TTT: July 2016 Pick: The Time Traders by Andre Norton

[Rob, Roberator]

Tom has decreed that The Time Traders by Andre Norton shall be the July pick.

[terpkristin]

And it's FREE on Kindle! https://www.amazon.com/Time-Traders-A...

[Rob, Roberator]

terpkristin wrote: "And it's FREE on Kindle! https://www.amazon.com/Time-Traders-A..."

Ooh. Thanks for that. I had to go to another library for a copy, that makes it easier.

[John (Taloni)]

Cool! Read that about two years back.

Andre Norton, from the time when women still had a hard time being taken seriously as SF writers. Weird to think about.

[terpkristin]

It looks short.

I read one of her books when I was in the sixth grade. It was a world where cats were the "people." I can't seem to find the title easily in Goodreads, because Norton was so prolific, but I remember enjoying it.

I'm glad that we're reading a book from someone who is so well-regarded in the genre. It's amazing we haven't done so already, just shows how many good books there are out there (except for the pick I really didn't like. It knows which one it was)!

[John (Taloni)]

^ There's a lot of good Andre Norton available free or cheap from Amazon. It's a bit dated, but almost all of them are good reads.

[Brendan]

The price is right.

[Mark]

Other ebook formats here from an io9 article

http://manybooks.net/titles/nortona19...

I think it's free. I don't see a price.

Another book in the same series The Defiant Agents is also available

http://manybooks.net/titles/nortona25...

[Mark]

Quite a few free Andre Norton titles at manybooks.net, from the Project Gutenberg archives

http://manybooks.net/authors/nortona....

[Mark]

terpkristin wrote: "It looks short.

I read one of her books when I was in the sixth grade. It was a world where cats were the "people." I can't seem to find the title easily in Goodreads, because Norton was so prolif..."

Maybe Star Ka'at and Star Ka'at World?

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

It's also free in a couple of editions on iBooks as well.

For those getting a second hand paper edition or library copy, be aware that Andre updated this book in 2000, 42 years after it was originally published to reflect real world changes.

I would assume all the eBook versions will be post-2000 editions.

[Rick]

If people want it in non-Amazon format its free direct from her publisher, Baen, too. http://www.baen.com/categories/free-l...

Norton's one of those "I should read her stuff" authors for me but I never have. Glad we're doing this.

[Phil]

Doing a little investigating on Amazon, there seems to be two versions available.
1. Time Traders (without the "The") is free but also about 20 pages shorter than the other. Reading the reviews seems to indicate that it is somewhat revised from the original.
2. The Time Traders is $1.26 (Canadian) and is longer than the other. None of the reviews of this one indicate any revisions but who knows.

Edit: Looking on Wikipaedia it seems that Norton revised it herself in 2000 to reflect real world changes since she wrote it.

[Trike]

One of the editions also includes the second book, The Galactic Derelict.

[Colin]

Did someone say "time travel"? Looks like I'm in for another month then!

Yes, it looks like a short read - but if that means I get back to my TBR list sooner then that's all good too.

As noted above - the Amazon (UK) edition is free, is the year 2000 edition and includes the second book in the series - although this fact isn't advertised anywhere on the web page!

[Joanna Chaplin]

I read and enjoyed Beast Master's Planet: Omnibus of Beast Master and Lord of Thunder by her. It's about Hosteen Storm, a member of the Dine people (Navajo) in spaaaaace!

[Tina]

This looks like fun :)

[Shaunesay]

I'm in too! Time Travel fills in a bingo square for another challenge I'm in! ;)

[Shad]

Looks like you can get the audio of it free on LibriVox as well.

https://librivox.org/the-time-traders...

[Warren]

Another time travel book?
( I always try as sample of the picks but have yet to find a time travel fantasy that I like. The price for the kindle version is certainly reasonable) Oh well ,I have a long back log of books that I've yet to get to

[Darren]

terpkristin wrote: "It looks short.

I read one of her books when I was in the sixth grade. It was a world where cats were the "people." I can't seem to find the title easily in Goodreads, because Norton was so prolif..."

Catseye?

[terpkristin]

The closest description so far seems to be The Mark of the Cat but that title isn't sticking out in my memory. And the story doesn't quite fit but it seems closest to my recollection.

[terpkristin]

Found it! Breed to Come.

