What do you think?
Rate this book
Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel
Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel introduces 13 varied and original takes on the pitfalls and paradoxes of time travel-from some of today's most talented voices. From Michael Bunker's story of a father, a son, and the legendary Santa Anna Gold, to Jason Gurley's heart-wrenching tale of an astronaut forever torn from his young wife and daughter, these stories will keep you on the edge of your seat, and often have you guessing right up until the final word. You'll meet a prison therapist who treats his patients by going back and preventing their crimes; a woman who can't stop reliving her life, no matter how much it hurts; a space marine suffering from a time-altering brain injury; a woman who will betray the man she loves to correct a horrible mistake; a vengeful soul from ages past; and a time cop charged with preserving the timelines of multiple universes. You'll experience a world where time travel is so common, reality itself hangs by a thread; a love story that overcomes the unforgiving barriers of time; a thrilling encounter with a pack of T-rex; a historian's efforts to alter Roman history; and the first manned mission to the Red Planet-or is it? So sit back and enjoy. Just be sure you've got plenty of time.
Contents;
Foreword (Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel) • essay by Nick Cole
The Santa Anna Gold / short fiction by Michael Bunker
Corrections / short fiction by Susan Kaye Quinn
Hereafter / short story by Samuel Peralta
Reentry / short fiction by Eric Tozzi
The Swimming Pool of the Universe / short fiction by Nick Cole
The River / short fiction by Jennifer Ellis
A Word in Pompey's Ear / short fiction by Christopher G. Nuttall
Rock or Shell / novella by Ann Christy
The Mirror / short fiction by Irving Belateche
Reset / short fiction by MeiLin Miranda
The Laurasians / short fiction by Isaac Hooke
The First Cut / short fiction by Edward W. Robinson
The Dark Age / (2014) / short story by Jason Gurley
Afterword (Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel) • essay by David Gatewood
.
Contents;
Foreword (Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel) • essay by Nick Cole
The Santa Anna Gold / short fiction by Michael Bunker
Corrections / short fiction by Susan Kaye Quinn
Hereafter / short story by Samuel Peralta
Reentry / short fiction by Eric Tozzi
The Swimming Pool of the Universe / short fiction by Nick Cole
The River / short fiction by Jennifer Ellis
A Word in Pompey's Ear / short fiction by Christopher G. Nuttall
Rock or Shell / novella by Ann Christy
The Mirror / short fiction by Irving Belateche
Reset / short fiction by MeiLin Miranda
The Laurasians / short fiction by Isaac Hooke
The First Cut / short fiction by Edward W. Robinson
The Dark Age / (2014) / short story by Jason Gurley
Afterword (Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel) • essay by David Gatewood
.
ebook
First published January 1, 2014
49 people are currently reading
902 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
June 16, 2014
A video version of this review can be found at: http://youtu.be/46KyqrEJsUc
I’m a sucker for time travel, so I was eager to read this collection the moment I heard about it. You might expect an anthology of 13 stories all on the same topic might get a bit monotonous. This is not the case. All the stories in this book have a unique tone and a unique take on time travel. Each author brings something different to the table, You could even argue that some of these are not strictly time-travel stories, with the links being tenuous, but these are still great sci-fi stories in which time is important.
We find stories about characters wanting to change an aspect of the past, others about people trying to prevent changes. We find those using time travel to explore the past, or gain information that has been lost, and a legal system that uses it to undo horrendous crimes. Some stories explore time through a scientific eye, and others through a magical one.
Some of these stories will make you cry. Some will make you think. Others will leave you hoping. All of them will leave you with a respect for this thing that we call time. As the editor says in his forward - time is the great undefeated enemy of humanity.
I don’t read a lot of short stories, but I found the format idea for exploring a variety of concepts. As soon as you finish one story, you have another to look forward to.
If you love time travel then you should definitely add this one to your collection.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I’m a sucker for time travel, so I was eager to read this collection the moment I heard about it. You might expect an anthology of 13 stories all on the same topic might get a bit monotonous. This is not the case. All the stories in this book have a unique tone and a unique take on time travel. Each author brings something different to the table, You could even argue that some of these are not strictly time-travel stories, with the links being tenuous, but these are still great sci-fi stories in which time is important.
We find stories about characters wanting to change an aspect of the past, others about people trying to prevent changes. We find those using time travel to explore the past, or gain information that has been lost, and a legal system that uses it to undo horrendous crimes. Some stories explore time through a scientific eye, and others through a magical one.
Some of these stories will make you cry. Some will make you think. Others will leave you hoping. All of them will leave you with a respect for this thing that we call time. As the editor says in his forward - time is the great undefeated enemy of humanity.
I don’t read a lot of short stories, but I found the format idea for exploring a variety of concepts. As soon as you finish one story, you have another to look forward to.
If you love time travel then you should definitely add this one to your collection.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 9, 2014
I never give my own books stars. This is an exception. Mine isn't the only story in this collection, and I'm giving it five stars on the strength of the other twelve writers.
Normally in an anthology there will be at least one clunker, the story hidden in the middle of the book in hopes you'll just glide on to the next one. There is no such story in Synchronic.
From Michael Bunker's "The Santa Anna Gold" to Jason Gurley's "The Dark Age," this is one of the best anthologies I've read--certainly the best I've ever been in. You should pick it up.
Normally in an anthology there will be at least one clunker, the story hidden in the middle of the book in hopes you'll just glide on to the next one. There is no such story in Synchronic.
From Michael Bunker's "The Santa Anna Gold" to Jason Gurley's "The Dark Age," this is one of the best anthologies I've read--certainly the best I've ever been in. You should pick it up.
May 11, 2014
I love science fiction, particularly if it involves time travel. Many people find the idea of time travel intriguing. Virtually everyone has fantasized about doing it before. Who wouldn’t want to witness great events of history or try to re-do a mistake from our past? While time travel may not be possible (or is it?) we can still experience it through many authors who have written works with time travel as a theme. So when I had the chance to read Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel, an anthology of short stories all about time travel, I jumped at the chance. Now while I like the theme of time travel, I’m not a big fan of short stories. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good short story, but I usually find them lacking. Lacking in character development, too many unanswered questions, or a story that just doesn’t end right (though to be fair, even a long novel can suffer from these things.) I usually feel that if the author expanded the story, it would have been better. So as I started Synchronic I expected to read some undeveloped stories with great potential. Boy was I wrong! I was pretty much blown away. There is some quality work in this book. Some were certainly better than others, but all of them were worth reading. I especially enjoyed Corrections, Hereafter, The River, Rock or Shell, and Reset. If you aren’t into sci-fi don’t worry. Anyone who enjoys good writing, fascinating stories, and interesting characters will love this book.
May 8, 2014
I like time travel stories. This collection of thirteen short stories exceeded my expectations. I usually read anthologies a little at a time, but I read this book straight through. Each of these authors approached the subject from a completely different angle and their imaginations surprised and delighted.
Some of these stories resonated with me more than others. In any collection, one is likely to have personal favorites. Mine were written by Jason Gurley, Ann Christy, Michael Bunker, MeiLin Miranda, Nick Cole, Eric Tozzi, Samuel Peralta, and Susan Kaye Quinn. That said, there is not a bad story in it.
And last but not least, a shout out to David Gatewood for a beautifully edited book and to Jason Gurley for the exquisite cover art.
Some of these stories resonated with me more than others. In any collection, one is likely to have personal favorites. Mine were written by Jason Gurley, Ann Christy, Michael Bunker, MeiLin Miranda, Nick Cole, Eric Tozzi, Samuel Peralta, and Susan Kaye Quinn. That said, there is not a bad story in it.
