Slow Engines of Time

by Élisabeth Vonarburg

This collection of short stories by Elisabeth Vonarburg presents works of vivid imagery and emotional intensity, set in the same future as the award winning novels The Silent City and The Maerlande Chronicles.

Contains: Band ohne Ende -- In the pit -- Janus -- ...Stay thy flight -- Home by the sea -- The knot -- The slow engine of time -- Chambered Nautilus.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction

183 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Élisabeth Vonarburg, French science-fiction author, poet, translator and editor.

Outre l'écriture de fiction, Élisabeth Vonarburg pratique la traduction (la Tapisserie de Fionavar, de Guy Gavriel Kay), s'adonne à la critique (notamment dans la revue Solaris) et à la théorie (Comment écrire des histoires). Elle a offert pendant quatre ans aux auditeurs de la radio française de Radio-Canada une chronique hebdomadaire dans le cadre de l'émission Demain la veille.

Reviews

[Ed Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice collection of 8 inter-connected stories from this Canadian author who is much more well-known to French speakers than English speakers. These are thoughtful stories that require slow reading and reflection on the part of the reader. The style is more like Ursula Leguin or Samuel Delaney than, say, Asimov or Clarke.

The first 5 stories appear at progressively later times on Earth. The first two deal with humans who have mutated into having the power to heal quickly and to change their shape at will, including changing gender or growing wings. But they are strongly socially conditioned to not ever do this except when required to do so to help ordinary humans. The exception must bend to the rule. These 2 stories involve 2 separate characters who go rogue and use their powers for themselves. The next 3 stories are in the same world, but now deal with artificially-created partly-human lifeforms.

The final 3 stories are set in the same multiverse where there are parallel universes and Earths. All the stories include a woman Talitha who travels between worlds and a man Egon who does not travel because the Talitha he knows and loves has promised to come back to his world. Different versions of Egon do meet different versions of Talitha, but will the real ones get together? The third and final of these stories is on the same Earth as the first 5 stories, tying the two universes together.

It is my understanding that these stories also relate to some of Vonarburgs novels The Silent City and The Maerlande Chronicles (also called "In the Mother's Land").

If you just want a taste, story 5, "The Knot", is available in English in The Road to Science Fiction 6: Around the World.

I'd previously read story 6, "The Slow Engine of Time", in French in La Frontière éclatée.

[Brian Gaston · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have no issue with those that rated this book higher. There is some good writing here. The stories are strongly character based with slow plotting. In summary, this isn't the sort of SF I like but I recognize why others would like it.