Amazing adventure in prehistory!
Author:
Philip Jose Farmer
What They Say
In 2070 A.D., John Gribardsun assembles a team of scientists to travel back in time to 12,000 B.C. Their mission is Project Chronos: to learn about the ancient Magdalenian culture. After emerging from their timeship, the other members if the crew begin to suspect something out of the ordinary about their enigmatic gray-eyed leader. As he adapts to their primitive surroundings with remarkable ease, it is almost as if he belongs…
Featuring a brand-new afterword by Christopher Paul Carey (Gods of Opar: Tales of Lost Khokarsa) and a detailed chronology by Win Scott Eckert (Myths for the Modern Age: Philip Jose Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe) and Dennis E. Power.
The Review:
For me, the best science fiction is awesome; not in the modern sense of the word, but its traditional meaning of being full of awe. It skirts the edge of plausibility and tells a story that illuminates some fantastic, currently unreachable portion of creation while at the same time highlighting some basic truth about humanity. I could be pedantic and make distinctions between hard and soft SF or the difference between science fiction and science fantasy, but those issues take a back seat to a strong story with compelling characters, which is exactly what we have here with Philip Jose Farmer’s Time’s Last Gift.
In 2070 a group of scientists take part in Project Chronos. They are the first humans to travel back in time, going all the way back to 12,000 B.C., or the Magdalenian culture, as it’s referred. The group consists of its leader John Gribardsun; Rachel Silverstein and her husband Drummond; and Robert von Billman. Each member of the team holds several advanced degrees in medicine, anthropology, history, botany, zoology, and linguistics and their job is to spend one year gathering as much information as they can about this era. Complications arise when they begin interacting with a local tribe of Magdalenian humans and when Rachel develops romantic feelings for Gribardsun.
Gribardsun is the main character and he stands as an enigma for the other scientists (a fact that only strengthens Rachel’s infatuation). He appears far too comfortable in this primitive land. He often uses archaic words and phrases, and there is a general sense of him being timeless. As this is a Wold Newton novel—specifically a Wold Newton prehistory novel—there are hints at his identity, but they are pleasantly subtle and I was actually a bit disappointed when the material after the novel bluntly revealed it. I rather enjoyed the ambiguity, but I suppose I may be in the minority when it comes to that.
Although there are plenty of moments of action, the parts I enjoyed the most were when Farmer showed the scientists acting like scientists. These characters really do feel like researchers and explorers to me and the simple joy they take in discovering a new proto-European language or witnessing a tribal ceremony add a level of verisimilitude to the story that elevates it beyond the typical science adventure time travel tale.
This joy they feel at witnessing the dawn of humanity is what imparts that sense of awe I mentioned earlier. The characters serve as the reader’s gateway into this world and the amazement they express at being back in time convey the emotions of wonder awe far better than the most detailed of descriptions. Their reactions to time travel also highlight the human condition, which is just as important.
In Summary:
Once again Philip Jose Farmer proves why he was a Grandmaster of Science Fiction. Time’s Last Gift tells the story of the first human exploration into time travel and its enigmatic leader, John Gribardsun. The story manages to capture the awe and wonder of time travel while at the same time remembering the human element that makes such an endeavor worthwhile. Highly recommended.
Content Grade: A+
Published By: Titan Books
Release Date: June 12, 2012
MSRP: $9.95