And last but not least, a shout out to David Gatewood for a beautifully edited book and to Jason Gurley for the exquisite cover art.
May 21, 2014
As the revival of the short story goes from strength to strength, the short story anthology is fast becoming an exciting outlet for both new and established authors. In the past six months I’ve been sent several anthologies and the quality has been outstanding.
Synchronic, a new anthology from editor David Gatewood, who also brought us the excellent From The Indie Side anthology recently is no exception. Its time travel theme provides an interesting platform for the interesting and diverse collection of authors to strut their literary stuff.
While there are some well-known names from the indie scene included, it’s always great to discover new authors also and there are some great stories here from authors I will definitely be checking out in the future.
From the opener, Michael Bunker’s brilliant tale of The Santa Anna Gold, it’s apparent that Gatewood has carefully compiled this anthology with an emphasis on quality control. The standard throughout is excellent and each author has taken up the challenge with great enthusiasm. The stories themselves are as diverse as the authors, some opting for a more natural approach to time travel by utilising the mind, others going for the more traditional time machine story but each is as entertaining as the last.
The standout story for me has got to be the closer, Jason Gurley’s The Dark Age. It’s a short and sweet heartbreaker almost perfect in its execution and worth the price of the book alone and would take pride of place in any science fiction anthology.
Whether you’re a short story fan, or would like to discover quality work from new authors you’ll find plenty to interest you in Synchronic. It’s a splendid collection and excellent value and a welcome addition to any science fiction bookshelf, virtual or otherwise.
Now, where are the keys to my Delorean?
Synchronic, a new anthology from editor David Gatewood, who also brought us the excellent From The Indie Side anthology recently is no exception. Its time travel theme provides an interesting platform for the interesting and diverse collection of authors to strut their literary stuff.
While there are some well-known names from the indie scene included, it’s always great to discover new authors also and there are some great stories here from authors I will definitely be checking out in the future.
From the opener, Michael Bunker’s brilliant tale of The Santa Anna Gold, it’s apparent that Gatewood has carefully compiled this anthology with an emphasis on quality control. The standard throughout is excellent and each author has taken up the challenge with great enthusiasm. The stories themselves are as diverse as the authors, some opting for a more natural approach to time travel by utilising the mind, others going for the more traditional time machine story but each is as entertaining as the last.
The standout story for me has got to be the closer, Jason Gurley’s The Dark Age. It’s a short and sweet heartbreaker almost perfect in its execution and worth the price of the book alone and would take pride of place in any science fiction anthology.
Whether you’re a short story fan, or would like to discover quality work from new authors you’ll find plenty to interest you in Synchronic. It’s a splendid collection and excellent value and a welcome addition to any science fiction bookshelf, virtual or otherwise.
Now, where are the keys to my Delorean?
May 8, 2014
I love science fiction, and I can safely say that this is one of the best anthologies you could ever wish. I already knew some of the contributing authors but I enjoyed every single story of this collection that I think I'll read again and again over the years.
Strongly suggested.
Strongly suggested.
May 21, 2014
If you are like me a love time travel stories then this is a must read book for you. There are thirteen stories within its covers. There is something for everyone. Three of my favorites were "Reset" by MeiLin Miranda, "Correction"s by Susan Kaye Quinn, and "Hereafter by Samuel Peralta. I loved the story Reset. The main character Sandy is telling her friend Janelle about her best friend Catherine. Catherine claimed to "reset" every so many years. She kept going back into her teen years. I remember my teen years and would never want to go back to them. This was still a fascinating story to read. I would have liked to know more about how she reset herself, whether it was something that just happened or if it was something she could control. Who knows, maybe this story will become a full book.
In "Corrections" we meet Ian who travels back in time to try to stop crimes committed by those on death row. The conflict within
the story continues to grow until the very end. I'd love to read more stories like this from this author. I'd like to know if Ian gets his wish, and if so what happened.
I loved and hated the "Hereafter". A chance meeting between a couple has both satisfying and heart wrenching consequences. I loved the growing love story yet hated where I knew it was taking me. I loved the ending yet wanted so much more. These stories are enough to wet the appetite. I can only hope that each of these authors will find a way to turn them into at least a novella. Once you start this book you can't put it down.
I received a copy from one of the authors for review. I am so glad I did.
In "Corrections" we meet Ian who travels back in time to try to stop crimes committed by those on death row. The conflict within
the story continues to grow until the very end. I'd love to read more stories like this from this author. I'd like to know if Ian gets his wish, and if so what happened.
I loved and hated the "Hereafter". A chance meeting between a couple has both satisfying and heart wrenching consequences. I loved the growing love story yet hated where I knew it was taking me. I loved the ending yet wanted so much more. These stories are enough to wet the appetite. I can only hope that each of these authors will find a way to turn them into at least a novella. Once you start this book you can't put it down.
I received a copy from one of the authors for review. I am so glad I did.
May 28, 2014
Good compilation of time travel stories, most of them very good. My favorite by far was The Dark Age by Jason Gurley. Even though I read it several months ago, it still brought tears to my eyes. Probably will be among my favorites for a long time.
I also liked The Laurasians by Isaac Hooke, which felt like an episode of Land of the Lost. I kept waiting for the sleestaks to show up. :D
The only one that didn't grab me was Rock or Shell by Ann Christy. I couldn't figure out what was going on, but I suppose that was the point, since the characters didn't have any idea, either.
I'd recommend this for anyone that enjoys time travel stories, and anyone that enjoys a good, solid anthology of well-written and well-edited stories.
I also liked The Laurasians by Isaac Hooke, which felt like an episode of Land of the Lost. I kept waiting for the sleestaks to show up. :D
The only one that didn't grab me was Rock or Shell by Ann Christy. I couldn't figure out what was going on, but I suppose that was the point, since the characters didn't have any idea, either.
I'd recommend this for anyone that enjoys time travel stories, and anyone that enjoys a good, solid anthology of well-written and well-edited stories.
June 13, 2014
The diversity of stories by some talented authors was a joy to read. Some were scary, some brought me to tears. All of them made
me think. Congrats to all of you.
me think. Congrats to all of you.
May 20, 2014
As much as the title suggests its relationship to time, Synchronic also has a hint of something else. My mind wandered to chronic health conditions that persist over time, or perhaps even a hint at an addiction.
By the time I finished Synchronic, I had developed my own addiction: a persistent desire to read stories about time travel. One after another, the 13 writers involved in the anthology created new and interesting tales of time travel without repetition or fatigue.
I’ve read works by some of these authors already, but one of the great things about an anthology like this is finding new and different authors I hadn’t yet discovered. After reading some of the stories in Synchronic, I wish I could go back in time and discover these authors in their writing infancy – to read their early works as they were first getting published.
There is a certain appeal to time travel stories. What is it that draws the reader to them? I imagine the pull of regret has a lot to do with it. After I first got a DVR at home, I used it so much to skip commercials and to rewind live TV if I happened to miss something. Eventually I started having urges in real life to skip back or replay something. At first, it was just a few moments at a time, but when I realized major mistakes, oh how I wished I could go back and correct those blunders. To make my life better with just a simple revisit to the past.
Ultimately, that regret has a necessary place in our lives and helps us as we encounter new, but similar circumstances. That doesn’t lessen our desire to alter our past, though. I imagine if we were really able to go back, the tragedy of our actions would resonate throughout our lives. Most of the time travel stories I’ve read or seen on the big screen have that tragic element and over and over we see that in this collection as well.
