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"The logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke" (Stephen King) takes readers on a science fiction adventure tour through time.

When physicist Michael Shelborne mysteriously vanishes, his son Shel discovers that he had constructed a time travel device. Fearing his father may be stranded in time-or worse-Shel enlists the aid of Dave MacElroy, a linguist, to accompany him on the rescue mission.

Their journey through history takes them from the enlightenment of Renaissance Italy through the American Wild West to the civil-rights upheavals of the 20th century. Along the way, they encounter a diverse cast of historical greats, sometimes in unexpected situations. Yet the elder Shelborne remains elusive.

And then Shel violates his agreement with Dave not to visit the future. There he makes a devastating discovery that sends him fleeing back through the ages, and changes his life forever.

Jack McDevitt is a former naval officer, taxi driver, English teacher, customs officer, and motivational trainer, and is now a full-time writer.

Physicist Michael Shelborne's disappearance leads his son Shel and a linguist to discover his portable time machine and set off in search of him, interacting with times and places they had heretofore only dreamed of until Shel makes a cardinal mistake, forever changing his life. In a departure from his space-travel-oriented sf adventures such as his Priscilla Hutchins and his Alex Benedict novels, McDevitt touches upon a beloved sf theme. His approach, however, plays fast and loose with the paradoxes inherent in temporal interventions, while at the same time demonstrating the consequences of such recklessness. VERDICT This entertaining blend of sf classic and missing-persons drama is a good choice for most fans of hard sf or those fascinated by time travel.

[Page 69]. Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

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McDevitt (Seeker) avoids flashy action scenes in this tale of two friends using a time machine to take a grand tour of history. When Adrian "Shel" Shelbourne's physicist father disappears and leaves behind a time-travel device, Shel and his friend Dave Dryden, a language expert, search for Shel's father in Galileo's Italy, Selma during the civil rights marches and other famous times and places. Realizing that time resists paradoxes and history can't be changed, the two friends seize the opportunity to live enriching, truly humane lives from Thermopylae to a few minutes in the future. As the paradoxes begin to pile up and their luck in dodging some of history's villains runs out, McDevitt ingeniously handles a tricky denouement that will leave readers satisfied. (Nov.)

[Page 49]. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.