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The Fury Out of Time
/ Lloyd Biggle Jr.
(1999)
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| Book Details |
| Publication Date |
19-12-1999 |
| Nr of Pages |
264 |
| Format (size) |
Paperback (21.6cm x 15.1cm) |
| Publisher |
Wildside Press |
| Language |
English |
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| Plot |
The Fury Out of Time is a science fiction mystery. Major Bowden Karvel is a retired Air Force officer and astronaut. Discharged for disability at the age of 36 with an artificial leg and a bitter attitude, he is lonely, bored and drinking too much. He is living in a trailer park outside Hatch Air Force Base and just marking time.
In this novel, Karvel has gone to Whistler's Country Tavern for a little company, although Ma Whistler forces him to eat some breakfast as well. After an argument, Whistler sets out an umbrella table and two chairs in the backyard area called a garden. As he is watching the magnificent view of the nearby valley, something starts knocking down trees in a widening spiral and soon pushes Karvel off his feet. As Karvel lies bleeding twenty feet away and the table sails off down into the valley, Whistler comments on the lack of noise.
Although called a tornado for convenience, the phenomenon is definitely not a weather condition nor anything else previously observed. Karvel orders the base personnel at the tavern to start rescue efforts and alerts the base itself. Then he drives out to view the origin of the fury and finds a dullish-black ten-foot sphere in a hollow. Nearby he finds an impossible butterfly.
The first part of the novel describes the efforts and evidence that finally convinces the authorities that the sphere is a time machine. Eventually Karvel gets into the sphere and travels forward in time. There he finds an advanced society, but also some inconsistencies.
This novel presents some interesting concepts and characters. As with most of the author's other science fiction works, the protagonist of this story is presented with a mystery which he must solve. The puzzle itself is as fascinating as the strange cultures Karvel encounters along the way.
The ending ties up all the loose strings and leaves Karvel with many options. Furthermore, he has time to decide what to do with the rest of his life, but we will probably never know which option he selects.
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