Up the Line
A time travel novel exploring paradoxes and counterculture themes.
Up the Line, published in 1969, is a time travel novel by American science-fiction writer Robert Silverberg. Its story centers on the paradoxes that arise from traveling through time, and it reflects the more sexually open attitudes of late-1960s American science fiction, which itself mirrored the counterculture of the period. The book was a finalist for both the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1969 and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1970, losing on each occasion to Ursula K. Le Guin's *The Left Hand of Darkness*.
The novel first appeared as a serial in *Amazing Stories* in 1969, and later that year was released as a paperback original by Ballantine Books.
The protagonist, Jud Elliott II, is a failed Harvard history master's student in the year 2059. Unhappy as a law clerk, he joins the Time Service as a Time Courier. After training, he travels "up the line" (into the past) and "down the line" (forward to his own present of 2059), escorting tourists to ancient and medieval Byzantium and Constantinople. Jud's troubles include not only difficult tourists but also greedy and unstable colleagues who try to disrupt history. He bends the rules to fix problems without alerting the Time Patrol. When he falls in love with Pulcheria—his own many-times-great-grandmother, described as a "marvelous transtemporal paradox"—Jud gives in to the pull of the past, creates irreversible paradoxes, and is caught by the Time Patrol.
Silverberg's narrative includes clever details about time-travel tourism. For instance, so many tourists over the years have wanted to see the Crucifixion of Jesus that the crowd has swelled from a few dozen to hundreds or even tens of thousands. Tour guides revisiting the same event must also avoid scanning their surroundings too closely, lest they make eye contact with themselves leading another group. Silverberg's interest in Byzantine history is evident in vivid descriptions of Constantinople under Emperor Justinian and the Nika riots of 532.
Algis Budrys gave the novel an unfavorable review, arguing that without the sexual content and the long passages about Constantinople, it "would be a short story or novelette." He also pointed out several logical flaws in the plot.
In the 1990s, a six-book series titled *Robert Silverberg's Time Tours* was set in the same fictional world. The books are: *The Robin Hood Ambush* by William F. Wu, *Glory's
- author
- Robert Silverberg
- published
- 1969
- genre
- Science fiction novel
- nationality
- American
- award_nominations
- Nebula Award for Best Novel 1969, Hugo Award for Best Novel 1970
- original_serialization
- Amazing Stories, 1969
- publisher
- Ballantine Books
Lore & Background
Jud Elliott II is a failed Harvard history masters student in 2059. Bored with his job as a law clerk, he takes up a position with the Time Service as a Time Courier. After an introductory course, Jud shunts up and down the time line as a guide for tourists visiting ancient and medieval Byzantium/Constantinople. His problems include stupid tourists, greedy and mentally unstable colleagues who attempt to cause havoc with the past. He is forced to break the rules to patch things up without drawing the attention of the Time Patrol. When he meets and falls in love with his own multi-great-grandmother, Pulcheria, Jud succumbs to the lure of the past, creates irreparable paradoxes, and faces the inescapable clutches of the Time Patrol.
Reader's Guide
Up the Line is significant as a representative work of late 1960s American science fiction, reflecting the counterculture's more sexually-permissive attitudes. The novel's focus on time travel paradoxes, including the logistical problems of time-tourism—such as tourists increasing the audience at the Crucifixion of Jesus from dozens to tens of thousands—demonstrates Silverberg's clever handling of the genre's conventions. The novel also showcases Silverberg's interest in Byzantine history, with vivid descriptions of Constantinople during the reign of Justinian and the Nika riots of 532. Despite receiving an unfavorable review from Algis Budrys, who criticized its length and logical inconsistencies, the novel earned nominations for both the Nebula and Hugo Awards, losing both times to Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. In the 1990s, a series of six books set in the same fictional world, called Robert Silverberg's Time Tours, was written by various authors.
Did You Know?
- The novel was originally serialized in Amazing Stories in 1969.
- It was nominated for both the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1969 and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1970.
- The plot involves time-tour guides avoiding eye contact with themselves leading other tour parties at the same event.
- A series of six books set in the same fictional world, called Robert Silverberg's Time Tours, was published in the 1990s.
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