The Far Shore of Time

THE FAR SHORE OF TIME(1999) is a quick read, and provides a fun ending to THE ESCHATON SERIES. The first two books in the series were the slow-paced THE SIEGE OF ETERNITY(1997), and the excellent THE OTHER END OF TIME(1996). The Eschaton is a religious concept that basically has all living beings being reborn to a heaven at the time of "the big crunch" (which occurs when The Universe stops expanding, and eventually collapses - the opposite of "the big bang"). However, this concept figures far less into THE FAR SHORE OF TIME, as it did in the first two books in the series. In this series, man has encountered aliens, who have arrived in Earth orbit, and who are able to transport matter from one "terminal" to another. These aliens believe in The Eschaton concept, and are feuding with another alien faction - but it is unclear which set of aliens are "the good guys". The main characters in the series end up getting "copied" in various quantities by the aliens' matter transportation technology. In THE FAR SHORE OF TIME, the story concentrates around "the third copy" of Dan Dannerman, and takes place mostly off-Earth.

Now I am not going to lie to you and tell you this is the War and Peace of SF...however if you are in the mood for some light entertaining SF this series is for you. The author comes through again with a fun story.

Part of a true three novel trilogy Eschaton, including (The Other End of Time, The Siege of Eternity, The Far Shore of Time). This trio deals with first contact but Pohl couldn't let it be a simple aliens encounter, there are two different and of course warring alien alliances but that is as far as the "of course" goes. The leaders of earth first have to come to terms among themselves so they can choose correctly from slim, hidden and misleading evidences, which group of aliens is truthful and altruistic and which will conquer and enslave. Besides the wonderful Sci-Fi and multitude of sentient beings there is a good study of the human psyche in captivity. Also a twist in dealing with unwanted clones; not knowing which is the original, if there is an original, which clone gets the spouse and like conundrums. You have to stay alert to the fast pace and changing / multiplying cast. A very good read with interesting alien customs and biology's.

Let it be said at the outset that Frederik Pohl's Eschaton Sequence ("The Other End of Time," "The Siege of Eternity," and "The Far Shore of Time") does not represent Pohl at his peak. Each novel seems a good deal longer than it needs to be and, taken as a whole, the sequence could probably completely lose the second novel without any damage to the main ideas. The main story--an involved alien abduction/invasion saga involving two alien races, the so-called Beloved Leaders and the Horch--might, except for a few contemporary scientific notions, have been written fifty years ago. And it is indeed frustrating that the most potent concept in the novels--the idea of Heaven as a scientifically-verifiable state, or place, which all living things will enter after the "Big Crunch" collapse of the universe--remains almost totally undeveloped. In all, it must be admitted that these novels are not the place to start for a reader new to the works of Frederik Pohl.And yet I give this book (and the other two) four stars. Why? Perhaps because all three represent such a marvelous time-traveling experience; for those of us who grew up on 1950s-style SF, it's wonderful to see that such work is still written and can still be published. The fact is, for all its bloat, The Eschaton Sequence is marvelously entertaining, with interesting characters and constant unexpected twists of plot. The books work on the most basic level: the reader wants to know what will happen next. And contrary to some opinions on this page, I immediately ran out and purchased "Siege of Eternity" and "Far Shore of Time" after reading the first in the sequence. It never crossed my mind not to finish all the novels; they are truly engrossing, as Frederik Pohl almost always is.No, these books are not science fiction classics. And, in fact, the ending of "Far Shore of Time" leaves the question very much open as to whether or not the sequence is even finished--"Far Shore" is billed as the "conclusion," but there is plenty of room for another novel. With Pohl now over 80 years old, it's unclear whether this possible next novel will be written. But if it is, I will certainly purchase it the day it is released. Frederik Pohl, even at less than his best, is still better than 90% of the writers in the field; and at this point in his life and career, Mr. Pohl can surely be forgiven for not producing masterpieces. Anyone who knows SF knows how many he has already given us--"Gateway," "Man Plus," and "The Space Merchants" all jump immediately to mind. Consider the Eschaton novels as highly enjoyable minor dividends from a glorious career. The Lion in Winter still has a few good roars left in him.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, mostly because it doesn't take itself too seriously. For anyone familiar with the first two books in this series, or Pohl's numerous novels of the Heechee, these aren't "hard" science fiction-but rather stories with entertaining plots and speculation. The writing is reminiscent of Spider Robinson's early work and uses humor and bizarre characters to make the reader smile, and think. Recommended light reading.