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The Time Dissolver
A man awakens with a clear memory of his date the night before. He rises to go on about his business as usual - finds he is in as room he has never seen before. He looks in the mirror... it is his face he sees, all right - but aged!
He went to sleep on May 15th of one year. He awoke the next day as expected - but eleven years later!
The woman in the bed beside him awakens also - in terror at the sight of him. She too went to sleep on May 15... Neither has ever seen the other in his life!
He went to sleep on May 15th of one year. He awoke the next day as expected - but eleven years later!
The woman in the bed beside him awakens also - in terror at the sight of him. She too went to sleep on May 15... Neither has ever seen the other in his life!
- GenresScience Fiction
158 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Sohl
79Ìýbooks9ÌýfollowersGerald Allan Sohl Sr. (December 2, 1913 - November 4, 2002) was a scriptwriter for The Twilight Zone (as a ghostwriter for Charles Beaumont), Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Outer Limits, Star Trek and other shows . He also wrote novels, feature film scripts, and the nonfiction works Underhanded Chess and Underhanded Bridge in 1973.
His 1955 Point Ultimate is a piece of Cold War invasion literature: in 1999, a faraway future history at the time of writing, the US lies under a cruel Soviet occupation, reinforced by a deadly artificial disease which makes conquered Americans dependent on the conquerors for the injections which keep them alive. But a dashing Illinois farm boy breaks out in revolt, killing a degenerate soviet governor and his "Commie" American collaborators. Eventually, he becomes a leading member of a very formidable resistance organization which is capable of breaking at will into the occupiers' security headquarters and springing prisoners out, and which had already established a clandestine space program under the Soviets' noses and established a sizeable colony on Mars.
In the far more low-key The Time Dissolver (1957) Sohl tells the story of a man and a woman who wake up one morning to find that, inexplicably, they had lost all memory of the past eleven years including any memory of how they ever came to meet and become married to each other, and who embark on a quest to find what happened and to trace back these eleven lost years. Aside from the science fiction aspects, the book captures the atmosphere of late 1950s America.
His 1955 Point Ultimate is a piece of Cold War invasion literature: in 1999, a faraway future history at the time of writing, the US lies under a cruel Soviet occupation, reinforced by a deadly artificial disease which makes conquered Americans dependent on the conquerors for the injections which keep them alive. But a dashing Illinois farm boy breaks out in revolt, killing a degenerate soviet governor and his "Commie" American collaborators. Eventually, he becomes a leading member of a very formidable resistance organization which is capable of breaking at will into the occupiers' security headquarters and springing prisoners out, and which had already established a clandestine space program under the Soviets' noses and established a sizeable colony on Mars.
In the far more low-key The Time Dissolver (1957) Sohl tells the story of a man and a woman who wake up one morning to find that, inexplicably, they had lost all memory of the past eleven years including any memory of how they ever came to meet and become married to each other, and who embark on a quest to find what happened and to trace back these eleven lost years. Aside from the science fiction aspects, the book captures the atmosphere of late 1950s America.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 21, 2015
Good competent, simple and enjoyable old school 'mystery' (who am I?) scifi. Could/should have been shorter, but probably this was intentionally expanded to novel length. However, I enjoyed the pace and story. Sohl is known for writing scripts for Rod Sterling's Twilight Zone, and is worth a look if you like that sort of thing.
I, most certainly, do.
I, most certainly, do.
August 6, 2011
It's a low-key, subtle, short novel about a man and woman who wake up in a motel together one day in 1957 with no memory of each other, or of anything that has happened since 1946; and they have to explain 1950s America to themselves, and themselves to each other, before discovering what has actually happened to them. The alert reader will work out what the answer probably is by about halfway through the book, but the atmospherics are fantastic. I see that Sohl was more successful as a TV scriptwriter for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone and even Star Trek, so will look out for his stuff in future.
August 31, 2014
I simply couldn't put it down. This book instantly caught my attention with it's honesty. I don't normally enjoy books within the science fiction genre but this one took me by surprise. It wasn't concerned with creating aesthetic imagery based around new worlds and creatures but instead focused on the human imagination and anxieties we all face. Truly one of my favourite small reads!
April 22, 2018
This sounds like more of a psychadelic sci-fi than it really is. It's more of a hard-boiled detective type story with a sci-fi element. Like an episode of Black Mirror. A man awakes next to a woman with no recollection of how he got there and over time learns that he can't remember anything from the previous decade or so. As he retraces his steps he learns about the man he became and finally learns the secret to his amnesia.
I always like to imagine how these pulp sci-fi novels could get adapted into film, particularly if they had been made at the time they were written. This could be a pretty great one, but a contemporary telling of the story from the wife's perspective might be the more compelling version.
I've been working my way through all of Jerry Sohl's books and they've all been really compelling. This one is no exception.
I always like to imagine how these pulp sci-fi novels could get adapted into film, particularly if they had been made at the time they were written. This could be a pretty great one, but a contemporary telling of the story from the wife's perspective might be the more compelling version.
I've been working my way through all of Jerry Sohl's books and they've all been really compelling. This one is no exception.
July 31, 2017
This is a Jerry Sohl book that I missed the first time around. John Stith mentioned it was available on e-book and I bought it.
It very much reminds me of the type of books that John writes, with a big idea and relatively normal people. At least *real* people.
I'm glad it was re-released.
It very much reminds me of the type of books that John writes, with a big idea and relatively normal people. At least *real* people.
I'm glad it was re-released.
December 14, 2024
classic amnesia-mystery that never gets a satisfying explanation. and the male protagonist had me raging with his constant "where's dinner?" attitude towards his wife who's ALSO experiencing amnesia. but her losing 11 years of memories isn't as important because she's just a housewife and he's a genius scientist. she should have taken the chance to dump that dummy
August 22, 2023
I listened to this as part of The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack. It was an enteremting space story. I have listened to a number of novels by the author. I would recommend to readers of space opera novels. 2023
February 9, 2025
An amnesiac ex-scientist investigates his own memory loss. Sohl favours gentle SF intrigue in pursuing his premise, working in a low-key human element rather than driving forward with the psychological breakdown/conspiracy thrills of, say, Eric Frank Russell’s With a Strange Device (1964).
September 29, 2024
Once again I expected a sort of pulpy detective novel and was surprised with a nice science fiction mystery. Probably could have sped up a few parts but in general quite nice.
April 13, 2021
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. As a fan of the Twilight Zone, I felt like this could have been extend version of the Twilight Zone episode. Which I have since found out that Jerry Sohl later wrote three Twilight Zone episodes. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a Twilight Zone fan and fan of classic 50's science fiction.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
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