# Can someone help me remember the name of a novel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-remember-the-name-of-a-novel/728565 "2015-08-23T00:07:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Haldurson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/51bf81/32.png) [@Haldurson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haldurson)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-remember-the-name-of-a-novel/728565/1 "2015-08-23T00:07:51Z")
There was this shortish science fiction novel that I remember reading several years back. It was humorous and it dealt with time travel. Part of the premise was that time travel is used for recreation – people sold tours of various pocket universes (so that they would not disturb the actual time line). The main character illicitly brings a baby dinosaur home with him. I can’t recall too much else about it. I think it may have been the author’s first novel. I do remember thinking that it was underrated at the time, as I really enjoyed the book. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-remember-the-name-of-a-novel/728565/2 "2015-08-23T01:09:11Z")
Sounds like _Corrupting Dr. Nice_ by John Kessel. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-remember-the-name-of-a-novel/728565/3 "2015-08-23T01:09:51Z")
The only one that comes to mind for me is \*Catface \*by Clifford D. Simak. I read the book as a kid in Australia; i believe that it had a different title (_Mastodonia_) in the US. It’s decades since i read the book, but i know that central to the story was a small alien who constructed time travel roads, and people used them for tours and exploration. I remember that some of the tours did go back to prehistoric times, but i don’t remember whether or not they brought an actual dinosaur home with them. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-remember-the-name-of-a-novel/728565/4 "2015-08-23T01:20:16Z")
**Moderator Action** Since this concerns a work of literature, it belongs in Cafe Society. Moving thread (and the baby dinosaur) from General Questions to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-remember-the-name-of-a-novel/728565/5 "2015-08-23T01:47:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Sounds like _Corrupting Dr. Nice_ by John Kessel. I agree. A fun book, by the way - well worth reading. ---
**Author:** ![Haldurson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/51bf81/32.png) [@Haldurson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haldurson)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-remember-the-name-of-a-novel/728565/6 "2015-08-23T05:53:32Z")
Thanks! It’s definitely **Corrupting Dr. Nice**. I thought it had the word Doctor in the title, but I wasn’t sure, and I couldn’t find it on Amazon as hard as I looked for it.