KILLING TIME by Caleb Carr
Random House, 2000
Author Caleb Carr has created a horrible vision of the future. The world's ecology has been
destroyed, entire oceans are vast toxic dumps, and United Nations forces battle with insurgents
to protect the last vestiges of the great tropical rain-forests from their owners. The people,
traumatized by economic upheaval, seem sedated by the information overload provided by the
Internet. The group Gideon joins attempts to prove the dangers of the Internet by foisting huge
hoaxes on the credulous world but, to their dismay, only seem to make things worse.
At times, KILLING TIME is more reminiscent of Jules Verne (our Free Science Fiction page
contains links to several public domain Verne novels) than of more modern dystopian futuristic
novels. Gideon and his associates travel in a huge vehicle that can convert from hovering craft
to ultrasonic flyer to submarine at a moment's notice. Carr's choice of having most of the novel
told as a reminiscence adds to the archaic tone.
KILLING TIME represents a strong cry against the Internet, internationalization, and commerce
in general. Gideon is an effectively drawn character, torn between his love for a young assassin
and his growing realization that his own group is doing more harm than good. Carr is an
effective writer and presents a compelling and dangerous future. Except for Gideon, however,
few of his characters develop beyond superficial character tags. In KILLING TIME, the plot and
message, rather than the characters, are the story.
Two Stars
Purchase KILLING TIME from Amazon.com. (Available in hardback.)
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In the near-future, psychiatrist Gideon Wolfe discovers evidence that much of what the world
'knows' to be true is the result of a systematic and deliberate sabotage. Even a recent
presidential assassination was covered up, with the true killer's identity veiled to prevent a
conflict with a U.S. trading partner. When he investigates, his friend is killed and Gideon flees
for his life, finding a group that is battling the destructive forces of the Internet and
internationalization.
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