Bridgehead by David Drake is a reprint of a 20 year old book and the first book written by Drake that I’ve read. There might be some spoilers ahead, but considering that the title of the book itself is a bit of a spoiler it might not be a problem…
The book is a quick and easy read and I quite like the overall writing style of the author. It’s too bad that this particular story feels a bit dated. The technology descriptions are pretty decent but there are some parts at the end where it becomes very apparent that the science labs aren’t equipped with modern computers and networking. The basic storyline is that at a Professor and his grad students have built a time machine that physically transports people and objects back in time. They were told how to build by a trio that calls themselves the Travelers who claim that they come from a Utopian society 10 000 years in the future. The Travelers have come back in time to make sure that the time machine that is crucial for the development of their perfect future is invented (yes, thinking about this classic time travel paradox might make your head hurt). This is of course not quite true; as the blurb on the back of the book ominously states: “The future isn’t peaceful. The past is not the past.”.
I did enjoy the book, but on the same level as you might enjoy a mediocre movie – a nice way to spend a few hours but it will be quickly forgotten. After being spoilt by reading the works of excellent writers like Peter F Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds etc this book is simply isn’t very good. My rating is 2 out of 5 stars.
Edit: I stumbled upon Drake’s own description of the book, it was an interesting read. Check it out here.