Jerome Branch Corbell awakens from cryonic freeze to find himself cured of the cancer that had begun to ravage his body two centuries ago. To his dismay, the reason for his cure becomes quickly apparent--his mind had been transferred to an entirely different body, that of a young felon whose memory had been wiped as punishment for his crime. Corbell quickly finds himself a stranger in a strange land where the only human who speaks English is his caretaker, a harshly detached man known only as Pierce. Corbell must badger Pierce for any information about modern society. Finally, Pierce relents and informs Corbell that Earth is ruled by a merciless governing body known only as the "State" and that they have ordered Pierce to oversee Corbell's training as a starship pilot. His mission: to fly a preset course through interstellar space and deploy canisters containing genetically modified algae onto planets that have been targeted as life-sustaining, thereby planting the seeds for future human expansion. Corbell need know nothing else about the world. He won't be staying.However, shortly after leaving the solar system, Corbell changes course and decides to flee to the galactic core, hoping to return to Earth 70,000 years later after the State would likely be long dissolved. No sooner does he reveal his plans than Pierce uploads his consciousness into the ship's computer just before the vessel is out of range. Pierce, revealing his true name as Peersa, attempts to bully Corbell into continuning the State's mission, but fails when it becomes apparent that he must obey Corbell's orders.Corbell extends his life through long periods in cryonic sleep, but is an elderly man by the time they reach the galactic core. There is no way he will ever see Earth again...or is there? Calculating the result of skirting the accretion disc of a nearby black hole, Peersa indicates that they could return to Earth's solar system, but it would be three million years in the future!Upon arrival, what they discover is a solar system completely out of order. Planets that resemble Saturn, Earth, and Uranus are far from their normal orbits. Earth now orbits Jupiter! How could the planets have been moved? Corbell and Peersa determine a way to convert an algae canister into a one-way landing craft which would allow Corbell to explore the Earth's surface. Before departing, Corbell informs Peersa that he will be released from Corbell's authority upon his arrival on the surface--dead or alive.After surviving the descent to the Earth's surface, Corbell remains in contact with Peersa for a short time while he explores what appear to be the abandoned ruins of an advanced civilization and a drastically altered climate. It is not long before Corbell realizes that he is not alone when he is captured by an elderly woman named Mirelly-Lyra who is convinced that Corbell has knowledge of a substance known as "dictator immortality", a solution developed by the State eons ago to extend the life of its leaders.Mirelly-Lyra reveals herself to have been a traitor to the State who, like Corbell, fled in a starship and returned approximately a century ago. The State no longer existed, but the childlike members of modern society arrested her for treason, tried her based on the laws of her time, and imprisoned with other criminals in a zero-time jail. They had only recently been released.With no further help from Peersa, who had taken the ship elsewhere in the solar system, Corbell escapes in a stolen air car and flees across the ocean to another continent only to find a bizarre society where former State dictators, also freed from zero-time prison, are ruled by the same intelligent children mentioned by Mirelly-Lyra.Taken prisoner yet again, Corbell explores this new world with wary wonder. As he learns about Earth's past, will he unlock the secrets of dictator immortality and discover who moved the planets?Of the three Larry Niven books I read over the past few months, A World Out Of Time was the one of the more enjoyable and imaginative stories. Niven adroitly employed a mix of science and conflict to drive the plot. The relationship between Peersa and Corbell, initially antagonistic then progressively cooperative, was well-developed during their interstellar journey to and from the galactic core. I was fascinated by Niven's vision of a primitive post-war society not only as a consequence of a devastating conflict after the State's fall, but also by the displacement of the planets and the resulting drastic climate change. I wasn't entirely convinced by the mechanism used to move the planets and there was much detail missing regarding exactly how Earth's society evolved as a "battle of the sexes" schism, hence the three star rating. Overall, though, it was a fun read.
