The Time Traders by Andre Norton

DRAFTED INTO THE ARMY OF TIME

Intelligence agents have uncovered something which seems beyond belief, but the evidence is incontrovertible: the USAs greatest adversary on the world stage is sending its agents back through time! And someone or something unknown to our history is presenting them with technologies -- and weapons -- far beyond our most advanced science. We have only one option: create time-transfer technology ourselves, find the opposition's ancient source...and take it down.

Definitely a book which shows its age; I've not read a lot of classic science fiction, but what I have read seems to be quite shallow in terms of character development and this book is the same. I actually thought during the last plot arc that this could have made quite an entertaining film, because films can get away with less characterisation. Overall, a decent plot, decent world building, and a mildly enjoyable read.

An entertaining opening for a series. I can see time travel and alien space ships all rolled into one story arc, appealing to young readers. The edition I read was revised by the author, updating the story with real world events like the US landing on the moon.

Let's send criminals back in time to steal alien technology to end the Cold War! Dang. I almost made it sound interesting.

I had a lot of trouble getting through this book, especially given how short it is. I've never read Andre Norton before, though I knew a little about her life going into this book and think she was an amazing person who did so very much for the genre. Still, I think I might have been better off starting with her fantasy. A dated feel to sci-fi can really ruin it, and the actions of the characters are often nonsensical from a modern perspective. I never really bonded with any of the characters, and that made it a real struggle. I did enjoy the inclusion of a P.O.V. Native American character who was actually really well rounded and not at all stereotypical (again, Andre Norton did a LOT for the genre), but it just wasn't enough to hook me. I see how this set standards for time travel fiction, and its influence is obviously very wide, but it just didn't connect with me.