What do you think?
Rate this book
Timegates
Twelve dimension-shattering tales of time travel, featuring John Varley, Ursula K. LeGuin, Joe Haldeman, Avram Davidson, Damon Knight, Nancy Kress, R.A. Lafferty, Jack McDevitt, Bridget McKenna, Richard McKenna, Charles Sheffield, and James Tiptree, Jr. These stories take readers from everyday reality into the infinite vistas of time and space -- as far as the man can reach.
[-1] • Preface (Timegates) • (1997) • essay by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
1 • The Man Who Walked Home • (1972) • shortstory by James Tiptree, Jr.
20 • Air Raid • (1977) • shortstory by John Varley [as by Herb Boehm ]
36 • The Hole on the Corner • (1967) • shortstory by R. A. Lafferty
50 • Trapalanda • (1987) • novelette by Charles Sheffield
81 • Arachon • shortfiction by Damon Knight (aka Anachron 1954 )
101 • Hole-in-the-Wall • (1991) • shortstory by Bridget McKenna
118 • Time's Arrow • (1989) • shortstory by Jack McDevitt
129 • Anniversary Project • (1975) • shortstory by Joe Haldeman
143 • The Secret Place • (1966) • shortstory by Richard McKenna
161 • The Price of Oranges • (1989) • novelette by Nancy Kress
190 • Full Chicken Richness • (1983) • shortstory by Avram Davidson
202 • Another Story • [Hainish] • (1994) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
[-1] • Preface (Timegates) • (1997) • essay by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
1 • The Man Who Walked Home • (1972) • shortstory by James Tiptree, Jr.
20 • Air Raid • (1977) • shortstory by John Varley [as by Herb Boehm ]
36 • The Hole on the Corner • (1967) • shortstory by R. A. Lafferty
50 • Trapalanda • (1987) • novelette by Charles Sheffield
81 • Arachon • shortfiction by Damon Knight (aka Anachron 1954 )
101 • Hole-in-the-Wall • (1991) • shortstory by Bridget McKenna
118 • Time's Arrow • (1989) • shortstory by Jack McDevitt
129 • Anniversary Project • (1975) • shortstory by Joe Haldeman
143 • The Secret Place • (1966) • shortstory by Richard McKenna
161 • The Price of Oranges • (1989) • novelette by Nancy Kress
190 • Full Chicken Richness • (1983) • shortstory by Avram Davidson
202 • Another Story • [Hainish] • (1994) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
244 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1997
6 people are currently reading
59 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 10, 2026
This is more of a 3.5 than a four star book, so I rounded up. This was the 1997 entry in what is affectionately known as the Exclamitory Series, since the first book titles had exclamation points. Almost all of the books were co-edited by the Not So Dynamic Duo, Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. This is one of the better books in the series, with most of the stories skipping merrily along.
The big problem with this book is that nearly all of these stories can be found in numerous other anthologies. If you are new to science fiction or the sub-genre of time travel fiction, then strap in and enjoy the ride. If you are a long-time reader of sci-fi, then much of this will be familiar ground. Mind the typos -- there are more than usual here.
You can find nearly all of the Exclamitory Series at the Internet Archive.
Selections:
* "Preface" by Our Co-editors. Yada yada.
* "The Man Who Walked Home" by James Tiptree, Jr./Racoona Sheldon/Alice Hastings Bradley/etc. You can find this in many other anthologies. Apparently, time travel first happened in 1989 and we all somehow missed it. A guy stuck in time keeps reappearing to freak out onlookers.
* "Air Raid" by John Varley. Arguably the best story in this collection, but this can be found in many other anthologies. This short story would inspire the 1983 novel Millennium and a 1989 film of the same name. This has a muddled start, but keep with it. It all makes sense in the end. Good news? Horses will still be around in the far future.
* "The Hole in the Corner" by R. A. Lafferty. It's like a brainer version of The Simpsons.
* "Trappalanda" by Charles Sheffield. This long story about finding an alien time machine of sorts is so bad, it's funny. The time-travel bit played only a small part.
* "Arachon" by Damon Knight. This makes sense, it doesn't make sense, it starts to makes sense again, and then just loses me.
* "Hole-In-The-Wall" by Bridget McKenna. There's a whole sub-genre of humorous sci-fi, but most of it is dreadful. This isn't. It's even somewhat realistic. Set in 1956 America, a racist health inspector plans on shutting down a diner owned by a Russian immigrant, when a huge hole appears in a wall next to ghe Ladies Room.
