Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two great books in one!, 12 Aug 2003
This book is a compilation of two books by the incomparable H. Beam Piper. The first is Paratime, a collection of five short stories, and is complete with its fascinating introduction by John F. Carr. The stories are fascinating, and show off Piper's masterful writing. The second is Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, a fascinating story of a Pennsylvania State Trooper who is lifted out of his (our) own space-time continuum and is dropped down into a very different world.I must admit that I was hoping for a little something extra in buying this book, a new introduction perhaps. But, even so, my copies of the original books were becoming worn-out, and it is nice to be able to get a new copy of these books. To those new to the Paratime stories: H. Beam Piper created a fascinating multiverse where a culture has developed the ability to travel laterally between universes (parallel Earths), and has undertaken to maintain its monopoly of such travel. The Paratime Police were formed to ensure that the secret is kept, and that no unlicensed travel would occur. These stories document the Paratime Police's activities and showcase a number of fascinating parallel Earths created by the author. I highly recommend this wonderful book.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Policing Reality, 3 Nov 2006
"The Complete Paratime" collects all the works from H. Beam Piper that deal with paratime, i.e. the existence of alternate universes and people either accidentally or purposefully crossing from one to another. This collection, published in 2001, contains a previous collection called "Paratime", which was published in 1981. The previous collection included five stories. Also included is the novel called "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen" which was originally published in 1965 and itself was a collection of two previously published stories along with a new one.
"He Walked around the Horses" is Piper's first paratime story, and doesn't directly fit with the other stories collected in this book. This novelette was first published in April of 1948, and is the story of a British envoy to the court of Austria who vanished while en route from Vienna to Hamburg in 1809. The story is cleverly told as a series of statements from witnesses as being reported by the Minister of Police.
"Police Operation" is the first story to feature Verkan Vall, a Paratime policeman who in tracing someone, learns that they have broken the law by bringing along a pet from another time-line, which ultimately threatens to reveal the existence of paratime. This is another novelette which was first published in July of 1948, and it serves as a good introduction to the Paratime Police and Verkan Vall, both of which are present in the rest of the stories in this collection.
"Last Enemy" is perhaps the best of the stories in this collection. This novelette was first published in August of 1950. This novelette brings in the character of Dalla, and is an interesting story involving a time-line where reincarnation is considered an established fact. This is his only story which involves a Second Level time-line, which means a civilization nearly as advanced as that of the First Level. This story was nominated in 2001 for the Retro-Hugo for novelettes written in the year 1950.
"Time Crime" is the novella story, which was first published in February and March of 1955. The story involves a criminal slave ring operating out of the First Level. This is the longest individual story of the series, although the joining of the three Lord Kalvan stories did create one longer work. Much of this story deals with the First Level, which makes it very different than the other stories.
"Temple Trouble" is a novelette which was first published in April of 1951. In this story the Paratime Police are called in to help fix a problem with a commercial venture, only to find that there may be a bit more to the problem than they originally thought.
"Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen" is a novel created out of three pieces of shorter fiction. The first was called "Gunpowder God", in which Corporal Calvin Morrison is accidentally taken from the "Earth" time-line to a Fourth Level time line. There his knowledge of how to make Gunpowder makes him looked at as a powerful sorcerer, and a potential threat to the Paratime Police. This novelette was first published in "Analog" in November of 1964. The second part is "Down Styphon", which picks up the story where it was left off, and covers the war between Hostigos and Nostor. This novelette was first published in "Analog" in November of 1965. The last section, as far as I know, was never published apart from being the conclusion of the entire novel. Here Kalvan becomes the great King Lord Kalvan in pursuing his war against Styphon.
This is an interesting series of stories, and there is a good variety of themes explored in them as well. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Piper, as it is an interesting blend of science fiction and fantasy.
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by Iain M. Banks
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