Book Review: The Gate of Time – Philip José Farmer

This is a book review of The Gate of Time by Philip José Farmer. Imagine three airmen in the height of combat during WWII displaced into an alternate Earth, and that is the core of this 1966 book. Alternate Earths are not unusual in science fiction, but then many writers don’t have the skill that Philip José Farmer had.

Sci-Fi literature from the 1960s and earlier in the 20th Century can’t rely on as much ‘techno-babble’ as current authors can – the story as any good sci-fi story should be, is about the characters and in this case the dramatic changes around them and how they adjust.

Many writers plunge people in alternate Earths similar to our own, but slightly off, whereas Philip José Farmer was more ambitious. His Earth wasn’t about a difference such as a war being lost instead of won, or another person hadn’t existed, but in this case the difference was Earth itself developing differently, such as different sea levels and thus some land mass missing and the impact upon humanity.

This saw our trio of characters, two U.S. Military airmen and a German pilot being plunged into a world with different civilizations, motivations and at times different moral values. Is this an opportunity or this a struggle to return home, to their own Earth?

The book does has a strong focus on War, but that was a good backdrop for the characters. What does the civilizations, who are caught in bitter rivalry and wars, make of these humans from elsewhere, especially as the trio hold knowledge of technology, that hasn’t been created in the alternate Earth?

The book primarily follows the main character Roger Two Hawks one of the U.S. airmen, and for the reader he is the grounding, the lightning rod in which the readers can gauge the affects this alternate Earth has upon a strong willed person pulled out of their reality, and follow his journey.

Which leads me to the book title ‘The Gate of Time’, which to be honest I thought was slightly off the mark, as it wasn’t about time travel at all, which you would be forgiven for thinking, upon seeing the title, but regardless if you do happen to like time travel books, which this book is not about, you hopefully should enjoy this alternate Earth story.

One of the best parts of the this story, was the twist in the story left to the end, which I didn’t see coming. It was a sort of ‘wow’ factor for me, which gave the book a ‘lift’, even when the story was being wrapped up.

I hugely enjoyed reading this book.