http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26066/26066-8.txt
"A darned shame," Eric grumbled, "to come forty million miles, and meet
such a reception as this!"
2 out of 5
Friday, July 18, 2008
Roxie - Robert Reed
http://podcast.starshipsofa.com/podcast/Aural_Delight_No_33_Robert_Reed.mp3
Dog destiny via bolide.
4 out of 5
Dog destiny via bolide.
4 out of 5
Three Unbroken 42 Increase - Chris Roberson
http://www.solarisbooks.com/books/three-unbroken/free/page42.asp
"Now, Fair Winds and the other bombers in the squad were at considerable hazard almost as soon as they lifted off the runway, forced to run a gauntlet over contested ground, through the swarms of Mexic fighters who might be lying in wait for them, all to drop a precious few bombs without much hope of hitting the targets in the first place. The overall mission plans for Great Strength still called for western advancement towards Ruosi, even with the danger of their flank falling before the Mexica on either side. It was a failed policy, which everyone but those in command, it seemed, had long realized."
3 out of 5
"Now, Fair Winds and the other bombers in the squad were at considerable hazard almost as soon as they lifted off the runway, forced to run a gauntlet over contested ground, through the swarms of Mexic fighters who might be lying in wait for them, all to drop a precious few bombs without much hope of hitting the targets in the first place. The overall mission plans for Great Strength still called for western advancement towards Ruosi, even with the danger of their flank falling before the Mexica on either side. It was a failed policy, which everyone but those in command, it seemed, had long realized."
3 out of 5
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Head Hunters 1 - Mercedes Lackey and Dennis Lee
http://media.podiobooks.com/secretworldchroniclebooktwo/PB-SecretWorldChronicleBookTwo-16.mp3
Echo has 'recruited' Red Djinni to give them an in with the underground to try and recruit some not so lily-white metas, given how horribly short of manpower they are. In your usual seedy underground bar, Bulwark and his rookie team discover there are multiple levels of who is playing who, here.
4 out of 5
Echo has 'recruited' Red Djinni to give them an in with the underground to try and recruit some not so lily-white metas, given how horribly short of manpower they are. In your usual seedy underground bar, Bulwark and his rookie team discover there are multiple levels of who is playing who, here.
4 out of 5
Overkill - Elizabeth Bear
http://www.shadowunit.org/overkill.html
"They're all evil," Lau said, in commiseration. "It's what makes them hosts, and Not Chaz. And it's what makes us the Good Guys, right? The good part? Something has to oppose evil, and antiheros are only interesting in Clint Eastwood movies. In real life, you kind of want to hit them with a shoe." She bounced on her toes to draw his attention. "Even if you do think you're the goddamn Batman."
...
Maria nodded, with a sidelong glance at Lau. She extended Lau's empty firearm, the slide locked open. Lau took it, exchanged the magazine, and re-holstered the weapon, as Maria said, "O.K. Corral. Bullets flying everywhere, and none of 'em hit you. You're Wyatt Earp."
"Actually," says Chaz, "that gunfight wasn't at the OK Corral. It was a block away--"
"On Fremont Street," Brady finished, with an eyeroll. He punched Chaz in the uninjured arm, and Chaz grinned. "Shut up, kid."
Lau held up her arms, crossed at wrists as if blocking something, hoping her hands weren't shaking visibly. "I am not. See these? Bullets and bracelets. Wonder Woman. Bulletproof."
4.5 out of 5
"They're all evil," Lau said, in commiseration. "It's what makes them hosts, and Not Chaz. And it's what makes us the Good Guys, right? The good part? Something has to oppose evil, and antiheros are only interesting in Clint Eastwood movies. In real life, you kind of want to hit them with a shoe." She bounced on her toes to draw his attention. "Even if you do think you're the goddamn Batman."
...
Maria nodded, with a sidelong glance at Lau. She extended Lau's empty firearm, the slide locked open. Lau took it, exchanged the magazine, and re-holstered the weapon, as Maria said, "O.K. Corral. Bullets flying everywhere, and none of 'em hit you. You're Wyatt Earp."
"Actually," says Chaz, "that gunfight wasn't at the OK Corral. It was a block away--"
"On Fremont Street," Brady finished, with an eyeroll. He punched Chaz in the uninjured arm, and Chaz grinned. "Shut up, kid."
