The Time Stream
Encyclopedia
The Time Stream is a science fiction
novel by author John Taine (pseudonym of Eric Temple Bell). The novel was originally serialized in four parts in the magazine Wonder Stories
beginning in December 1931. It was first published in book form in 1946
by The Buffalo Book Company in an edition of 2,000 copies of which only 500 were ever bound. It is the first novel to see time as a flowing stream.
and links the world Eos at the beginning of the universe with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
.
described The Time Stream as "the strangest of all John Taine's novels," concluding that it was "less powerful" than other Taine fiction "because he tries to do too much." Everett F. Bleiler
noted that it is "generally conceded to be Taine's best novel, despite its somewhat confusing presentation and very ambivalent theme"; he concluded that the ambivalence "makes the novel interesting."
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by author John Taine (pseudonym of Eric Temple Bell). The novel was originally serialized in four parts in the magazine Wonder Stories
Wonder Stories
Wonder Stories was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, when his media company Experimenter Publishing went...
beginning in December 1931. It was first published in book form in 1946
1946 in literature
The year 1946 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*November 7 - Walker Percy marries Mary Bernice Townsend.*Launch in the United Kingdom of Penguin Classics under the editorship of E. V...
by The Buffalo Book Company in an edition of 2,000 copies of which only 500 were ever bound. It is the first novel to see time as a flowing stream.
Plot introduction
The novel concerns time travelTime travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
and links the world Eos at the beginning of the universe with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
.
Reception
Astounding reviewer P. Schuyler MillerP. Schuyler Miller
Peter Schuyler Miller was an American science fiction writer and critic.-Life:Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a life-long interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as an amateur archaeologist and a member of the New York State Archaeological Association.He...
described The Time Stream as "the strangest of all John Taine's novels," concluding that it was "less powerful" than other Taine fiction "because he tries to do too much." Everett F. Bleiler
Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler was an editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" series of science fiction anthologies, and his Checklist of Fantastic Literature has been called...
noted that it is "generally conceded to be Taine's best novel, despite its somewhat confusing presentation and very ambivalent theme"; he concluded that the ambivalence "makes the novel interesting."