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Marching Time
History is written by the victors.
History is re-written by the time travellers.
Brave men and women will fight to the death in the battle to have the last word…
There is no technology that war will not bend to its desires. And despite the risks, so too does this include the dangers of time travel. Edited by Ross O'Brien, Andrew Aston and James Fadeley, the Bolthole writing forum is proud to present twelve new tales from the cunning minds of its new and veteran authors. Including chronologically-twisted tales of warfare from Jonathan Ward, "Spares" author Alec McQuay, Lauren Grest, Mark Steven Thompson, Ed Fortune, Griff Williams, Mark Grudgings and a special guest story from veteran writer C L Werner
History is re-written by the time travellers.
Brave men and women will fight to the death in the battle to have the last word…
There is no technology that war will not bend to its desires. And despite the risks, so too does this include the dangers of time travel. Edited by Ross O'Brien, Andrew Aston and James Fadeley, the Bolthole writing forum is proud to present twelve new tales from the cunning minds of its new and veteran authors. Including chronologically-twisted tales of warfare from Jonathan Ward, "Spares" author Alec McQuay, Lauren Grest, Mark Steven Thompson, Ed Fortune, Griff Williams, Mark Grudgings and a special guest story from veteran writer C L Werner
319 pages, ebook
First published September 12, 2013
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 23, 2013
The Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/11/...
“An excellent collection of short stories - Marching Time learns from the mistakes made in The Black Wind’s Whispers and delivers a very awesome read that comes highly recommended for anybody looking for a true variety in time travel stories.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields
History is written by the victors.
History is re-written by the time travellers.
Brave men and women will fight to the death in the battle to have the last word…
There is no technology that war will not bend to its desires. And despite the risks, so too does this include the dangers of time travel. Edited by Ross O’Brien, Andrew Aston and James Fadeley, the Bolthole writing forum is proud to present twelve new tales from the cunning minds of its new and veteran authors. Including chronologically-twisted tales of warfare from Jonathan Ward, “Spares” author Alec McQuay, Lauren Grest, Mark Steven Thompson, Ed Fortune, Griff Williams, Mark Grudgings and a special guest story from veteran writer C L Werner.
Time Travel is an awesome subject, is it not? It’s been around for a while – heck, Doctor Who celebrates its fiftieth anniversary today with a special episode and it’s very interesting to read about the endless possibilities that come from it. More recently (well, in 2011) we’ve had the likes of 11.22.63 by Stephen King look at the events concerning JFK’s assassination – an event which this week also shares the 50th Anniversary with – and that was a pretty awesome book even if it felt over long at times. The idea translates into pretty much every medium - Back to the Future for example is arguably the most popular film series with time travel as its core, with there no doubt being countless of other stories thrown into the mix as well. There’s last year’s Looper - a time travel movie starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis – and finally, there’s the classic HG Wells novel The Time Machine. As you can probably gather, the very concept of time travel has an endless amount of possibilities and it’s great to see them explored in so many different ways by the authors here – with no two stories feeling similar as each bring a fresh and unique take on the subject matter. In fact, there’s barely a miss in the entire collection as all of the works found within are engaging and awesome.
marchingtimeThe anthology opens with a very solid story – Jonathan Ward’s Ripples, delivering a strong start that’s possibly one of the best of the lot. It’s as equally captivating as it is enthralling providing a powerful opener that will have readers looking forward to the next story even if it is by a completely different author. Ward’s story starts the anthology off with a bang however and the form of the book continues pretty much all the way through – there’s no obvious weak link and the stories are all solid and engaging. Obviously it’s tempting to skip straight to CL Werner’s novel as he’s the most established author here, but the book reads much better if you’re reading one short story after another and it gives you a great chance to taste other’s stories before you delve right into the thick of things. The team behind this anthology have learned a lot more than they did when they were working on The Black Wind’s Whispers - and if you’ve read that anthology then you’ll know what I mean here. Don’t get me wrong, The Black Wind’s Whispers is still an entertaining read, but Marching Time is stronger as a publication and comes with an awesome cover art to boot. I don’t normally mention cover arts in reviews but seriously - just how awesome is that cover? If I was walking past it in a bookshop I’d probably buy it right there on impulse – it just looks so amazing and is worth buying for the art alone.