Lau held up her arms, crossed at wrists as if blocking something, hoping her hands weren't shaking visibly. "I am not. See these? Bullets and bracelets. Wonder Woman. Bulletproof."
4.5 out of 5
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Appointment In Tomorrow - Fritz Leiber
http://www.archive.org/download/XMinus1B/xminusone_561107_AppointmentInTomorrow.mp3
Power of the mind not funny.
4 out of 5
Power of the mind not funny.
4 out of 5
Food Chain Blues - Richard Kadrey
http://www.infinitematrix.net/stories/shortshorts/kadrey25.html
Machine going-away party.
3.5 out of 5
Machine going-away party.
3.5 out of 5
Endgames - Emma Bull
http://www.shadowunit.org/endgames.html
The Shadow Unit doesn't mind fast food, but here tries to stop a lot of people becoming fried.
3 out of 5
The Shadow Unit doesn't mind fast food, but here tries to stop a lot of people becoming fried.
3 out of 5
Pirate Sun Prologue - Karl Schroeder
http://www.kschroeder.com/my-books/pirate-sun/excerpt/prologue
"At the moment Rush Asteroid was shading the drydock from that sun. The silhuetted asteroid was furred along its black outline by the trees that covered it. A cloud bank had formed in the cooler air of that long shaft of shadow, and tendrils of gray were closing around the drydock as Venera arrived. The tug's crew were making their final adjustments. While she hovered--literally--her eyes played across the panorama of infinitely-receding cloud and sky that lay beyond the city. This maze troubled the eye in every direction. There was no up or down to Venera's world--save for what you made yourself--only the light of nearby suns providing any orientation at all to the tugboat’s crew. Even that vanished at night. This lack of direction made journeys like this one hazardous for even the most experienced pilot. They made communication over international distances unreliable; sporadic, at best."
3.5 out of 5
"At the moment Rush Asteroid was shading the drydock from that sun. The silhuetted asteroid was furred along its black outline by the trees that covered it. A cloud bank had formed in the cooler air of that long shaft of shadow, and tendrils of gray were closing around the drydock as Venera arrived. The tug's crew were making their final adjustments. While she hovered--literally--her eyes played across the panorama of infinitely-receding cloud and sky that lay beyond the city. This maze troubled the eye in every direction. There was no up or down to Venera's world--save for what you made yourself--only the light of nearby suns providing any orientation at all to the tugboat’s crew. Even that vanished at night. This lack of direction made journeys like this one hazardous for even the most experienced pilot. They made communication over international distances unreliable; sporadic, at best."
3.5 out of 5
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Shadow Over Mars 1-4 - Leigh Brackett
http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0343893843/0343893843.htm
"WIND moved sighing through the broken walls, and the dusk came down to join it. Far out across the Western wastes Phobos rode the last pale glow of the sun edging the rim of Mars. Ruh lay silent, barred and shuttered, but not asleep.
With night, shadows crept through the streets. Some of them came drifting in through secret portals in the city wall and then sought the heights of the King City, where they vanished. Upon entering the flaring torchlight in the throne-room, however, they became men.
Fighting men. Of different ages, sizes, coloring, in the harness of different city-states, but all alike in one thing—the look they bore. The look of wolves in a cage.
They sat around a table of blood-red wood worn hollow by the arms of centuries of war-chiefs. Haral the boy king, leaned forward like a bent blade from his high seat, and the eyes of Beudach, who stood always at his right hand, were as steel in the fire.
Only one shadow remained in the Quarters. It was small and hunched and swift-moving, and its eyes burned emerald in the Phobos-light. It went from door to door, whispering, asking, and the name it said was "Rick."
High up against the stars, in the ruined Tower of Destiny, Parras, the Seer, bent his fresh young face above his looking bowl. His mind reached out across the sea-bottoms, the sand deserts, the age-worn hills. It touched other minds, asking, and the name it said was "Rick."
To the green-eyed shadow and the mind of the seer came an unvarying answer.
"Not yet.""
3.5 out of 5
"WIND moved sighing through the broken walls, and the dusk came down to join it. Far out across the Western wastes Phobos rode the last pale glow of the sun edging the rim of Mars. Ruh lay silent, barred and shuttered, but not asleep.
