Rivers of Time

by L. Sprague de Camp

Reginald's 21st-century safari business is struggling... until the invention of the time machine. He quickly begins leading safaris back in time, after the biggest game of all. But taking hunting expeditions back to the age of dinosaurs is very dangerous indeed.

Includes:
• Faunas (1968)
• A Gun for Dinosaur (1956)
• The Cayuse
• Crocamander Quest
• Miocene Romance
• The Synthetic Barbarian
• The Satanic Illusion
• The Big Splash
• The Mislaid Mastodon
• The Honeymoon Dragon

Genres: Science Fiction, Time Travel, Fiction, Dinosaurs, Anthologies, Fantasy, Short Stories

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of non-fiction, including biographies of other fantasy authors. He was a major figure in science fiction in the 1930s and 1940s.

Reviews

[Alec]

I have walked past this book at least 100 times in the library and have thought many times that I should pick it up. I finally gave in and read this. It is a series of short stories about a time-traveling safari business. It is super pulp-y and generally very silly. I cannot really recommend this as a real read, however, I did enjoy it. Also, I'm OBSESSED with the things this book brings up and then never explores, including (but not limited to):

All wild game has been hunted into extinction, and as such, hunters must travel back in time to hunt.

On one safari, the travelers, and I quote, "formed the corners of a homosexual love triangle." This is not written into a full story, which I NEED to read.

The time-traveling safari uses the time machine of a professor, who allows them to do so because the machine is expensive to operate, and this business generates profit for the time machine's continued use. In this universe, they can't find grant funding to use a TIME MACHINE. So absurd, yet maybe absurd enough to be accurate in the grant funding rat-race

[Kuroda Kyousuke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a good dinosaur story! Reginald Rivers runs a time safari business where he takes clients back into Earth's past to hunt prehistoric animals. This collection has nine stories written by de Camp, starting with an edited version of his first Rivers story, "A Gun for Dinosaur" originally published in 1956. This is a really fun romp through time, and both his take on time travel (particularly the idea of time kicking a person back to the present and destroying them in the process to prevent a paradox) as well as the little dumps of paleo information about the various time periods and animals makes for some very fun and interesting reading. Definitely recommended for anyone looking for fun time travel/dinosaur adventures! 🦖

[Kevin Troy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pulpy fun. The original story “A Gun for Dinosaur” is still probably the best in the collection, but the others that he wrote in the 90’s are still pretty good. The paleontology that the stories are based on is a little bit out of date, but de Camp did try his best to base these stories on for-his-time accurate understanding of dinosaur biology and behavior. The first-person narrator is a bit of an acquired taste — Crocodile Dundee goes Mesozoic — but I came to rather appreciate Sir Reginald after the first few stories.

[Nate · Rating 2 out of 5]

short story collection containing one from the 50s and eight follow ups from the 90s that are all more or less the same thing. like hemingway but exponentially dumber. never read any sprague de camp before, but it seems like his most popular works are conan fanfic (????) so this is likely where i stop

[Laura Madsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of short stories about time-traveling big-game hunters. Some bits are a little cringey, when the language hasn’t aged well over the decades, and the first couple stories are repetitive, but it’s entertaining. Best is “The Big Splash,” when the adventurers witness the minutes before the K-T impact.

[J. Allen Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the feel of these "classic-era" stories -- even though most were written in the early '90's as a follow-up to his classic "A Gun for Dinosaur". I would read a story or two between bouts of Shakespeare and classics.

[Chris Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories collected into novel format. Each one is a clever social satire wrapped in science and dino-hunting. Strongly recommended.

[Eric]

Full review: https://monsterbookclub.com/2022/11/1...

[Chuck McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of short stories, in which hunters and tourists from the future visit the past to mess with prehistoric wildlife - often with disastrous results! While some aspects of this book are a little dated, overall it's a really fun time-travel romp that should please most readers.

[Bruce · Rating 2 out of 5]

first, the pun is awful. and the stories are so formulaic that you can skip the first three pages of each. the causality twists are entertaining, demonstrating de Camp's mastery of SF but definitely not his best work.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were redundant, but still an enjoyable read. An education in paleontology as well.