The Corridors of Time

One of Anderson's best, or at least one that I have enjoyed re-reading several times. Malcolm Lockridge, a former Marine who has educated himself on many topics, including anthropology, gets drafted into the Time Wars by the leader of the female contingent. Her "Wardens' are devotees of the Goddess, and opposed to the male-dominated Rangers, who like technology and sky gods. But there are major problems with both sides, as Lockridge discovers in a time travelling romp through large swathes of Danish history. Great fun, and a memorable set of combatants.

The young hero is saved from a bum rap by a "goddess" who hires him as a time-traveling thug. It turns out that both the good guys and the bad guys are not so good and he has to find a way out of the mess in order to save himself, his adopted tribe, his woman, and human civilization. What's interesting is that Fritz Leiber wrote his "Change War" series in 1958 & 1961 and it's not at all impossible (or improbable) that Anderson read it and wrote his own "Change War" story in 1965--it's similar, but not the same. The two sides are battling to control the ultimate form of future civilization and are blocked seeing the future beyond a certain year. And the hero here, gets to see the people/civilization beyond the barrier and returns to show more twist time into a knot to save everyone and everything, and all is well.

The plot line and story style are not bad--not "grippingly" good, but very satisfyingly good, with a pretty hectic ending. This is not quite a 4* story, but its just a wee bit better than a 3.5*. I suppose that the predictability of the story is what reduces it from 4*. show less

Malcolm Lockridge, a 20th-century man recruited from prison into a futuristic time war between factions called the Wardens and Rangers, fighting across history via corridors to shape humanity's destiny.

He travels from the Bronze Age to a repressive future, becoming a pawn in their ideological battle, where he questions morality as he witnesses civilizations rise and fall, ultimately finding himself pivotal in human history, particularly in ancient Denmark.

So far so political. I mean, it's for people who like to read [a:Nietzche|5344149|Nietzche|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] and [a:Ayn Rand|432|Ayn Rand|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1168729178p2/432.jpg] and are willing to look back on what we knew of neuroscience and genetics in the mid 1960s. I am already 20% done so I'll go ahead and finish, but right now I predict 2 stars.

Ok done. The time travel element was done well and there was adventure and even a bit of humor. Pretty typical of thoughtful science fiction of its era - read it if you just can't get enough of that stuff, but don't bother if you don't like time travel, sf in general, or books that are in some ways dated.

The first 2/3rds of the book are a Captain Kirk style power fantasy but the finale is surprisingly good.

Enjoyable read. Scandinavian setting for much of the novel, which was refreshing, and some fun gadgets/modes of transport.

I can’t do better than quote this paragraph from Jo Walton’s 2012 review in Reactor:

“It’s a time travel novel in which two groups of time travelers from the future are fighting it out through the timeline, recruiting locals and trying to encourage their philosophies. A twentieth century man is recruited from his prison cell and travels as part of the conflict to the Bronze Age, to the Seventeenth Century and to the future. So far so ordinary, but what makes this extraordinary is the subtlety. “Evil is good turned cancerous,” one of the characters says, and Anderson sees the good and evil of both sides in this time war. It’s also beautifully written—Anderson’s best writing reaches an almost mythic level.”

The whole show more review can be found here: https://reactormag.com/what-is-living-for-poul-andersons-the-corridors-of-time/ show less