Terry Hodgson Books

In this Readers' Guide, Terry Hodgson provides a general background to Stoppard's oeuvre, elucidating his main themes through selective quotation from the critics and from Stoppard's own illuminating interview comments. The book summarises stage techniques and modes of critical approach, and focuses throughout on Stoppard's concern with the nature of creativity. This theme is particularly evident in important plays written in the 1990s - Arcadia, Indian Ink and The Invention of Love - key works by this seminal playwright about which there has been little comment so far.

The year 2090, and on route from the penal colony to the execution chambers on earth 10 prisoners assigned for termination had found themselves hurtled back through time after the ship that was carrying them went out of control and entered a tear in space. Waking up with the guards dead and now trapped 75 years in the past, they thought this was their ultimate escape from prison. Kelly and four other Rangers that had been genetically engineered from birth were assigned to go on a one way mission to track down and eliminate the escaped prisons called Grunts, The Rangers were set on the same path as the grunts and hoped that they would survive what was to come. On landing, The Rangers had to learn fast on how things worked in the 20th century and then hunt and execute ten men all without being detected by the local authorities and without losing their lives in the process, all this plus trying to keep from changing events that may change the future. When the hunt began not all went according to plan and the police department sent two of their best to investigate a string of murders, Detective Samantha Hall and her partner Detective Bill Sims. Their job was simple, hunt the hunters and stop the killing.