In War Times
By Kathleen Ann Goonan
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1355-3
Three stars out of five.
I'm too dumb for this book. In War Times is a no-doubt brilliant work of literary alternate history and science fiction, but it's not really to my taste. In philosophy, modernism generally denotes an orderly, functional structure. Postmodernism is an emphasis on function over form -- the idea that how you tell the story doesn't matter so much as the message itself.
In War Times tackles the difficult subject of telling a story of merging and diverging timelines by using postmodernist techniques that leave a reader in doubt whether something being described is really happening, just imagination, or something else entirely. It's probably easily decipherable to a mind more plastic than mine, but I like my stories straightforward and easily understood. It's simply a matter of personal preference, not any lack of skill on the behalf of the author, which makes me hesitate to give this book five stars.
Goonan, a Nebula and Clarke Award finalist, details a brilliantly illustrated story of a man and his friends struggling to grapple with a seemingly miraculous quantum computer that allows interaction across alternate timelines. The primary character, Sam Dance, is introduced to the first version of this machine by a mysterious woman named Elani Hadnitz, who gives him the plans for the device. Dance's name and his hobby -- playing Jazz -- are both symbols of his eventual dance across divergent timelines, and similar symbolism abounds throughout the story.
Dance is a soldier, and through the course of the Second World War, he is shown almost every portion of the war -- from the concentration camps to the atomic bomb -- by Hadnitz, whose machinations seem to be guiding Dance toward using the device to alter humanity's history for the better. Any summary of the book's plot by me will be inadequate. There are so many subplots and different threads pointing out from Dance's story that it's impossible for me to write about them in a clear way. Let it be said simply that the story is incredibly well rounded and provides remarkable detail in less than 350 pages.
The first half of the book doesn't deal as much with alternate history -- at least on a surface level. Subsequent readings reveal bits of detail hinting at future portions of the plot. Eventually, however, Dance is separated from his best friend by diverging timelines created by the device. In Dance's history -- ours -- Dance's best friend is killed in Berlin. In another, the friend lives on in a world as close to a liberal, technocratic utopia as can be imagined. The two converse on occasion, through a bit of plot device, and the friend encourages Dance to use the almost-magical device planned by Hadnitz to change history.
Dance falls in love, raises a family, and most of his story seems to be the stereotypical story of a WWII veteran who returns home from Europe. Toward the end of the book, however, the story veers back and comes to a climax when one of Dance's grown children uses the device to travel through time to the Kennedy assassination in order to change history and create a more comfortable alternate.
There aren't many literary approaches to alternate history, and if that's what you're looking for as a reader, this is probably the best example available. There's comparatively little physical action when compared with other alternate history novels that deal with war and combat. Though this story also deals with such a subject, it deals with it on the level of an individual rather than a grand strategic level.
I disagreed slightly with the portrayal of the "utopian" timeline pictured in the story, which seems to be entirely technocratic, and no government institutions are portrayed in any sort of flattering light. These two factors and a conspiracy approach to the Kennedy assassination were jarring notes, but they didn't detract too much from the overall brilliance of the writing. I recommend this book to alternate history and SF fans who like a literary bent to their reading and don't require action to enjoy a book. Other readers may not enjoy this book.
By Kathleen Ann Goonan
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1355-3
Three stars out of five.
I'm too dumb for this book. In War Times is a no-doubt brilliant work of literary alternate history and science fiction, but it's not really to my taste. In philosophy, modernism generally denotes an orderly, functional structure. Postmodernism is an emphasis on function over form -- the idea that how you tell the story doesn't matter so much as the message itself.
In War Times tackles the difficult subject of telling a story of merging and diverging timelines by using postmodernist techniques that leave a reader in doubt whether something being described is really happening, just imagination, or something else entirely. It's probably easily decipherable to a mind more plastic than mine, but I like my stories straightforward and easily understood. It's simply a matter of personal preference, not any lack of skill on the behalf of the author, which makes me hesitate to give this book five stars.
Goonan, a Nebula and Clarke Award finalist, details a brilliantly illustrated story of a man and his friends struggling to grapple with a seemingly miraculous quantum computer that allows interaction across alternate timelines. The primary character, Sam Dance, is introduced to the first version of this machine by a mysterious woman named Elani Hadnitz, who gives him the plans for the device. Dance's name and his hobby -- playing Jazz -- are both symbols of his eventual dance across divergent timelines, and similar symbolism abounds throughout the story.
Dance is a soldier, and through the course of the Second World War, he is shown almost every portion of the war -- from the concentration camps to the atomic bomb -- by Hadnitz, whose machinations seem to be guiding Dance toward using the device to alter humanity's history for the better. Any summary of the book's plot by me will be inadequate. There are so many subplots and different threads pointing out from Dance's story that it's impossible for me to write about them in a clear way. Let it be said simply that the story is incredibly well rounded and provides remarkable detail in less than 350 pages.
The first half of the book doesn't deal as much with alternate history -- at least on a surface level. Subsequent readings reveal bits of detail hinting at future portions of the plot. Eventually, however, Dance is separated from his best friend by diverging timelines created by the device. In Dance's history -- ours -- Dance's best friend is killed in Berlin. In another, the friend lives on in a world as close to a liberal, technocratic utopia as can be imagined. The two converse on occasion, through a bit of plot device, and the friend encourages Dance to use the almost-magical device planned by Hadnitz to change history.
Dance falls in love, raises a family, and most of his story seems to be the stereotypical story of a WWII veteran who returns home from Europe. Toward the end of the book, however, the story veers back and comes to a climax when one of Dance's grown children uses the device to travel through time to the Kennedy assassination in order to change history and create a more comfortable alternate.
There aren't many literary approaches to alternate history, and if that's what you're looking for as a reader, this is probably the best example available. There's comparatively little physical action when compared with other alternate history novels that deal with war and combat. Though this story also deals with such a subject, it deals with it on the level of an individual rather than a grand strategic level.
I disagreed slightly with the portrayal of the "utopian" timeline pictured in the story, which seems to be entirely technocratic, and no government institutions are portrayed in any sort of flattering light. These two factors and a conspiracy approach to the Kennedy assassination were jarring notes, but they didn't detract too much from the overall brilliance of the writing. I recommend this book to alternate history and SF fans who like a literary bent to their reading and don't require action to enjoy a book. Other readers may not enjoy this book.