For a Limited Time Only

The Time Traveler's Passport #3

by Peng Shepherd

A time-traveling salesman searches for the moments that truly matter in this poignant short story from nationally bestselling author Peng Shepherd.

Russ commutes to work—not across town but through time. An ambitious employee stuck in Oracle Marketing Solutions’ mundane “near past” division, he longs for the excitement of ancient eras and distant futures. But Oracle’s secretive management has refused every one of his transfer requests, and Russ can’t understand why…until he makes a devastating discovery about his own timeline.

Peng Shepherd’s For a Limited Time Only is part of The Time Traveler’s Passport, an unforgettable collection of stories about memory, identity, and choice. Watch time fly as you read or listen to each short story in a single sitting.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Audiobook, Fiction, Novella, Anthologies

39 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 3, 2025

About the author

Peng Shepherd is the nationally bestselling, award-winning author of All This and More, The Cartographers, and The Book of M.

Her novels have been acclaimed as a “Best Book of the Year” by the Washington Post, a “Best Book of the Summer” by the Today Show and NPR, and featured in the New York Times, the LA Times, and on Good Morning America, as well as a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize. Her work also has been translated into more than ten languages, and optioned for TV and film.

A graduate of New York University’s MFA program, Peng is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. She was born in Phoenix, Arizona, where she rode horses and trained in classical ballet, and has lived in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, London, Mexico City, and New York. When not writing, she can be found planning her next trip or haunting local bookstores.

Reviews

[Vivian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quietly devastating, Shepard uses time travel as a powerful vehicle to explore family, grief and the fierce importance of spending our time wisely. The character work is excellent and the non-linear timeline not only makes perfect sense but heightens the story's emotional impact. And when the reveal comes, it lands with perfect, heartbreaking clarity.

My thanks to Amazon Original Stories for a copy of The Time Traveler's Passport collection.

[Brooke (Books are my Favorite!!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time, see what's become of me? This short shifted in its time travel focus from others in the Time Traveler's Passport series. It opens with a job offer--but the company doesn't exist yet. Like other stories in this series, there is a corporation involved in time-travel. What was different about this at first was the focus was on the corporation. Various trippy laws involving past and future effect what department employees work in. Other stories in the Passport series focused on more big-picture effects of time travel, alternate realities, societal implications. This story shifts to a much more personal take on time travel.

As the story morphs, it grows into something more about the personal ramifications; the grief and secrets we hold. I loved that while taking a formula, the author created something fresh and intimate, a new take on a familiar premise. This was my favorite in the series because of the personal take. The characters are dealing with a child's terminal illness.

Time is our greatest gift.

Time isn't something you lose, it's something you make.

Or I suppose, it will make you. The possibilities....

[Gerhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was heartbreaking. Everything has consequences ... especially time travel. An elegant, measured, devastating story about parental love ... and its limits in time.

[Alan (on December semi-hiatus) Teder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time and Time Again
A review of the Amazon Original Stories Kindle eBook edition (November 3, 2025), released simultaneously with the Brilliance Publishing Inc. audiobook.

For a limited time only! Management gets a huge kick out of that catchphrase. Oracle has two main departments: Past and Futures. Including Vik and me, there are probably fifty employees in Past, and I have no idea how many in Futures ... Most of them, we’ll never meet, because they haven’t even been hired yet.

In the year 2040, the Oracle Corporation has monetized time travel. In this short story we meet Russ who works in the Past Department but is hoping to get a transfer into Futures. As a junior he is bored with his limited portfolio of time travel back within only a decade or so. He doesn't even have to change his wardrobe when he is on the job. Without being given a lot of detail we can gather that the Past Department goes back in time in order to set up deals / purchases that will be of benefit in the future to a present day client.

He works with a partner Vik, but finds that during jobs Vik often disappears on solo sidetrips before they return to their present day of 2040. Russ has a happy home life with wife Maya and child Opal, but Vik's relationship with his partner Simon is in difficulty. As Russ's life continues and Opal grows up, a crisis occurs and suddenly Russ finds out what Vik has been doing behind the scenes.

This had an unexpected twist to it that I quite enjoyed and thought of as being outside the norm in time travel adventures. The corporate business side of things was really not even the point of the story. So a 4 star Like from me.

Soundtrack
There are many recording artists with songs titled Time and Time Again. I listened to the Dusty Springfield song from the album White Heat (1982) which you can listen to on YouTube here or on Spotify here.

Trivia and Links
Author Peng Shepherd is best known as a writer of fantasy and sci-fi with her most popular book (per GR ratings and reviews) being The Cartographers (2022).

For a Limited Time Only is the 3rd of 6 stories in The Time Traveler's Passport anthology collection from Amazon Original Stories released on November 3, 2025. The promo for the collection reads:

Six short stories. Infinite possibilities.
Embark on a mind-bending journey through time with six of today’s most visionary authors. Brimming with humor and heartache, this collection of short stories maps the roads we took to get here and the paths that lie ahead. The present may be a gift, but the future and the past both come with a price. Curated by John Joseph Adams, New York Times bestselling anthologist.

You can watch for current and past Amazon Original Stories which are usually paired with their Audible Original narrations at an Amazon page here (link goes to Amazon US, adjust for your own country or region).

[Vavo ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy fucking sad

This hit me like a thousands bricks, and if you make me cry in 40 pages you get my 5 stars. It was heartbreaking and probably the way I would realistically expect the time travel to be used by regular people. (Also capitalism)

[mimi (depression slump) · Rating 4 out of 5]

If “the days are long, but the years are short” was a book.

