Killing Time is a dystopian novel by Caleb Carr set in the mid-21st century. Its first 22 (of 47) chapters were initially serialized in five special issues of TIME and the complete work was later published in 2000 by Random House. It includes criticisms of the Information Age. The book was a departure for Carr, whose previous two novels (and his subsequent one) were crime thrillers set in the Victorian era.
Contents
Characters
Main characters
Dr. Gideon Wolfe: the criminal and psychiatrist.
Dov Eshkol: the antagonist, a ruthless, fanatic agent of the Israeli Mossad
Other Team-Members
Prof. Julien Fouché: the molecular biologist
Dr. Eli Kuperman: the anthropologist
Dr. Jonah Kuperman: the archaeologist
Colonel Slayton: the (ex-US-)soldier
Dr. Leon Tarbell: the documents expert
Larissa Tressalian: Gideon's lover/ former assassin
Malcom Tressalian: leader of the team/ Larissa's brother
Minor characters
Chief Dugumbe: leader of the African tribe, with which Dr. Gideon Wolfe lives upon writing down his story
Mutesa: member of the African tribe, who becomes Dr. Wolfe's host and sponsor
General Said: Malaysian warlord and arms dealer
Quotes
"Mundus vult decipi" is a Latin phrase meaning "The world wants to be deceived"
"It is the greatest truth of our age: Information is not knowledge."
"I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know no way of judging the future but by the past." — Patrick Henry, 1775