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52nd out of 102 books
—
15 voters
Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait
by
K.A. Bedford (Goodreads Author)
For "Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait" specialist, Aloysius "Spider" Webb, time travel has lost its luster.
Working as a senior time machine repair technician, Spider has seen it all - past, present and future. Wanting more out of life, Spider hates time travel and everything that goes with ita]after all, time travel cost him his job as a top investigating police office...more
Working as a senior time machine repair technician, Spider has seen it all - past, present and future. Wanting more out of life, Spider hates time travel and everything that goes with ita]after all, time travel cost him his job as a top investigating police office...more
Paperback, 324 pages
Published
August 1st 2008
by Edge
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I figured that any book that won the Aurealis award for best Australian science fiction novel couldn't be all bad. And it's wasn't bad. Just...confusing. It's set in 2027, and time travel is all the rage. Spider Webb lives in Perth and is a former cop who now repairs time machines for a living. One day, he finds a murdered woman inside a time machine, and his life gets turned upside down.
Honestly? It had great potential to be an awesome book. But there was so much future-self-turns-up stuff goin...more
Honestly? It had great potential to be an awesome book. But there was so much future-self-turns-up stuff goin...more
In a near future Western Australia where time machines for personal use can be bought out of a catalog, Aloysius "Spider" Webb is a time machine repairman. He was a member of the Western Australia police, until he was forced to leave under very unpleasant circumstances.
He spends most of his time dealing with idiot customers who don’t bother to read the instruction manual, or are upset because they can’t travel to some major event in history, and change things. The Department of Time and Space (D...more
He spends most of his time dealing with idiot customers who don’t bother to read the instruction manual, or are upset because they can’t travel to some major event in history, and change things. The Department of Time and Space (D...more
Jul 30, 2011
Luke
added it
I picked this up on a whim at the local library. It was the titled that caught my attention and I'm glad it did. This book is kinda like a detective novel with a bit of science fiction thrown in. I've gotta say I enjoyed it thorougly from start to finish.
It follows the adventures of Spider, one-time cop turned time machine repairman. In his world time travel is a common everyday occurance and people own time machines like we own cars. When a womans body is discovered in a time machine brought in...more
It follows the adventures of Spider, one-time cop turned time machine repairman. In his world time travel is a common everyday occurance and people own time machines like we own cars. When a womans body is discovered in a time machine brought in...more
This story takes the classic detective idea but adds a all new futuristic twist. "Spide" web former detective turned time machine repareman takes in a time machine thqat was acting "funny". As it turns out a seperate time machine had been hidden in the shadow of that one only this one holds harbors a dead body. This causes Spider to revert to his old ways and he begins to sink deeper and deeper into a war between to of the same companies from different time zones,only the "good" company is loosi...more
I got this book to read because it seemed to combine two of my favorite things - mystery and science fiction. Unfortunately, this book disappointed me. I'd heard about this exciting book about a time machine repair man who discovers a body of a woman in one of the machines he is repairing. He is a former policeman. I really thought this would be all about how he discovers the body and solves the crime. Instead the book was indeed more about time travel. The man, Spider, keeps encountering his fu...more
A caper involving a murder and a time machine fixit guy! I think my expectations were different, though. I wish I could give this 3.5 stars. Rounding down because I didn't really like Spider.
It was great at first: Spider was all gung-ho about solving the murder, and then there was Iris, the cop who had a thing for him. But then it went downhill from there. Spider seemed to lose all likeability as things got worse, and my head hurt from the convoluted plot (time paradoxes are a bitch).
Still, I m...more
It was great at first: Spider was all gung-ho about solving the murder, and then there was Iris, the cop who had a thing for him. But then it went downhill from there. Spider seemed to lose all likeability as things got worse, and my head hurt from the convoluted plot (time paradoxes are a bitch).
Still, I m...more
The premise was interesting: time travel has become commonplace enough that repair shops for malfunctioning personal time machines are a part of everyday life. But there were too many tangled storylines, too many 2-D characters that I just couldn't care about, so that the book just became tedious. The quality of the writing was not up to the standard I expect from a Philip K. Dick Award nominee, seeming more aimed at adolescent males in tone and humor. For instance -- and something I really neve...more
Well written, but I wouldn't read it again.
A somewhat gritty exploration of a culture in which time machines are a near ubiquitous household device. Reinforces the elasticity of history to change as the protagonist follows a detective-type chase through time and space to understand his own role in the world and indeed where the world is going. I enjoyed the book for the most part but for some reason it left me feeling a little yuck - probably from the dysfunctional family that features prominent...more
A somewhat gritty exploration of a culture in which time machines are a near ubiquitous household device. Reinforces the elasticity of history to change as the protagonist follows a detective-type chase through time and space to understand his own role in the world and indeed where the world is going. I enjoyed the book for the most part but for some reason it left me feeling a little yuck - probably from the dysfunctional family that features prominent...more
Time travel and mystery
Both require a certain suspension of disbelief as progress through the paradoxes of time travel and red herrings of mystery, eventually one or the other will go to far and break the story as you go that's wrong or does not compute. This book for me sits right on that edge of not working and sometime going right over. If your tolerance of either dodgy paradoxes or smelly red herrings is low then this book is not for you.
