The Masks of Time

Lore & Background

The novel opens on Christmas Day, 1998, in Rome, where a naked man named Vornan-19 descends from the sky onto the Spanish Steps. He claims to be from the year 2999. After knocking over police with a touch, he is helped by Horst Klein, a nineteen-year-old German who believes the apocalypse will come in 389 days. Vornan-19 later reveals that in his future, society has tapped the energy within all matter, eliminating the need for work and money.

Reader's Guide

The Masks of Time has been described as 'a brilliant and nearly flawless performance' and compared to Robert A. Heinlein's 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land. Critics have called it a realistic and ironic parody of the romantic and superhuman adventures of Valentine Michael Smith. Algis Budrys cited 'gratuitous problems' but recommended readers to 'go buy it. It's quite interesting.' The novel explores themes of salvation, energy, and societal change through the enigmatic figure of Vornan-19, whose disappearance in Rio de Janeiro leaves his true nature unresolved.

Did You Know?

• The novel was published in the United Kingdom under the title Vornan-19.
• Vornan-19 arrives on Christmas Day, 1998, floating down naked onto the Spanish Steps in Rome.
• Vornan-19 claims that in the year 2999, all citizens have all they need and there is no capitalism or money.
• The novel was a nominee for the Nebula Award in 1968.