Thrice Upon a Time Mass Market Paperback – 1 Nov 2000

This excellent 1980 hard science fiction novel is somewhat like a much more positive and upbeat version of "The butterfly effect" except that the characters are trying to quite literally save the world from imminent destruction instead of making alterations in individual lives.Of all the dozens of novels I have read which include either time travel or other speculations about the nature of time, "Thrice apon a time" includes far and away the most imaginative and brilliantly explained picture of how a universe in which you actually can change the past might work.Every single other novel I have read or film I have seen in which the possibility of changing the past comes up is a variation of one of the following views1) you can't do it at all because the past has already happened and may not be altered2) you absolutely must not attempt to do it because it will destroy your universe or cause a huge catastrophe such as a split in the timestream3) you should not attempt to do it because there are likely to be unpredictable side effects which may be very harmful.The scientists who are the central characters of "Thrice apon a time" discover an unusual side effect of certain reactions - a small amount of evergy is sent backwards in time. They build a machine to measure the effects when that energy arrives in the past - and then find that it can be used like a receiver for messages which can be sent backwards in time. E.g. they can use the effects which their machine measures to send messages back to their earlier selves at any time after the machine was built.Being very aware of the potential threats described in 2) and 3) above, our heroes initially have no intention of using the machine for any significant communication. Until it turns out that a new experimental reactor which was used for the first time a few days after they built the machine has produced catastrophic effects.So catastrophic, in fact, that trying to change the past may be their least bad option, even though it means that their present selves and things which are very valuable to them will be erased ...

I read this book when it first came out and had lost my copy over the years. Rereading it with older and more jaundiced eyes, I expected to fine it dated and a bit trite. Amazingly, it has held up extremely well. My purchase was a used first edition mass market, so the text was as pristine as available, yet it read like it might have been written last year. Hogan was careful to accommodate emerging trends in popular technology and produce a surprisingly coherent and *accurate* view of life in the 21st century.Buy focusing on character and events rather than lengthy lectures on the underlying mytho-physica (pardon the coinage), he leads the reader to care enough to over looked the stilted narrative, produced by revisions in the timeline. While his concept of linear "universes" is a bit untenable, his realistic portrayal of scientists and engineers at work is seductive and leads one to suspend disbelief far more readily than for works that are better grounded in high energy physics and quantum mechanics.Even there however he excels at predicting the trend in theory. His "closed system" and dark energy "leakage" as tau particles is as charming as Star Trek yet not entirely dismissible as "real" science.In summary, if you haven't read it, read it. If you have read it, read it again. You'll likely find it as charming and fun as I did.(C) 2013Copied with permission from Grenvile.com

I wonder how James Hogan came up with such insane ideas - ditching even simple physics principles - when he was educated as an engineer. Goodbye General Relativity. Einstein's description of spacetime is very basic, as are ideas such as the many worlds hypothesis which would have made this book believable as a science fiction novel. (I would classify it as science fantasy but it would be an insult to science fantasy.) Instead, we have a writer who tells us that it is impossible for only one future transmission to appear for there to be a network of branching-off parallel universes, then tells us that every unit of time is a separate universe. Right. What part about the Grandfather Paradox didn't he understand? And that is besides the fact that Hogan created one-dimensional characters, spent too much time describing landscape scenery and the castle, and veered off into the nearby fusion project to establish it as a plot point in this plodding narrative.This is the "Old Future": we have flying cars, airplanes that fly across the Atlantic Ocean in sixty minutes, video phones, and workable FUSION, but no cell phones, internet or personal computers. This is not the 2009 that we collectively lived through eight years ago. Unless you can get this free from a nearby library, skip it, and save your money.

Thrice Upon a Time is my first Hogan book, but I have followed up by ordering more. Time travel is a favorite topic of mine. I've read so many I've lost count. This one stands out in that it is very heavy on science and theory. If you like to ponder the possibilities and ramifications of communication across time, this book will appeal to you as it did to me. It has an excellent treatment of the paradox dilemma. One guage I use to measure a time travel novel is believability...Hogan has managed to be creative while at the same time presenting a plausible scenario. The consequences of altering the future are explored in a satisfying (and believable) manner. Those reviewers who found the book dull are not people who have spent a great deal of time pondering the theories. The book involves the reader in trying to figure out the theory, because once the ability to send communication back in time is discovered, the next step is figuring out how it's done and how the paradox situations fit into the equation. The true nature of time is explored thoroughly. It is not a book of rip-roaring action, but definitely a book for those who are enthralled by the idea of communication through time. I found it immensely satisfying.

Although some might think this book is dated a bit, it is actually one of the best books I've ever read. Now different people have different tastes and I don't want to spoil anything, but the title does give you a great clue. And who among us wouldn't like a chance for a do-over or two until we finally got it right?

Warning! The 'Unabridged' version of this audiobook is missing chapter 15.I have a physical copy of the book and have confirmed this.The audio narration jumps from chapter 14 to part 2, chapter 16.I wrote to Amazon (who owns Audio. com) last September and the problem hasn't been fixed yet.