American science fiction has traditionally tended to view the world in black and white terms. There are almost always clearly defined good guys and bad guys. The protagonist of the typical science fiction novel is almost invariably on the side of right and, if at some point he discovers that he is not, he switches. In The Big Time, however, Leiber sets this idea on its head and any discussion of the novel might do well to center on the morally ambiguous position of both the Snakes and the Spiders.

1. A number of other authors, most notably Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Poul Anderson, Joanna Russ, and John Crowley have used the concept of a Time Patrol, a quasi-military secret organization that polices time travelers and fights guerilla campaigns to either prevent major changes from being made to historical events or to cause them. How exactly do...