* "Time's Arrow" by Jack McDevitt. Darkly humorous look at a bumbling guy who invents a time machine, with the help of an Apple Macintosh, so expect plenty of bugs. Told in the point of view of the guy's more sensible friend.
* "Anniversary Project" by Joe Haldeman. Despite a playful tone at first, and a decent Henry James joke, this is a deeply depressing story about two newlyweds from 1951 caught in a time "net" and sent into the far future.
* "The Secret Place" by Richard McKenna. This was the featured story in the very first Orbit anthology, edited by Damon Knight. It's still fresh, and a mind-bender, but in a good way. In WWII, a young geologist stumbles on a legend of a lost mine ... and a crazy girl.
* "The Price of Oranges" by Nancy Kress. One of those stories you're sure won an award ... then you look it up, and see that it didn't win any awards, and you wonder why not. Brilliant stuff.
* "Full Chicken Richness" by Avram Davidson. Our Editors were always suckers for a dead animal joke. This is just a long, convoluted set-up for a dead animal joke ... the SAME DAMN JOKE as "The Ugly Chickens" by Harold Waldrop. I frigging hate dead animal jokes.
* "Another Story" by Ursula K. LeGuin. This is set in LeGuin's universe of Hain and Ekumen. If you haven't read any of those stories or novels, then skip this. It's hard enough of a story to get as it is.
The big problem with this book is that nearly all of these stories can be found in numerous other anthologies. If you are new to science fiction or the sub-genre of time travel fiction, then strap in and enjoy the ride. If you are a long-time reader of sci-fi, then much of this will be familiar ground. Mind the typos -- there are more than usual here.
You can find nearly all of the Exclamitory Series at the Internet Archive.
Selections:
* "Preface" by Our Co-editors. Yada yada.
* "The Man Who Walked Home" by James Tiptree, Jr./Racoona Sheldon/Alice Hastings Bradley/etc. You can find this in many other anthologies. Apparently, time travel first happened in 1989 and we all somehow missed it. A guy stuck in time keeps reappearing to freak out onlookers.
* "Air Raid" by John Varley. Arguably the best story in this collection, but this can be found in many other anthologies. This short story would inspire the 1983 novel Millennium and a 1989 film of the same name. This has a muddled start, but keep with it. It all makes sense in the end. Good news? Horses will still be around in the far future.
* "The Hole in the Corner" by R. A. Lafferty. It's like a brainer version of The Simpsons.
* "Trappalanda" by Charles Sheffield. This long story about finding an alien time machine of sorts is so bad, it's funny. The time-travel bit played only a small part.
* "Arachon" by Damon Knight. This makes sense, it doesn't make sense, it starts to makes sense again, and then just loses me.
* "Hole-In-The-Wall" by Bridget McKenna. There's a whole sub-genre of humorous sci-fi, but most of it is dreadful. This isn't. It's even somewhat realistic. Set in 1956 America, a racist health inspector plans on shutting down a diner owned by a Russian immigrant, when a huge hole appears in a wall next to ghe Ladies Room.
* "Time's Arrow" by Jack McDevitt. Darkly humorous look at a bumbling guy who invents a time machine, with the help of an Apple Macintosh, so expect plenty of bugs. Told in the point of view of the guy's more sensible friend.
* "Anniversary Project" by Joe Haldeman. Despite a playful tone at first, and a decent Henry James joke, this is a deeply depressing story about two newlyweds from 1951 caught in a time "net" and sent into the far future.
* "The Secret Place" by Richard McKenna. This was the featured story in the very first Orbit anthology, edited by Damon Knight. It's still fresh, and a mind-bender, but in a good way. In WWII, a young geologist stumbles on a legend of a lost mine ... and a crazy girl.
* "The Price of Oranges" by Nancy Kress. One of those stories you're sure won an award ... then you look it up, and see that it didn't win any awards, and you wonder why not. Brilliant stuff.
* "Full Chicken Richness" by Avram Davidson. Our Editors were always suckers for a dead animal joke. This is just a long, convoluted set-up for a dead animal joke ... the SAME DAMN JOKE as "The Ugly Chickens" by Harold Waldrop. I frigging hate dead animal jokes.
* "Another Story" by Ursula K. LeGuin. This is set in LeGuin's universe of Hain and Ekumen. If you haven't read any of those stories or novels, then skip this. It's hard enough of a story to get as it is.
