Chronosequence

by Hilbert Schenck

Chronosequence

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

Paperback

Published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Chak · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot unwinds clumsily, and the characters are a bit hollow, but the main idea is gripping. Half ghost story, half sci-fi story, there is much in the overall morality of the story that can be overlaid on what is going on the world today.

I will read more Schenck, and have added A Rose for Armaggeddon to my "to read" list, even though from its description, it seems to has a female protagonist, and I didn't like the development of female characters in Chronosequence. Chronosequence's copyright is 1988, but yet there were examples of annoying 60's/70's-style "females idealized by a male science fiction writer," and "rape" used as a playful term. Yuck. However, Rose is a part of Pocket Books' Timescape imprint, and I've wanted to read more of those.

[Tomislav · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first contact story begins with a narrative found in an old manuscript, a sort of old-fashioned frame that I like. While the outcome of the overall storyline is thus largely known, the details surrounding critical episodes on a small transient island on the shoals near Nantucket are revealed slowly. Eventually, the concept of an alien presence communicating only during moments of deep human intimacy comes clear, through the eyes of the contemporary character. The story works this fascinating nature of the alien, without any characters actually ever seeing it. The characters are well developed even while highly manipulated by the alien in their human relationships. However, the verbal dialog describing sex and love is so stilted as to distract from the story itself. The only excuse I can think of is that Schenck came from a generation that just did not know how to talk out loud about sexuality. Still, I found the book fascinating.

[Thomas Beebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Didn't really become a science fiction story until almost halfway in. I would only recommend this to fans of offbeat sci-fi.