There are so many great stories contained in Synchronic, but I want to highlight a few of my favorites – the stories that stuck with me long after I’d read them.
The Mirror by Irving Belateche
For me, the standout of this collection. I usually like my time travel to be science fiction-based, but wow, I’ll take it with a supernatural twist after reading The Mirror. Peter Cooper is a Manhattan antiques dealer who stumbles upon the titular object that reshapes his life, and has defined who he was before he even knew it. I really loved this story and made me think twice before looking in any antique mirrors.
The First Cut by Edward E. Robertson
When I first started reading Robertson’s contribution, I thought of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Timecop, but this story had a mind of its own, putting these time police officers on the case of time violators who go to alternate histories of Earth. Our protagonist, Blake Din, is at the bottom of his class from the Academy, but we find out that Blake thrives once the simulations end and the real life situations emerge, taking us on a who-dun-it set in a time like the mid-90’s (where the Internet is in its infancy and cell phones aren’t ubiquitous). Wonderful twist at the end pays off for the reader.
Reset by MeiLin Miranda
This story struck me kind of like a Groundhog Day-type of story, except that Catherine lives almost an entire life over and over. This not only reminded me of Groundhog Day, but also the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where the Enterprise is stuck in a time loop and Data is the only one aware of the repetition. Again, both those two tales are just a day or a few days – Catherine’s story involves years. What would you do if you lived decades over and over again?
Reentry Window by Eric Tozzi
Tozzi wrote one of my favorite books of 2013 – The Scout, and his knowledge of NASA and the space program pays off fantastically here. With hints of Andy Weir’s The Martian, Tozzi gives us a “chicken or the egg” story set in outer space that leaves you thinking for a long time.
Rock or Shell by Ann Christy
What is the effect of time travel on the space-time continuum. If you’ve watched enough Star Trek, you’ve heard of the continuum and Christy gives us a look behind the curtain so-to-speak with Rock or Shell. When the world as we know it starts to collapse, what do we hold on to? What keeps us centered – keeps us grounded? There was a bit of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie Inception here – you’ll know it when you read it – and Christy’s story pays it off wonderfully.
Like I said – all the stories are winners. It was tough for me to pick my top 5 and I’ll say that Susan Kaye Quinn’s Corrections was right there on the outside. Some other fantastic stories from Nick Cole (who also penned the amazing Foreward), Michael Bunker (what a twist!), Jason Gurley, Samuel Peralta, Jennifer Ellis, Christopher Nuttall, and Isaac Hooke round out the collection. I really could go on and on about this collection. And of course, I couldn’t forget to mention that editor extraordinaire, David Gatewood, compiled this outstanding anthology, just a few months after publishing his last indie anthology, From The Indie Side.
This collection gets and deserves five stars and also deserves a paperback on your bookshelf. The short story is not dead and this collection proves it.
By the time I finished Synchronic, I had developed my own addiction: a persistent desire to read stories about time travel. One after another, the 13 writers involved in the anthology created new and interesting tales of time travel without repetition or fatigue.
I’ve read works by some of these authors already, but one of the great things about an anthology like this is finding new and different authors I hadn’t yet discovered. After reading some of the stories in Synchronic, I wish I could go back in time and discover these authors in their writing infancy – to read their early works as they were first getting published.
There is a certain appeal to time travel stories. What is it that draws the reader to them? I imagine the pull of regret has a lot to do with it. After I first got a DVR at home, I used it so much to skip commercials and to rewind live TV if I happened to miss something. Eventually I started having urges in real life to skip back or replay something. At first, it was just a few moments at a time, but when I realized major mistakes, oh how I wished I could go back and correct those blunders. To make my life better with just a simple revisit to the past.
Ultimately, that regret has a necessary place in our lives and helps us as we encounter new, but similar circumstances. That doesn’t lessen our desire to alter our past, though. I imagine if we were really able to go back, the tragedy of our actions would resonate throughout our lives. Most of the time travel stories I’ve read or seen on the big screen have that tragic element and over and over we see that in this collection as well.
There are so many great stories contained in Synchronic, but I want to highlight a few of my favorites – the stories that stuck with me long after I’d read them.
The Mirror by Irving Belateche
For me, the standout of this collection. I usually like my time travel to be science fiction-based, but wow, I’ll take it with a supernatural twist after reading The Mirror. Peter Cooper is a Manhattan antiques dealer who stumbles upon the titular object that reshapes his life, and has defined who he was before he even knew it. I really loved this story and made me think twice before looking in any antique mirrors.
The First Cut by Edward E. Robertson
When I first started reading Robertson’s contribution, I thought of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Timecop, but this story had a mind of its own, putting these time police officers on the case of time violators who go to alternate histories of Earth. Our protagonist, Blake Din, is at the bottom of his class from the Academy, but we find out that Blake thrives once the simulations end and the real life situations emerge, taking us on a who-dun-it set in a time like the mid-90’s (where the Internet is in its infancy and cell phones aren’t ubiquitous). Wonderful twist at the end pays off for the reader.
Reset by MeiLin Miranda
This story struck me kind of like a Groundhog Day-type of story, except that Catherine lives almost an entire life over and over. This not only reminded me of Groundhog Day, but also the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where the Enterprise is stuck in a time loop and Data is the only one aware of the repetition. Again, both those two tales are just a day or a few days – Catherine’s story involves years. What would you do if you lived decades over and over again?
Reentry Window by Eric Tozzi
Tozzi wrote one of my favorite books of 2013 – The Scout, and his knowledge of NASA and the space program pays off fantastically here. With hints of Andy Weir’s The Martian, Tozzi gives us a “chicken or the egg” story set in outer space that leaves you thinking for a long time.
Rock or Shell by Ann Christy
What is the effect of time travel on the space-time continuum. If you’ve watched enough Star Trek, you’ve heard of the continuum and Christy gives us a look behind the curtain so-to-speak with Rock or Shell. When the world as we know it starts to collapse, what do we hold on to? What keeps us centered – keeps us grounded? There was a bit of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie Inception here – you’ll know it when you read it – and Christy’s story pays it off wonderfully.
Like I said – all the stories are winners. It was tough for me to pick my top 5 and I’ll say that Susan Kaye Quinn’s Corrections was right there on the outside. Some other fantastic stories from Nick Cole (who also penned the amazing Foreward), Michael Bunker (what a twist!), Jason Gurley, Samuel Peralta, Jennifer Ellis, Christopher Nuttall, and Isaac Hooke round out the collection. I really could go on and on about this collection. And of course, I couldn’t forget to mention that editor extraordinaire, David Gatewood, compiled this outstanding anthology, just a few months after publishing his last indie anthology, From The Indie Side.
This collection gets and deserves five stars and also deserves a paperback on your bookshelf. The short story is not dead and this collection proves it.
June 1, 2014
Time travel. The ability to change the past. It never gets old (sorry, couldn't resist).
Still, as author Nick Cole reminds us in the Foreword to Synchronic: 13 tales of Time Travel looking back is part of the human condition, an unquenchable desire to address the unanswerable question: what if I had just…? There is probably no richer—or more cliched—subject in science fiction. But with the topic in the capable hands of this talented collection of writers and you will not be disappointed.
Take Susan Kaye Quinn’s story, Corrections. A therapist, working for the Dept of Corrections, guides convicted killers back in time to stop the murders before they happen, a process called the Shift. It’s a tricky business, you have to warp the timeline just enough to prevent the murder, but, too much and snap - extinction for the unlucky inmate. If you’re successful, you get a tag and a chance to live your life as a free man. If not, you'll never have existed. I have a feeling this one might become a new Debt Collector-style series?
