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First Dawn

First Dawn

Author: Mike Moscoe

Among the infinity of unanswered questions there are a few about our so-called 'human nature' that will never be answered because we'll only find those answers in alternate universes or time-streams that we can't ever enter. Would societies and individuals today be more humane, thoughtful, responsible, far-sighted, if human history had been different? In other words, is today's 'human nature' a product not just of evolution, but also of historical contingency? Were there events that, like switches on railway tracks, put us onto the path we're on now; and which may, as the novel stipulates, destroy us all. Can we identify those events? If we could go back in time, could we actually change the whole course of history for the better? This novel answers all these question in the affirmative. In the aftermath of a devastating plague, two people are sent back to the dawn of civilization, to prevent a particular event, identified as being a critical nexus in history, from happening.  Fix the past and hopefully the present will be better—even though it's questionable if the same people that sent the time-travelers would still exist. Why it's on the list: Because the premise is far from being as silly as many people seem to think it is, and Moscoe tells it credibly and engagingly. Followed by two sequels that round off the story. Of course, the time machine itself is just a tool. The whole issue of whether the actions of the time-travelers will lead to Grandfather Paradoxes is touched on, but ultimately not deeply explored. Or maybe time doesn't work that way at all. I mean, who even knows what it is, right?

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