Rating: 
Summary: Echoes in Time, a disapointment
Review: After reading "Firehand", I was really looking forward to reading "Echoes in Time". "Firehand" was a continuation of the characters I had grown up reading. When "Echoes" came out I was looking forward to more of the same. Not So. Anyone who had read "Galactic Derelict" would have some pretty serious questions as to how we could have arrived at the story of "Echoes". And where was Andre Norton as her characters were being cut up into minor background players? I could detect no trace of her hand in this. This story did nothing to answer the questions of the much older story and left considerable questions to be answered from its own content. Like, what just happened? Even rereading it with the mindset of letting it stand on its own did'nt help. All in all a very confusing mish-mash of a story that never would have been purchased but for it's connection to Norton and her older stories. Sherwood Smith was quite good in the Solar Queen stories and I expected better this time around. Oh well, I suppose you can't get it right every time. Will I continue to look forward to more of these collaberations? Yes. I'll just look at them with more of a caveat from now on. And who knows, maybe Sherwood Smith will improve as a comfort level with the characters develops.
Rating: 
Summary: so so
Review: All I can say is that I read it, it had a good plot, but personally I thought it could have used a little work.
Rating: 
Summary: Marvelous Update
Review: Around scifi conventions I've heard FIREHAND referred to as so godawful it's the perfect example of why not to buy a collaboration, and after looking at its cliche romance, its pointless plot and stupid villains, I had to agree, so I avoided these collaborations until I was given this one.I really like how the authors have upgraded the fifties science of the old ones, and given the characters some complexity. Even the bad contributions from Griffin were included and given some life. I hope there will be more.
Rating: 
Summary: Derelict in Time
Review: For those who have read and enjoyed the early Time Trader books (The Time Traders, Galactic Derelict, The Defiant Agents, and Key Out of Time), this book will be an enjoyable extension, with just enough difference in emphasis to remind the reader that this is no longer Ms. Norton writing alone. After some (somewhat slow) preliminaries that help re-establish this series into a somewhat more modern time frame of post-Cold War, the story picks up the loose ends left by Galactic Derelict, with a new expedition to the final destination of that book. Although their ostensible mission is to find the missing members of an earlier Russian exploration team, the book quickly turns to unraveling the mystery of how and why all the current time denizens of the planet appear to be devolved representatives of earlier highly civilized species. The is the best aspect of this book, as in working out the mystery, there are some fascinating portrayals of multiple different species working within an overall society that may be the ultimate in enforced harmony. There is far more emphasis here on the real sciences of the cultural, anthropological, linguistic and biological variety than was present in the original books, and the basic plot provides for quite a bit of suspense and surprise, invigorating this tale with page-turning expectations. The mind-twisting consequences of time travel are reasonably worked out here, although without really answering the basic paradox inherent in time travel capabilities. What isn't quite as good is the basic characterizations, usually one of Norton's stronger points. Ross Murdock and Gordon Ashe don't quite seem to be the people they were in the earlier books, and most of the Russian contingent seem very sketchily drawn. Murdock's relationship with his new wife Eveleen seems very artificial. However, Saba, a new character for this book, is very competently drawn, and she pretty much carries the book. Stylistically, this book tends to more complex vocabulary and sentence structure than Ms. Norton normally uses, which I have to attribute to her collaborator. This added complexity seems to help add some muscle and a believable tone to the story. A competent tale and a worthy new entry to the Time Trader series, a series that helped establish Norton as one of the premier writers in the SF field long before women writers became fashionable. --- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Rating:
Summary: Far Better than Expected
Review: I fell in love with Ross Murdoch many years ago as he snarled his way through TIME TRADERS. (I was fourteen; he was eighteen, or there about...a romance made in scifi heaven. Don't tell my husband!) I always greeted his reappearance in the sequels in Norton's Time Travel series with joyous daydreams. I thought he was rather sulky in KEY OUT OF TIME but I forgave him. FIREHAND, the book prior to ECHOES IN TIME, was a good read, if a bit poorly paced. Ross had finally grown up, matured and, in the end, married. It wasn't me, and I thought her rather cool but as I was a grandmother by this time, what could I do but bid Ross Godspeed and good luck. I was unaware that some evil power was planning to feature my hero in a BAD BOOK! ECHOES, unfortunately, takes all of FIREHAND'S weaknesses and magnifies them. The pacing is terrible; the plot can't decide whether it's about a marriage or a space adventure; and unlike, FIREHAND, I didn't like alot of the other characters. Which leaves me to wonder: how much of this was written by Norton and how much by Smith? Ms. Norton, if you're going to bequeath my Ross Murdoch to another author, please find one that can WRITE.
Rating: 
Summary: How dare they do this to my ROSS!
Review: I fell in love with Ross Murdoch many years ago as he snarled his way through TIME TRADERS. (I was fourteen; he was eighteen, or there about...a romance made in scifi heaven. Don't tell my husband!) I always greeted his reappearance in the sequels in Norton's Time Travel series with joyous daydreams. I thought he was rather sulky in KEY OUT OF TIME but I forgave him. FIREHAND, the book prior to ECHOES IN TIME, was a good read, if a bit poorly paced. Ross had finally grown up, matured and, in the end, married. It wasn't me, and I thought her rather cool but as I was a grandmother by this time, what could I do but bid Ross Godspeed and good luck. I was unaware that some evil power was planning to feature my hero in a BAD BOOK! ECHOES, unfortunately, takes all of FIREHAND'S weaknesses and magnifies them. The pacing is terrible; the plot can't decide whether it's about a marriage or a space adventure; and unlike, FIREHAND, I didn't like alot of the other characters. Which leaves me to wonder: how much of this was written by Norton and how much by Smith? Ms. Norton, if you're going to bequeath my Ross Murdoch to another author, please find one that can WRITE.
Rating:
Summary: Far Better than Expected
Review: I had misgivings about reading this, as most of these dual author things are a disappointment. The previous one, FIREHAND, was terrible! This author was a far better match with Ms. Norton. The world was fascinating, and the characters finally took on some dimension. As for the writing, it was a relief to get away from the embarrassing cliches of FIREHAND. The pacing was slow, because there was so much explaining about past stories, but once that was over, and they got to the planet, it really picked up speed. I will buy any other books by these two authors.
Rating:
Summary: Echoes in Time
Review: I have been enjoying Andre Norton since 1964.I love her story telling.This book trashed the Time Traders stories.The story does not deal with the people that I've come to know in Andre Norton's stories but Sherwood Smith's own little people who have taken over. After PM Griffin I had great hope for these adventures. But if Sherwood Smith(three times I've tried) name is on anymore of Andre Norton's books I will not buy them.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Update
Review: I usually avoid these collaborations because I've found them so disappointing in the past, but I love Norton's work, and I recently discovered Sherwood Smith's work, so I gave this one a try. So glad I did! The aliens are fascinating, but even better, there are no obvious bad guys. Everyone has a real motivation, even the evil old Baldies! This is one collaboration that makes both writers look good.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous Update
Review: I was really disappointed in this book. I loved all of Andre Norton's original Time Traders stories. This one took half the book to just get the story started! Not like my old Andre Norton at all. Spare me any more of these!
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