Contrast that with Nick Cole’s The Swimming Pool of the Universe. Alternately hilarious and heart-breaking, Private Dexter Keith is caught in the temporal soup of his own brain where the past, future and present collide in a wonderful mash-up of flashbacks. The voice of Sergeant Collins, a computer program/drill instructor implanted into his brain during basic training, provides the lifeline Keith needs to take control of his life.
Swimming Pool has a hopeful ending, but not so for Reset by MeiLin Miranda. Reset asks the question: What if you lived your life over and over, from teenager to fifty years old? On the face of it, it sounds great. You can fix any mistake you ever made! Sucky prom date? Marriage didn’t work out? Problem solved. But what about the parts of your life that you cherish? The relationships, the kids, the love of your life…they just vanish overnight; no mourning, no legacy, just gone. Catherine is haunted by the children of her past lives, drawing them over and over, filling boxes with portraits that exist only in her mind.
But maybe you prefer old school time travel? The kind where para-military time police travel back to stop bad guys who have no regard for the chronological order of our present timeline.Then you want to dip into Edward W Robertson's The First Cut. Our fearless, first person hero, fresh from training, arrives in the Cutting Room for assignment as a rookie time cop. Things don’t go well for new-guy in the simulations—he’s barely making the grade—when one of his classmates goes rogue. Think Time Cop meets Houdini.
When I read Rock or Shell by Ann Christy, I had a mental image of the sequence from Neil Gaiman’s American Gods where Shadow gets taken “behind the scenes.” It’s like an MS-DOS version of the world, stripped down, functional, but not pretty in any way. In Christy’s world, an inanimate object—a rock or a shell, for instance—given to a person by a mysterious stranger gives them the ability to change events in their life. The problem is the objects reacts to the thousands of urges, regrets and random thoughts that race through our brains. The end result is an apocalyptic landscape. But wait, all we have to do is wish for it to go back, right? Well, it’s not that simple…
Synchronic, a wonderful collection for you to pass the time (Yeah, I know, but it's my review and I'll pun if I want to!)
Still, as author Nick Cole reminds us in the Foreword to Synchronic: 13 tales of Time Travel looking back is part of the human condition, an unquenchable desire to address the unanswerable question: what if I had just…? There is probably no richer—or more cliched—subject in science fiction. But with the topic in the capable hands of this talented collection of writers and you will not be disappointed.
Take Susan Kaye Quinn’s story, Corrections. A therapist, working for the Dept of Corrections, guides convicted killers back in time to stop the murders before they happen, a process called the Shift. It’s a tricky business, you have to warp the timeline just enough to prevent the murder, but, too much and snap - extinction for the unlucky inmate. If you’re successful, you get a tag and a chance to live your life as a free man. If not, you'll never have existed. I have a feeling this one might become a new Debt Collector-style series?
Contrast that with Nick Cole’s The Swimming Pool of the Universe. Alternately hilarious and heart-breaking, Private Dexter Keith is caught in the temporal soup of his own brain where the past, future and present collide in a wonderful mash-up of flashbacks. The voice of Sergeant Collins, a computer program/drill instructor implanted into his brain during basic training, provides the lifeline Keith needs to take control of his life.
Swimming Pool has a hopeful ending, but not so for Reset by MeiLin Miranda. Reset asks the question: What if you lived your life over and over, from teenager to fifty years old? On the face of it, it sounds great. You can fix any mistake you ever made! Sucky prom date? Marriage didn’t work out? Problem solved. But what about the parts of your life that you cherish? The relationships, the kids, the love of your life…they just vanish overnight; no mourning, no legacy, just gone. Catherine is haunted by the children of her past lives, drawing them over and over, filling boxes with portraits that exist only in her mind.
But maybe you prefer old school time travel? The kind where para-military time police travel back to stop bad guys who have no regard for the chronological order of our present timeline.Then you want to dip into Edward W Robertson's The First Cut. Our fearless, first person hero, fresh from training, arrives in the Cutting Room for assignment as a rookie time cop. Things don’t go well for new-guy in the simulations—he’s barely making the grade—when one of his classmates goes rogue. Think Time Cop meets Houdini.
When I read Rock or Shell by Ann Christy, I had a mental image of the sequence from Neil Gaiman’s American Gods where Shadow gets taken “behind the scenes.” It’s like an MS-DOS version of the world, stripped down, functional, but not pretty in any way. In Christy’s world, an inanimate object—a rock or a shell, for instance—given to a person by a mysterious stranger gives them the ability to change events in their life. The problem is the objects reacts to the thousands of urges, regrets and random thoughts that race through our brains. The end result is an apocalyptic landscape. But wait, all we have to do is wish for it to go back, right? Well, it’s not that simple…
Synchronic, a wonderful collection for you to pass the time (Yeah, I know, but it's my review and I'll pun if I want to!)
May 22, 2014
I had seen rumours and whispers about this book on the Twittersphere and Facebook, so when Ann asked if I would a look at the book, I couldn't type back my positive reply quick enough. This book is a collection of 13 stories by 13 amazing authors, some of them I knew through my love of all things silo related and others I was unfamiliar with, but the one thing they have in common is the subject - Time Travel.
Yes time travel, an extremely difficult subject (well in my eyes), we have all heard of The Butterfly Effect, Just one wrong step in the past and you could wipe out yourself or your entire family or .......
See it's tricky, but these guys have done an awesome job of writing 13 tales, and each of them different, some are spacey, some are futuristic, some are set in the present, some in the past but they are all well written and amazingly thought provoking, I spent minutes trying to get my head round some of the logistics of travelling through time.
Some of them are also sad, when children are involved, loved ones separate by the fabric of time, never knowing when they will see their beloved again.
I won't single out my favourite one but I will give you a brief idea about each of the stories!
The Santa Anna Gold by Michael Bunker
A father and son search for the legendary Santa Anna Gold, but the son wants to go back in time to find it.
Corrections by Susan Kaye Quinn
Psychologists enter the minds of criminals on Death Row to try and prevent them committing their crimes.
Hereafter by Samuel Peralta
Cpl Caitlyn McAdams meets a man who keeps reappearing in her life, a man she saw die in front of her.
Reentry Window by Eric Tozzi
The first manned mission to Mars and the discovery of a strange anomaly on the red planet.
The Swimming Pool of the Universe by Nick Cole
Alien spiders (this made me go eeek!) and an asteroid, Private Dexter Keith has his hands full.
The River by Jennifer Ellis
Sarah Williams betrays her running partner stealing his invention to go back in time and make things right.
A Word in Pompey's Ear by Christopher G Nuttall
Julia, a student of the Roman Empire gets a chance to meet Pompey the Great and try and change history.
Rock or Shell by Ann Christy
The opportunity to go back and change something embarrassing or bad, but what if we could all do it?
The Mirror by Irving Belateche
Peter Cooper turns his fortunes around but discovers an old mirror that is hiding a secret.
Reset by MeiLin Miranda
Catherine has withdrawn from life and her best friend Sandy wants to know why, what is she hiding?
The Laurasians by Isaac Hooke
A paleontologists travels back in time and comes face to face with the fossils he has been uncovering.
The First Cut by Edward W Robertson
A future where parallel Earths exist, Blake Din needs to stop criminals jumping between Earth's.
The Dark Age by Jason Gurley
An astronaut heading for the stars leaving his family behind, about to enter hibernation sleep for 150 years.
So as you can see they are each very different! I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did, my only complaint, some stories were too short and a couple too long.