↠ 4.5 stars

Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well damn. This has me bawling. Whew. We are afforded such little time and this short story is a reminder to truly stay as present as we can with the people we love. 😭😭

Thank you NetGalley for the ALC.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Depressing

[LucieWolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Y ESTA LLORERA?

Cómo algo tan corto me ha podido generar esta tristeza y esta angustia, madre mía.

Iba sin esperar nada y es que me lo ha dado todo.

Una gran reflexión a que, al final del día, lo que más importa no son las cosas, ni el trabajo, es pasar el máximo tiempo posible con la gente que quieres.

Me ha roto, pero dejando por el camino un mensaje que de vez en cuando no viene mal recordar.

[Akankshya · Rating 3 out of 5]

An emotionally crushing read, building on a real story and character dynamics brilliantly, while intertwining it with time-travel. This story deals with a time-travel company and an employee who desperately wants to switch from the mundane near-past division to the future division, but keeps getting denied with no concrete explanation. The core plot is an interesting idea, although I can't help but feel that I've seen/read it many times before. I really liked the ending, but it was so, so illogical and full of holes. I feel like the author stopped just short of dealing with poignant and realistic issues about healing.

Published as a part of The Time Traveler's Passport series, I recommend picking it up without looking at the blurb, especially if you know you like stories about wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff with a strong emotional core, but are newer to them.

The Time Traveler's Passport series
3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years: ★★★★
Making Space: ★★
For a Limited Time Only: ★★★
A Visit to the Husband Archive: ★★★★★
All Manner of Thing Shall Be: ★★★★
Cronus: ★★★★★

[CadmanReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled with this one at first, mainly due to emotional whiplash from the previous story. My advice: take a short break between each story if you're listening to the full collection, as it helps each one shine. By the end, I was completely drawn in. It's emotional, clever, and wonderfully narrated.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man, this one really dug into the feels!

[Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars for For a Limited Time Only: The Time Traveler’s Passport, Book 3 (audiobook) by Peng Shepherd read by Jonathan Davis.

I was kind of surprised that a book about time travel really revolved around work and family life. It’s not bad but the time travel is just a way to look at life from another perspective.

[♡ retrovvitches ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

time travel but make it soul crushing. omg this one was SAD 😭😭 really well written, made me want to cry so bad

[Brok3n · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is nothing wrong with this story

Peng Shepherd's For a Limited Time Only is the third installment of Amazon's Time Traveler's Passport series. At 39 pages, this one is firmly in short story territory.

I found it disappointing. I can't really say why. It presents a non-trivial twist on Time Travel, without falling into any of the tired time-travel tropes. What's more, the plot twist was novel and involved time travel in an essential way. The characters are gray business suits who have mostly ordinary cares.

I am disappointed in myself that I can't explain why I didn't enjoy this more than I did. It just never caught my interest.

Blog review.

[emilybookedup · Rating 3 out of 5]

another short story binge! i liked RF Kuang’s more than this one. this one was honestly kind of confusing to follow? and sad!!! easy to pick up and binge (less than 45 mins to read) if you want to read something quick but overall forgettable long term for me personally.

[Hungry Rye · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Well that was depressing

[Maria reads SFF · Rating 3 out of 5]

We follow Russ, an employee to a company that does time travel both in the past and future for commercial purposes. His job is only traveling to the near past.
We also follow his family and his two colleague’s family members.
The story has some strong emotional parts that pulled at my heart strings. But from a technical point of view, for me there was a major plot hole that I could not ignore.
If you can look over a fault of logic and just focus on the emotional component, this can be a worthy read.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow

Great story, thought provoking, could not wait to see how it ended. Highly recommend this amazing story. First time reading this writer

[Kayla T (kaylabobayla) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
Short story, and a quick good read! This one starts off with sterile office vibes, if time travel were monetized and used economically. But it quickly turns to a heart wrencher. Very well done!

[Sarahmimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

short but impactful.
The best story in the series.

[Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was incredibly depressing.

[Ellie Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this had me crying my fucking eyes out in the car. For an audiobook that was only 1 hour and 13 minutes long, it really packed a punch 😮‍💨

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sad book

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

SHORT STORIES SHOULDN’T MAKE YOU CRY. 🥺😭

i want to give opal a hug.

[Siân · Rating 4 out of 5]

well this didnt go where I thought it was going... beautiful little story

[Darnell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this one ends where it should begin: the idea of time travel where you can't make meaningful changes, but people can still spend time with loved ones, is potentially interesting... but the interesting part would be exploring the consequences. What does this do to people, psychologically? Would it always have to be a betrayal of trust, or could people form unusual cross-time family types? This goes for surface emotional appeal and leaves it there.

[kutingtin · Rating 3 out of 5]

“There are still so many precious moments to share. More pancakes to make, more bedtime stories to read. Even someday, much later-when I'm too old to conceal it up close-there will still be more moments. Smaller ones, but just as precious.”

[Elizabeth A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook which was well narrated by Jonathan Davis.

Interesting exploration of the benefits and challenges of going back and/or forward in time.

The Time Traveler's Passport Collection (Amazon Originals)
Making Space by R.F. Kuang - 2
3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years by John Scalzi - 4
Cronus by P. Djèlí Clark - 3
For a Limited Time Only by Peng Shepherd - 3
A Visit to the Husband Archive by Kaliane Bradley
All Manner of Thing Shall Be by Olivie Blake

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is focused on Russ, his co-workers and their families. Russ’ company handles time travel to the past and future. This focuses on personal and emotional uses for time travel.

This audiobook is narrated by Jonathan Davis

Thank you to Peng Shepherd, Brilliance Publishing/Amazon Original Stories, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.