Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2819457 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 272 pages

Amazon.com Review
Paul Levinson's second novel, Borrowed Tides, is an enjoyable read. It has all of the qualities that a good one-chapter-a-night-before-bed novel should have: it's engrossing, educational, and thought provoking without being too heavy. The characters, who are traveling from Mars to Alpha Centauri on humankind's first interstellar voyage with only enough fuel for a one-way trip, are both believable and likeable. And although many of the ideas Levinson deals with--the paradoxes inherent in time travel, the group dynamics of a small crew isolated for a long period of time on a space ship, the applicability of quantum mechanical principles to macroscopic objects, children with special powers--are not new, and could even be considered trite, his handling of them is interesting enough to make revisiting them worthwhile. Levinson's erudition is apparent throughout the novel, and his allusions to Native American legend, the Bible, computer science, political theory, and Western physics and philosophy suggest that he is well versed in each of these disparate fields. Thus, like his first, this novel will be appreciated by hard-core technophiles and more well-rounded science fiction lovers as well. --Diana Gitig

From Publishers Weekly
Politics blends neatly with spirituality in Levinson's provocative second novel (after The Silk Road), about the first manned interstellar flight to a planet in the Alpha Centauri star system. Two septuagenarians, first acquainted in childhood, head the crew: Aaron Schoenfeld, whom the U.S. president has chosen on the strength of his philosophical arguments for space exploration, and Jack Lumet, an anthropologist who has incorporated the mystical teachings of Iroquois Indians into his worldview. It is Lumet's insights into the Indians' beliefs regarding the cyclical nature of travel on river currents extrapolated to a cosmic level that enable a final American commitment to the trip. In order to maintain continued support of space exploration, a live crew that will be able to return must undertake this voyage. Once underway the other seven members of the crew face personal conflicts regarding the validity of the theoretical constructs adapted from spiritual sources. These doubts culminate in an attempted mutiny. None of the events leading up to the revolt fall into genre clich‚s, as all of the characters are well drawn and their motivations are believable. But the real surprises come on reaching the star system after eight years of travel. The author has created an ingenious narrative that loops back on itself like a M”bius strip. Readers will enjoy working through the unexpected paradoxes the characters find themselves in and watching how each character individually chooses to resolve the shared predicament during the journey homeward.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In the mid-21st century, a ship bound for Alpha Centauri sets out to investigate the possibility of intelligent life in deep space. Making use of an untested maneuver that will allow the ship to make the return trip with minimal fuel expenditure, the crew encounters a strange set of phenomena that appear to roll back time and threatens to undo the events of the voyage. Levinson, the current president of the Science Fiction Writers of America, packs his second sf novel (after The Silk Code) with layers of meaning that blend ancient legends with modern science and provides an intriguing glimpse into the mysteries of time and space. For most sf collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Overall Pretty Poor Stuff
This really isn't any good. The story itself had possibilities, but the book falls prey to two major problems: Levinson doesn't write very well, and he doesn't know what he's talking about.

The first problem might be overlooked by science fiction fans of the old school, who don't place terribly high importance on literary style. Levinson's awkward prose and unconvincing dialogue are not particularly bad by space-opera standards.

However, the science in this novel is simply ridiculous. In attempting to use the language and concepts of quantum physics, Mr. Levinson is obviously living far beyond his intellectual means.

Furthermore, I am assured by Native American friends that the "Iroquois" material is even more wildly wrong than the alleged science. And as for the philosophical "profundities", words fail me. It is too bad they did not fail Mr. Levinson.

The Silk Code, despite a silly premise and a tortuous plot, did have its moments. Borrowed Tides is simply awful.

A slow and unfocused read
The local library had this book because it is by a local author; my wife gave me a copy to take on a business trip. I found Borrowed Tides a slow and unfocused read and if I hadn't been stuck in backwoods North Carolina for a couple days I probably wouldn't have finished it.

The characters were not very well developed for the most part -- especially the "kid" with strange power -- and it looks like one character got killed off more for the convenience of the author ( who couldn't figure out what to do next) than for the needs of the plot.

Worse, the ideas seemed borrowed from a lot of new age sources but they were strewn about right and left and they didn't quite connect. ... In fact the ending was the biggest disappointment -- it is definitely a cheat -- almost as bad as one of those "it was all a dream" things.

They tell me the writer is a college professor; perhaps that's why the book is as dry as it is. Fun the book isn't. RH, NY

Slipping
Levinson's quality is slipping in this disapointing second novel. He doesn't seem to know what to do with the story and quickly losses the reader's interest in this novel which could use severe editing.