With night, shadows crept through the streets. Some of them came drifting in through secret portals in the city wall and then sought the heights of the King City, where they vanished. Upon entering the flaring torchlight in the throne-room, however, they became men.
Fighting men. Of different ages, sizes, coloring, in the harness of different city-states, but all alike in one thing—the look they bore. The look of wolves in a cage.
They sat around a table of blood-red wood worn hollow by the arms of centuries of war-chiefs. Haral the boy king, leaned forward like a bent blade from his high seat, and the eyes of Beudach, who stood always at his right hand, were as steel in the fire.
Only one shadow remained in the Quarters. It was small and hunched and swift-moving, and its eyes burned emerald in the Phobos-light. It went from door to door, whispering, asking, and the name it said was "Rick."
High up against the stars, in the ruined Tower of Destiny, Parras, the Seer, bent his fresh young face above his looking bowl. His mind reached out across the sea-bottoms, the sand deserts, the age-worn hills. It touched other minds, asking, and the name it said was "Rick."
To the green-eyed shadow and the mind of the seer came an unvarying answer.
"Not yet.""
3.5 out of 5
Alpha Centauri Or Die 1-4 - Leigh Brackett
http://www.webscription.net/chapters/4410177015/4410177015.htm
"There were no more men in space. The dark ships strode the ways between the worlds, lightless, silent, needing no human mind to guide them. The R-ships, carrying the freight and the passengers, keeping order, keeping the law, taking the Pax Terrae to the limits of the Solar System and guarding there the boundary which was not now ever to be crossed."
3.5 out of 5
"There were no more men in space. The dark ships strode the ways between the worlds, lightless, silent, needing no human mind to guide them. The R-ships, carrying the freight and the passengers, keeping order, keeping the law, taking the Pax Terrae to the limits of the Solar System and guarding there the boundary which was not now ever to be crossed."
3.5 out of 5
Monday, July 14, 2008
Leigh Brackett Much More Than the Queen of Space Opera! - Bertil Falk
http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue250/brackett1.html
A lengthy article about her career and life.
4.5 out of 5
A lengthy article about her career and life.
4.5 out of 5
The unclassifiable Leigh Brackett - James Sallis
http://www.grasslimb.com/sallis/GlobeColumns/globe.09.brackett.html
A shortish overview type article.
3.5 out of 5
A shortish overview type article.
3.5 out of 5
Leigh Douglass Brackett - Kevin Burton Smith
http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/brackett.html
A multi-media bibliography, detailing her work of interesting to crime fiction people.
4 out of 5
A multi-media bibliography, detailing her work of interesting to crime fiction people.
4 out of 5
A Conquest Of Two Worlds - Edmond Hamilton
A Conquest of Two Worlds - Edmond Hamilton
Nuking Martians and Jovians is not nice, boss.
3.5 out of 5
Nuking Martians and Jovians is not nice, boss.
3.5 out of 5
General T'ang in Valley Dam - Cordwainer Smith
http://www.cordwainer-smith.com/twasbrillig/valleydam.pdf
A Chinese general comes to an American man for help.
3.5 out of 5
A Chinese general comes to an American man for help.
3.5 out of 5
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Return To the Stars 1-6 - Edmond Hamilton
http://www.webscription.net/chapters/4477461275/4477461275.htm
"Gordon fled with Lianna across the cracked concrete apron, his whole mind and soul fixed on the light of the open port. He heard Korkhann's lighter footfalls pattering behind him. For a moment he thought that after all the Gray One had given up and that nothing was going to happen. And with a silent thunderclap the darkness came and beat him down floundering to his knees.
Lianna slipped away from him. He groped for her by sheer instinct, hearing her whimper. He fought, blind and squirming, across vast heaving blacknesses toward a far-off spark of light.
There were hands and voices. The spark brightened, growing dizzily. Gordon surfaced through cold ringing dimensions of dread; saw faces, uniforms, men, saw Lianna upheld in Harn Horva's arms, felt himself lifted and carried forward. Far off there was a whistling rush as of a balked and angry wind retreating. And two men carried Korkhann past him, half-conscious.
Harn Horva's voice roared out above all, "Prepare for take-off!"
