Eridahn Book

Not his best work, but a fun novel about time traveling.

Jim Carpenter is a time traveler. He's not a glamorous one though, because he drives triceratops-shaped tank and does nature holo-photography. One day he is sent back to check on why a human skeleton was found in the fossil record long before it should even exist. He finds two young children, who claim to be Mars royalty. The only thing is, the kids are hunted, and now a very unlikely protector has to save them.

There's a little sweetness to the book that feels rare in modern science fiction. It's obvious Jim is a lonely man who is quite taken with the young kids who fall into his care, and the kids grow to adore him. Some fun invention, too: let's just say Mars isn't where you'd expect it to be, and tricera-tanks and pteradon bombers are neat ideas.

However, it's a little too weird for its own good, and the ending is a rehash of his other works. It would have done better as a short story. It's enjoyable, but he's written better.