Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait [Paperback]

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with science fiction. On one hand, I love reading about incredible future technologies and 'what-if' future scenarios... but on the other hand, I can't stand the horribly overused cliches that 90% of the books in the genre use, like galactic empires, everybody using military titles all the time, spaceship jargon, pioneer colonies on alien worlds and the token telepath, etc etc. 'Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait' was fortunately the kind of science fiction story that I love!

One thing that immediately endeared me to this story was the lack of made-up technical jargon. The characters in this story (despite being largely technicians and engineers) speak like real people, and I could actually understand what they were talking about. For example, wouldn't you much rather read something like: "Looks like we can power down the Cave," than: "Roger, Commander. Adjust velocity-directive 70452 to warp setting 9 above Red Delta level Alpha 6 and ensure that all systems are inoperative"? I know engineers occasionally get reputations for being odd, but I can't bring myself to believe they'd ever actually speak in such cold, meaningless terms, even in the distant future. Pet peeve.

It wasn't just the way the characters spoke, either. They really came across as being real people. Characters were placed in some pretty horrid situations, and I thought their subsequent reactions were utterly believable and understandable. Again compared to the 'bad' kind of science fiction, I felt that these characters were so much more human and easy to relate to, and that's extremely important for me in a book.

The light-hearted tone was also really nice to read. Again, I feel that many sci-fi books take themselves way too seriously. People just don't act that unemotionally in real life. I thought this story had exactly the right balance between the odd little foibles of life and the gravity of the situations the characters were forced into to make it very believable. For the first chapter, I thought it was going to be a humourous novel - but as I read on, I realised it was actually more of an insight into how people would really be likely to act if this technology ever did become real. Because people *are* humourous in real life, and *do* make mistakes, and *do* start taking new things for granted quite quickly.

The other thing I loved about this story was the technology of the world. Time machines were just the beginning - there were artificial universes and ultra-advanced medicine as well. Just the idea of time travel being available to everyone, including the average layperson, was fantastic to see! (I can only take so many stories of amazing technology being restricted to the hands of secret organisations and governments at war, really.) Little comments, such as one made by a character whose grandson regularly visited her from the future, made the technology seem more vivid, more realistic.

In short, this book ignores all the cliches that have built up around the science-fiction genre over the years, and this is an excellent, excellent thing. It's a sci-fi adventure that focuses on the adventure part and doesn't worry too much about the details of how the technology works. And that's the way it should be, I think.

I'd give this book 4.5 stars if Amazon allowed it, but have to settle for four since it doesn't. Definitely worth a read!

Interesting characters, with warts and all! Great story, plot so thick you could stand a spoon up in it! Impossible situations, both heart warming and heart wrenching!
I love the humour that pervaded this story even when Spider(s) were low. I like the realistic understanding of despair and hope without it being depressing. I like that the scifi was relaxed in technicality yet exciting in utility. This was a modern tale of crime, overtime and end of time and I loved it!

Humerous Sci-Fi story without getting whacky. Not "Douglas Adams" humor - but a low key approach that will appeal to fans of writers like Joseph Heller. The book shows that while you can break the laws of time and space, you can't escape the laws of unintended consequences.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews  3.9 out of 5 stars