Bridgehead
£17.92
Not his best work - This book is copyright 1986 and is clearly an early work. The plot is confusing, the characters two-dimensional and the resolution unsatisfying. Anyone want my copy?
An action time-travel story - Or is it? - David Drake, one of the established masters of military science fiction and an accomplished military fantasy author, has always been known for his different viewpoint of such genres. When he tackles an old theme like time travel, one could assume it would be from a different viewpoint. This assumption does not cover it. The plot starts well enough - Scientists working on exotic particle physics find that they have created a gateway, one through which human visitors claiming to be from the future enter. They lead the modern physicists to a jungle full of giant insects, pterodactyls and primitive plants, and then to a high-technology city that they claim is their home. Then things turn strange, Quadrupedal aliens with weapons and few qualms about using them instantly ambush and pursue a folow-up party of the travellers, which now includes several biologists and other scientists from our time. The future humans are wounded, and when the biologist of the team applies first aid, certain things don t add up . . . The future humans also seem to be rather insistent on learning about Earth weapons, which would seem rather odd if they are as advanced in science as they seem to be. Then the contemporary scientists discover that the past area is not the past, the future is not the future, and the four-legged aliens are not the only extraterrestrials in this triangular deception . . . The plot twists several times more, but never loses track of itself, It is to Drake s credit that he takes a factual point about relativity and creates not merely a plot device but a working tale of deceit and adventure out of the mix. Perhaps not his best work, but a very different approach to an old standby plot or two of the genre. Drake has believeable characters, action sequences with real people and the detail only an ex-soldier can communicate, and an understanding of science, war and politics. I can reccomend this as a good light read for SF fans looking for something just a little out of the main.