Time and Time Again

What if you could change the world with one action? What if that action could change the course of history and alleviate the suffering of millions and save lives? These are the questions posed to Hugh Stanton when he visits an old professor at Cambridge in 2024. Professor Sally McCluskey, always one for challenging students with “what if” questions, lulls Stanton into that same discussion from his student days. She then drops a bomb on his traditional thinking. What if time travel existed and he could go back in time to change the world? Would he do it?

A man tempted by danger hoping an adventure will take his life and save him the trouble, Stanton is supposedly the perfect candidate. He is an ex-soldier, an adventure enthusiast, and very capable of fitting into any situation and taking on a dangerous job. He is also a man without a family. His wife, Cassie, and their two children were killed in a car accident, and since their deaths, all he can think about is his own death and the numerous ways he hurt his family. He’s emotionally unstable but also a man with nothing left to lose.

McCluskey convinces Stanton that by going back in time, he can change the world for the better. He can be the catalyst for a new and improved world with less suffering --- all it will take is his stopping a murder and committing another. Can he change history with a single shot? What Stanton finds is that simple acts are far from simple. His trip back in time sets in motion a new, and decidedly just as destructive, history. Stanton is unable to stop what he’s put in motion. But he’s an ex-soldier and survivalist, so basically he’s a man with a plan.

Alternate history always fascinates me. The question “what if?” can be so intriguing and hold so many possibilities. Ben Elton poses a number of alternatives and does justice to all the questions and answers he throws at readers. He pulls you into this story so quickly, and while you might start out as an unbeliever much like Stanton, that soon changes. Elton doesn’t make it easy to answer that simple “what if” question. And that’s a very good thing for readers!

TIME AND TIME AGAIN is a fascinating look at human nature and our need to change actions that we hope, and sometimes believe, will make life better --- and make us better in the process. Go read it. It’s very much worth your time.

Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski

The premise is simple enough. Captain Hugh Stanton, ex British special forces, has been introduced to a group who call themselves Chronations. What they believe is that if you stand in a special spot in a cellar in Constantinople at a very specific time, you will be transferred back to 1914, in time to stop Princip from murdering the Archduke, and maybe stopping World War 1. Of course, stopping one Princip may not be enough, as the nations were aching for war, having no idea what it would involve. So Stanton goes to Constantinople, and finds himself back in 1914. What would you do?

The story is very well written, the descriptions are very good and you feel as if you have been taken back to 1914. There are one or two points that I think Stanton may have found more difficult than in the book. At one point he drives a car. How many modern men have experience at double clutching? Further, it usually helps to have done it in the vehicle you are driving. Nevertheless, I found this to be an interesting read and it manages to hold tension very well, while avoiding any deep strategic thinking. The problem, of course, is once you do something in history and change it, you have no more idea what will follow than anyone else. Stanton, a soldier, is for doing, not for overtaxing the thinking. The one fault of the book is the ending, where it almost a rush to finish, and it seemed as if Elton's idea had got away from him. As an aside, if you read the book, before doing so write down on a piece of paper what you would do if put in this situation. You may find what Elton writes to be of particular interest, for Elton has given this a lot more thought than his character did. I highly recommend thje book, if not Stanton's strategy.

I picked this book up at the library because first the title and cover art, then the description on the jacket intrigued me. I was not disappointed; this book was a wonderful read.
I am a person who asks questions and ponders "what if" so this book offered to feed my need for options and an answer to that question. I will not repeat the plot as many have already done, I will just say that I think this book opens a person to ponder and debate the possibilities of a past changed and whether it would be a satisfactory change.
I remember an episode- I think it was "Twilight Zone" where a man was sent back to prevent Kennedy's assassination. He succeeded only to find out that the Russian head of state had been assassinated instead and now WWIII and nuclear war was immanent. This book brought that to mind.
How do we know that the changes we would make in the name of good would actually result in good? Read and find out.

Not sure I understand the negative reviews, but I suppose no one novel can be all things to all readers. Myself, I opened this book on a cold snowy morning with the fireplace merrily warming the room and read it straight through.
Time travel and the consequences of it, which generally runs towards the negative, have always been one of my favorite forms of fiction which developed in my formative years by Clark, Asimov, and Heinlien, and to a lesser extent Silverberg and others whose names I don't recall.
Mr Elton does a remarkable job of following on their footsteps and
has given us a very well thought novel that I enjoyed immensely. Them again I've only been reading SF for 55 years so what do I know.

Frustrating at first and hard for me to ignore the extremely poor philosophical characterizations. I found this a typical British depressive miserable piece. With classic dystopian future blaming current technology for destroying the world.

Having said that though I was compelled to continue to read until the end as there were some good suspense moments. Sadly there also were lots of inconsistencies of characters behaviors (due to lack of solid philosophical underpinning). Some potential surprises (or not as most is relatively easily guessable).