Synchronic is awarded 4 out 5
Yes time travel, an extremely difficult subject (well in my eyes), we have all heard of The Butterfly Effect, Just one wrong step in the past and you could wipe out yourself or your entire family or .......
See it's tricky, but these guys have done an awesome job of writing 13 tales, and each of them different, some are spacey, some are futuristic, some are set in the present, some in the past but they are all well written and amazingly thought provoking, I spent minutes trying to get my head round some of the logistics of travelling through time.
Some of them are also sad, when children are involved, loved ones separate by the fabric of time, never knowing when they will see their beloved again.
I won't single out my favourite one but I will give you a brief idea about each of the stories!
The Santa Anna Gold by Michael Bunker
A father and son search for the legendary Santa Anna Gold, but the son wants to go back in time to find it.
Corrections by Susan Kaye Quinn
Psychologists enter the minds of criminals on Death Row to try and prevent them committing their crimes.
Hereafter by Samuel Peralta
Cpl Caitlyn McAdams meets a man who keeps reappearing in her life, a man she saw die in front of her.
Reentry Window by Eric Tozzi
The first manned mission to Mars and the discovery of a strange anomaly on the red planet.
The Swimming Pool of the Universe by Nick Cole
Alien spiders (this made me go eeek!) and an asteroid, Private Dexter Keith has his hands full.
The River by Jennifer Ellis
Sarah Williams betrays her running partner stealing his invention to go back in time and make things right.
A Word in Pompey's Ear by Christopher G Nuttall
Julia, a student of the Roman Empire gets a chance to meet Pompey the Great and try and change history.
Rock or Shell by Ann Christy
The opportunity to go back and change something embarrassing or bad, but what if we could all do it?
The Mirror by Irving Belateche
Peter Cooper turns his fortunes around but discovers an old mirror that is hiding a secret.
Reset by MeiLin Miranda
Catherine has withdrawn from life and her best friend Sandy wants to know why, what is she hiding?
The Laurasians by Isaac Hooke
A paleontologists travels back in time and comes face to face with the fossils he has been uncovering.
The First Cut by Edward W Robertson
A future where parallel Earths exist, Blake Din needs to stop criminals jumping between Earth's.
The Dark Age by Jason Gurley
An astronaut heading for the stars leaving his family behind, about to enter hibernation sleep for 150 years.
So as you can see they are each very different! I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did, my only complaint, some stories were too short and a couple too long.
Synchronic is awarded 4 out 5
May 20, 2014
Take the Time to Rediscover the Joy of Good Storyteling
Synchronic helped me rediscover the joy of reading short stories. It’d been a while since I’d sat down with a collection like this, and after reading this one, I’ve remembered what I liked most about short stories: you can sit down and enjoy the telling of a tale as a complete experience in one reading session. No need to bookmark your place and get back into the characters later. And when a tale is told well, reading it means experiencing an emotional response that stays with you; the short story form, like a poem, lends itself to that purpose much more effectively than does longer fiction. The time-travel stories in Synchronic are certainly well told.
Some of the writers go into the past to right a wrong via petite morality plays: “what if” it *could’ve been* this way? Some move into a dystopian future and ask, “what if” it *is* this way? I grew up on classic, twisty episodic television—The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery—and these stories reminded me of those shows. Even when you think you know where some of the stories are going, they can take you to a different place altogether, literally and emotionally. Reality and our assumptions about it; human nature and how it tempers visceral need with our noble ideals of whom we’d like to be; and our willingness to sacrifice self for others are themes that cross storylines here. In short, you get thirteen different interpretations of what a time-travel tale can do in helping us explore who we are.
Most of these tales tug at the heartstrings, mainly through the tragedy of love lost (either for another or for oneself). A father driven to madness by the loss of his son. A time-tripping lover heartbroken over the object of his affection, who can’t follow him. A down-on-his-luck combat veteran-hero who’s lost his sense of self. A man who wrestles with the cost of leaving his family behind forever to experience the ultimate human adventure. These are a handful of examples of the poignancy in this collection.
Beyond its heartfelt storylines and trippy tale-telling, though, Synchronic is also an opportunity to read an author or two you’re not familiar with. It’s like a Whitman’s sampler for fans of sci-fi. I hadn’t read most of these writers before picking up this collection (which I wanted to read because it included several of my favorite authors). Now I’m glad I had the opportunity to read the others—and I want to read more of their work.
Multiple authors mean multiple styles, and in a collection like this, that’s a good thing for the literary tastebuds. Some of the stories are character driven, and others rely on action to advance the plot. A few even read like prose poems. Some move you forward in time; some move you backward. But if your reading experience is like mine, you will be moved by this collection—one way or another.
Synchronic helped me rediscover the joy of reading short stories. It’d been a while since I’d sat down with a collection like this, and after reading this one, I’ve remembered what I liked most about short stories: you can sit down and enjoy the telling of a tale as a complete experience in one reading session. No need to bookmark your place and get back into the characters later. And when a tale is told well, reading it means experiencing an emotional response that stays with you; the short story form, like a poem, lends itself to that purpose much more effectively than does longer fiction. The time-travel stories in Synchronic are certainly well told.
Some of the writers go into the past to right a wrong via petite morality plays: “what if” it *could’ve been* this way? Some move into a dystopian future and ask, “what if” it *is* this way? I grew up on classic, twisty episodic television—The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery—and these stories reminded me of those shows. Even when you think you know where some of the stories are going, they can take you to a different place altogether, literally and emotionally. Reality and our assumptions about it; human nature and how it tempers visceral need with our noble ideals of whom we’d like to be; and our willingness to sacrifice self for others are themes that cross storylines here. In short, you get thirteen different interpretations of what a time-travel tale can do in helping us explore who we are.
Most of these tales tug at the heartstrings, mainly through the tragedy of love lost (either for another or for oneself). A father driven to madness by the loss of his son. A time-tripping lover heartbroken over the object of his affection, who can’t follow him. A down-on-his-luck combat veteran-hero who’s lost his sense of self. A man who wrestles with the cost of leaving his family behind forever to experience the ultimate human adventure. These are a handful of examples of the poignancy in this collection.
Beyond its heartfelt storylines and trippy tale-telling, though, Synchronic is also an opportunity to read an author or two you’re not familiar with. It’s like a Whitman’s sampler for fans of sci-fi. I hadn’t read most of these writers before picking up this collection (which I wanted to read because it included several of my favorite authors). Now I’m glad I had the opportunity to read the others—and I want to read more of their work.
Multiple authors mean multiple styles, and in a collection like this, that’s a good thing for the literary tastebuds. Some of the stories are character driven, and others rely on action to advance the plot. A few even read like prose poems. Some move you forward in time; some move you backward. But if your reading experience is like mine, you will be moved by this collection—one way or another.
May 21, 2014
The collection is a treat if you are into time travel or just looking for some great speculative fiction short stories. I'm going to limit myself and use only a couple of sentences to sum up my impression after reading each story, because if I don't I can ramble on for days, making my own short story.
Santa Anna's Gold - Michael introduces us to a man who is out of his time and out of his mind. The story has a rugged feel to it, as rugged as the Texas land where it takes place.
Corrections - Susan writes an intense thriller of a person who relives moments in convicted murderers' lives. I faced this story like when I watched Poltergeist as a child; with my hands in front of my eyes, peeking around the edges. It creeped me out.
Hereafter - Samuel writes a beautiful story of love between a traveler and an unsuspecting lady. Fine literary fiction within a speculative backdrop.