Larry Niven is one of the grandmasters of science fiction. He knows how to weave hard science, characterization, and plot into an interesting and compelling tapestry. A World Out Of Time is rich in hard science but a little light in the plot and characterization areas. However, it is an entertaining blend of hard science and adventure story. The PlotA man named Jaybee Corbell was frozen in the late 20th century due to incurable cancer. Since the freezing process destroys cells, Corbell is revived by implanting his consciousness into the body of a felon convicted of a capital crime. This takes place in the 25th century.Corbell is conscripted by the autocratic government into flying a seedship to other planets. This ship would drop terraforming pods to the planets to prepare them for colonization by humanity. Subjectively, only 30 years would pass for Corbell, while 40 thousand years would pass for earth. Corbell agrees to this but ends up stealing the ship and taking it to the center of the galaxy; a trip that will take him about 120 years subjectively, but over 3 million years according to earth's time.Corbell goes on this joyride and, through shipboard medical treatments and suspended animation, he makes the trip successfully, although he is an old man by the time he gets back to earth.Earth meanwhile, has changed drastically and Corbell has to adapt, as he and his ship can't make another trip. The GoodFirst of all, the physical science is sound in this book. I really liked that. The foolishness of cryonics is explained well (water in the cells of the body will expand when in reaches 0 degrees C and cause the cells to burst...therefore irrevocably destroying the tissues of the body). The relativistic consequences of interstellar travel are well addressed. There's no convenient sci-fi faster-than-light travel or communications in this book.Secondly, some of the speculative science was interesting. The usage of teleportation devices was well thought out and the usage of specially tailored RNA imprinting to enhance the learning process was particularly intriguing.The political discussion of "water governments" (totalitarian governments that possess total and complete control of all available natural resources) was also interesting. The physical/environmental description of Earth 3 million years in the future was pretty cool. I really enjoyed that part of the story. The Not-So-GoodThe characters were not very well-fleshed-out. They were all kind of two-dimensional and throw-away. That's pretty much expected for an adventure tale, but I can't help but think that, with better characters, this novel would have perhaps appealed to a wider audience.Also, the political/sociological description of the Earth 3 million years in the future was rather disappointing. Perhaps that wasn't supposed to be part of the book. I can't help but think, though, that, even if homo sapiens exists 3 million years in the future, the society, art, and architecture would be so different that it would be like meeting an alien race. I freely admit I could be wrong about this. ConclusionA World Out Of Time is worth a read if you're wanting a good old sci-fi adventure with some hard science thrown into the mix. If you're not a sci-fi fanatic, then you'll want to give this one a pass, though.
What do You think about A World Out Of Time (1986)?
part 2/9 - Fatally ill guy gets frozen, gets new body in the future. I thought it would be grisly, but then he gets into space. Woohoo! Kind of funny. Not that many characters so far. For an Sffaudio recording on Sunday. I'm still hoping to discuss 'The Soft Weapon' short story someday (was adapted in the Star Trek cartoon), but there's no audio version yet.I finished it quickly for a discussion on Sffaudio. As usual in these things, I liked the outer space parts more than the on the ground in primitive societies parts. A couple of orgies didn't hurt. Based on his classic short story, Rammer. No, the kindle book doesn't have page numbers. If you want a healthy dose of physics in your sf, Niven is for you. Although all his books seem to have the same kind of spaceship propulsion, the Bussard ramjet.
—Tamahome
I read "A World Out of Time" right after I read "Stranger in a Strange Land," and though it may be sci fi blasphemy, I enjoyed "A World Out of Time" much, much more.This book is pieced together from some of Niven's short stories--the first few chapters are really just his short story "Rammer," but in "World," Niven expands upon the semi-unwilling starship captain's rebellions journey, describing his return from his near-suicidal relativity trip around the black hole at the center of the galaxy and his return to a now unfamiliar Earth several million years later than he planned. Niven does a bang-up job describing the confusion of our displaced protagonist, trying to figure out what happened to Earth during his long absence and figure out how to survive in the world that has adapted without him. Society has pretty well broken down, so there are a lot of questions that never get answers, there are language barriers that are never quite overcome, and our hero has to spend quite a bit of time fumbling around with the remnants of technology he doesn't understand, which is pretty charming. Some of the technology is familiar from some of his short works (teleportation booths, lazarus booths), so if you want a better idea of how things work in his future vision of Earth, I'd recommend "A Hole in Space," which is a collection of short stories that seems to fill in some of the numerous gaps in Earth's history that "World" leaves. All in all, it's a quick read, fun and adventure-y, and has some interesting ideas on tech and the way society will develop. Thumbs up.
—Jessica Clare
I think I'm going to have to give up on Niven. I thought I'd read one or two of his books that I really liked, but maybe I'm thinking of some other writer.A World Out of Time started off pretty well, with the very intriguing concept of bringing cryogenically frozen patients back to life by transplanting their personalities into convicted felons whose punishment is essentially being turned into empty vessels for other personalities to take over.It continues to be an interesting read during the main character's journey into the future on a spaceship. But when he returns to earth 3 million years in the future to a very changed Earth, that's when the story falls apart. The two halves of the book really have nothing at all to do with each other, and I found myself just wanting to get through to the end so I could go on to something else.Didn't like the characters, the plot was disjointed, choppy and often felt like some kind of science fiction keystone cops with people racing around all over the place searching for something they weren't even sure really existed.Wouldn't recommend it.
—Patti