It’s not just the returning authors from The Black Wind’s Whispers who put out some consistently strong stories in the pages of the book – Alec McQuay’s Fractured for example is just as strong as newcomer Ed Fortune’s Marked For Death, and A.R. Aston’s The Subliminal Reserves is as enthralling as Family Ties by Lauren Grest. Easily the most unusual and original tale of the bunch is James Fadeley’s Flár Ragnarök - with its interesting and unique setting allowing for a very page turning read. However, whilst there are the hits, like any anthology there are also the misses – even if they may be far from frequent and obvious. The world building in some short stories isn’t given the time and space it needs to in order to flesh itself out and the transition between some stories takes a while to adapt. It was very rarely that I found myself reading multiple stories in more than one sitting, proffering to spread them apart so I wouldn’t be thrown off by the next short story.
So whilst Marching Time may not be a perfect success – it’s a marked improvement over the still good The Black Wind’s Whispers - and provides a very entertaining read. If you’re looking for some time travel stories other than Doctor Who to focus on this week then you can’t go far wrong with Marching Time - providing a very unique batch of stories that remain fresh and very engaging. They’re all certainly worth checking out – and this thus comes recommended.
VERDICT: 4/5
“An excellent collection of short stories - Marching Time learns from the mistakes made in The Black Wind’s Whispers and delivers a very awesome read that comes highly recommended for anybody looking for a true variety in time travel stories.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields
History is written by the victors.
History is re-written by the time travellers.
Brave men and women will fight to the death in the battle to have the last word…
There is no technology that war will not bend to its desires. And despite the risks, so too does this include the dangers of time travel. Edited by Ross O’Brien, Andrew Aston and James Fadeley, the Bolthole writing forum is proud to present twelve new tales from the cunning minds of its new and veteran authors. Including chronologically-twisted tales of warfare from Jonathan Ward, “Spares” author Alec McQuay, Lauren Grest, Mark Steven Thompson, Ed Fortune, Griff Williams, Mark Grudgings and a special guest story from veteran writer C L Werner.
Time Travel is an awesome subject, is it not? It’s been around for a while – heck, Doctor Who celebrates its fiftieth anniversary today with a special episode and it’s very interesting to read about the endless possibilities that come from it. More recently (well, in 2011) we’ve had the likes of 11.22.63 by Stephen King look at the events concerning JFK’s assassination – an event which this week also shares the 50th Anniversary with – and that was a pretty awesome book even if it felt over long at times. The idea translates into pretty much every medium - Back to the Future for example is arguably the most popular film series with time travel as its core, with there no doubt being countless of other stories thrown into the mix as well. There’s last year’s Looper - a time travel movie starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis – and finally, there’s the classic HG Wells novel The Time Machine. As you can probably gather, the very concept of time travel has an endless amount of possibilities and it’s great to see them explored in so many different ways by the authors here – with no two stories feeling similar as each bring a fresh and unique take on the subject matter. In fact, there’s barely a miss in the entire collection as all of the works found within are engaging and awesome.
marchingtimeThe anthology opens with a very solid story – Jonathan Ward’s Ripples, delivering a strong start that’s possibly one of the best of the lot. It’s as equally captivating as it is enthralling providing a powerful opener that will have readers looking forward to the next story even if it is by a completely different author. Ward’s story starts the anthology off with a bang however and the form of the book continues pretty much all the way through – there’s no obvious weak link and the stories are all solid and engaging. Obviously it’s tempting to skip straight to CL Werner’s novel as he’s the most established author here, but the book reads much better if you’re reading one short story after another and it gives you a great chance to taste other’s stories before you delve right into the thick of things. The team behind this anthology have learned a lot more than they did when they were working on The Black Wind’s Whispers - and if you’ve read that anthology then you’ll know what I mean here. Don’t get me wrong, The Black Wind’s Whispers is still an entertaining read, but Marching Time is stronger as a publication and comes with an awesome cover art to boot. I don’t normally mention cover arts in reviews but seriously - just how awesome is that cover? If I was walking past it in a bookshop I’d probably buy it right there on impulse – it just looks so amazing and is worth buying for the art alone.