The Swimming Pool of the Universe - Forget his comparison to Hemingway. Nick is a modern day PKD. Enough said.
Reentry Window - Eric's ability to spin a yarn about space flight makes me think I'm reading an astronaut's memoir, that's how sure and precise his writing is.
The River - Jennifer weaves a complicated story of regret and redo.
A Word in Pompey's Ear - Christopher gives us a lesson, not only of history, but of pride.
Rock or Shell - Ann takes us for a metaphysical ride on a mattress. Her story has an ethereal quality to it, as fleeting as the fog.
The Mirror - A haunting story of a man, a woman, a mirror, and a superstition. Irving writes the story predominantly in narrative, like it was pulled from a diary. It is compelling.
Reset - MeiLin gives us a story told not through the time traveler, but through her friend; a witness to the repercussions of reliving life. It's a unique and interesting take on the typical time travel story.
The Laurasians - Isaac gives us a roller coaster, Jurassic Park-esque tale. The dinosaurs also win in this story.
The First Cut - Edward's story is a glimpse of a future world, a disturbing occupation, and a good old whodunit.
The Dark Age - Jason weaves a tale of a family split by duty. It resonates with the pain of loss that transcends the story.
There are curse words spattered here and there, including one or two F-bombs. But the stories aren't saturated in profanity. There's also a couple of passing mentions of sex. Some violence, with one story (Corrections) having some particularly grotesque descriptions.
If you are shopping for entertaining, short, time-travel stories, then you definitely have to purchase this. Click that "BUY NOW" button now.
Santa Anna's Gold - Michael introduces us to a man who is out of his time and out of his mind. The story has a rugged feel to it, as rugged as the Texas land where it takes place.
Corrections - Susan writes an intense thriller of a person who relives moments in convicted murderers' lives. I faced this story like when I watched Poltergeist as a child; with my hands in front of my eyes, peeking around the edges. It creeped me out.
Hereafter - Samuel writes a beautiful story of love between a traveler and an unsuspecting lady. Fine literary fiction within a speculative backdrop.
The Swimming Pool of the Universe - Forget his comparison to Hemingway. Nick is a modern day PKD. Enough said.
Reentry Window - Eric's ability to spin a yarn about space flight makes me think I'm reading an astronaut's memoir, that's how sure and precise his writing is.
The River - Jennifer weaves a complicated story of regret and redo.
A Word in Pompey's Ear - Christopher gives us a lesson, not only of history, but of pride.
Rock or Shell - Ann takes us for a metaphysical ride on a mattress. Her story has an ethereal quality to it, as fleeting as the fog.
The Mirror - A haunting story of a man, a woman, a mirror, and a superstition. Irving writes the story predominantly in narrative, like it was pulled from a diary. It is compelling.
Reset - MeiLin gives us a story told not through the time traveler, but through her friend; a witness to the repercussions of reliving life. It's a unique and interesting take on the typical time travel story.
The Laurasians - Isaac gives us a roller coaster, Jurassic Park-esque tale. The dinosaurs also win in this story.
The First Cut - Edward's story is a glimpse of a future world, a disturbing occupation, and a good old whodunit.
The Dark Age - Jason weaves a tale of a family split by duty. It resonates with the pain of loss that transcends the story.
There are curse words spattered here and there, including one or two F-bombs. But the stories aren't saturated in profanity. There's also a couple of passing mentions of sex. Some violence, with one story (Corrections) having some particularly grotesque descriptions.
If you are shopping for entertaining, short, time-travel stories, then you definitely have to purchase this. Click that "BUY NOW" button now.
May 27, 2014
FIVE STARS (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
I received an ARC copy (for an honest review) of the anthology, Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel. This collection consists of 13 short stories from 13 different authors. A veritable buffet of tasty tales for the time traveler connoisseur.
I will never tire of reading science fiction, especially "time travel" stories. Don't we enjoy sliding our feet into the shoes of a compelling character while time transposes and invigorates us through story? Well, this is even better, not only do we step into the shoes of more than 13 irresistible characters, we also travel with them to the distant and remote pasts we know and love, as well as an unexplored and uncertain future. And we do this safely in the confines of our minds. What a trip! And don't we just love the idea of correcting wrongs, of getting a second, third, or fourth chance, of testing theories, and answering the "what-ifs" that plague our consciences?
Well, here ya go: you should get a copy!
This is an amazing collection of short stories that delivers masterfully written, cleverly plotted, wonderfully crafted, and supremely written short stories. I can't honestly say that I have a favorite among them. I loved them all. Each one is as unique as the author who crafted it. I was mesmerized. I was fearful. I was angry. I was elated. I was sad. I sat on the edge of my seat. I was moved. I lost myself in the stories. I cried. This anthology delivers as its apt title suggests!
Thank you, Ann Christy for providing me with an ARC! Thanks to all of the authors: Michael Bunker, Isaac Hooke, Susan Kaye Quinn, Nick Cole, Jason Gurley, Edward W. Robertson, Irving Belateche, Christopher G. Nuttall, Jennifer Ellis, Ann Christy, MeiLin Miranda, Samuel Peralta, Eric Tozzi, and David Gatewood (Editor), for this wonderful assortment of stories. I read the book in two sittings. Time truly flew by.
I received an ARC copy (for an honest review) of the anthology, Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel. This collection consists of 13 short stories from 13 different authors. A veritable buffet of tasty tales for the time traveler connoisseur.
I will never tire of reading science fiction, especially "time travel" stories. Don't we enjoy sliding our feet into the shoes of a compelling character while time transposes and invigorates us through story? Well, this is even better, not only do we step into the shoes of more than 13 irresistible characters, we also travel with them to the distant and remote pasts we know and love, as well as an unexplored and uncertain future. And we do this safely in the confines of our minds. What a trip! And don't we just love the idea of correcting wrongs, of getting a second, third, or fourth chance, of testing theories, and answering the "what-ifs" that plague our consciences?
Well, here ya go: you should get a copy!
This is an amazing collection of short stories that delivers masterfully written, cleverly plotted, wonderfully crafted, and supremely written short stories. I can't honestly say that I have a favorite among them. I loved them all. Each one is as unique as the author who crafted it. I was mesmerized. I was fearful. I was angry. I was elated. I was sad. I sat on the edge of my seat. I was moved. I lost myself in the stories. I cried. This anthology delivers as its apt title suggests!
Thank you, Ann Christy for providing me with an ARC! Thanks to all of the authors: Michael Bunker, Isaac Hooke, Susan Kaye Quinn, Nick Cole, Jason Gurley, Edward W. Robertson, Irving Belateche, Christopher G. Nuttall, Jennifer Ellis, Ann Christy, MeiLin Miranda, Samuel Peralta, Eric Tozzi, and David Gatewood (Editor), for this wonderful assortment of stories. I read the book in two sittings. Time truly flew by.
May 23, 2014
I'm not a huge sci-fi reader, but I love a well-told story. In this short-story collection I found a huge spread from heavy sci-fi to quirky romance.
Bunker's THE SANTA ANNA GOLD just sucked me in. The funniest thing is, I usually hate tales when I can't trust the narrator, and yet, I was completely entranced.
Quinn's CORRECTIONS, featuring a time-traveling therapist for death row convicts, had great twists. I almost felt like I was watching an episode of Quantum Leap.
Peralta's HEREAFTER honestly brought tears to my eyes. Such a tender, heartbreakingly romantic story of a love that transcends time.
Tozzi's REENTRY WINDOW was a chilling sci-fi adventure of Mars exploration. Ugh! I just wanted to scream, wishing I could change astronaut Brett Lockwood's fate.