Gordon was only partly aware of the clanging hatches, the warning hooters and the roaring thrust of the launch. He was in the lounge and Lianna was clinging to him, trembling like a frightened child, her face bloodless and her eyes wide.
Later, after the cruiser had leaped up into the sky and Teyn was dropping fast behind them, Gordon still held and soothed her. By then, Korkhann had come back to consciousness. His eyes were haunted but he said, with a kind of haggard pride, "For a moment . . . for a moment I did it, all alone!"
"Korkhann, who . . . what . . . was it?" said Gordon. "The Gray One."
"I think," whispered Korkhann, "that it was not of this universe. I think an ancient evil has awakened. I . . ."
"Gordon fled with Lianna across the cracked concrete apron, his whole mind and soul fixed on the light of the open port. He heard Korkhann's lighter footfalls pattering behind him. For a moment he thought that after all the Gray One had given up and that nothing was going to happen. And with a silent thunderclap the darkness came and beat him down floundering to his knees.
Lianna slipped away from him. He groped for her by sheer instinct, hearing her whimper. He fought, blind and squirming, across vast heaving blacknesses toward a far-off spark of light.
There were hands and voices. The spark brightened, growing dizzily. Gordon surfaced through cold ringing dimensions of dread; saw faces, uniforms, men, saw Lianna upheld in Harn Horva's arms, felt himself lifted and carried forward. Far off there was a whistling rush as of a balked and angry wind retreating. And two men carried Korkhann past him, half-conscious.
Harn Horva's voice roared out above all, "Prepare for take-off!"
Gordon was only partly aware of the clanging hatches, the warning hooters and the roaring thrust of the launch. He was in the lounge and Lianna was clinging to him, trembling like a frightened child, her face bloodless and her eyes wide.
Later, after the cruiser had leaped up into the sky and Teyn was dropping fast behind them, Gordon still held and soothed her. By then, Korkhann had come back to consciousness. His eyes were haunted but he said, with a kind of haggard pride, "For a moment . . . for a moment I did it, all alone!"
"Korkhann, who . . . what . . . was it?" said Gordon. "The Gray One."
"I think," whispered Korkhann, "that it was not of this universe. I think an ancient evil has awakened. I . . ."
Kuttner Sharpens His Literary Sword - Joe R. Lansdale
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2008/lansdale-unchained-kuttner-sharpens-his-literary-sword/
A reprint of his introduction to Paizo Planet Stories book Elak Of Atlantis.
4.5 out of 5
A reprint of his introduction to Paizo Planet Stories book Elak Of Atlantis.
4.5 out of 5
Edmond Hamilton's Star Kings - Various Various
http://www.pulpgen.com/pulp/edmond_hamilton/star_kings.html
Details the publishing history and makeups of the short Star Kings series.
4 out of 5
Details the publishing history and makeups of the short Star Kings series.
4 out of 5
The Lighter Side - Keith Laumer
http://www.webscription.net/10.1125/Baen/0743435370/0743435370.htm
A collection devoted in the main to humour, of different flavors, from the darker opening tale to the more madcap hijinks found in Time Trap. So there is probably something that most people will find amusing.
Laumer is pretty consistent, almost all his stories or books are ok or better by me, with only the very infrequent letdown, so while not much of the outstanding on display, he is worth the time.
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : In the Queue - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Planet Wreckers - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Body Builders - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : Time Trap - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Devil You Don't - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Exterminator - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Big Show - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : Goobereality - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : Prototaph - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Great Time Machine Hoax - Keith Laumer
Bureaucracy disappointment.
3.5 out of 5
"The day of the Galacular is over!" Izlik stated in positive tones. "What is a mere fractured continent, when compared with a lone hero, fighting for his life? When I release my epic of the struggle of one beleaguered being, beset by a bewildering bestiary of bellicose berserkers, our fortunes will be made!"
3.5 out of 5
Servo pounding.
