Time Travelers Never Die

. . . the most entertaining "time-travel" novel I've ever read. I'm a fan of Jack McDevitt's fiction, and was pleased to see that he'd written a novel outside the universes of "Alex Benedict" and "Priscilla Hutchins". I devoured "Time Travelers" in a single day. Yeah, it had me that spell-bound. People are lining up in my family to borrow the book! The book is not so much on the "hows" and "wherefores" of constructing a time traveling device; rather it dwells on the questions of paradox within time travel itself. Questions like: "Can anything be done to change the past"? "What can we know about our own future"? "Is it possible to escape our own destiny"? Interwoven are wonderful encounters with historical figures. (The historian in me loves the trip(s) to the Great Library of Alexandria!) Judging from the tenor of some of the other reviews, this book was obviously not everyone's cup of tea. To each his own. But it is telling that McDevitt's work has been on the finalist list for the Nebula award for 12 out of the last 13 years -- so he must be doing something right! I give this one a solid 5 stars. Very highly recommended.

While I fully understand the reasoning behind some of the negative reviews posted here, I came down in favor of this novel. So what if it's a bit light on the hard science (no attempt to explain the time travel devices) and so what if it all seems a bit silly at times, it's still a fun book. The author tells a fine story of two friends bouncing around in history, meeting Aristotle, bumping into Shakespeare, hanging out in Alexandria's famed library, and so on. I don't know about you, but the author certainly tapped into one my reoccurring fantasies. My only complaints are that I wanted the characters to visit more places, meet more key figures, and I wanted more detail. In fairness, however, an author can only pack so much into three or four hundred pages. I highly recommend this book to all. Just be clear that it's not going to blow you away with Kip Thornish ideas or Michio Kaku-like visions. Approach "Time Travelers Never Die" with the right attitude, however, and you will enjoy the ride. --Guy P. Harrison, author of "Race and Reality" and "50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God" Also check out: The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century: Stories by Arthur C. Clarke, Jack Finney, Joe Haldeman, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus If you have kids, you won't go wrong with these: The Time Machine (Graphic Revolve) and The Time Machine (Great Illustrated Classics)

I have enjoyed nearly all of Jack McDevitt's books. This one is no exception! I thought it did a good job of putting some new twists on the old cliches of time travel stories. I also grew fond of the characters, who I thought were well-developed. I would have liked to hear more from the perspective of the female characters, but they did come through, especially towards the end. I'm surprised at the negative reviews here -- did we read the same book??

TIME TRAVELERS NEVER DIE tells of a physicist who mysteriously vanishes and whose sun discovers his time-travel device. When son Shel and linguist Dave embark on a rescue mission through time, their journey through history lends a wild ride to a story of a searcher who violates an agreement, views the future, and finds his life and world forever changed as a result. It's a powerful pick, not to be missed!

Since I enjoy Mr. McDevitt's novels very much, I expected to like this, and I did. As I write this, I haven't seen any of the other reviews, but I assume there are the usual amount of people complaining of lack of character depth and poorly conceived story. Well, there are always going to be people who read a story that they don't like, assuming (I guess) that this one will be different. And, if you don't like time travel stories, I don't see this one converting you. But I see the main characters as well fleshed out, and the writing as good as any other of his books. He doesn't go into the construction of the time machine, nor does he delve into the science behind it all that much, but that doesn't keep the story from being quite enjoyable. I also think that he handles the possible result of a paradox in an original manner, keeping it from being the focus of the story. I enjoyed the encounters with the historical people and places of the past (no plot giveaways, please)and would recommend it to anyone who finds a non fantasy science fiction story enjoyable.