It’s not just the returning authors from The Black Wind’s Whispers who put out some consistently strong stories in the pages of the book – Alec McQuay’s Fractured for example is just as strong as newcomer Ed Fortune’s Marked For Death, and A.R. Aston’s The Subliminal Reserves is as enthralling as Family Ties by Lauren Grest. Easily the most unusual and original tale of the bunch is James Fadeley’s Flár Ragnarök - with its interesting and unique setting allowing for a very page turning read. However, whilst there are the hits, like any anthology there are also the misses – even if they may be far from frequent and obvious. The world building in some short stories isn’t given the time and space it needs to in order to flesh itself out and the transition between some stories takes a while to adapt. It was very rarely that I found myself reading multiple stories in more than one sitting, proffering to spread them apart so I wouldn’t be thrown off by the next short story.
So whilst Marching Time may not be a perfect success – it’s a marked improvement over the still good The Black Wind’s Whispers - and provides a very entertaining read. If you’re looking for some time travel stories other than Doctor Who to focus on this week then you can’t go far wrong with Marching Time - providing a very unique batch of stories that remain fresh and very engaging. They’re all certainly worth checking out – and this thus comes recommended.
VERDICT: 4/5
December 1, 2013
Eroldren looks over at the latest theme anthology from the Bolthole forum writing community, Marching Time, covering the myriad subject of Time Traveling.
“Showcases varied time periods and locations of remarkable Bolthole imagination to be found throughout this curious collection.” – Eroldren, The Founding Fields
Of the many subgenres that Sci-Fi and Fantasy has given rise to, time traveling has been one of the most different while yet fascinating subject, at least, the general concept behind it in the back recesses of my mind. Apart from movie adaptions of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, Doctor Who, Back to the Future,The Girl Who Leapt Through Time or the occasional TV episode featuring a troublesome conflict of time travel for our characters etc. The printed medium of the books that handle time travel to whatever extent something I've haven’t actively pursued after, except one or two early books from Larry Niven, and the sometimes coming across WH40K background fluff or Black Library novels regarding the strange and bizarre nature of the Warp.
For Marching Time by the Bolthole’s pool of writing talent, this second anthology from them was a first time venture for me to dive full-on into this particular genre I've avoided. And after finishing it and a couple rereads on the stories here-and-there, it was a splendid enough ride with some bumps along the way to have taken a gander.
Starting off Marching Time with Jonathan Ward’s “Ripples,” one the best highlights for any interested reader to takeaway from the entire lot. While it does certainly does take time to adjust to the setting and lead character like any other story in Marching Time, once in the mindset the story develops seemingly captivating, it not a cinematic story from start to finish. Throughout the rest of the book, tales such as the unusual yet most intriguing setting of “Flár Ragnarök” by James Fadeley will keep one wondering ‘Why? How?’ and caught up with its swift pacing. Other Bolthole authors such as Alec McQuay and A.R. Aston make strong comebacks from The Black Wind Whispers with “Fractured” and the enigmatic secrets behind “The Subliminal Reserves.” Alongside the previous writers, Bolthole newcomers have also made their debut like Mark Grudgings’ strange and somewhat ghastly time traveling take in “The Lost,” “Marked for Death” by Ed Fortune, or that of “Family Ties” by Lauren Grest.
Even tuckered away in this anthology of short stories, one can read C.L. Werner of Black Library fame early through had submitted another special guest story, “The Lost Blitzkrieg.” And with his story dedication to Ray Harryhausen, I did find my mental imagination reverting for this particular story the scenes playing out with animation akin to Clash of the Titans or The 7th Voyage of Sinbad made “The Lost Blitzkrieg” ever more so utterly splendid.
I do have to say like any previous anthology that I've read you’ll see in Marching Time there are always a handful of hit-or-misses to be found. Some were of minor extent (i.e. worldbuilding and dialogue), others of greater scale that simply left me perplex in both their storytelling approach and how to process together all and consider the individual nature of each and every time traveling universe Marching Time. Outside the difficulties of time travel itself, the only other hurdle Marching Time readers may find challenging is actually the making the usual transition between stories. As said just beforehand, every single short story is set within independent and standalone worlds onto themselves; there is no common ground or at least the very sense that there was something grounding them down. While understandable so, I often found myself taking several and long breaks nevertheless in order to maintain plot continuities before pushing them out of the recessives of my mind to start reading again with a new clean slate of mind.
