The Time Traders

Definitely a book which shows its age; I've not read a lot of classic science fiction, but what I have read seems to be quite shallow in terms of character development and this book is the same. I actually thought during the last plot arc that this could have made quite an entertaining film, because films can get away with less characterisation. Overall, a decent plot, decent world building, and a mildly enjoyable read.

I had a lot of trouble getting through this book, especially given how short it is. I've never read Andre Norton before, though I knew a little about her life going into this book and think she was an amazing person who did so very much for the genre. Still, I think I might have been better off starting with her fantasy. A dated feel to sci-fi can really ruin it, and the actions of the characters are often nonsensical from a modern perspective. I never really bonded with any of the characters, and that made it a real struggle. I did enjoy the inclusion of a P.O.V. Native American character who was actually really well rounded and not at all stereotypical (again, Andre Norton did a LOT for the genre), but it just wasn't enough to hook me. I see how this set standards for time travel fiction, and its influence is obviously very wide, but it just didn't connect with me.

The story is competently told, in that it kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next. However, in retrospect, it leaves me unsatisfied because the story as a whole is not particularly plausible or interesting. Reading it passed the time, but left me wondering whether my journey had been at all worthwhile.

Characterization is rather uninteresting and lacking in variety. Although the author's a woman, women hardly appear in it; perhaps partly because of the parameters of the story, and partly because of the tastes of readers at the time.

If you decide to read sf of the 1950s, you shouldn't expect much of the writing style. The writing here sometimes seems a bit clunky, but mostly I suppose it's no worse than many other tales of that period.

I first read it 5 years ago, and read it again now (2021) because I'd forgotten everything about it, so I felt I was reading it for the first time, again. At least for me, it's unmemorable.

Executive Summary: I'm not a great gauge for Science Fiction, especially older works as I generally don't read and enjoy it as much as fantasy. There were elements here I liked, but not enough ever really get into the story. I considered giving this a 2.5 and rounding up, but opted to just stick to 2.

Full Review
Of all the science fiction tropes, time travel has always been one of my favorite. Back to the Future, Doctor Who, Looper, Primer, Terminator among others. You'll notice though that all of those are movies/TV and not books. I tend to enjoy Sci-Fi far more in video form than I do in the written word. I especially don't have the best track record with older works.

I was unfamiliar with Ms. Norton, which probably shouldn't be a surprise. She seems a decent enough writer, but I just never got sucked into this particular story. I read the revised edition of this book. I have no idea how much was revised, but the story itself didn't feel that dated. I grew up during the tail end of the cold war, so I get the context well enough.

Instead of the space race it's now focused on time travel. I'm a little unclear as to why however. There is a brief mention that space travel lost its appeal shortly after the moon landing. But why time travel? Both sides are afraid to change the past, so what do they hope to gain? Maybe that is made clear in later books, as this is the start of a series.

I didn't particularly like Ross Murdock either. I'm not sure how popular the anti-hero was back when this was written, but I've read plenty of anti-hero stories and this one just never pulled off the likable scoundrel that the best ones seem to.

Overall this was a quick read, with some interesting ideas that just seemed to fall flat for me. I'm glad to have given it a shot, and I'm not ruling out trying another story by Ms. Norton in the future, but I'm not rushing out for it, and likely won't read the second story that came with the first one.