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Product Description
Review
Praise for The End of Eternity:
“His most effective piece of work. Asimov’s exemplary clarity in plotting is precisely suited to the material at hand. Asimov’s engagement with the present is clearer here than in his other works, as is his engagement with the human.”
--Locus
“By literary standards, this tale of time travel from the 95th century is generally rated Asimov’s best.”
--Entertainment Weekly
“Asimov’s flirtation with the tropes employed by A. E. van Vogt and Charles Harness is startling for an author deemed ultra-rational and scientific.… The effects of this influential, seminal book echo to the present, in the works of such writers as Greg Egan, John Varley, Kage Baker, and Greg Bear.”
--SciFi.com
Book Description
One of Isaac Asimov’s SF masterpieces, this stand-alone novel is a monument of the flowering of SF in the twentieth century. It is widely regarded as Asimov’s single best SF novel.
Andrew Harlan is an Eternal, a member of the elite of the future. One of the few who live in Eternity, a location outside of place and time, Harlan’s job is to create carefully controlled and enacted Reality Changes. These Changes are small, exactingly calculated shifts in the course of history, made for the benefit of humankind. Though each Change has been made for the greater good, there are also always costs.
During one of his assignments, Harlan meets and falls in love with Noÿs Lambent, a woman who lives in real time and space. Then Harlan learns that Noÿs will cease to exist after the next Change, and he risks everything to sneak her into Eternity.
Unfortunately, they are caught. Harlan’s punishment? His next assignment: Kill the woman he loves before the paradox they have created results in the destruction of Eternity.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very entertaining and engaging,
By
This review is from: The End of Eternity (Paperback)
I found this Isaac Asimov book very interesting. The concept of a department of people whose job it is to move through time and "fix" things is very cool! There were a few very engaging twists, and just enough information given in a number of cases to make you try to figure out what is going on yourself before the characters in the book do. A very good choice for Asimov fans.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic hard SF,
By
This review is from: The End of Eternity (Paperback)
Pros: clever plotting, hard SFCons: protagonist is not particularly likable and is surprisingly naive and narcissistic Andrew Harlan is an Eternal, those who live outside time, Observe and create Reality Changes which positively affect the greatest number of people throughout history. Only two periods are unaffected by them - the prehistoric age, before time travel was invented, and the far FAR flung future. Harlan's skill as an Observer in the 482nd attracts the attention of Computer Twissell, who arranges for him to become a Technician (someone who actually performs the change) and teach his hobby of primitive history to a student. On an assignment back to the 482nd, he meets the beautiful, non-Eternal, Noys Lambent, who changes his life. He breaks numerous laws to rescue her from the proposed change to her era and makes plans to request her removal from time so they can stay together. Naturally, things don't go as smoothly as he hoped they would. For some reason I always think of Asimov as a writer who's concerned more with science and plot than character. While the science is sound (even to mentioning how time travel can work with the movement of the Earth around the sun), and the plot is clever, character development isn't neglected. Harlan begins the book as a self-absorbed resident. He works hard and resents how the others who work towards the changes they all make in history shun him as one of those who actually performs the changes. Meeting Noys changes him. He initially becomes more narcissistic and paranoid, then slowly learns to smile and enjoy his time with her. The question of why she's interested in him is satisfactorily answered by the end of the book when the plot within a plot is revealed. And by this time, as a reader, I'd warmed to him. While I am happy to see this title brought back into print, I was annoyed to find that the publisher's cover copy was misleading in terms of the book's plot. Asimov told a fantastic story, just not quite the one the publisher lead me to expect. If you're not a hard SF fan, don't despair. He includes enough science to understand the plot but doesn't bog down the story with pages of explanation.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Asmov's Best Novel,
By
This review is from: The End of Eternity (Hardcover)
I've read practically all of Asimov's science fiction works and I think this is definitely his best novel. As well as being a well-constructed story of time travel, it has good character development and an excellent plot. I recommend it to everyone who likes Asimov's other works and to everyone who likes stories about time travel.
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