It's not helped by the fact that none of the main char...more
Both require a certain suspension of disbelief as progress through the paradoxes of time travel and red herrings of mystery, eventually one or the other will go to far and break the story as you go that's wrong or does not compute. This book for me sits right on that edge of not working and sometime going right over. If your tolerance of either dodgy paradoxes or smelly red herrings is low then this book is not for you.
It's not helped by the fact that none of the main char...more
A pretty complex storyline what with all the time travel paradoxes. Also a pretty good mystery/thriller novel. At times I felt that the author took the easy way out of time travel paradoxes by depending on an infinite number of timelines - but he does try to intertwine them so maybe I'm being too critical (or perhaps simplistic). My main complaint about an otherwise well written and well structured novel is that it doesn't end - can I assume he's setting up a sequel? I'd recommend not reading th...more
TIME MACHINES REPAIRED WHILE-U-WAIT arrived recently, intended probably for my science fiction reading partner, but something in the blurb made me want to snaffle it first, and I'm very very glad I did.
This is one of those books that come along every now and again to tip the whole concept of "genre" on its head. It's a crime story, in a Science Fiction style world. Set in 2027 Western Australia, 'Spider" Webb is an ex-cop, recently separated, working now as a Time Machine mechanic. In 2027 subur...more
This is one of those books that come along every now and again to tip the whole concept of "genre" on its head. It's a crime story, in a Science Fiction style world. Set in 2027 Western Australia, 'Spider" Webb is an ex-cop, recently separated, working now as a Time Machine mechanic. In 2027 subur...more
Great characterization, interesting plot. I'd actually love to see this as a movie. I think the weakest part of this novel is the philosophizing about time, which is important, but I think there's just a little too much of it. The detective-action-hardboiled stuff is most interesting to me, and by the end I was wishing that that storyline was a little bigger. I actually checked Amazon after I finished to see if there were any sequels or books written in the same world. On the whole, entertaining...more
I wanted to enjoy this book, if solely for the inventive title, but I actually had to give up halfway through as the book was so convoluted and downright boring. And given that this is supposed to be a murder mystery of a body discovered inside a time machine, that is hard to believe.
Our main character is a former cop who discovered that police officers were travelling back in time to molest children. He reported it, but then was drummed out of the force. Now it appears that he is the prime susp...more
Our main character is a former cop who discovered that police officers were travelling back in time to molest children. He reported it, but then was drummed out of the force. Now it appears that he is the prime susp...more
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I met the author at the World Science Fiction Convention in Denver last month, and I bought his book because of the title and that the protagonist's boss is named "Dickhead McMahon."
The book takes place in Australia, and since I lived there for about a year, it was fun to read a book with Australian lingo. Bedford does a good job of keeping his sci-fi concepts accessible; main character Spider is often having to sum up things so that he (and the reader) can follow. Spider is pretty flawed yet l...more
The book takes place in Australia, and since I lived there for about a year, it was fun to read a book with Australian lingo. Bedford does a good job of keeping his sci-fi concepts accessible; main character Spider is often having to sum up things so that he (and the reader) can follow. Spider is pretty flawed yet l...more
This book ended up very confusing with the time lines. It had a good idea behind it but somehow did not quite deliver.
Sep 27, 2010
Brandon Wenberg
added it
wow such a great plot line. this book is teaming with action and mistery with many futueristic conceps and blood hilling horror. love the ending that would take a lot of compasion.
LOVE this book.
I'm amazed Bedford is able to pull off a story like this. For the most part the book is kind of a slog, but it wraps up very interestingly at the end.
A very enjoyable time-traveling romp set in near-future Perth. The self-conscious Australian slang made me cringe, but apart from that it's well written and sets a cracking but not too bewildering pace.
I felt a little bit disappointed with the end, but apparently a lack of concrete resolution is a vital part of any piece of fiction involving time machines. I'm looking at you, Primer.
I felt a little bit disappointed with the end, but apparently a lack of concrete resolution is a vital part of any piece of fiction involving time machines. I'm looking at you, Primer.
Interesting in that time machines are generally available to all (with money). Knowing how people screw up driving, I cannot believe this could ever happen. But it's fun to read how time travel is integrated into a current-day-ish Australian society.
May 18, 2013
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Jun 01, 2011 01:02pm