3 out of 5
When a man's car breaks down and a girl appears out of nowhere, just after a goofy looking alien on a motorbike, Roger Tyson finds himself in the middle of a Time Agent story:
"Our studies," S'lunt said, strolling slowly as Roger progressed on all fours at his side, "have not been entirely fruitless. We have made certain determinations regarding the nature of the spatio-temporal distortion. Using a special tracer beam to follow our explorers through the point of tangency through which it is possible to pass from one display to another, we have determined that a progressive degeneration of temporal binding forces is at work, allowing artifacts and fauna of each era to wander into anachronistic settings, thus engendering massive energy imbalances which must end in disaster! On the basis of those findings, we designed and constructed the Reinforcer. With the aid of this device, the selected agent would, we hoped, be enabled to pass not only transversely across the Museum, but longitudinally along the Axial Channel as well, thus tracing the phenomenon to its source, and, hopefully, discovering the identity of the power behind it."
However, this one is pretty much pure farce, as this dialogue sample from a confrontation with a nefarious type suggests:
"Go ahead, just try it!" Roger challenged. "You escapee from a root cellar! We'll fight you on the beaches! We'll fight you in the cities! We'll slice you up into French fries!"
Bad gender switching alien jokes, and much temporal cavorting silliness abound.
3 out of 5
Alien demon invasion is the Devil without some quantum advice.
3.5 out of 5
Maybe human vermin.
3 out of 5
Reality tv triangle cooling off.
3.5 out of 5
Commercial simulation quite real.
3 out of 5
No point to insurance.
3.5 out of 5
This book is not as wack as Time Trap is, for example, but is certainly no Dinosaur Beach.
A guy and his mate with a broken down circus show to try and save find out that an elderly relative has produced a supercomputer that just may be running the world.
Working out what it can do demonstrates that time viewing may be possible - so, what would be a good show? Dinosaurs! However, they didnt count on actually ending up in different times and palces personally.
In this latter part the novel gets a little more serious with the situations they find themselves in, but comes full circle in tone by the end.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
A collection devoted in the main to humour, of different flavors, from the darker opening tale to the more madcap hijinks found in Time Trap. So there is probably something that most people will find amusing.
Laumer is pretty consistent, almost all his stories or books are ok or better by me, with only the very infrequent letdown, so while not much of the outstanding on display, he is worth the time.
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : In the Queue - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Planet Wreckers - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Body Builders - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : Time Trap - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Devil You Don't - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Exterminator - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Big Show - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : Goobereality - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : Prototaph - Keith Laumer
Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Great Time Machine Hoax - Keith Laumer
Bureaucracy disappointment.
3.5 out of 5
"The day of the Galacular is over!" Izlik stated in positive tones. "What is a mere fractured continent, when compared with a lone hero, fighting for his life? When I release my epic of the struggle of one beleaguered being, beset by a bewildering bestiary of bellicose berserkers, our fortunes will be made!"
3.5 out of 5
Servo pounding.
3 out of 5
When a man's car breaks down and a girl appears out of nowhere, just after a goofy looking alien on a motorbike, Roger Tyson finds himself in the middle of a Time Agent story:
"Our studies," S'lunt said, strolling slowly as Roger progressed on all fours at his side, "have not been entirely fruitless. We have made certain determinations regarding the nature of the spatio-temporal distortion. Using a special tracer beam to follow our explorers through the point of tangency through which it is possible to pass from one display to another, we have determined that a progressive degeneration of temporal binding forces is at work, allowing artifacts and fauna of each era to wander into anachronistic settings, thus engendering massive energy imbalances which must end in disaster! On the basis of those findings, we designed and constructed the Reinforcer. With the aid of this device, the selected agent would, we hoped, be enabled to pass not only transversely across the Museum, but longitudinally along the Axial Channel as well, thus tracing the phenomenon to its source, and, hopefully, discovering the identity of the power behind it."
However, this one is pretty much pure farce, as this dialogue sample from a confrontation with a nefarious type suggests:
"Go ahead, just try it!" Roger challenged. "You escapee from a root cellar! We'll fight you on the beaches! We'll fight you in the cities! We'll slice you up into French fries!"
Bad gender switching alien jokes, and much temporal cavorting silliness abound.
3 out of 5
Alien demon invasion is the Devil without some quantum advice.
3.5 out of 5
Maybe human vermin.
3 out of 5
Reality tv triangle cooling off.
3.5 out of 5
Commercial simulation quite real.
3 out of 5
No point to insurance.
3.5 out of 5
This book is not as wack as Time Trap is, for example, but is certainly no Dinosaur Beach.
