Mastodonia

by Clifford D. Simak

Book Overview

In rural Wisconsin, wonder clashes dangerously with corporate greed when an alien visitor opens up a gateway through time into a breathtaking prehistoric lost world. On sabbatical from teaching at a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345275004
• ISBN13: 9780345275004
• Release Date: March 1978
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 251 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Home is where the wooly mammoth grazes

This is a rather stunning work. Simak opens with anecdotes about a time traveling dog named Bowser and ends with a satisfying novel about time travel. Simak grounds his SF in characters and localities that are familiar and somewhat nostalgic--cabins in the woods, life in the country. Asa Steele just wants to live on the farm but discovers a way to travel to other time periods. First item? Allowing some big game safari hunters go after dinosaurs, of course; then finding a time niche between glacial periods to settle in a nice cozy cottage ("Mastodonia") to avoid U.S. taxes. Simak does produce some absolutely wretched dialogue and uses stereotypes rather than characters, but his vision and plotting make up for these shortcomings to yield one of the best time travel stories I have ever read. Find a used paperback and enjoy this one. You won't regret the purchase.

A great read for all ages

I got this book at a library sale at the age of 10 and I read it right away. I loved every minute of it and I have reread it several times in the past 9 years. This has time travel, dinosaurs, aliens, telepathic dogs, and ambitious businessmen and governments. It is a little dated, but definitely still relevant.

Wonderful!!!!!

This book is absolutely FABULOUS!! If you like Jurassic Park and books concerning ancient creatures, READ THIS BOOK! What I liked was the alien. It was a unique type;almost like E.T. except cooler. A review I found for it: "Cliff Simak's unique genius is that he can relate the small, warm intamicies of human relationships to the great sweep of time and space. This is one of his best!" -Gordon R.Dickson