Nerds That Geek Book Review: 'The End of Eternity'

Written by Scott Edwards

Welcome to Eternity, a group that utilizes time travel to ensure the existence of humanity and also Eternity. Technician Andrew Harlan who is very good at his job moves up the ranks at Eternity, not just based on his performance, but due to the extra efforts he puts into his reporting. Astounded by his knowledge of the past (primitive) times that he has traveled to, Harlan is called into his supervisor's service. Senior Computer Twissell is captivated by what the young technician is able to conjure up on his visits to the primitive times and wants Harlan to pass on his knowledge to his new trainee.

Harlan takes on the training task, teaching the young bearded man on the inner workings of Eternity, taking him on an assignment and showing him how the research into the primitive times could be useful. Nothing out the ordinary occurs until Harlan is handed a new assignment that will turn his life upside down. He is to be sent back to the 24th century, which is not out of the norm, but this time with a companion, a woman companion named Noys Lambert. Trying to remember all of the proper protocols Eternity has put on relationships, Harlan tries to remain distant from the woman, but none the less, the two fall into love.

The End of Eternity is not only a story about time travel, it also focuses on one important aspect of the human condition, love. Asimov gives you a firsthand view of a young man that has never worried about anything but his job before adding the confusion of love into his life, posing the question, how far could and would you go to protect someone you just met, and have completely fallen for? Harlan takes it to the extreme in trying to protect Noys from his superiors at Eternity, hiding her in hidden centuries of time and even challenging the existence of Eternity itself.

If you like science fiction, or even time travel stories, this book is for you and it really is one of the better stand alone novels from Asimov you will read. Asimov even dumbs down all the relative terms and repercussions that time travel can cause with one of the greatest A-B scenarios I have ever had the pleasure of following. For the first book I ever read by the renowned author, I was surprised by how easy the read really was. The good doctor certainly knows how to bring together a story.

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