I could go on, but I'm going to go back to reading instead. Catch you on the flip-side....
Bunker's THE SANTA ANNA GOLD just sucked me in. The funniest thing is, I usually hate tales when I can't trust the narrator, and yet, I was completely entranced.
Quinn's CORRECTIONS, featuring a time-traveling therapist for death row convicts, had great twists. I almost felt like I was watching an episode of Quantum Leap.
Peralta's HEREAFTER honestly brought tears to my eyes. Such a tender, heartbreakingly romantic story of a love that transcends time.
Tozzi's REENTRY WINDOW was a chilling sci-fi adventure of Mars exploration. Ugh! I just wanted to scream, wishing I could change astronaut Brett Lockwood's fate.
I could go on, but I'm going to go back to reading instead. Catch you on the flip-side....
May 15, 2014
I thought this was an excellent book. All thirteen authors approached "time" in a unique way which made reading the book a varied and exciting journey. A collection of short stories by many different authors also exposes the reader to new writers and styles- I "discovered" several whose stories were so good, I had to check out what else they had written (I have quite a list of "to read"'s). I recommend this book because I honestly believe there's something for everyone within it's pages.
Note: I did receive a free copy in Jason Gurley's newsletter, and while he'd like some kind of review (and so would the other authors), I consider it an option, not a requirement.
Note: I did receive a free copy in Jason Gurley's newsletter, and while he'd like some kind of review (and so would the other authors), I consider it an option, not a requirement.
January 9, 2016
Edit: 1/8/16 -- Revisited this collection. Bumped it up to 5 stars. It really is a tight collection of short stories by a bunch of talented authors. Wonderful collection of stories.
Original: Mixed bag of short stories from Indie authors. Wide variety of stories based on a singular trope makes for a fascinating read :)
May or may not go into detailed reviews on a story by story basis. Prolly not. Sorriez :)
Original: Mixed bag of short stories from Indie authors. Wide variety of stories based on a singular trope makes for a fascinating read :)
May or may not go into detailed reviews on a story by story basis. Prolly not. Sorriez :)
June 5, 2014
I love to read, more specifically, I love to read sci-fi. This collection of time travel is absolutely phenomenal. I loved each of these tales. All had the common thread of time, but each one so unique and well written. Some the authors are among my favorites, and as a bonus of this collection, it has introduced me to new authors.
January 28, 2015
Synchronic
As in any collection there are going to stories you like more than others. However, I did find all thirteen short stories to be very entertaining. Each of them had some type of charm that made them worth reading.
As in any collection there are going to stories you like more than others. However, I did find all thirteen short stories to be very entertaining. Each of them had some type of charm that made them worth reading.
August 15, 2014
One of the best anthologies I've read in a long time. So many takes on time travel! Impossible to pick a fave.
June 16, 2014
I really, really enjoyed these stories. Each one was so different and there were so many really cool takes on the concept of time travel.
May 25, 2014
I picked up this title because I like Michael Bunker and I enjoy Jason Gurly. I enjoyed not just those two short stories but the entire book. Now there other authors that I will have to look into.
November 1, 2020
4.0 stars - Intriguing collection of short stories on the theme of time travel.
Time travel stories often are derivative, contain well-worn themes like the proverbial paradox theory and wanting to change history, or use time-travel to fill in gaps in the narrative. This collection of stories do not succumb to these temptations.
Each of the thirteen stories provides a fresh and often unique take on time-travel and its consequences, both good and bad. Time travel is not the central player in these stories though. Rather, the stories are character driven, allowing the reader to imagine what it would be like to experience the things happening to the characters. Some of the stories were quite moving.
I tend not to read many short story collections because of the hit-or-miss nature of the stories that are included. Not every story in Synchronic hits it out of the ballpark. However, each of the stories brought something fresh to the table. There were no misses and some were real winners.
Time travel stories often are derivative, contain well-worn themes like the proverbial paradox theory and wanting to change history, or use time-travel to fill in gaps in the narrative. This collection of stories do not succumb to these temptations.
Each of the thirteen stories provides a fresh and often unique take on time-travel and its consequences, both good and bad. Time travel is not the central player in these stories though. Rather, the stories are character driven, allowing the reader to imagine what it would be like to experience the things happening to the characters. Some of the stories were quite moving.
I tend not to read many short story collections because of the hit-or-miss nature of the stories that are included. Not every story in Synchronic hits it out of the ballpark. However, each of the stories brought something fresh to the table. There were no misses and some were real winners.
January 19, 2019
A fairly decent ensemble of short stories on the theme of time travel. Every story provided a different spin on the subject. Rating for each story:
1. The Santa Anna Gold - 3.5/5
2. Corrections - 4/5 (a unique way of lowering incarceration rates)
3. Hereafter - 3/5
4. Reentry Window - 4/5 (does the lunar landing take place in the future?)
5. The Swimming Pool of the Universe - 2/5
6. The River - 3/5
7. A Word in Pompey’s Ear - 1/5
8. Rock or Shell - 3.5/5
9. The Mirror - 2/5
10. Reset - 2.5/5
11. The Laurasians - 3/5
12. The First Cut - 3.5/5
13. The Dark Age - 4/5 (do you accept an opportunity of a lifetime to help save Earth knowing when you wake from the Long Sleep your loved ones will be dead?)
1. The Santa Anna Gold - 3.5/5
2. Corrections - 4/5 (a unique way of lowering incarceration rates)
3. Hereafter - 3/5
4. Reentry Window - 4/5 (does the lunar landing take place in the future?)
5. The Swimming Pool of the Universe - 2/5
6. The River - 3/5
7. A Word in Pompey’s Ear - 1/5
8. Rock or Shell - 3.5/5
9. The Mirror - 2/5
10. Reset - 2.5/5
11. The Laurasians - 3/5
12. The First Cut - 3.5/5
13. The Dark Age - 4/5 (do you accept an opportunity of a lifetime to help save Earth knowing when you wake from the Long Sleep your loved ones will be dead?)
July 18, 2014
Jeg må hellere være den første til at indrømme at jeg ikke er vildt velbevandret i tidsrejsegenren. Science fiction har jeg læst masser af, men ikke lige med tidsrejser. Med denne bog fik jeg chancen for at læse 13 forskellige fortolkninger og plots, der alle udsprang fra netop rejser i tiden.
Det er altid lidt af en udfordring for mig at læse noveller, for i sagens natur kan de aldrig blive lige så uddybende som de lange romaner jeg normalt læser. Jeg har altid lidt svært ved at acceptere de manglende detaljer og sommetider manglende begrundelser for hvorfor noget sker, men det være sagt, så synes jeg at forfatterne bag Synchronic har gjort det virkelig godt med deres noveller. Hver historie var relativt hurtig at komme igennem, og så længe man bare holdt sig til novelletankegangen, så fungerede de fleste af dem også virkelig godt. Måske de i virkeligheden var godt hjulpet på vej af genren, for i science fiction behøver tingene jo bare ikke altid give mening.
Jeg havde naturligvis visse favoritter.
Corrections af Susan Kaye Quinn handler om Ian der rejser tilbage i tiden, for at stoppe de gerninger, der har sendt fanger til dødsgangen. Jeg kunne virkelig godt både lide ideen, men også den løbende historie, der var lige til det sidste i denne historie.
Reset nød jeg også meget, hvor MeiLin Miranda lader sin hovedperson Sandy fortælle sin veninde om Catherine. Catherine genstarter sig selv til sine teenageår igen og igen, for at opleve den på ny adskillige gange. Ideen var egentlig ret interessant, for helt ærligt: Livet var altså bare nemmere dengang, hvor mange gange har man ikke hørt en voksen sige, at ”åh, det var tider.”?