[Mark]

Photo of Andre Norton with her cat in this article about one of her short stories about cats.

http://genxpose.blogspot.com/2015/05/...

[Trike]

Mark wrote: "Photo of Andre Norton with her cat in this article about one of her short stories about cats.

http://genxpose.blogspot.com/2015/05/..."

I think I have that same monitor..

[Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth]

Gosh, I don't know about the cost of this one, might be too expensive, but...maaaaaybe I could stretch to that kindle version. ;P

Sounds fun!

[Joe Informatico]

Looking forward to this. The only Norton I've read is Merlin's Mirror, a neat ancient astronauts take on the Arthurian legends, though somewhere I have a copy of Brother to Shadows I never got around to reading.

Trivia: Norton is one of only three women listed in Appendix N, the section at the back of the 1st edition Dungeon Masters Guide where Gary Gygax listed his biggest literary inspirations for the Dungeons & Dragons game. (The other two are Leigh Brackett and Margaret St. Clair.) Norton might be one of the few authors in Appendix N to have played D&D with Gygax though.

[AndrewP]

I'm glad there is a revised edition. I read Star Soldiers last year and some of it was terribly dated.

[Joseph]

I've read a bunch of Norton, but I don't think I read this particular volume.

My biggest memory of Norton is coming home with one of her books and getting into an argument with my parents about her gender -- they assumed she was a man based on her use of "Andre" as a pen-name. But I can't take too much credit -- I assumed she was a woman because I didn't know that Andre is actually a man's name.

[Robert]

The free Baen edition is the revised one it looks like as it has a second copyright on it and it includes Galactic Derelict. The free Amazon one with the generic cover seems to be the original text as that is in public domain, I guess.

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

Robert wrote: "The free Amazon one with the generic cover seems to be the original text as that is in public domain, I guess."

The Kindle (Amazon) copy is the 2000 revised version with "Galactic Derelict". It is identical to the Baen edition.

[Dominik]

Hey, nice! I've been meaning to read more Norton. So far I've only read "Sargasso of Space" (in the German translation, no less), but I really enjoyed that.

[Lara]

I'm not a fan of time travel stories, but grew up reading a lot of Norton's books. She was a favorite of mine.

[Robert]

Tassie Dave wrote: "Robert wrote: "The free Amazon one with the generic cover seems to be the original text as that is in public domain, I guess."

The Kindle (Amazon) copy is the 2000 revised version with "Galactic D..."

I downloaded both versions Baen and Generic and this one has different text from the very beginning https://www.amazon.com/Time-Traders-A... Copyright info says 1958 whereas the Baen one has 1958 and 2000. A plus side to the already free generic one is you can do whispersync for this for only $1.99.

[Thane]

It would be awesome if she totally changed the ending and everyone got into a huge argument about what happened because we read different versions.

[Skip]

Andre Norton was one of the first authors I read in SF when I was 8 or 9 in the late 70s. These short and fast paced books are part of what hooked me for life. It will be interesting to read again for the change in worldview as much as anything. I personally enjoy the anachronisms in older SF, you have to accept the time people wrote in as much as the time they are writing about.

[Buzz]

terpkristin wrote: "And it's FREE on Kindle! https://www.amazon.com/Time-Traders-A..."

Just want to clarify to everyone: The newest/revised version on Kindle is HERE https://amzn.com/B004TS8GEG. It is also free. You have to search for "THE Time Traders" and it has the generic cover.

I have also verified that this is the version that matches the free audio book from LibriVox that Shad pointed out: https://librivox.org/the-time-traders....
Or if you want whyspersync, you can add the Audible version for $1.99. This is only available for "The Time Traders" as the original Time Traders (unrevised) does not appear to have an audio version.

The free version by Baen appears to be the unrevised original.

Hopefully we're all reading the same version! :-)

[Buzz]

Robert wrote: "I downloaded both versions Baen and Generic and this one has different text from the very beginning https://www.amazon.com/Time-Traders-A... Copyright info says 1958 whereas the Baen one has 1958 and 2000... "

The copyright of the Baen listing is just 1958. Baen itself first published the book in 2000, but that's not the actual copyright info. I'm pretty sure the generic cover version from Amazon is the revised version. It also has the audio available.

[Adelaide]

I don't want to read the revised version. I am fine with reading something dated; it tends to happen with things written in the past.

