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apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Transphobia, Sexual content, and Car accident
lsparrow's review against another edition
3.0
a big collection of time travel stories - some that I found way too convoluted to follow and others got into my head and I keep coming back to them.
kleonard's review against another edition
1.0
I don't understand how the Vandermeers keep publishing. This is a collection of mostly mediocre stories; the good ones have been published in better anthologies already or are old enough that we've all read them before or can read them for free online. And how do you write about time-travel without even citing Jack Finney?
timvdalen's review against another edition
Read a few stories here and there, but the book is overly long and not all stories are great
jonathanpalfrey's review against another edition
2.0
I have at last read all the way through this long book, and my reaction is disappointment. The stories are all readable, and I hated none of them; but I loved none of them. I’ve been reading science fiction for a long time, and I know that there have been many good stories about time travel—but none of them appear here. It’s a collection of more-or-less amiable mediocrities, quite often well written in terms of writing style, occasionally becoming mildly memorable, but with no classics, none that I could add to my favourites.
I’m fond of Eric Frank Russell’s story “The Waitabits” (1955), but I first read it long ago, I wasn’t introduced to it by this collection. It’s included in this collection, but it doesn’t belong here, because there’s no time travel in it!
I’ve been shocked to discover how many writers featured here seem to have no idea what a story is. The job of a story is to provide a plot that needs resolving, and an ending that resolves it somehow. But some of these ‘stories’ either have little plot, or else they provide some plot but fail to resolve it, ending abruptly without any conclusion. For me, this is not a real story; it’s either a non-story or an unfinished story, and shouldn’t be sold to the public in such a state.
Of the unfinished stories, “The Time Telephone” (Adam Roberts, 2002) disgusted me the most. It’s not a particularly good story anyway, but it sets up a sort of cliff-hanger situation in which you wonder what will happen next—and then it just stops, leaving the situation hanging in the air. What good does that do anyone? I could blame the author for submitting an unfinished story, but I blame the editor more for accepting it.
I’m fond of Eric Frank Russell’s story “The Waitabits” (1955), but I first read it long ago, I wasn’t introduced to it by this collection. It’s included in this collection, but it doesn’t belong here, because there’s no time travel in it!
I’ve been shocked to discover how many writers featured here seem to have no idea what a story is. The job of a story is to provide a plot that needs resolving, and an ending that resolves it somehow. But some of these ‘stories’ either have little plot, or else they provide some plot but fail to resolve it, ending abruptly without any conclusion. For me, this is not a real story; it’s either a non-story or an unfinished story, and shouldn’t be sold to the public in such a state.
Of the unfinished stories, “The Time Telephone” (Adam Roberts, 2002) disgusted me the most. It’s not a particularly good story anyway, but it sets up a sort of cliff-hanger situation in which you wonder what will happen next—and then it just stops, leaving the situation hanging in the air. What good does that do anyone? I could blame the author for submitting an unfinished story, but I blame the editor more for accepting it.
spinstah's review against another edition
4.0
I hadn’t realized how long this was when I started it, and once I did I changed up my approach. This became what I read in between other things, almost as a palate cleanser between one book and another. In any case, like all anthologies there were some stories I loved, and others I skipped after a few pages. Worth picking up, at least if you like time travel stories and chipping away at huge books.
serena_hien's review against another edition
This is such a long book of short stories, i honestly just fell off of reading a little every night and i never returned :(. Will hopefully get back into it this year we never know.
branch_c's review against another edition
3.0
I put this book on my Kindle app way back in 2014 as a guarantee that I would always have something to read as long as I have my phone with me. I’d say it served its purpose; it’s a long book, consisting of 67 short stories, and it was convenient to read one at odd times over the years. Since I just finished the last story, it gets counted as being read in 2022.
So how was it? Well, I’m actually not a big fan of short stories, so would probably not have read it at all if not for this specific situation. I gave a rating to each story after reading it, and averaging them all, I end up with an overall rating of just under three for the book. There were a few standouts for me: in particular Kage Baker’s Noble Mold, and Ellen Klages’ Time Gypsy - those are the only two I gave five stars. A number of fours, and also plenty of lower ratings. Many of them seemed dated (ironic, I know), and some used concepts that I felt were subsequently done better.
So in my opinion, overall it was just okay, but there’s enough here that many short story fans will find something to like - locating the gems, however, may be hit or miss for any particular reader given the volume of this content.
So how was it? Well, I’m actually not a big fan of short stories, so would probably not have read it at all if not for this specific situation. I gave a rating to each story after reading it, and averaging them all, I end up with an overall rating of just under three for the book. There were a few standouts for me: in particular Kage Baker’s Noble Mold, and Ellen Klages’ Time Gypsy - those are the only two I gave five stars. A number of fours, and also plenty of lower ratings. Many of them seemed dated (ironic, I know), and some used concepts that I felt were subsequently done better.
So in my opinion, overall it was just okay, but there’s enough here that many short story fans will find something to like - locating the gems, however, may be hit or miss for any particular reader given the volume of this content.
emheld's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe more a 3.5 on average. There are some fantastic stories in here, and I do really recommend it.
I found most of the clunkers later in the first and in the second section. The third (and especially fourth) parts had some amazingly strong efforts.
One great thing about such a sprawling anthology, there are bound to be new favorite authors you'll discover.
I found most of the clunkers later in the first and in the second section. The third (and especially fourth) parts had some amazingly strong efforts.
One great thing about such a sprawling anthology, there are bound to be new favorite authors you'll discover.
lyleblosser's review against another edition
3.0
Some very good stories, some...meh. On average, an entertaining tome showing the wide range of stories possible under the theme of time travel.