Timeliner
Encyclopedia
Timeliner is a 1955 science fiction
novel
by Charles Eric Maine
. It was first published in the U. K. by Hodder & Stoughton
; a paperback version by Bantam Books
appeared the following year.
The story was originally written as a radio play called The Einstein Highway and was broadcast in the Light Programme of the B.B.C. on February 21, 1954.
story. A scientist working with "dimensional quadrature" is flung forward in time, to a period where his consciousness ousts that of another man. When that man dies, the protagonist leaps forward again, and so on. In each case, the personality he replaces belongs to a person who is close to a woman who resembles his wife.
wrote of the novel:
Groff Conklin
, reviewing the novel in Galaxy
, dismissed it as "without doubt one of the most inconsequential science fiction novels ever written." Anthony Boucher
dismissed Timeliner as an example of "mere cliche-museums". P. Schuyler Miller
more charitably noted that the novel "doesn't quite meet current standards."
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
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Charles Eric Maine
Charles Eric Maine
Charles Eric Maine was an English science fiction writer whose most prominent works were published in the 1950s and 1960s...
. It was first published in the U. K. by Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
; a paperback version by Bantam Books
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
appeared the following year.
The story was originally written as a radio play called The Einstein Highway and was broadcast in the Light Programme of the B.B.C. on February 21, 1954.
Synopsis
Timeliner is a 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...
story. A scientist working with "dimensional quadrature" is flung forward in time, to a period where his consciousness ousts that of another man. When that man dies, the protagonist leaps forward again, and so on. In each case, the personality he replaces belongs to a person who is close to a woman who resembles his wife.
Critical reception
Damon KnightDamon Knight
Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
wrote of the novel:
Timeliner, by Charles Eric Maine, is that sort of amateur flight of fancy that takes leave of its premises, and its senses, in the second chapter. Almost anything can then happen except the unexpected.
Groff Conklin
Groff Conklin
Edward Groff Conklin was a leading science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories , wrote books on home improvement and was a freelance writer on scientific subjects as well as a published poet...
, reviewing the novel in Galaxy
Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
, dismissed it as "without doubt one of the most inconsequential science fiction novels ever written." Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
dismissed Timeliner as an example of "mere cliche-museums". P. Schuyler Miller
P. 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...
more charitably noted that the novel "doesn't quite meet current standards."
External links
- Timeliner at The Open Library