Besides those personal preferences of mine, I’ll say out of all the many offerings that the Bolthole community has to show for, the overall picture that the Marching Time anthology presents us another worthwhile collection to pick up. Not entirely perfect, however, its one that’s able to get by. The Bolthole are still promising bunch with their second published outing, and with more to show up later on the distant horizon I’ll keep an eye out.
Overall Verdict: 7/10
“Showcases varied time periods and locations of remarkable Bolthole imagination to be found throughout this curious collection.” – Eroldren, The Founding Fields
Of the many subgenres that Sci-Fi and Fantasy has given rise to, time traveling has been one of the most different while yet fascinating subject, at least, the general concept behind it in the back recesses of my mind. Apart from movie adaptions of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, Doctor Who, Back to the Future,The Girl Who Leapt Through Time or the occasional TV episode featuring a troublesome conflict of time travel for our characters etc. The printed medium of the books that handle time travel to whatever extent something I've haven’t actively pursued after, except one or two early books from Larry Niven, and the sometimes coming across WH40K background fluff or Black Library novels regarding the strange and bizarre nature of the Warp.
For Marching Time by the Bolthole’s pool of writing talent, this second anthology from them was a first time venture for me to dive full-on into this particular genre I've avoided. And after finishing it and a couple rereads on the stories here-and-there, it was a splendid enough ride with some bumps along the way to have taken a gander.
Starting off Marching Time with Jonathan Ward’s “Ripples,” one the best highlights for any interested reader to takeaway from the entire lot. While it does certainly does take time to adjust to the setting and lead character like any other story in Marching Time, once in the mindset the story develops seemingly captivating, it not a cinematic story from start to finish. Throughout the rest of the book, tales such as the unusual yet most intriguing setting of “Flár Ragnarök” by James Fadeley will keep one wondering ‘Why? How?’ and caught up with its swift pacing. Other Bolthole authors such as Alec McQuay and A.R. Aston make strong comebacks from The Black Wind Whispers with “Fractured” and the enigmatic secrets behind “The Subliminal Reserves.” Alongside the previous writers, Bolthole newcomers have also made their debut like Mark Grudgings’ strange and somewhat ghastly time traveling take in “The Lost,” “Marked for Death” by Ed Fortune, or that of “Family Ties” by Lauren Grest.
Even tuckered away in this anthology of short stories, one can read C.L. Werner of Black Library fame early through had submitted another special guest story, “The Lost Blitzkrieg.” And with his story dedication to Ray Harryhausen, I did find my mental imagination reverting for this particular story the scenes playing out with animation akin to Clash of the Titans or The 7th Voyage of Sinbad made “The Lost Blitzkrieg” ever more so utterly splendid.
I do have to say like any previous anthology that I've read you’ll see in Marching Time there are always a handful of hit-or-misses to be found. Some were of minor extent (i.e. worldbuilding and dialogue), others of greater scale that simply left me perplex in both their storytelling approach and how to process together all and consider the individual nature of each and every time traveling universe Marching Time. Outside the difficulties of time travel itself, the only other hurdle Marching Time readers may find challenging is actually the making the usual transition between stories. As said just beforehand, every single short story is set within independent and standalone worlds onto themselves; there is no common ground or at least the very sense that there was something grounding them down. While understandable so, I often found myself taking several and long breaks nevertheless in order to maintain plot continuities before pushing them out of the recessives of my mind to start reading again with a new clean slate of mind.
Besides those personal preferences of mine, I’ll say out of all the many offerings that the Bolthole community has to show for, the overall picture that the Marching Time anthology presents us another worthwhile collection to pick up. Not entirely perfect, however, its one that’s able to get by. The Bolthole are still promising bunch with their second published outing, and with more to show up later on the distant horizon I’ll keep an eye out.
Overall Verdict: 7/10
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews