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| ==Plot summary== | ==Plot summary== | ||
| During a vacation on a Florida beach in the summer of 1978, Brian Chaney, a demographer and biblical scholar, is approached by a woman named Kathryn van Hise. Initially assuming her to be a reporter interested in a controversial book he just published on the ], she informs him that she works for the ] Bureau of Standards and that she is recruiting him for a physical survey of the future via a secretly constructed ]. When Chaney demurs, she informs him that his contract with has been purchased from the ] where he works, leaving him little choice. | |||
| The reluctant Chaney travels to a military installation south of ]. There he is teamed with two diversely talented military officers, ] Major William Moresby and ] Lieutenant Commander Arthur Saltus. Chaney soon finds that he shares with Salter an attraction to Kathryn, who is their civilian liaison, but unlike Saltus Chaney lacks the assertiveness to pursue her aggressively. Instead he focuses his attention on the project, which is soon ordered by the ] to embark on their first mission, a trip two years into the future to discover whether he wins the presidential election. | |||
| Brian Chaney is a demographer and futurist approached while on vacation with the news that his contract has been purchased and he is required for a physical survey of the future via a secretly constructed time displacement vehicle. At a military installation south of ], the reluctant Chaney is teamed with two diversely talented military officers and a civilian liaison. | |||
| The three travel to the future on individual trips. They discover that the president, Whom Chaney despises as a weak man, wins the election in a landslide as a result of his successful handling of ongoing ] in ]. They also learn that the nation is under ] after a failed attempt by the ] to take over the government by ], one thwarted because of the advance knowledge the time travelers will bring back of it. Upon their return Saltus informs them of an additional discovery: a marriage license between him and Kathryn. With Saltus gloating in the knowledge of his inevitably successful courtship, Chaney concedes the pursuit to him. | |||
| With the success of the initial mission, the three are authorized to travel further into the future. They plan to travel two decades into the future, with each trip separated by approximately a year in order to provide broader coverage. Moresby goes first and travels to July 4, 1999, only to emerge in the middle of a civil war in which Chicago had recently been attacked with a ]. Quickly getting involved in a battle between base forces and "ramjets", or ], Moresby dies in an attack on a ] position. Saltus is the next to go, traveling to the date of his birthday in 2000. Upon his arrival he discovers remnants of the battle, and is nearly killed by survivors hiding out on the base. Wounded, he is assisted back to the displacement vehicle by an unknown figure and returns to the present. | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 14:07, 18 December 2009
 Cover of first edition (paperback) | |
| Author | Wilson Tucker |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Leo and Diane Dillon |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science Fiction novel |
| Publisher | Ace Books |
| Publication date | 1970 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 252 pp |
| ISBN | 0-441-94201-6 |
The Year of the Quiet Sun is a 1970 science fiction novel by Wilson Tucker about the use of forward time travel to ascertain future political and social events. It won a retrospective John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1976. It was also nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1970, and a Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1971.
Plot summary
During a vacation on a Florida beach in the summer of 1978, Brian Chaney, a demographer and biblical scholar, is approached by a woman named Kathryn van Hise. Initially assuming her to be a reporter interested in a controversial book he just published on the Dead Sea scrolls, she informs him that she works for the federal Bureau of Standards and that she is recruiting him for a physical survey of the future via a secretly constructed time displacement vehicle. When Chaney demurs, she informs him that his contract with has been purchased from the think tank where he works, leaving him little choice.
The reluctant Chaney travels to a military installation south of Joliet, Illinois. There he is teamed with two diversely talented military officers, United States Air Force Major William Moresby and United States Navy Lieutenant Commander Arthur Saltus. Chaney soon finds that he shares with Salter an attraction to Kathryn, who is their civilian liaison, but unlike Saltus Chaney lacks the assertiveness to pursue her aggressively. Instead he focuses his attention on the project, which is soon ordered by the President of the United States to embark on their first mission, a trip two years into the future to discover whether he wins the presidential election.
The three travel to the future on individual trips. They discover that the president, Whom Chaney despises as a weak man, wins the election in a landslide as a result of his successful handling of ongoing race riots in Chicago. They also learn that the nation is under martial law after a failed attempt by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to take over the government by coup d'état, one thwarted because of the advance knowledge the time travelers will bring back of it. Upon their return Saltus informs them of an additional discovery: a marriage license between him and Kathryn. With Saltus gloating in the knowledge of his inevitably successful courtship, Chaney concedes the pursuit to him.
With the success of the initial mission, the three are authorized to travel further into the future. They plan to travel two decades into the future, with each trip separated by approximately a year in order to provide broader coverage. Moresby goes first and travels to July 4, 1999, only to emerge in the middle of a civil war in which Chicago had recently been attacked with a nuclear bomb. Quickly getting involved in a battle between base forces and "ramjets", or black guerrillas, Moresby dies in an attack on a mortar position. Saltus is the next to go, traveling to the date of his birthday in 2000. Upon his arrival he discovers remnants of the battle, and is nearly killed by survivors hiding out on the base. Wounded, he is assisted back to the displacement vehicle by an unknown figure and returns to the present.
External links
- The Year of the Quiet Sun title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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