I purchased this at an airport and finished it the next day. It was an OK read overall and I almost forgive the depressive tone.

Another reviewer called this "an airport book." That's seems a bit harsh but it is a quick read with a rather predictable plot that held my interest. The book is very British in language and in appealing to the psychic damage WWI inflicted on Europe in general and Britain in particular. That the protagonist Huge Stanton will succeed in going back to 1914 to attempt to prevent WWI is established immediately. The whys and consequences some more convincing than others play out over the next 300 pages.

This story begins with a hiss and roar ...........in 1914 Istanbul. It reminds me a little of the H Rider Haggard novels of so long ago. Fine hero, irresistible to women etc etc and plenty of rip roaring adventure. So far so good! without divulging spoilers the book changesdramatically in the second half. I was left wondering whether this was because the author had discovered the peril of time travel - if you change something you ccan't undo it!! All in all a 3 star read.

I kept wondering, when the protagonist was asked what was the worst time in history that he could think of that he could change, why he didn't mention WWII. Toward the end of the story I found out why. This story does not have a happy ending, but the twists and turns throughout make it worth reading. I borrowed my copy from my library, however, it would be money well spent to buy it.

The first thought that came to mind on reading this is book is the change from the Julian to Gregorian calendar which would put all the dates out in this book. But anyway - this is not supposed to be the sort of book you put too much thought into. There are some good passages (the description of pre-war Germany's obsession with uniforms comes to mind), but the dialogue is awful and most of all the plot is predictable and not worth the effort. Characters don't develop, they just die. If that's your thing, you might enjoy this - otherwise it will just annoy you.

Only ever read one Ben Elton book before, his debut 'Stark' and I was underwhelmed so I went into this novel fearing a letdown. Pleased to say it was anything but. Reminded me of another time travel novel with a twist, 'The Gate of Time', by Philip José Farmer. Giving nothing away but do we really really want to go back in time and change the future?

Ray Smillie

This was an excellent novel! The characters are empathetic, the mechanics of time travel realistic, and the story intricate and hidden till the last few pages. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys SiFi, but also to those who prefer more reality in their fiction. This is an author I will follow.

The time travel structure to this book, from 2024 back to 1914 is itself something of a tour de force in writing technique but with the added dimension of Isaac Newton's counsel, still three centuries earlier, I had to marvel at Elton's inventiveness and his ability to pull off the trio.

The idea of changing the course of history in a sort of time traveller's Utopia is engaging and, although there may be some difficulty in swallowing the confection wholesale, the novel still bears the hallmark of Ben Elton's ability to entertain.

Magnificent prose, great characterization, plot, and pacing. I got the book due the alternative history angle, but thoroughly enjoyed it because it has all the elements of an incredibly well told tale. Bravo.

That Elton is a television writer goes a long way to explaining the book's graceless prose. I've not read anything else by him, but I'd believe that Time and Time Again was conceived of as a movie script or graphic novel treatment, rather than a novel. People say things, people do things, and scene. There are some interesting ideas, but it's a pretty stiff boys-own-adventure affair, populated by impossibly two dimensional characters and familiar cliches.

Really enjoyed this book. Wanted to know what happened next, very surprised at the ending. If you like time travel stories you'll love this one. Well done to Ben Elton. I've read some of his other books and have always enjoyed how he writes.

A very unoriginal premise (hello, Ray Bradbury) weighs this overlong novel down. The 'twist' - that changing the past can makes things worse - is hardly breathtaking. Elton's narrative style is aimed squarely at the 'airport paperback' set, which means characters repeatedly wander around stating the obvious to each other. And the resolution for just about every dilemma characters face is to kill them off. It's clearly worked for others but I found this disappointing and there seemed no real reason to read the last 50 pages since the ending was as obvious as it was unrewarding.

I read this novel after listening to a radio interview with the author in which he gave emphasis to the horrors of WWI and the randomness of its inception. The shallow time travel element of the story was merely to provide an opportunity to address these issues. While sections of the novel are well written and the central character is well developed, much greater emphasis than expected is devoted to some of the conundrums of travel into the past, and this is boring. The upper class standard of living in 1914 is well described, as are some of the characters of the period, and the central character is well developed. Yet, given the two "twists" in the story, the reader is asked to invest too heavily in this character those to whom he relates. The latter stages of the book are preoccupied with alternative universes and the temporal narrative surrounding this character is effectively discarded. At least for those seeking a pleasant holiday read this descent into preoccupation with the weaker aspects of the novel is frustrating.

Another massive rip off by the store

Listed on the first page at US$4.48 which jumps up almost five fold to US$19.75 by the time you come to order. No thanks, the store, not this time. I can see why people are starting to loathe you