Time Scout: Time Scout

This one's a run-of-the-mill time agent story, in this case the agents are tour guides. In this tale, an experiment gone wrong has resulted in wormholes through time, linking past and present locations. Entrepreneurs have capitalized on the wormholes--called "gates" at their present day end--offering tours of the past to those wealthy enough to afford the trip. Of course, before there can be any thoughts of tourists or tours, someone has to check out these past eras, to set up places for the tourists to arrive, to arrange accommodations and generally discover an itinerary for their trip. That's the job of a time scout, to go into a new gate and get the lay of the land. It's a difficult and demanding profession. Not one that promises a long and prosperous future. The smart (and lucky) ones retire early and opt for less dangerous professions. Such is the case of Kenneth Carson. As one of the most famous time scouts, he's now the owner of a small hotel in a time terminal. It's a quiet life, at least until a young woman shows up at his doorstep, asking that he train her to be a time scout. Carson's attempts to convince her otherwise before she runs off into the past and gets herself killed make up the tale. It's an entertaining read, good for killing an afternoon or two.
--J. ( )

Time Scout pulls you in quickly and then drags you through a morass of tedium. Occasional bright spots appear, but this is largely just a tedious tale of a troubled teen who bullies the adults around her into letting her have her way. Oh, and she's also a hottie so we can throw in a quick love story with a much older man. This is not one of Asprin's best and I doubt we'll be seeing much more of Linda Evans (although I haven't checked so it's possible she's done some better work on her own). ( )