Rating: 
Summary: Oops, he's done it again
Review: A global (and then some) phenomenon occurs in which earth is suddenly transformed into a patchwork of earth from various points in human history. In other words, most of earth has been suddenly transformed to a time of prehuman hominids, with a few isolated chunks of mankind surviving from the time of recorded history. In what may or may not be a coincidence, two of the mightiest armies of history have been preserved at their peak of power, in the same general region of the world. Humans from the year 2037 find themselves in the camps of Genghis Khan and his Mongolian hordes on one side, and the Macedonian army of Alexander the Great on the other. The book climaxes with an enormous battle between the two forces, with the fate of the new world hanging in the balance. With the battle over, the basic problem still remains: what the hell happened to earth, and can it be undone? Not by the end of the book, apparently, although this is supposed to be the first in a series.
The Good and the Bad:
Arthur Clarke, writing with partner Stephen Baxter, has done it again. He's taken an intriguing premise, thrown in a wide range of interesting characters, and moved the story along at a brisk trot that makes it a page-turner for pretty much anyone. Many of his books appeal to the scientific discovery side of people, but this book is for historian geeks all the way. The what-if nature of the battle between two of mankind's greatest armies is just a pleasure to read, with fine attention being paid to the minute details of war and everyday life for the characters from various eras. A solid idea backed up by solid writing is so rare, and so enjoyable, that I was instantly on the internet looking for the other books in this series. Regrettably, this was just published, so I have a while to wait. Surprisingly, this was written with the same partner who brought us The Lights of Other Days, in which the characters were notably weak. Maybe there were just enough characters here, and enough action, that their shortcomings weren't as obvious or important. One minor quibble: the character of Rudyard Kipling is a little sappy at times, and also keeps quoting incidents from his childhood, as if Clarke just didn't want to see his research go to waste.
What I learned:
Almost nothing about Kipling, surprisingly. Alexander the Great lived 1000 years before Genghis Khan. An up-close look at the dirty, smelly life of a nomadic horse-oriented tribe of warriors. The structure of the army was interesting: everyone was in charge of ten people beneath him, with the top ten reporting to the Khan himself.
Rating:
Summary: Huh? Well... okay...
Review: Alright... I just finished reading this book 3 minutes ago. There was a total of about 50 pages or so that were actually interesting and worthy of having Clarke and Baxter's names attributed to them (although... those pages did make up for a lot). Those hundreds of pages about the battle were relatively pointless. Unless the battle has some sort of mysterious purpose which is shown to us in the next books, the story should have stuck only with the Eyes and kept it more like science fiction and not historical fiction. Light of Other Days was magnificent... the reason for my reading another book by Clarke and Baxter. If you get bored with history, like I do, read the first few chapters... skip 300 or so pages, then read the last few chapters... you will be fine.
Rating: 
Summary: What If?
Review: Because of the many similarities of the premise of this book to 2001, many readers will pick the book up expecting something quite similar and stimulating in the same ways. That expectation would be wrong. Although on the surface the books have similar elements, Time's Eye uses a story-telling technique that focuses much more on bringing incongruities from different periods of history together to imaginatively describe "what if?" You have famous authors (Rudyard Kipling), famous conquerors (Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan), and famous places (Babylon in its prime) brought together in unexpected collisions. It's like running a particle accelerator to collide with something to see what might happen. The book lives or dies by how compelling you find the historical juxtapositions. I personally found them to be mildly interesting . . . but not compelling. The story itself was a little clunky in its plot elements, and I found myself disbelieving the ending. The 2001-like element in the book mostly recedes into the background. Had it been more in the foreground, the book could have been a four-star effort. I loved the idea of including the CD with bonus book and other material. Nice! Perhaps the series will improve in the rest of the book . . . I hope so. The potential for a good story is certainly there.
Rating:
Summary: ideas are non-local
Review: blatant parallel rip-off storyline from Dan Simmons "Ilium" (which is a much better book)....blatant funtional rip-off storyline from his own 2001 series (micro-HAL smartphone.."am I going to dream...")...shame on you Clarke.....anyway, had to read through it to the end as it's still entertaining, in parts.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow...best of both worlds...past & future...
Review: Give it a chance, make up your own mind. I had a horrible time explaining to friends what was different about this book, but now I think I've nailed it, Baxter/Clark have stopped being "professors" and started being "story tellers". I no longer feel as if I need a science text book near by to read a Baxter/Clark book. If you've read any of Baxters recent work you have seen this book coming...he's been, book by book, finding ways to blend our history with our future. PERFECT!!!!!! CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT VOLUME!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Good enough to keep me interested...
Review: I agree with the previous reviewer that indicated a good beginning, good end, but lacking in the middle. The beginning had me very intrigued by the mysterious events unfolding and the mix of characters, both historical and fictitious. However, the story & characters seem to drag a bit after that, with too much emphasis on historical data and detail. The very end does pick up in excitement, as we finally get some clue as to the nature & purpose of the hovering spheres/eyes.
Rating:
Summary: Out there
Review: I love Baxter's writing, but this was out there for me. The CD didn't do much for me and I didn't think about getting the next in the series, although I did finish the book and enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: Great Idea! Okay Book.
Review: I love the premise for Time's Eye. Silver orbs mysteriously appear around the globe at different periods in time. The orbs are then collectively combined, bringing with them their own respective periods. The result is a new earth made like a patch work quilt of time.
In book one a 21st century UN helicopter crash lands yards away from a 19th century British fort in Afghanistan, A Russian space craft is forced to land and confront Genghis Khan, and Alexander the Great marches towards Baghdad, picking up refugees from time along the way. The three stories eventually combine in a fairly satisfying way but we never discover much more about those silver orbs (I assume we will in the following books). Also the very end left me more confused than satisfied.
I've read Clarke before and I've enjoyed his work, it's smart and reads smooth. Time Eye is definitely smart. I loved that the characters weren't motivated by their own stupidity. Everyone does a realistic job of accepting if not totally understanding the situation. However the book seemed a bit choppy and at times awkward to me. In this first book alone we come across, Genghis Khan, Alexander Great, and Rudyard Kipling. I realize that this is what makes time travel stories so much fun, taking real places and people from the past and saying "What if?", but it also seems a bit stale and easy for a writer of Clarke's ability.
The big question is...
Will I buy the next book?...Probably, the series still has steam and a lot of potential. Will I be as hopeful of the next book?...Not so much.
Rating:
Summary: Time's Eye has it!
Review: I loved this book! I was looking for a book about Time Travel, and I have found it. This book has all the elements that I look for: Good Plot, Good Character Development, and Excellent Storytelling. The only thing I have trouble with was the Sable Jones character. I thought her character was a little over the top. For example, Sable was about to be attacked by a seasoned war mongol. The war mongol was probibly ten times stronger then Sable, but Sable "some how" was able to defeat the war mongol. Just a little unrealistic. If you love history, excellent story telling, and are interested in the subject of time travel, then get this book!
Rating:
Summary: Time's Eye has it!
Review: I loved this book. It has all the elements of a great story, great characters, and great suspence. The only part I didn't like was when Sable Jones was being attacked by a seasoned mongol warrior, and she "some how" defeated the mongol. If you love history, science, and great story telling; then get this book!
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