This is a classic time travel themed science fiction story from the late 1950s. I found it really annoying. The premise of the story is that two warring groups - the Spiders and the Snakes - are battling each other by traveling back and forth through time and changing the future by changing the past. So, for example, they go to ancient Greece and destroy its classical ascendancy. Once the Spiders (the alleged good guys) have completed each mission the team goes on shore leave to the Place which is something that is not connected to the battles and is used for both physical and emotional recuperation. The story is mostly set in one of these Places and is about arguments and debates between a half a dozen or so people from all different times.
I think that this is a classic book but I couldn't deal with it.
3 comments:
I read this a couple years ago and also found it irritating, especially the characters: they were all so contrived and spoke in these ridiculously cliched mannerisms that just made you want to hit them, kind of like the kid in high school who always carried a cane around and talked like Sherlock Holmes.
The story was also talky and hemmed in by having the action take place in one room – more a stage play than a science fiction story. Perhaps the sense of claustrophobia helped convey the idea of how trapped these characters were in a time when battles were waged in history, constantly changing the contemporary landscape, but I would have liked Leiber to find another way to get this across
That said, I thought the general conceit was cool and some of the elements he used to convey the experience was awesome, such as the way people felt when a historical change blew through the winds of time. But otherwise it put me off Leiber: I haven't picked up anything else of his since reading this. Perhaps someone can recommend something to bring me back into the fold.
The only Leiber I've read is one or two of the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser novels, and that was way back in junior high. I was into them, but I think a lot went way over my head. I was curious about checking out some more Leiber, and it won't be this one!
I think one of the biggest problems here was that time-travel themed sf was about used up and authors were searching desperately for something unique to write about.
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