March 11, 2020
These were all good stories. Their were a few which I really liked, a couple of others not so much. Typical for an anthology in my experience.
The Man Who Walked Home by James Tiptree, Jr. (one of the more fanciful pseudonyms I admit. I mean: Jr.?!) This was quite weird in concept but in the telling it was pleasant – if you like stories of the end of civilization as we know it and the recovery - told in giant leaps. This is the first story and the first I read and still remains strong in memory. The ending was a bit foreboding, I think.
Air Raid by John Varley is another pessimistic tale of how we screw up the world and the consequences thereof. The title is also a pun which I enjoy. The kind of story you finish and smile because things could be worse.
The Hole on the Corner by R.A. Lafferty. He is not an author I knew previously, nor wish to know more fully. This went from weird to weirder, while being slightly humorous.
Trapalanda by Charles Sheffield – another author I do not recognize, but will look out for. This was a very suggestive story. I suspected from early on that Mr Sheffield would give us an Arthur Gordon Pym ending and he did, well, sort of; but the tale was so compelling it was still a pleasure to read.
Arachon by Damon Knight. This was another suggestive story about two brothers living on an island in their Italian villa who for curious reasons kill each other, sort of.
Hole-in-the-Wall by Bridget McKenna another – to me – unknown author. This is set back in the 1950's when things were quieter and less crowded but generally worse. Nothing like racism and bigotry to spice a story.
Time's Arrow by Jack McDevitt. Yet another new author but very capable in bringing a more straight forward time travel tale – with diverse misadventures. Hey, it's not an exact science.
Anniversary Project by Joe Haldeman is a wildly inventive vision of a far future where humanity has evolved - sort of - and is preparing to celebrate the millionth anniversary of the written word. People still being curious they kidnap a young couple from the 1950's (again the '50s) to discuss their view of the world; and to spy on them, inadvertently, the future society being telepathic. They are curious about sex, for instance. "They're almost as curious about that as they are about books". (p. 140) As always Mr Haldeman writes very well. "...suicide on the American Plan, not quite finishing his 9,527th bottle of liquor..." (p. 141). Being in the far future, language has evolved: "We have no symbol for it but in Dawn days most humans observed 'xenophobia', reacting to the strange with fear instead of delight. We stand as strange to them as they do to us, thus they register fear..." (p. 134)
The Secret Place by Richard McKenna is not as suggestive as the author intended, or I just don't much like westerns. Also there is some confusion about reality which is perplexing, as usual.
The Price of Oranges by Nancy Kress takes us back to the 1930's which the old protagonist finds to be heaven – at least compared to the modern world. And some things were better, and, as he discovers, some things were a lot worse. Fruit was cheaper.
Full Chicken Richness by Avram Davidson is a silly tale of what not to do with your time-machine. It is, however, so well told that my interest never flagged.
Another Story by Ursula K. LeGuin was a disappointment to me - at least the first part. I thought this was a pilot study for Always Coming Home; and maybe it is though published nearly a decade later. Who knows what lurks in the minds of writers, or shoved into their desk drawers. Her father was a famous anthropologist and this has presumably flavoured the convoluted family structure she has invented for the inhabitants of planet O. In any case it was too complicated for me and I skimmed that part! I usually weigh her words as gold so this was very unusual. But when she finally gets around to telling the story of a young man torn by the coice of love or ambition things improve. The answer is .
A couple of quotations:
Two old coots worry about Harry's granddaughter:
"That's not a book," Manny pointed out.
"So she writes stories, too. Listen to this. Just listen. 'I stood in my backyard, surrounded by the false bright toxin-fed green, and realized that the earth was dead. What else could it be, since we humans swarmed upon it like maggots on carrions, growing our hectic gleaming molds, leaving our slime trails across the senseless surface?' Does that sound like a happy woman?"
"Hoo boy,' Manny said. (Nancy Kress p. 162)
A landscape – well, actually, just a building artist reflects:
"...Two weeks before, he'd come upon a harmonious and almost untouched, though tiny, commercial block in an area in between the factories and the farms, as yet undestroyed by the people curiously called 'developers'... (Avram Davidson p. 196).
