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Timeline Wars #2
Washington's Dirigible
The second volume in a fast-action science fiction series that blends time travel, alien invasion, and high-tech adventure.
The almost-human Closers are waging a war of annihilation across a million alternate timelines. Crux Op agent Mark Strang is on special assignment to colonial America to track down a missing time agent. But in this version of reality, George Washington is Duke of Kentucky, and Britain's King George III has been replaced by a ruthless impostor. Strang's scheme to rescue the real king leads him into battle in the skies on both sides of the Atlantic.
327 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1997
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About the author
John Barnes
264 books198 followersJohn Barnes (born 1957) is an American science fiction author, whose stories often explore questions of individual moral responsibility within a larger social context. Social criticism is woven throughout his plots. The four novels in his Thousand Cultures series pose serious questions about the effects of globalization on isolated societies. Barnes holds a doctorate in theatre and for several years taught in Colorado, where he still lives.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bar...
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bar...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 29, 2016
Odd book. Sequel to Patton’s Spaceship, which I just recently reviewed and gave four stars to. I thought it was a pretty solid book and looked forward to this one. This one wasn’t bad, necessarily, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first one, not nearly as much. I’ve given it some thought and I haven’t been able to quite pin it down. Is it me? Is it the book, the author? What? Well, I don’t think it’s me, so I’m blaming the book. I feel like it simply wasn’t as good as the first. The first was original, innovative, fresh. With this one, we know what to expect, but there weren’t too many new innovations. Only one real significant change, and it is significant, but at the same time, fairly predictable given the circumstances. And this issue makes up the crux of the book, more so than anything else.
In this book, Mark Strang is now a fully trained ATN agent who is battling the Closers, trying to prevent critical points in historical timelines from being changed. Here, he finds himself in colonial America, but things are different. Britain and America have remained friendly. George Washington is the Duke of Kentucky. The king is on friendly terms with the colonies, or was at least.
But Mark finds that what the ATN was worried about is true. Their local agent is dead and the Closers have been making headway. In fact, the Closer agent in this timeline is named … Mark Strang, and yes, it is he, himself! He first discovers this soon upon arrival as he is walking around and people are greeting him by name as though they know him. He finds this odd. Soon he sees … himself. It gets weirder from there on out.
Mark gets in some legal trouble in Boston but then heads to England. He has to find out how this world’s timeline has changed in order to correct it so history can be returned to normalcy for this world. A lot happens in England. There’s a lot of action and he can’t escape the Closer Strang. Ultimately, they meet upon a dirigible, not unlike what occurs in the first book, to a certain degree. This time, though, there’s a vicious battle and it’s to the death.
This book is fairly good. It’s good enough to keep your attention and it has just enough action to keep you interested. I continue to think it’s not as action packed or as interesting as the first book. And there’s virtually no mention of Porter, the daughter Mark adopts at the end of the first book whom the ATN predicts is going to play such a critical role in the future of several worlds. Why isn’t she here? Nonetheless, and possibly because of things like that, this book doesn’t necessarily need to be read after the first one. It would help, but it could also be read as a stand-alone book. This book is a decent example of steampunk, back when that was still a fairly new genre, so nice touch, John Barnes. Ultimately, though, this book wasn’t nearly as satisfying for me as its predecessor, the four star Patton’s Spaceship. Thus, even though it’s possible to argue this book also deserves four stars, I’m not sure I should give it four stars. 3.5 is more accurate. I’m not sure if I should round down to three or up to four. I’ll tell you what. If it were an author I didn’t know or respect, I would round down, but since I’ve read a number of John Barnes books, nearly all of which I really liked and thought were well done, I’m going to round up to four stars. So, grudgingly, four stars. Cautiously recommended.
In this book, Mark Strang is now a fully trained ATN agent who is battling the Closers, trying to prevent critical points in historical timelines from being changed. Here, he finds himself in colonial America, but things are different. Britain and America have remained friendly. George Washington is the Duke of Kentucky. The king is on friendly terms with the colonies, or was at least.
But Mark finds that what the ATN was worried about is true. Their local agent is dead and the Closers have been making headway. In fact, the Closer agent in this timeline is named … Mark Strang, and yes, it is he, himself! He first discovers this soon upon arrival as he is walking around and people are greeting him by name as though they know him. He finds this odd. Soon he sees … himself. It gets weirder from there on out.
Mark gets in some legal trouble in Boston but then heads to England. He has to find out how this world’s timeline has changed in order to correct it so history can be returned to normalcy for this world. A lot happens in England. There’s a lot of action and he can’t escape the Closer Strang. Ultimately, they meet upon a dirigible, not unlike what occurs in the first book, to a certain degree. This time, though, there’s a vicious battle and it’s to the death.
This book is fairly good. It’s good enough to keep your attention and it has just enough action to keep you interested. I continue to think it’s not as action packed or as interesting as the first book. And there’s virtually no mention of Porter, the daughter Mark adopts at the end of the first book whom the ATN predicts is going to play such a critical role in the future of several worlds. Why isn’t she here? Nonetheless, and possibly because of things like that, this book doesn’t necessarily need to be read after the first one. It would help, but it could also be read as a stand-alone book. This book is a decent example of steampunk, back when that was still a fairly new genre, so nice touch, John Barnes. Ultimately, though, this book wasn’t nearly as satisfying for me as its predecessor, the four star Patton’s Spaceship. Thus, even though it’s possible to argue this book also deserves four stars, I’m not sure I should give it four stars. 3.5 is more accurate. I’m not sure if I should round down to three or up to four. I’ll tell you what. If it were an author I didn’t know or respect, I would round down, but since I’ve read a number of John Barnes books, nearly all of which I really liked and thought were well done, I’m going to round up to four stars. So, grudgingly, four stars. Cautiously recommended.
