was happy to see he had written a previous book about time travel. Sadly, this was not as good as the first one. The book takes place in the late 25th century, where society is very hierarchical, with a Class system. Unemployment is high, but all are given enough money to survive. Many are disillusioned and are doing back in time to find new, more meaningful lives. The book was at its best when dealing with the consequences of using or preventing time travel however, I did not like his characters or the kind of hopeless society portrayed. Nonetheless, I will read more by Silverberg. ( )

Robert Silverberg's novel originated with a short story entitled "Hopper" which he had published a few years previously. In it, a 25th century bureaucrat named Quellen is tasked with finding the person who has been sending people from the underemployed population back into the past for work. In the space of a few pages the reader learns about Quellen's claustrophobia, his secret home on an African reserve, his workplace environment, and how the pressures upon him result in a dramatic, if understandable, decision.

For the novel, Silverberg expands upon his world in a number of respects. In it we are introduced to his sister and brother-in-law, both of whom are trapped in the misery of an aimless, overcrowded world. We also learn more about the government of this world, one that is focused more on self-preservation than on improving matters. We also discover how time travel became part of human history, and how this influences the search for its perpetrator. All of this exploits further the possibilities of the premise in Silverberg's story, yet in the end it is all developed to little purpose. Rather than taking the original story in different directions or elaborating on its ending, Silverberg concludes it in the exact same place as his original work. Nearly all of his additions to the story serve little purpose other than to pad out the background and fill the covers of a novel . While Silverberg's talent for recycling is commendable, it's use here results in a book that doesn't add much to the original story and ultimately feels like a waste of his talent. ( )

This book is rather like the current TV Series "travellers", in that people are being sent back in time, and may be changing the present. However the POV is radically different, as Silverberg starts with a badly damaged world, but the object of his hero is to prevent backwards time travel by the disadvantaged from his period. Blood gets spilt. ( )

Some interesting ideas about a future shaped by extreme overcrowding. Appalachia seems to be one large city comprising the eastern coast of the United States. Random access to data doesn't seem to have been discovered in a world that has teleporters. ( )