Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait
(A Spider Webb Novel)
You’ll be shocked and surprised to learn what lies at the end of time!
Relish the conundrums of time travel in this story of a man attempting to both solve a mystery and come to terms with his life.
“K. A. Bedford delivers by focusing less on the “wow” factor (and more) on the social-implications factor.” — The Harrow“This is a … life.
“K. A. Bedford delivers by focusing less on the “wow” factor (and more) on the social-implications factor.” — The Harrow
“This is a gotta-read, with some thoughtful concepts to ponder.” — Pam Allen, ConNotations
“Bedford is funny in a crazed, Rudy Rucker kind of way. While Rucker writes of gonzo theorists, Bedford writes of the gonzo mechanics who keep the machines running.” — Fred Cleaver, Denver Post
Winner of the Australian Aurealis Award
If you enjoy Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy but crave something more sci-fi, with fewer goofy antics, you’ll appreciate Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait.
In the future, Aloysius “Spider” Webb will journey to the End of Time.
For now, he must be content with repairing broken time machines, rebuilding his life and avoiding the lunatic antics of his boss, Dickhead McMahon.
Spider’s life is status quo until he discovers inside a broken second-hand time machine, the corpse of a brutally murdered woman from the future. The Department of Time and Space steps in to manage the situation — leaving Spider asking a lot of questions that only lead to more questions; unsettling evidence, brewing trouble, and the knowledge that Spider himself might be involved in an epic battle for control of time itself.
Will his knowing the future be a curse or a blessing? and will Spider Webb really find out how things turn out before they happen? With his new found knowledge, who can Spider trust?
One thing is certain: it will all happen before the End of Time!
About the Author:
K. A. Bedford lives in Perth, Western Australia. All of his novels have been shortlisted for the Aurealis Award for Best Australian Science Fiction Novel, and he has twice won, for Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait, which was also shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick Award, and Eclipse.
- Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait (A Spider Webb Novel) was subsequently released in Australia by Fremantle Press after its initial success in North America.
- Paradox Resolution (A Spider Webb Novel) won the Australian Tin Duck Award.
Bedford attended Curtin and Murdoch Universities, where he studied Writing, Theater, and Philosophy.
Other books by K. A. Bedford:
- Orbital Burn
- Eclipse
- Hydrogen Steel
- Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait (A Spider Webb Novel)
- Paradox Resolution (A Spider Webb Novel)
Praise:
“The local Western Australia ambiance provides a unique perspective that is quite consistent with the gonzo aspects of the story. Bedford has created a science-fiction novel that is sure to please most SF fans.” — D. Douglas Fratz, Sci-Fi
“The premise is not only is time travel common place, it’s treated like any other vacation spot. The equipment is cheap enough that one can often find good deals on time machines on Ebay. But the book doesn’t rest on one plot device but manages to pull off suspense mystery and intrigue. I am liking it despite myself!” — Paul, Reader
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Don’t waste your time. Tedious and overly cognitive. The setup is good and could have been interesting, but….
Original premise and fast paced. Very enjoyable
The book starts off nicely but bogs down about halfway and never recovers. I gave it a 2 because someone with time to waste might be be okay with it. Otherwise it would be a 1.
I thought the story was great–I love time travel, and I liked the way this was developed. I really wanted to continue reading it, but just didn’t like the language. Those who don’t mind may find it to be a well-told story. It seemed to be heading that way.
Had promise early on but I got bored with it and quit reading.
I liked the time travel theme done with very little theory, a method that reflected the perspective of the main character. Some of the exposition was a bit drawn out, so don’t be afraid to read rapidly on occasion – you won’t miss any good humor or important plot twists. Overall, I found it a great evening diversion.
First: great writing. It’s sooo nice to read an author who can do more than just subject/verb structure and Bedford does a wonderful job with sentence structure. He does, unfortunately, make the usual errors of grammar: “…to try and…” is always incorrect (“She wants to try to go”, not “She wants to try and go”). Dealing with time travel and all of the paradoxes thereof is difficult, but Bedford does a fine job handling all of that and explaining it all to the reader in a most entertaining fashion. He also has a great way of tossing in humor and social issues and dealing with them through the eyes of his protagonist in satisfactory and realistic way.
I usually give a book the first three chapters to get interested, if it cannot do that, I move on to the next one. Bedford had me with the first chapter. The book is both fun to read and thought provoking on a number of levels. I highly recommend (at least) giving the first three chapters a read. You’ll be happy you did.
Confusing and gloomy plot, reviews had suggested it was humorous but I didn’t find much fun or humor. Quit about halfway thru and scanned a bit in later chapters
It is just time travel, what could go wrong!
Thought provoking! Great read and strong character development. Can’t wait to read another of Bedford’s books!
This book was hard to read and very very slow. could not get attached to any of the characters or the plot. I only got half way thru and gave it up. Just could not keep any interest in the story.
Where’s “confusing”, “too dark”, “repetitive”, “unsatisfying”?
Interesting version of this world with time travel. Makes you want to know what happened next. I read it all in one shot, couldn’t put it down.