Book Review: The Chronos Chronicles edited by Roy C. Booth & Jorge Salgado-Reyes
Time travel has long been a favorite theme of science fiction writers. You can look at the theoretical workings of the time travel method, consider the philosophical implications of the process, tie the story up in paradoxes, or just move the protagonists to an interesting setting. See my review of The Time Machine for one of the early great takes. This, naturally, is an entire anthology of time travel stories.
After a brief introduction by Paul Levinson, the fifteen stories begin with “Another Second Chance” by Karl Lykken. A spaceship pilot is increasingly frustrated by Dr. Murdoch’s refusal to just get on with testing a wormhole time travel theory already. He should probably have stopped to consider where this impatience was coming from, but perhaps his poor choices were inevitable.
“113 Feet” by Josh Roseman is the last story in the volume. Elle’s father disappeared while investigating a sunken wreck seven years ago. But his final words didn’t sound like he was dying, more like a discovery. Now Elle has finally managed to arrange a dive so that she can learn the truth about what happened. In addition to the obvious hazards, the young diver may not like what she finds in a more personal sense.
Some stories I liked:
“Fashion Emergency” by Brian Koukol. Engineer Isobel is up for a promotion, but her time-traveling husband is less than supportive. She decides to borrow his time travel device for just a moment, since she knows how to disable the safety circuit that prevents jumps into the past to fix her wardrobe. She failed to consider the difficulties of controlling the device without the safety in place… (Content note: attempted rape.)
“Picking Litter on the Moon” by Robert Bagnall. Near-future aspiring singer-songwriter Jersey Child is trapped in the gig economy, but her new assignment gives her a connection that may impact both her future and another, later person’s. The middle bit is a bit of a missed opportunity, but feels right here.
“The Winds of Time” by Mike Adamson. Set out in Australia, a man who follows a band he likes across the country discovers that he has missing time. The ending is satisfying.
Stories I didn’t like as much:
“The Man Who Brought Down the New York Times” by Paul Levinson has the inventor of a time machine decide the best use of his invention is petty revenge for sensible journalistic caution. Seriously petty.
“The Wishing Place” by Aaron Moskalik is the only straight-up fantasy story in the volume. A boy makes a series of wishes that affect his personal history. This one’s just depressing.
Overall, a decent themed collection. Recommended if time travel stories are your thing.
