The Other Time

The death of Mack Reynolds prevented this book from achieving its true potential which was excellent as far as it went. I'm surprised Dean Ing didn't extend it to a more exciting conclusion or at least continue with a new volume of his own based upon this excellent foundation. Reynold's certainly knew Aztec history and customs well enough to postulate some excellent alternative views of their society and government structures. Perhaps Dean Ing was unable to match this cultural background and knowledge to successfully add more to the story.

This was a terrific time travel novel postulating what might happen if an interloper from the 20th century found himself in Aztec Mexico during the invasion of Cortes and decides to try and stop Cortes from destroying the Aztecs. I have only one complaint, and it is a serious one: it ended just as it was getting to the really good part. Leaving certain things to the reader's imagination is fine as far as it goes, but this was too much.