SOJALS rating:

Mediocre (2/5)

I first read this in 1982 and most recently on the 7th November 2011

Dr Mark Elverson gets to travel in time. It saves his life, but at some cost. It gives him horror and wild adventure. He fights monster mutations on Earth and monstrous humans on the Moon. He meets willing women in every town in which he touches down. His associate Joe Hemblatt, the real genius behind the time travel experiment, stands in shadow behind the bloody male arrogance of Dr Mark.

I've read this book probably three times, separated by enough years that for my failing memory the ending came as a complete surprise. Darn you DF. And of course, depressingly in line with his other work. As I recall his novels were always depressing. Well, "Genocides" certainly was. I can't recall what happened with "Colossus" but I'm sure something went dreadfully wrong. I always blamed it on D.F. being Welsh and probably from a gloomy mountain mining village. I had no evidence to assume he's Welsh of course. In fact, I've just checked - he lived in Cornwall so that's close. Gosh, he was a naval commander in WWII and was also awarded an OBE. With all that you'd have thought he would have been a happier chappie.

Back to the book. A good read at the time and better written than much SF of that period. But it is dated to us modern folks. It was published the year that D. F. Jones sadly passed away.