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by: Eric D. Knapp
Publisher: iUniverse, 2003
Reviewed by: Ben Jonjak
“Out of Place Out of Time” is an extremely enjoyable read that I would not hesitate to recommend. It is not a perfect book; in fact, it breaks several of the most commonly accepted rules of conventional literature. But I personally enjoy authors who are willing to do whatever needs to be done to tell their story, and, at the heart of it all, “Out of Place Out of Time” has a great story to tell. “Place/Time” is a science-fiction novel that deals with the theme of time travel. Time travel is, of course, one of the oldest and most well-explored plot devices of the sci-fi genre. In fact, it is so well explored that it has almost become redundant to write about any longer. Most of the surprising plot twists that time travel can support have already been used with such frequency as to become cliché. However, there are several reasons that time travel will continue to be a sci-fi mainstay--it has great potential, and it is a fascinating subject. When an author is able to conceive of a new wrinkle to throw into the time travel concept, the results can be just as effective as the first time you read about Bradbury’s dinosaur hunter who accidentally stepped on a butterfly and returned to a future completely different from the one he originally came from. Like Bradbury, Eric D. Knapp skillfully constructs a story that regards the implications of time travel in a way that you might have never considered. The impetuous for the plot comes when Dr. Trenton Stowel attempts to test the time machine he has constructed. The test, as Dr. Stowel conceives it, is not especially ambitious. He has no immediate interest in going either forward or backward in time, but merely wants to pause for a moment and watch the world continue on around him. Imagine his surprise when, upon turning on the machine, Dr. Stowel finds himself flung at terrifying, unrelenting speed into the cold darkness of the universe. Being a scientist, it takes him little effort to understand that his machine had the unanticipated effect of cutting his anchor to the tremendous velocities of the universe that are constantly in play but go mainly unnoticed. Velocities such as: the rotation of the Earth, the revolution of the Earth around the sun, or even the expansion of the universe. Pausing his position in time leaves Dr. Stowel stranded in the most unforgiving environment conceivable, only to watch the rest of the universe spin away from him at a terrifying rate. Things get worse when Stowel realizes that his time machine is not capable of getting him back home, and is further compounded with the discovery of an alien race that had been observing him for some time and, for some unknown reason, doesn’t appear to be very pleased with his actions. Suffice it to say, the plot is compelling, but also of interest is the way in which the story is told. The book is written as a transcript of an interview with Dr. Stowel, who relates his experiences in between uncontrollable bouts of simply disappearing into time (as Vonnegut would say, Stowel has apparently become “unstuck”). The interview structure of the book is a compelling idea and has positive and negative points. On the one hand, it is quick and easy to get through, and the novel moves rapidly from one episode to another. But on the other hand, sometimes I felt as if things were a little too rushed. Knapp demonstrates at various points in the novel that he is capable of quite poetic description. However, for the most part, the story is told at arm’s length. The reader is never fully enveloped in the work, but instead sort of watches what happens from the outside. In truth, to do complete justice to the quality of the story, I think this novel needs to be twice its current length with the added page count coming from more developed description of Stowel’s surroundings, emotions, and adventures. Still, though the novel doesn’t function like a conventional book, it nevertheless grips the reader with its interesting discussions on the nature of time. Knapp doesn’t waste space going over silly imaginary discussions as to how to build a time machine (there is no sign of a flux capacitor), but instead focuses on theoretical ideas that are based enough in science to have some sort of relevance. In addition to this, Dr. Stowel is a fully fleshed out character with personality issues and emotional scars that I assume would be unpleasantly recognizable to just about anybody. “Out of Place Out of Time” is a good book that is just a hair’s width away from greatness. Although I would like to see a few more things added, the current version is very accessible and entertaining. For people who enjoy a rapidly-paced, intelligent sci-fi story that challenges you with its ideas without choking you on them, there really couldn’t be a better choice than “Out of Place Out of Time.” The End |
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