Time travel via a spaceship that got too close to an uncharted black hole. Our hero, Caleb Hornblower, survives to have a romance with Liberty Stone, a woman from a couple hundred years before he was born. The romantic element is definitely stronger than the science, but there are some interesting discussions about past versus future technology and different social norms. There’s also a fun ride on an aircycle! And a bit of comedy when Liberty’s parents arrive unexpectedly. But only the one time travel event is documented, so this remains heavier on the Romance than the Time Travel.

The story continues in a 1990 sequel, Times Change.
—Tandy Ringoringo
The cockpit lights went out, leaving only the whirl of kaleidoscopic colors from the instrument panel. His ship went into a spiral, tumbling end over end like a stone fired from a slingshot. Now the light was white, hot and brilliant. Instinctively he threw up an arm to shield his eyes. The sudden crushing pressure on his chest left him helpless to do more than gasp for breath.

Tags

(3)

Variants

(1)
  1. Time Was by Nora Roberts (Silhouette, November 1989).
    2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts

Translations

(13)
  1. Bulgarian.
    Сега и във времето, as by Нора Робертс (Коломбина Прес, 2004).
    2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts as by Нора Робертс
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons [possibly using an alias]
  2. Dutch.
    Tijdloze hartstocht by Nora Roberts (Harlequin Holland, 2003).
    3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Ineke van Bronswijk
  3. Estonian.
    Läbi aja by Nora Roberts (ERSEN, 2010).
    4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons [possibly using an alias]
  4. Finnish.
    Aikojen yli by Nora Roberts (Harlequin, 2014).
    5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Tanja Hallenberg
  5. French.
    La passagère du temps by Nora Roberts (Harlequin, November 2015).
    6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons [possibly using an alias]
  6. German.
    Diesseits der Liebe by Nora Roberts (Weltbild, 2006).
    7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Rita Langner
  7. Hungarian.
    Egyszer volt . . . by Nora Roberts (Harlequin Magyarország, 2009).
    8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Anna Gulácsy
  8. Italian.
    C’era una volta . . . il futuro by Nora Roberts (Harlequin Mondadori, 1991).
    9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons [possibly using an alias]
  9. Polish.
    Zagubiony w czasie by Nora Roberts (Arlekin Wydawn, Harlequin, 2011).
    10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Michał Jankowski
  10. Portuguese.
    Tempos Esquecidos by Nora Roberts (Harlequin, June 2012).
    11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons [possibly using an alias]
  11. Russian.
    Обманутое время, as by Нора Робертс (Центрполиграф, 2010).
    12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts as by Нора Робертс
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons [possibly using an alias]
  12. Spanish.
    Tiempo atrás by Nora Roberts (Harlequin, 2002).
    13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons [possibly using an alias]
  13. Swedish.
    Fångad i tiden by Nora Roberts (Förlaget Harlequin AB , 2007).
    14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Nora Roberts
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons [possibly using an alias]

Indexer Notes

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  1. Release—The ITTDb lists a November 1989 release date, but Roberts’s own site and Goodreads both list December.
  2. Hungarian title—Egyszer volt . . . is the first half of the phrase Egyszer volt, hol nem volt . . ., which is literally something like “There once was, there once wasn’t . . .” (used idiomatically like “Once upon a time . . . ”). Or if you prefer, there is the commonly used longer version: Egyszer volt, hol nem volt, az üveghegyen is túl, ahol a kurtafarkú malac túr, volt egyszer egy . . . (“Once upon a time, beyond the glass mountain, where the short-tailed pig digs [for food], there was a . . .”). See also the Hungarian Part 2 of Roberts’ duology, . . . Hol nem volt.