ISBN 0-312-85916-3 (US hbk),,, ? (US pbk)

"Set in Hawaii and the Far East, The Bones of Time revolves around the secret of the preserved bones of the greatest of the old Hawaiian kings, Kamehameha. Goonan interweaves two story lines, each with its own central character. Cen, a mathematician who falls in love with a girl from the past and works desperately to join her by solving the riddle of time travel; and Linda, a young woman who rescues the only surviving clone of Kamehameha. The key to the solution of both stories is the bones. But each of the stories opens vistas of human history, and of the past, that are dense with meaning and rich with promise." -- [publisher's bumpf, The Bones of Time, US hbk, 1996]

"Although Goonan introduces some large-scale ideas about quantum reality, her special effects here are restrained, and the novel finally stands or falls on how well we accept the characters, particularly Lynn's struggles with her heritage and Cen's lovesick brilliance, and the distinctive Hawaiian setting. I think she succeeds on both counts, and offers a quietly moving novel that touches upon both history and hard science, even though some fans of Queen City Jazz will find this relatively muted and reflective." --Gary K.Wolfe (in Locus, February 1996).

"Perhaps the best way to treat this novel would be to view it as a sort of fascinating fantasy with SF underpinnings...

"In any case, much of its plotting is fun and exciting. Goonan makes great use of her foreign settings and writes excellent action sequences. She visits a civilization Americans rarely explore...and the exotic, little mentioned spiritual and religious subculture which once flourished on the islands of Hawaii". --Shira Daemon (in Locus, February 1996).

"This is a hard book to review. Time travel, history, quantum science, exotic locations, community, romance, cloning, life extension, space migration. All this against a background of Hawaiian history. Ms Goonan grapples with these issues in an original way with enough social commentary to make you think. So think and think again! Personally, I back the Homeland Movement." --Henry W.Targowski (in Mark/Space , October 1996).