June 10, 2011
In the second Timeline Wars book, Mark Strang is now a fully trained agent for ATN. He is continuing his battle against the Closers, trying to prevent crucial points in history from being changed.
He finds himself in an alternate colonial America, where Britain and the colonies remained friends. George Washington is Duke of Kentucky, and George III is a friendly monarch.
But then Mark finds the local Time Agent is dead; the news from England is very unusual, and his enemy in this timeline is a Closer agent named--Mark Strang!
With Washington's aid, Mark escapes a false charge in Boston, and soon is on his way to England. He needs to find out how the timeline has changed--so he can return history to its normal course for THIS world.
A worthy sucessor to book one, this is again fast paced adventure with decent historical detail, and a heart stopping battle on a dirigible. (Yes, due to Time Agent improvements in this timeline, the colonial era has dirigibles!).
No profound conepts or genre breaking ideas--but a fun, fast paced adventure tale. A what could have been history of colonial America in an alternate timeline. An very enjoyable action yarn!
He finds himself in an alternate colonial America, where Britain and the colonies remained friends. George Washington is Duke of Kentucky, and George III is a friendly monarch.
But then Mark finds the local Time Agent is dead; the news from England is very unusual, and his enemy in this timeline is a Closer agent named--Mark Strang!
With Washington's aid, Mark escapes a false charge in Boston, and soon is on his way to England. He needs to find out how the timeline has changed--so he can return history to its normal course for THIS world.
A worthy sucessor to book one, this is again fast paced adventure with decent historical detail, and a heart stopping battle on a dirigible. (Yes, due to Time Agent improvements in this timeline, the colonial era has dirigibles!).
No profound conepts or genre breaking ideas--but a fun, fast paced adventure tale. A what could have been history of colonial America in an alternate timeline. An very enjoyable action yarn!
February 4, 2023
Second in the Timeline Wars. This one contains lots of action plus character growth. The character growth is spurred on by natural interactions of characters - the way these things really happen. The alternate history presented is a fun speculation. I recommend you read these three books one right after another. Now for Caesar's Bicycle....
January 10, 2019
Enjoying this series more than I should...
August 7, 2013
This book is a real gem. Not only is it dripping with steampunk (which arguably was still in its infancy when this book was written), but the story is gripping as well as funny. Since the story is told from a first-person perspective, we're always inside Strang's head. We not only witness his personal demons--he has to face the evil he could become-- but his sense of humor as well. He frequently delivers hilarious comments on topics ranging from the Closers, to the various time periods he finds himself in, to the numerous close calls he experiences. Also, Barnes dedicates whole passages to the science of airships, steam engines and time travel. He really has everything covered. Finally, the explosive climax brings it all to a satisfying conclusion.
If you ever get a chance, buy this book. You won't regret it. It's selling for almost nothing on Amazon.
If you ever get a chance, buy this book. You won't regret it. It's selling for almost nothing on Amazon.
April 8, 2015
Washington's Dirigible (1997) 325 pages by John Barnes
This is the second novel in the timeline wars series. Mark is hired as a CruxOp by ATN and is sent to training where a couple of new characters are introduced. After a short adventure in training he is sent on his first assignment. This is an alternate history where there is no American Revolution and George III is King that has been tutored by Ben Franklin.
The closers have been in this timeline as well. Mark lands in Boston, but learns that George has changed drastically, and that somehow people know him already.
A few battle scenes, lots of historical characters, some weird inventions all folded into a fast paced story. This book can stand on its own without having read the first one. I enjoyed it.
This is the second novel in the timeline wars series. Mark is hired as a CruxOp by ATN and is sent to training where a couple of new characters are introduced. After a short adventure in training he is sent on his first assignment. This is an alternate history where there is no American Revolution and George III is King that has been tutored by Ben Franklin.
The closers have been in this timeline as well. Mark lands in Boston, but learns that George has changed drastically, and that somehow people know him already.
A few battle scenes, lots of historical characters, some weird inventions all folded into a fast paced story. This book can stand on its own without having read the first one. I enjoyed it.
December 16, 2013
I'm reading this in the "Timeline Wars" omnibus.
It's solid, but just not as good as I expected from the setting. The protagonist seems a bit too unlikely and pretty "Mary Sue". The action is sometimes very hard to follow (especially with the title scene - speaking of which, the title is very misleading). Also, the environment as a whole seems a hair too implausible, in ways that the characters lampshade.
I have used the same review for this as the previous book because it's still true - right down to the hard-to-follow title scene.
It's solid, but just not as good as I expected from the setting. The protagonist seems a bit too unlikely and pretty "Mary Sue". The action is sometimes very hard to follow (especially with the title scene - speaking of which, the title is very misleading). Also, the environment as a whole seems a hair too implausible, in ways that the characters lampshade.
I have used the same review for this as the previous book because it's still true - right down to the hard-to-follow title scene.
April 3, 2017
This is a steampunk alternate reality, set during the time of the American Revolution but with somewhat accelerated technology. Like the first book, it's a nonstop agent-vs.-agent action movie of a novel. The author uses it to examine the problem of confronting the dark side of yourself-- what would it take to cause a good man to become evil? Why would he do it? What should be the response of good to evil? It helps the believability that the hero has already been shown to be quite bloodthirsty, for a hero. The book reminds me of early Heinlein, and Barnes is every bit as good an author. There is a bit of a nod to the Three Musketeers, and the airship kind of reminded me of the 2011 movie, but I have to suppose that's just a coincidence.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews