Time Is the Simplest Thing - Clifford D. Simak Book Review

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Review Summary

The Fishhook is an organization, based in Mexico, employing people with paranormal kinetics (PK). Man has given up interstellar journeys because of his physiological frailty and explores the galaxy with his mind, the mind of the PK's, who, with the help of a machine, are able to visit alien planets. One day, Blaine, one of the Fishhook's top explorers, accidentally trades mental abilities with an alien creature during his mental journey just before coming back to Earth.

As soon as Blaine is back, he decides to run away from the Fishhook's headquarters because he knows that this organization reserves a special treatment to the explorers who come back contaminated from their journey. During his flight through the U.S., Blaine will have opportunities to experiment the new mental powers the alien has added to his mind; now, he can control time, a faculty which will help him to escape not only the Fishhook's hunters but also the normal people, the ones who don't have paranormal kinetics. These people form the majority of the Earth population and consider the PK's to be magicians or sorcerers. Blaine's intention is to reach Hamilton, a city only inhabited by PK's where he could find a relative security.
Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar

Detailed literary breakdown of Time Is the Simplest Thing

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30%

Tone of book - depressing/sad
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Repressive society story Yes
Lifeform altered? Yes
Kind of alteration: - Given added abilities
Who's a slave/repressed? - discrim against people with mental powers

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - explorer
Age: - 20's-30's
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - mind reading
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - an organization
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a substantial amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters

Setting
Earth setting: - medium future 22-24th century
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - empty, or nearly empty world
Takes place on Earth? Yes
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more descript than dialog

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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