The Mirror af Irving Belateche var for mig lidt anderledes end mange af de andre. Peter Cooper er hovedpersonen, der lever af at sælge fortiden i form af antikviteter. Han er gået fra fattig dreng i Indien til succesfuld forretningsmand i Manhattan, men visse elementer af hans fortid nægter at dø…
Hvad jeg måske dog især bed mærke i under læsningen, var at forfatternes individuelle stil fik lov til at skinne igennem. Der var forskelligt fokus i novellerne, og det gjorde dem væsentligt nemmere at skelne fra hinanden, i forhold til de novellesamlinger jeg har læst, hvor det er den samme forfatter hele vejen igennem. Det gjorde virkelig en stor forskel, og gjorde især at jeg huskede flere af de enkelte historier, end jeg ellers ville have gjort.
Læs alle anmeldelser her
Det er altid lidt af en udfordring for mig at læse noveller, for i sagens natur kan de aldrig blive lige så uddybende som de lange romaner jeg normalt læser. Jeg har altid lidt svært ved at acceptere de manglende detaljer og sommetider manglende begrundelser for hvorfor noget sker, men det være sagt, så synes jeg at forfatterne bag Synchronic har gjort det virkelig godt med deres noveller. Hver historie var relativt hurtig at komme igennem, og så længe man bare holdt sig til novelletankegangen, så fungerede de fleste af dem også virkelig godt. Måske de i virkeligheden var godt hjulpet på vej af genren, for i science fiction behøver tingene jo bare ikke altid give mening.
Jeg havde naturligvis visse favoritter.
Corrections af Susan Kaye Quinn handler om Ian der rejser tilbage i tiden, for at stoppe de gerninger, der har sendt fanger til dødsgangen. Jeg kunne virkelig godt både lide ideen, men også den løbende historie, der var lige til det sidste i denne historie.
Reset nød jeg også meget, hvor MeiLin Miranda lader sin hovedperson Sandy fortælle sin veninde om Catherine. Catherine genstarter sig selv til sine teenageår igen og igen, for at opleve den på ny adskillige gange. Ideen var egentlig ret interessant, for helt ærligt: Livet var altså bare nemmere dengang, hvor mange gange har man ikke hørt en voksen sige, at ”åh, det var tider.”?
The Mirror af Irving Belateche var for mig lidt anderledes end mange af de andre. Peter Cooper er hovedpersonen, der lever af at sælge fortiden i form af antikviteter. Han er gået fra fattig dreng i Indien til succesfuld forretningsmand i Manhattan, men visse elementer af hans fortid nægter at dø…
Hvad jeg måske dog især bed mærke i under læsningen, var at forfatternes individuelle stil fik lov til at skinne igennem. Der var forskelligt fokus i novellerne, og det gjorde dem væsentligt nemmere at skelne fra hinanden, i forhold til de novellesamlinger jeg har læst, hvor det er den samme forfatter hele vejen igennem. Det gjorde virkelig en stor forskel, og gjorde især at jeg huskede flere af de enkelte historier, end jeg ellers ville have gjort.
Læs alle anmeldelser her
August 5, 2014
This
is an anthology of short stories on the theme of time travel and
written by some indie authors, some of whom are well known to me, and
some of whom are not.
I suspect if you like Hugh Howey’s Wool
series, you’ll like this, because I recognise several of these authors
as ones who have written in the Wool universe (via the Kindle Worlds
publish your fan-fic program). Despite my feelings about Amazon opening
that can of P2P worms, there is definitely some good writing going on
both there, and in this anthology.
This one is often free so as a sampler of indie sci-fi authors, it definitely works for that purpose.
I
rated each story individually, which gave an average overall of a
little over 3. But there are always a few stories in every anthology
that every reader feels could have been left out, and for me those were
offset by two stories I felt were quite spectacular.
August 10, 2014
I don't normally read short stories, but this is another instance when I'm glad I did. Though it did remind me why I don't normally, the stories I really liked, all I want to know is what happened before/after the events in the short story.
Favorite stories: Corrections (Susan Kaye Quinn), a person time travels through murder's minds on death row to try to prevent the crime thus keeping both the victim and murderer alive. The idea that the murderer, who when the psychologist travels back has to get a 17 digit tattoo to indicate in the present that he had murder potential is a great one. Definitely would love to read more set in this universe.
The Dark Age (Jason Gurley) was my other top favorite. The main character leaves his wife and daughter the day she is born to go on a one way space mission, then after a while with spotty communications between the craft and earth the crew enters cryosleep for 144 years. Then wake up to deal with the consequences. So i really want to know, what exactly were they supposed to monitor? Why a 144 year sleep? Does the crew expect to eventually run out of food and die? Turn the ship around and sleep again and go back to earth? So many questions!!!!
Favorite stories: Corrections (Susan Kaye Quinn), a person time travels through murder's minds on death row to try to prevent the crime thus keeping both the victim and murderer alive. The idea that the murderer, who when the psychologist travels back has to get a 17 digit tattoo to indicate in the present that he had murder potential is a great one. Definitely would love to read more set in this universe.
The Dark Age (Jason Gurley) was my other top favorite. The main character leaves his wife and daughter the day she is born to go on a one way space mission, then after a while with spotty communications between the craft and earth the crew enters cryosleep for 144 years. Then wake up to deal with the consequences. So i really want to know, what exactly were they supposed to monitor? Why a 144 year sleep? Does the crew expect to eventually run out of food and die? Turn the ship around and sleep again and go back to earth? So many questions!!!!
April 2, 2015
I loved this book. It's been a long time since I read a collection of short stories. It's nice to be able to read for 20 or 30 pages, stop, and let the world of the story sink in around you. And all of these stories have limitless possibilities to imagine in their own universes.
The stories are remarkably well written and succinct. And even though they all have the common theme of Time Travel, each one is worlds different from the last. If you think you are going to get Star Trek-esqe science fiction, you are wrong. You get stories of love, loss, obsession and humanity in general.
I totally recommend this book. You can read stories here and there in between books or take it all in at once. With something so versatile and engaging, why not add it to your library.
If you are wondering, my favorite story is the last one. So very haunting.
The stories are remarkably well written and succinct. And even though they all have the common theme of Time Travel, each one is worlds different from the last. If you think you are going to get Star Trek-esqe science fiction, you are wrong. You get stories of love, loss, obsession and humanity in general.
I totally recommend this book. You can read stories here and there in between books or take it all in at once. With something so versatile and engaging, why not add it to your library.
If you are wondering, my favorite story is the last one. So very haunting.
September 6, 2014
This is a very well curated collection of short stories. Usually the quality of such collections has its ups and downs, but here, the quality is consistently very high*. Moreover, no two stories are very similar. "Time travel" can be interpreted liberally... there's stories with literal time machines, stories that incorporate mythology or urban legend, or where 'time travel' is simply a type of cryogenic sleep, and so forth.
All in all, I enjoyed each story. They all have their own flavors...Some are more emotional, some more mystery, some simply adventurous exploration. Unless you dislike the genre as a whole, I recommend this collection.
*I did have some problems with the first story... interesting concept but not as well executed.
All in all, I enjoyed each story. They all have their own flavors...Some are more emotional, some more mystery, some simply adventurous exploration. Unless you dislike the genre as a whole, I recommend this collection.
*I did have some problems with the first story... interesting concept but not as well executed.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews