The End of Eternity

by Isaac Asimov

English language

Published Nov. 1, 1971

ISBN:: 978-0-449-01619-0

(51 reviews)

The End of Eternity is a 1955 science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov with mystery and thriller elements on the subjects of time travel and social engineering. Its premise is that of a causal loop, a type of temporal paradox in which events and their causes form a loop. In The End of Eternity, members of the time-changing organization Eternity seek to ensure that the conditions that led to its founding occur as history says that they occurred. The protagonist, Andrew Harlan, is placed in a situation in which he must decide whether to allow the "circle" to close and Eternity to be founded or to allow the opposite to happen and prevent Eternity from having ever existed. Many years later, Asimov tied this novel into his broader Foundation Series by hinting in Foundation's Edge that it is set in a universe where Eternity had existed but was destroyed by …

17 editions

neul reviewed The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov

Review of 'The End of Eternity' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

My emotional states fluctuated a lot while reading this book. Because of the romance aspect in this book and the characters. I didn't like Harlan or Noys, the stereotypical woman character. But, I persevered, since the sci-fi aspect of the novel was well-written and thrilling. Even though I felt unwillingness to finish the book, until I saw Cooper's twist, thus I continue to read. At first glance, the character Noys seemed like a tool to sustain the story and give a reason to Harlan. But at the final, everything has changed. Noys had moral and reason, thus Noys becomes a real character, not just a tool. The final twist got me and the change of the character Noys and my whole opinion on this book.

James reviewed The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov

Review of 'The End of Eternity' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A little dry in the opening but as Asimov goes the premise is established pretty quickly and then he starts to poke holes in it. Parts of the text feel outdated by todays standard but it wasn’t too jarring, more than made up for by the plot.

Matthew Royal reviewed The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov

Review of 'The End of Eternity' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Asimov is brain candy, but gourmet candy... His books are brain bonbons.

It's difficult to write a review about a book about time travel without spoilers, but this one is on par with the best Doctor Who episodes, but less convoluted than Primer.

It's a human-scale story about how time travel might be used by humans and how it might change humanity.

Kevin B. O'Brien reviewed The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov

Review of 'The End of Eternity' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

At one time Isaac Asimov wrote novels that were not connected to a series, and this is one of them, though later in life he tied it into his Foundation/Robots universe. This is a good enough novel and Asimov is a good writer, but this is not the best thing he ever wrote, even though it was on the short-list for a Hugo. Most of the novel is about a group of people in an organization called Eternity that have time travel technology. They have taken it upon themselves to preserve the safety of their timelines by making "reality changes". But the protagonist, Andrew Harlan, is eventually placed in a position where he needs to decide if this is such a good idea. He has fallen in love with a woman from the "hidden centuries" who tells him that in every time line where Eternity has smoothed things, the human …

ManyRoads reviewed The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov

Review of 'The End of Eternity' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

If I really stretch my reading evaluation criteria, I can say for an average author this book would rate as average. Given it was written by Issac Asimov, all I can say is it was a good but not great. The novel is thematically 'good'. Anyway, I still like Issac's writings.