A guy and his mate with a broken down circus show to try and save find out that an elderly relative has produced a supercomputer that just may be running the world.
Working out what it can do demonstrates that time viewing may be possible - so, what would be a good show? Dinosaurs! However, they didnt count on actually ending up in different times and palces personally.
In this latter part the novel gets a little more serious with the situations they find themselves in, but comes full circle in tone by the end.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
The Great Time Machine Hoax - Keith Laumer
The Great Time Machine Hoax - Keith Laumer
This book is not as wack as Time Trap is, for example, but is certainly no Dinosaur Beach.
A guy and his mate with a broken down circus show to try and save find out that an elderly relative has produced a supercomputer that just may be running the world.
Working out what it can do demonstrates that time viewing may be possible - so, what would be a good show? Dinosaurs! However, they didnt count on actually ending up in different times and places personally.
In this latter part the novel gets a little more serious with the situations they find themselves in, but comes full circle in tone by the end.
3.5 out of 5
This book is not as wack as Time Trap is, for example, but is certainly no Dinosaur Beach.
A guy and his mate with a broken down circus show to try and save find out that an elderly relative has produced a supercomputer that just may be running the world.
Working out what it can do demonstrates that time viewing may be possible - so, what would be a good show? Dinosaurs! However, they didnt count on actually ending up in different times and places personally.
In this latter part the novel gets a little more serious with the situations they find themselves in, but comes full circle in tone by the end.
3.5 out of 5
The Devil You Don't - Keith Laumer
The Devil You Don't - Keith Laumer
Alien demon invasion is the Devil without some quantum advice.
3.5 out of 5
Alien demon invasion is the Devil without some quantum advice.
3.5 out of 5
Time Trap - Keith Laumer
Time Trap - Keith Laumer
When a man's car breaks down and a girl appears out of nowhere, just after a goofy looking alien on a motorbike, Roger Tyson finds himself in the middle of a Time Agent story:
"Our studies," S'lunt said, strolling slowly as Roger progressed on all fours at his side, "have not been entirely fruitless. We have made certain determinations regarding the nature of the spatio-temporal distortion. Using a special tracer beam to follow our explorers through the point of tangency through which it is possible to pass from one display to another, we have determined that a progressive degeneration of temporal binding forces is at work, allowing artifacts and fauna of each era to wander into anachronistic settings, thus engendering massive energy imbalances which must end in disaster! On the basis of those findings, we designed and constructed the Reinforcer. With the aid of this device, the selected agent would, we hoped, be enabled to pass not only transversely across the Museum, but longitudinally along the Axial Channel as well, thus tracing the phenomenon to its source, and, hopefully, discovering the identity of the power behind it."
However, this one is pretty much pure farce, as this dialogue sample from a confrontation with a nefarious type suggests:
"Go ahead, just try it!" Roger challenged. "You escapee from a root cellar! We'll fight you on the beaches! We'll fight you in the cities! We'll slice you up into French fries!"
Bad gender switching alien jokes, and much temporal cavorting silliness abound.
3 out of 5
When a man's car breaks down and a girl appears out of nowhere, just after a goofy looking alien on a motorbike, Roger Tyson finds himself in the middle of a Time Agent story:
"Our studies," S'lunt said, strolling slowly as Roger progressed on all fours at his side, "have not been entirely fruitless. We have made certain determinations regarding the nature of the spatio-temporal distortion. Using a special tracer beam to follow our explorers through the point of tangency through which it is possible to pass from one display to another, we have determined that a progressive degeneration of temporal binding forces is at work, allowing artifacts and fauna of each era to wander into anachronistic settings, thus engendering massive energy imbalances which must end in disaster! On the basis of those findings, we designed and constructed the Reinforcer. With the aid of this device, the selected agent would, we hoped, be enabled to pass not only transversely across the Museum, but longitudinally along the Axial Channel as well, thus tracing the phenomenon to its source, and, hopefully, discovering the identity of the power behind it."
However, this one is pretty much pure farce, as this dialogue sample from a confrontation with a nefarious type suggests:
"Go ahead, just try it!" Roger challenged. "You escapee from a root cellar! We'll fight you on the beaches! We'll fight you in the cities! We'll slice you up into French fries!"
Bad gender switching alien jokes, and much temporal cavorting silliness abound.
3 out of 5