The Man Who Walked Home by James Tiptree, Jr. (one of the more fanciful pseudonyms I admit. I mean: Jr.?!) This was quite weird in concept but in the telling it was pleasant – if you like stories of the end of civilization as we know it and the recovery - told in giant leaps. This is the first story and the first I read and still remains strong in memory. The ending was a bit foreboding, I think.
Air Raid by John Varley is another pessimistic tale of how we screw up the world and the consequences thereof. The title is also a pun which I enjoy. The kind of story you finish and smile because things could be worse.
The Hole on the Corner by R.A. Lafferty. He is not an author I knew previously, nor wish to know more fully. This went from weird to weirder, while being slightly humorous.
Trapalanda by Charles Sheffield – another author I do not recognize, but will look out for. This was a very suggestive story. I suspected from early on that Mr Sheffield would give us an Arthur Gordon Pym ending and he did, well, sort of; but the tale was so compelling it was still a pleasure to read.
Arachon by Damon Knight. This was another suggestive story about two brothers living on an island in their Italian villa who for curious reasons kill each other, sort of.
Hole-in-the-Wall by Bridget McKenna another – to me – unknown author. This is set back in the 1950's when things were quieter and less crowded but generally worse. Nothing like racism and bigotry to spice a story.
Time's Arrow by Jack McDevitt. Yet another new author but very capable in bringing a more straight forward time travel tale – with diverse misadventures. Hey, it's not an exact science.
Anniversary Project by Joe Haldeman is a wildly inventive vision of a far future where humanity has evolved - sort of - and is preparing to celebrate the millionth anniversary of the written word. People still being curious they kidnap a young couple from the 1950's (again the '50s) to discuss their view of the world; and to spy on them, inadvertently, the future society being telepathic. They are curious about sex, for instance. "They're almost as curious about that as they are about books". (p. 140) As always Mr Haldeman writes very well. "...suicide on the American Plan, not quite finishing his 9,527th bottle of liquor..." (p. 141). Being in the far future, language has evolved: "We have no symbol for it but in Dawn days most humans observed 'xenophobia', reacting to the strange with fear instead of delight. We stand as strange to them as they do to us, thus they register fear..." (p. 134)
The Secret Place by Richard McKenna is not as suggestive as the author intended, or I just don't much like westerns. Also there is some confusion about reality which is perplexing, as usual.
The Price of Oranges by Nancy Kress takes us back to the 1930's which the old protagonist finds to be heaven – at least compared to the modern world. And some things were better, and, as he discovers, some things were a lot worse. Fruit was cheaper.
Full Chicken Richness by Avram Davidson is a silly tale of what not to do with your time-machine. It is, however, so well told that my interest never flagged.
Another Story by Ursula K. LeGuin was a disappointment to me - at least the first part. I thought this was a pilot study for Always Coming Home; and maybe it is though published nearly a decade later. Who knows what lurks in the minds of writers, or shoved into their desk drawers. Her father was a famous anthropologist and this has presumably flavoured the convoluted family structure she has invented for the inhabitants of planet O. In any case it was too complicated for me and I skimmed that part! I usually weigh her words as gold so this was very unusual. But when she finally gets around to telling the story of a young man torn by the coice of love or ambition things improve. The answer is .
A couple of quotations:
Two old coots worry about Harry's granddaughter:
"That's not a book," Manny pointed out.
"So she writes stories, too. Listen to this. Just listen. 'I stood in my backyard, surrounded by the false bright toxin-fed green, and realized that the earth was dead. What else could it be, since we humans swarmed upon it like maggots on carrions, growing our hectic gleaming molds, leaving our slime trails across the senseless surface?' Does that sound like a happy woman?"
"Hoo boy,' Manny said. (Nancy Kress p. 162)
A landscape – well, actually, just a building artist reflects:
"...Two weeks before, he'd come upon a harmonious and almost untouched, though tiny, commercial block in an area in between the factories and the farms, as yet undestroyed by the people curiously called 'developers'... (Avram Davidson p. 196).
March 4, 2023
TIMEGATES
RATED 71% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 3.5 OF 5
12 STORIES : 2 GREAT / 5 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 1 POOR / 1 DNF
Timegates is a pretty weak entry to this themed anthology series by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. Unlike Aliens! and Clones!, Timegates isn’t quite the iconic science fiction trope as those others. It is pretty skippable and most of its better stories can be found in other anthologies.
There are some big name authors in this anthology, but they aren’t operating at top of their game.
