Published by Del Rey, 1999,
paperback, $5.99 ISBN 0-345-42197-3
245 pages

By habit, I don't buy books based on TV, movies, or games. Oh, I've received them as gifts, but they usually leave one feeling flat -- not awful, but not that great, either. TimeCop: Blood Ties was a freebie promotional at a trade show and pretty much re-enforces my perceptions.

In 2008 AD, time travel is a closely guarded secret, even if inventors keep coming up with a way to go back in time. Hence, the need for a Time Enforcement Commission is rather pressing, and TimeCops scour the timelines to ferret out and arrest those who tinker with the past.

Well, one too many jumps lands Jack Logan in a paradox, where he must unravel a mystery surrounding gold coins, greedy gangsters, and the usual plot to destabilize and topple the government. Did I mention the babe with kung fu moves that he keeps running into in his multiple jumps?

To be fair, there's some eclectic time paradox angst and various theories about meeting yourself -- the more interesting aspects of the book. The prose is about average, the action at times tense, and the premise no hokier than a TV show...well, maybe a little hokey.

It's neither good nor bad -- an average book right in there with the myriad Star Trek, Star Wars, and Battletech novels.