[Serendi]

The LibriVox version is presumably the older one. It refers to "the Reds" a lot; the newer Kindle version refers to "the Russians."

[Mark]

I don't think it matters which version we read. The revisions only modernize references. For example, the original 1958 text (from Gutenberg) that references "satellite launchings":

(view spoiler)["But--a spaceship!" It was something that had so long been laughed to scorn. When men had failed to break into space after the initial excitement of the satellite launchings, space flight had become a matter for jeers. On the other hand, there was the evidence collected by his own eyes and ears, his own experience. The services of the lifeboat had been techniques outside of his experience. (hide spoiler)]

(http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19145)

is updated to "moon landings" in the Baen edition text from 2000:

(view spoiler)[“But—a spaceship!” It was something that had so long been laughed to scorn. When men had failed to go farther into space after the initial excitement of the moon landings, space flight had become a matter for jeers. On the other hand, there was the evidence collected by his own eyes and ears. The services of the lifeboat had been techniques outside of his experience. (hide spoiler)]

(http://www.baen.com/time-traders.html)

Other changes like, "Russians" for "Reds" as Serendi pointed out, are meant for an audience that grew up later than the author.

[Mark]

I couldn't resist buying the first paperback edition (still available for less than modern paperbacks). Aliens, barbarians, and Russians?

[Dominik]

Mark wrote: "I couldn't resist buying the first paperback edition (still available for less than modern paperbacks). Aliens, barbarians, and Russians?

"

I believe mine's the first hardcover edition, and just about as pulp-tastic as this one. It's still in the mail, though, so I can't say for sure.

This is the picture on the Amazon listing, anyway

[Mark]

Dominik wrote: "This is the picture on the Amazon listing, anyway"

It's the Discovery One! Planted drive end down.

[Dominik]

Mark wrote: "Dominik wrote: "This is the picture on the Amazon listing, anyway"

It's the Discovery One! Planted drive end down."

Heh. How very Perry Rhodan :D
Edit: Oooooh. Now it clicked. Please don't hurt me, I'm tired :P

[Richard]

When I saw we were reading an Andre Norton book, I strained my brain to remember where is read her before... Didn't she co-write some books with Mercedes lackey? Yes, she did, the halfblood chronicles series, which I know I read because I remember the covers sitting on my shelves for many years, but the plot description only seems vaguely familiar now.

Bit wait, she wrote another book that I read... Or rather, attempted to read. Because quag keep is the worst book I've read in the last year by far. It is the first dungeons and dragons book, and the protagonist kept thinking he was hearing dice rolling, and I just dropped it after thirty pages.

But I'm not letting that put me off this pick! I'm looking forward to reading an Andre Norton book that lives up to her reputation!

[AndrewP]

I started reading this last night and the beginning reminds me very much of Memoirs Found in a Bathtub. Will Veronica 'lem' this one too?

[John (Taloni)]

^ This is an engaging SF / time travel story and is full of pulpy goodness. But it is from the pulp era. The book was enough to get me back into Andre Norton from having read scattered books of hers in the pre-digital era, of whatever I could find in the used bookstore (the Science Fantasy Bookstore of Cambridge, MA, if anyone remembers.) I read a bunch of Andre Norton after this one. They are almost all enjoyable, but they do reflect their era.

[Minsta]

John (Taloni) wrote: "^ This is an engaging SF / time travel story and is full of pulpy goodness. But it is from the pulp era. The book was enough to get me back into Andre Norton from having read scattered books of her..."

Are you referring to Pandimonium (used to be in Harvard Sq)?

I am enjoying Time Traders (both the book and the cost :) ) and I like the references to tape - I remember listening to reel to reel tapes back in the late 60's and it was high tech to me. I am a quarter of the way through the book and my copy (from iBooks) refers to the "Russians". Due to the current political climate the book does not feel as dated as it may have about 10 to 15 years ago. This book actually feels less dated to me than the book Time and Again - maybe because of the female character Cassca, who seems much more independent than any of the women in Time and Again.

[Michael]

Minsta wrote: "[...] I am a quarter of the way through the book and my copy (from iBooks) refers to the "Russians". Due to the current political climate the book does not feel as dated as it may have about 10 to 15 years ago. [...]"

I have the same copy through iBooks as well, I think? Does your copy also contain "Galactic Derelict"?