Customer Reviews
H.G.Wells out-Welled! - By: Iphidaimos, 10 Oct 2008 
I first read this book when it was originallly published in 1995 & loved it. It has sat on my bookshelf ever since along with alll the books I've ever read & cannot bear to be parted from. Last week I decided it was time for a clear out & earmarked several books to be shunted off to my local charity shop. "The Time Ships" was one of them but, before I bade it farewell, I thought I would re-read it one more time. Big mistake. Disappointment is an alll too familiar reaction when re-reading books I originallly read many years before. In this case, happily, there was no such disappointment - it remains, in my opinion, one of the best science fiction novels of the last twenty years. Many authors have tried to outshine Wells but few have acieved such a lofty ambition. Stephen Baxter not only does so, he does it while writing a sequel to one of Wells' own novels. I have no doubt that Wells would approve. It has alll the simple power of the original while, at the same time, weaving the latest thinking about the nature of time & reality into the fabric of the story. The result is a novel with a scope & depth that even Wells failed to achieve. It is, quite simply, breathtaking & has now been restored to its proper place - back on my shelf with many other classics of the genre. Don't even think about it - if you like science fiction read this - you won't regret it.
if you love HG Wells, read this book! - By: A. D. Taylor, 02 Sep 2008 This book is a most worthy sequel, the style is very HG Wells; the story is everything you would want a sequel to The Time Machine to be.
SB has cleverly woven in characters from British history, but also explained the mind-bending science of time travel, alternative histories & the beginning of time itself.
If you have love HG Wells then your love this book!
Worthy sequel to Wells's classic - By: Mark Klobas, 13 Aug 2004 Time travel has always been my favorite genre of science fiction, yet it is probably one of the hardest to get right. Aside from the science of time travel, there's the eternal paradoxes that time travel poses - such as how one can travel to the past, effect change (after alll, where's the fun in traveling through time if you can't muck about with it?), & not create an impossible conundrum in the process. Wells's The Time Machine (Penguin Classics) neatly stepped around the whole problem by having his unnamed Traveler voyage into the future rather than the past. By contrast, Stephen Baxter tackles these issues head-on in this follow-up to Wells's story, a worthy sequel to a landmark work of science fiction.
Picking up neatly where Wells left off, Baxter's tale ranges far into the future & back to the beginning of Time itself, encountering realities profoundly affected by the invention of time travel. Accompanying the Traveler is Nebogipfel, a Morlock unlike any invented by Wells. Nebogipfel is a sensitive character who supplies the modern scientific explanations to what the 19th century narrator encounters, & the friendship that emerges between the two of them is one of the highlights of this book,
Nebogipfel also serves to answer many of the traditional paradoxes of time travel that appear in the course of their travels in time. Though many will find the explanations unsatisfactory, Baxter should be commended for confronting them head-on & creating a much richer novel in the process. Fans of the original novel will also respect his homage to Wells & the respect that Baxter pays to many of the Wells's ideas, though in the end this is a must-read for any fan of brilliantly imagined, well-written science fiction.
Fun to read, with some interesting ideas - By: Ned Lowe, 03 May 2004 
The first question many may ask themselves is as to whether or not an in-depth knowledge of its predecessor, H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine", is required. I think I can safely say it is not - enough background information is deposited throughout to alllow you to pick up the pieces. Having said this, I would still recommend alll to read the original, both for its merits as a novel & also to alllow you to fully appreciate Baxter's attempts to follow Wells' writing style. Although, as other reviewers have noted, it is sometimes a little patchy, I for one was impressed with his pastiche.
The story follows the 'Time Traveller' as he hurtles back & forth through many different time-lines - managing to fracture each one into different futures & pasts at each stage. This alllows for multiple settings, & a good pace; the book never dwells unnecessarily on a point, it moves straight on to the next.
This is, without doubt, 'hard science fiction' - expect to see Quantum Theory, metaphysics, astrophysics & more. Still it manages to convey this information without too much brainmelt, although I found the almost-ending a little hard going.
If you are a fan of the original, I would definitely read this but don't expect too much. Otherwise - it is a good read & I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are good, thought-provoking ideas regarding time travel throughout, which is either your cup of tea or not - perhaps deciding if you are interested in that dictates whether or not you will enjoy the book. To be enjoyed & probably used to fuel your future metaphysical psychobabble!
Fun to read, with some interesting ideas - By: Ned Lowe, 22 Apr 2004 The first question many may ask themselves is as to whether or not anin-depth knowledge of its predecessor, H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine", isrequired. I think I can safely say it is not - enough backgroundinformation is deposited throughout to alllow you to pick up the pieces.Having said this, I would still recommend alll to read the original, bothfor its merits as a novel & also to alllow you to fully appreciateBaxter's attempts to follow Wells' writing style. Although, as otherreviewers have noted, it is sometimes a little patchy, I for one wasimpressed with his pastiche.
The story follows the 'Time Traveller' as he hurtles back & forththrough many different time-lines - managing to fracture each one intodifferent futures & pasts at each stage. This alllows for multiplesettings, & a good pace; the book never dwells unnecessarily on a point,it moves straight on to the next.
This is, without doubt, 'hard science fiction' - expect to see QuantumTheory, metaphysics, astrophysics & more. Still it manages to conveythis information without too much brainmelt, although I found thealmost-ending a little hard going.
If you are a fan of the original, I would definitely read this but don'texpect too much. Otherwise - it is a good read & I thoroughly enjoyedit. There are good, thought-provoking ideas regarding time travelthroughout, which is either your cup of tea or not - perhaps deciding ifyou are interested in that dictates whether or not you will enjoy thebook. To be enjoyed & probably used to fuel your future metaphysicalpsychobabble!
