TIME AND TOMORROW

Reviewed 4/22/2010

Time and Tomorrow, by John D. MacDonald
Cover art by Christoph Blumrich
TIME AND TOMORROW
John D. MacDonald
New York: Nelson Doubleday, 1951 / 1980

Rating:

5.0

High

ISBN-13 ?
ASIN: B01LEL4QZI (1950)
ASIN: B0006F7STU (1980)
504p. HC $5.95

This book is so old it has no ISBN. And, because it is a Science Fiction Book Club edition, it also lacks a Library of Congress catalog number. (But the LOC catalog supplies the number: 96155460. I got the ASIN numbers from Amazon.)

What it does have is three fine stories from the pen of mystery writer John D. MacDonald, creator of the 21-volume series featuring hard-boiled detective Travis McGee. MacDonald is one of the few mainstream writers to have a fan site on the Web. (Another is Richard McKenna.) As far as I know these are the only science-fiction tales he wrote. Long-time viewers of my Web site know I read Wine of the Dreamers decades ago; it was a pleasure to read it again (and to straighten out the conflation of some of its details with another story.) Here is a brief excerpt that struck me as having a humorous resonance with current headlines.

"What's the matter with them?" Bard demanded. "They stand down there in the street and just stare up at the windows!"

Heinz Lurdorff grinned. "You must aggustom yourself to being the high briest of what is bractically a new religion."

"It makes me nervous," Brad said. "And those phone calls make me nervous. That woman who called up this afternoon and called me the Anti-Christ. What was she talking about?"

– Page 138

The woman caller must have confused Bard with President Barack Obama.

Plot Summaries
Wine of the Dreamers © 1951, 1979 Far across the universe there are brothers of man... and some who have taken on the role of father. But as the centuries fled away, so did their wisdom. Now they see the worlds they once guarded as mere illusions, fantasies, dreams, to be toyed with as they like. But the ancient machines function flawlessly still, generation after generation, sending their vagrant wills across the cosmos to touch other minds — to touch, and subdue, and destroy without compunction. Until one day a brother and sister are born who are different...
The Girl, the Gold Watch, & Everything © 1962 Uncle Omar was eccentric — and rich. When he died, he left his nephew Kirby Winter nothing but a pocketwatch, and a letter to be opened in one year's time. But the directors of Omar's company believed he had drained away millions, which fortune was now in the hands of his nephew. And they were not the only ones who thought so...
Ballroom of the Skies © 1952 Darwin Branson crusades for world peace. He has a plan, a risky one in the post-World War 4 world of contending empires and secret deal-making. But with patience, persistence, and the help of his assistant Dake Lorin, he just might pull it off. Then, just on the cusp of cementing the final arrangement, Dake arrives with his guest at Branson's office to find him undoing everything they've worked for. This unaccountable change is merely the first shock. Dake soon finds himself on the run through a world that shows him things so impossible they nearly unseat his reason. Can he last long enough to figure out what's going on? At the last minute, he gets a little help — which leads to greater mysteries...

In these three novels of science-fiction, MacDonald seems to enjoy making use of psionics, of mental contact and control, even of levitation and telekinesis — as opposed to high-tech hardware like force shields and transporter beams. This last of his three tales makes use of the full panoply of psi powers. Though it's been long years since I read E. E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series, I'd even say it outdoes those iconic examples in the psi department.

One thing these enhanced capabilities do not do, however, is alter the behavior of the humans who possess them. Indeed, on this behavioral constancy the plot twist of "Ballroom of the Skies" depends. (No, I won't reveal it here.) No matter; these are all cracking good reads. Recommended.

Since MacDonald is not around to note any corrections, it seems pointless to record errata for these three stories. In any case there are not many errors. On page 106 he refers to the Secretary of War. This no doubt is an oversight because on page 109 the correct title, Secretary of Defense, appears. On page 85, when a character says her name is Leesa, the reply is, "Very odd name." Especially when followed by "Gibbons," eh?1 And on page 272, there's a reference to a televised drama about a department store dummy who comes to life, starring "Ann Francis." This was a real Twilight Zone episode, starring that actress — except her name is "Anne Francis."2 Speaking of unusual names, MacDonald names another character "Patrice Torgelson." Google doesn't find that name, but it comes close: Patrice Torgerson O'Hanlon. Also there's a Trina Torgelson. (He describes his Torgelson character as "a tall, warmly built Viking girl." Warmly built? The meaning of that does not quite come across.)

And some of MacDonald's fictional names have eerie resonances with real people. Examples are Stephen Chu (page 359) and New York Governor LePage (page 137) — although the real Paul LePage (Republican global warming Denialist) just won the governorship of Maine in November 2010.

1 Leeza (with a "z") Gibbons (blonde, not brunette) is a talk show host and Alzheimer's disease activist.
2 The Twilight Zone episode is The After Hours. Ms. Francis plays Marsha White, a mannequin who, granted one month to live as a human, forgets her true identity until she chances to re-enter the store. Anne Francis was best known as the detective "Honey West" in the TV series of the same name (1965-66). In a long career, she also starred in one of the classic films of science fiction, Forbidden Planet (1956).
3 The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything was made into a 1980 TV movie starring Robert Hays, Pam Dawber, Maurice Evans, and Jill Ireland.
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