Time Future
   Maxine McArthur
   (Associate Reviewer-D. H. BROWN)
  1999 Warner Books, NY
    ISBN: 0446609633

The commander of the deep space station Jocasta is blockaded by hostile creatures. Communications & key systems are failing; rations are low & tensions between humans & aliens are at a flashpoint.

What a good start for Maxine McArthur! Seldom do I find in an author's first work the kind of character control that this one brings. She has really captured the cultural shock of first contact & its impact in a near future.

In Time Future this author made me believe in her cultural suppositions of how humans would adapt & react to finding out that not only are we “not alone” but we're really not alone! Where the contact is the revelation of not just another culture & another species, but part of an evolved interaction with a multitude of species where humans are not an equal among equals but are considered a true lesser among lessers with no equals.

I really felt that this author had captured the essence of the adaptability we humans have that allows us to not only adapt & grow into a role but that where we cannot, we're able to adapt as the rats did which traveled in our sailing ships from shore to shore in times past.

I have believed that the only thing a “first contact” would expose us to is our great strength of adapting to any situation, cultural or environmental. This has allowed us to become the top feeder in this world.

From one end of this book to the other, the human characters are able to see their situations' changing advantages & disadvantages. I really like her confrontations of realities. Insofar as what you see is not always what you get & what you get is not always what you think it is. I liked that McArthur allows her characters to think, question & grow.

This reader is looking forward to more from this intriguing author.

Maxine McArthur won the George Turner Prize for Time Future.
(06/24/01)

David
A RebeccasReads.com Senior Staff Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
D. H. BROWN is the author of the critically acclaimed HONOR DUE and the Citizens Warrior Series. The son of missionary parents and with the help his Uncle Sam, he has touched base in more than 40 countries.  In 1986 he produced the independent children's film Lessie's Rainbow.  During the late 80s and early 90s, he wrote the book Common Sense and delivered the seminars of the same name for the Community Action Network of Seattle (CAN).  While doing his early Vietnam recovery work, he counseled Veterans and spoke widely to men's groups in Washington state, and was a founder of The Lodge of the Wolf.

D. H. BROWN has worked as a Logistics and Weapons Specialist in Viet Nam; day laborer; Director of Security; Armored Car Driver; Police Officer; Professional Hunting Guide; Trapper; Dog Sledder; Homesteader; Truck Driver; General Contractor; Minister; Editor; Writer; Speaker; Restaurateur; Movie Producer; Antique Restoration Specialist; Personal Care Worker; PC Repair Specialist; Computer Instructor; Webmaster and Web Designer. "I write about what I know."

He lives deep in the Pacific Northwest rainforest with his wife, author and editor Rebecca and Buddy Dog, working on his next book.
Visit him at: www.dhbrownbooks.com