Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Science Fiction
Review: This book is what science fiction is all about melding the science of tomorrow with an exciting fictional story. This one of those rare science fiction book that makes you think even long after you finish reading it. The more we learn about quantum physics the less that seems undoable or unimaginable. This book looks at the issue of time travel in a whole new light. It also deals with the social impacts of technology. Today you see teens dealing with life much differently than the generations before them. This book does a great job of showing the potential social impacts of a technology that lets people see all. I'm a bit biased Clarke fan, having enjoyed all his works I've read thusfar. This book continues the run. I strongly recommend you give this book a read. Though I haven't read it yet (it wasn't quite out when I wrote this review) you may want to also look at the next book these two fine authors have written Time's Eye.
Rating: 
Summary: Chicken Soup For The Brain
Review: This was a well executed concept. Clarke and Baxter do an excellent job exploring the social, cultural, and political consequences of life-changing techology. The reason for four instead of five stars: the characters, as with many works of sci-fi, are extremely flat and static. I didn't really care about them. Also, for anyone with a modest background in Quantum Mechanics, the science behind the invention will seem rather transparent, i.e. too farfetched to be plausible. BUT, the end of the novel is very satisfying. The concepts and propositions explored are absolutely fascinating. If you're a deep thinker--one of those people who loves to ponder the Big Questions--you will undoubtedly enjoy this.
Rating:
Summary: Great,, with Misgivings.
Review: The science extrapolations are phenomenal, but unlike some of the other reviewers, I found the foundational theories in the early chapters too vague to be plausible. Also, although I do not fear to question religion, experience has made me a mystic. Clearly Jesus was a mystic, as well as Mohammed and numerous others. I wonder why the authors did not explore Mohammed. (I doubt they were honoring his adamant demand that no likenesses be made of him and that no one re-enact him.) Speculation on the Vedas could have been fodder, too.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent novel
Review: I was surprised by the greatness of this frequently-overlooked book. I have long been a fan of Sir Arthur C. Clarke, having read nearly everything in his vast canon, beginning in my freshman year in high school. It was his writing that ignited my long-time passion for science fiction. With this in mind, I had long stayed away from the various "Arthur C. Clarke and..." books, scared off by the many negative reviews and not wanting to tarnish my opinion of a legend and one of my favorite authors. Indeed, this very book was sitting on my bookshelf, unread, for over a year before I recently finally decided to tackle it, owing to a lack of other materials to read. I am ashamed that I waited so long. This is a truly excellent book. As the authors themselves readily admit in the Afterward, the concept of a time viewer is not a novel one in science fiction, though it is one that has not been overdone, as have many other SF scenarios and plot devices. This brilliant novel uses the concept of a time viewer -- a device which, as originally designed, could merely see through walls -- to comment upon many different things: corporate ethics, organized religion (a subject that has long been anathema, if you will pardon the pun, to Clarke's agile mind), privacy, government and the citizen's role in it, the moral responsibility of scientists, many aspects of history, and much more. The discovery of such a device, as anyone can see, would drastically alter the course of human society forevermore -- whether for good or for ill, no one, as yet, can say. I, personally, find the Clarke/Baxter vision to be somewhat too optimistic -- but, who knows, it may be closer to the truth than my more cynical outlook. Clarke, as anyone who has read him knows, has always been optimistic about technology's ability to inspire, unite, and help mankind, in stark contrast to seeming Luddites such as Huxley and Vonnegut; anyone who has read his early essays on communications, a field in whose modern creation he played no small part, can hardly help but to agree with him, despite what has happened since. One gets the feeling that Clarke, one of the ablest minds of our times and one of the greatest stars of post-WWII literature, who tesifies that he is still an optimist because he still believes that Man has a 51% chance of survival -- "some days it gets a high as 51%, some days as low as 50.5%, but never below 50%" -- is too good for this world. Hopefully, the afterlife, something which Clarke may or may not believe in, will be, for him, on a much better planet that is more deserving of him. Alas... The authors use the concept of the time viewer to comment -- speculatively, of course, but very thoughtfully -- on various historical events and persons, ranging from Abraham Lincoln sexuality to Albert Einstein's dying words* to the Crusades to Moses to Jesus Christ Himself. The chapter on the latter figure is one of the book's more interesting: it makes for very good reading, and is highly compelling, thoughtful, and, above all, respectful. Like many atheists and agnostics, Clarke retains a very high degree of respect for the historical Jesus. The book's characters come across as genuinely human and quite believable: I actually felt empathy for them. One gets the feeling that this is more the work of Baxter than Clarke, as the latter has often been accused of writing flat, wooden characters. That said, some of the human aspects of the plot are a bit too soap opera-y, especially for science fiction -- again, probably the work of Baxter -- though it never degenerates to the level that Clarke's collaborations with Gentry Lee sometimes did. Regardless of who did the majority of the writing -- I read an article saying that it was written mostly by Baxter, using Clarke's 8-page outline as a starting point, with them throwing ideas back and forth all throughout the entire process, with Clarke, by virtue of his expertise and connections, doing some research on the side -- the writing is quite good throughout. The prose is often highly poetic and beautiful, much in the style of Clarke's best work, particularly the last chapter and the epilogue. It uses many literary