The Winds of Time

The covers for this are bad, especially the early edition mm pb that I read. Well, it was 1959 after all. Pulp, BEGs, Cold War terror, smogging up of L.A... lots of hallmarks of that era there. It takes place in 1959, too, apparently.

Anyway, I normally love Oliver's work. He writes beautifully, lucidly, directly. And he has some damn'd interesting ideas. And his career as an anthropologist shows (in most ways). So, I guess I can forgive him for the sexism... the women, seen only as distractions from manliness, were few and recognizable more as plot devices than any statement of misogyny. I also have to suspend disbelief that aliens would be virtually human. I can't quite recommend this, though, and will have to find his other works show more again to remind me just which book or story of his I do think still worth reading. show less

Far better written than most SF of the fifties in the US, but too flawed to be a classic. On the one hand, the two main characters are portrayed well, in solid thoughtful prose. Wes, a husband of modern (1950s) LA, more disgruntled with and disconnected from his life than he's initially aware of, and Arvon, a member of a crew of aliens, looking for hope for his home planet -- but not the old "resources are running out, we need to migrate" chestnut. What it is that the aliens are seeking is far enough into the story to leave behind the spoiler curtain. Those are the strong points. The weak points are several. First, and typical of 50's SF, is the almost complete lack of women. There's just one of any note, and she's primarily a prop for show more the story. Arvon may come from an advanced race, but apparently only men do the exploring. Second, and far worse, is the complete non-alien-ness of the aliens. The first scene, introducing them aboard their spaceship, is so Earth-like, I thought for almost a chapter that they were humans in a future timeline. At one point, it's claimed that many civilizations have evolved on different planets, and the process always leads to same human answer. Oliver knew better, I think. Finally, there's a glaring contradiction between the key plot resolution and the whole rationale of the alien quest.

For completists only. show less

Interesting and thoughtful look at time travel from a different perspective. I love anything Oliver writes. One of the forgotten and under rated authors from the Golden Age of SF.

A questo punto, di nuovo il rumore. Qualcosa... si apriva. Weston Chase si voltò. Qualcosa... qualcuno... stava uscendo da un foro apertosi in fondo alla caverna: un essere alto, alto tanto da dover restare piegato in due per non urtare contro la volta. Un essere dal viso cadaverico, bianco e molle come la pasta. Un essere con due occhi... L'essere lo vide... Avanzava. La storia che comincia in questo clima di horror, che prosegue in una tesa atmosfera d'angoscia, e che si chiuderà sotto il segno della speranza, è stata una delle grandi tappe della FS americana degli anni '50: una storia profetica ieri, attualissima oggi.
Chad Oliver, un grande autore ma poco noto, è l’inventore della fantascienza antropologica (lui di mestiere show more infatti faceva l’antropologo e a lui si devono alcuni dei piu’ importanti studi sui Nativi Americani). Qui vi presentiamo “Le Spirali Del Tempo”, un libro bellissimo e commovente e che ha come centrale il classico tema del “Primo Contatto”. Il contatto con l’alieno viene narrato trattato con civilta’, tolleranza, umanita’ (valori che qualcuno di questi tempi sta dimenticando ) e con una prosa semplice ma piena di passione e poesia. Di Chad Oliver abbiamo in cantiere altre cose. show less