touchstones made famous by such writers as Philip K. Dick, Kurt Vonnegut, and, of course, Clarke himself. The ending is absolutely mind-blowing: completely unexpected, it is immensely interesting and thought-provoking, and sets the entire novel in a heretofore unexpected light. It is a grand, epic ending in the traditon of Clarke's Childhood's End, which is referenced in the Afterward as a previous exploration of the time viewer, along with Clarke's short story The Parasite, which, he has said elsewhere, served as the basis for this novel. Overall, an immensely rewarding book that I recommend to anyone who is a fan of Mr. Clarke -- and who isn't? Do not be discouraged by the negative reviews you may have seen of this book or of his other collaborations; once again, I repeat, IF YOU LIKE ARTHUR C. CLARKE, YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO READ THIS BOOK. I had not previously read anything by Baxter, but that situation will soon be rectified. A modern hard SF giant, The Light of Other Days is a crowning achievement of contemporary science fiction. *=If anyone can translate the word that the dying Einstein utters in this novel, please e-mail it to me,... Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Predictive of future
Review: Since I am a techie, the content of this book did not surprise me at all. In the aftermath of 9/11, the book's premise becomes more predictive, since local and national USA authorities are going to use video monitoring, pattern recognition, and databases to essentially accomplish what Mr. Clarke's book predicts: soon, we will all be on display. Besides this, anyone who is familiar with the current state of the art of web cams and wireless technology will see that the social prediction embedded in the book is absolutely possible and starting to happen now. So, I'd say the 'event horizon' of the book is too close to 'now' to make it a far reaching piece of writing. But, as with the satellite predictions of Mr. Clarke in earlier years, the book does in my view accurately state the effect on society of it's knowing that everyone is on display all the time, and the book accurately indicates that the young will adapt to this new exhibitionism to an easier extent than those who are older. Visit any web cam site on the web for proof of this point. Worm holes might equate to wireless lans and the 'net in this novel.
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Rating: 
Summary: too bored to go on
Review: Second co-written book of Clarkes that fell short. I was so bored with this. Seems theres no real reason for this book other then for publicity. Everything is flat except for the over the top mathamatics. I love hardcore sci-fi but if Clarke and Baxter wanted to write a text book, then thats what they should have done. Not hide their views and ideas behind a weak and inferior story. Ill keep catching up with Clarkes past books, but this new stuff is pointless and unimaginative.
Rating:
Summary: freaked me out...
Review: I pretty much agree with "Boiler95" on this point... the technology in this story advances and becomes public WAY too quickly. I also agree with Bill testerman that the characters are a bit hollow. But the true magic behind the book is the ideas. When I finally finished it, I couldn't stop thinking about what it all meant. "Holy crud! If this meant this... then that would mean THAT!" There is a lot to think about. Another great aspect is that the technology seems real. There is one point in the book that actually made me stop reading and look around my room in wonder if it could actually be possible. Messed me up for the rest of the night. The ending is really cool. Very satisfying. And there is a slight twist as well. Maybe even a couple of them if you really start to think about everything. It's a very easy read. The technology didn't confuse me. I understood what was going on. This book is not heavy on drama in the usual sense. It's a THINKING drama. It's the facts that push things along and keep things tense. Not so much the emotion.
Rating:
Summary: Should have been better
Review: The premise of this book is interesting. Imagine a technology based on quantum mechanics that allows the viewing across time and space. First, there is no privacy and no secrets. How would society react to that? Second, imagine the technology allows the same access to the past. Did Jesus exist? Was Lincoln an idealist or a pragmatist? Within this intersting premise the authors use a shotgun approach to examine/trivialize the environment, religion, and a myriad of other subjects. The book is not focused (a typical problem with many cooperative ventures). Also, the book seems to be written to a high-school reader. An interesting story torpedoed by unfocused writting.
Rating:
Summary: NOT GOOD
Review: I thought the book to be way to confusing. I could not understand all of the different "worm holes" "worm cams" and stuff. I was really disapointed. I am also not a very big fan of sci-fiction which may of also contributed to my thoughts about the book. Not a imagination catcher.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting concept that gets you thinking
Review: If you can get past the author's outright hostility towards religion of any kind and you like good, hard science fiction, then you will like this book. What would it be like if everyone on the planet lost all sense of privacy all at once? That is the general premise of the book. It provides an interesting look into how people interact, pursue relationships, manipulate one another, and can sometimes band together for the common good. There is a significant under-current of anti-religion in the book that never really disappears. Some people who are religious might find this stance offensive, but if you overlook it, you will find an good story about how we relate to one another. I also question some of the science/economics of the book. Technological advances make their way into economically viable production much to quickly. Just look at history and you will see that the timeframe from concept to laboratory to production is a very long one reguardless of the potential. However, I take this with a grain of salt, considering the story would get lost somewhat if the main characters changed as time progessed. All in all, I thought this was an entertaining book that gets you to think about how people relate to each other. Also, hard science fiction lovers will not be disappointed by the technology introduced and the applications that drive the story.
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