In fact, the whole book seems sloppily put together. The introduction is less that one page in the small paperback edition that I own and it reads more like marketing copy. There are no insights into either the topics or the selection.
www.shortsf.com :
67 Anthologies + 13 Single Author Collections + 7 Slates of Award Finalists + 2 Magazine Issues
There are two stories that make The All-Time Great List:
The Man Who Walked Home • (1972) • short story by James Tiptree, Jr. Haunting time travel tragedy that is really different, alienating, and ultimately triste. An explosion devastated the world, but the strange figure of a struggling man in a spacesuit keeps appearing to different people over the centuries.
Trapalanda • (1987) • novelette by Charles Sheffield. Thrilling story of a wealthy blind man who hires an explorer to help him find the mythical Trapalanda at the southern mountains of Argentina. An exciting story of exploration of the ragged edges of existence: mountains, time dilation, and the broken pieces of the human heart. This story would be even better if its secret wasn’t revealed by the theme of this anthology.
TIMEGATES
12 STORIES : 2 GREAT / 5 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 1 POOR / 1 DNF
How do I arrive at a rating?
The Man Who Walked Home • (1972) • short story by James Tiptree, Jr.
Great. Haunting time travel tragedy that is really different, alienating, and ultimately triste. An explosion devastated the world, but the strange figure of a struggling man in a spacesuit keeps appearing to different people over the centuries.
Air Raid • (1977) • short story by John Varley
Good. Leaving a future where the world and her body is falling apart, a woman steps into the present day and takes over the life of a stewardess. Once aboard the flight, she begins shunting passengers unknowingly through other portals.
The Hole on the Corner • (1967) • short story by R. A. Lafferty
DNF. I couldn’t handle the jokey language in this story about an invisible portal on a street corner and the wacky alternative world hijinks that happens.
Trapalanda • (1987) • novelette by Charles Sheffield
Great. Thrilling story of a wealthy blind man who hires an explorer to help him find the mythical Trapalanda at the southern mountains of Argentina. An exciting story of exploration of the ragged edges of existence: mountains, time dilation, and the broken pieces of the human heart. This story would be even better if its secret wasn’t revealed by the theme of this anthology.
Arachon • short story by Damon Knight (variant of Anachron 1954)
Average. Two wealthy brothers discover a portal that facilities the ‘collection’ of historical items, but the problem is that they disappear and return to their own time. The problem gets solved with weird temporal problems solving … and murder.
Hole-in-the-Wall • (1991) • short story by Bridget McKenna
Average. A racist jerk of a health inspector gets his comeuppance through a portal to the future.
Time's Arrow • (1989) • short story by Jack McDevitt
Good. An inventor keep inventing time machines, but he can only visit dangerous moments in history. He doesn’t get the message.
Anniversary Project • (1975) • short story by Joe Haldeman
Good. Quirky little sorry that really succeeds in making the future feel alien. It is the Millionth Year Anniversary of reading, so weird future beings grab a normal couple from the present day. They will ride the brains of this people to experience what reading has to offer.
The Secret Place • (1966) • short story by Richard McKenna
Average. Probably a fantasy story about a military scientist who investigates a small amount of uranium in the Oregon desert. A young woman’s imaginary world may hold the key.
The Price of Oranges • (1989) • novelette by Nancy Kress
Good. Charming tale of two older men in 1989 who sit, talk, and try to make the best of life. One man travels back in time 1937 to buy things at must cheaper prices —- and maybe find a man to make his granddaughter happier.
Full Chicken Richness • (1983) • short story by Avram Davidson
Poor. A lot of SciFi humor is garbage and this is no exception. If you want a summary, its about a restaurant and a recipe that is mostly chicken.
Another Story • [Hainish] • (1994) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
Good. A man tells the story of his life on the Planet O with an emphasis on the diverse marriage and sexual structures of his people. He travels to the planet Hain to do research on a transportation portal that will allow instantaneous transfer of matter. Like most of Le Guin’s fiction the emphasis here is the deep and (overly) detailed world building and very realistically human relationships.
RATED 71% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 3.5 OF 5
12 STORIES : 2 GREAT / 5 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 1 POOR / 1 DNF
Timegates is a pretty weak entry to this themed anthology series by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. Unlike Aliens! and Clones!, Timegates isn’t quite the iconic science fiction trope as those others. It is pretty skippable and most of its better stories can be found in other anthologies.
There are some big name authors in this anthology, but they aren’t operating at top of their game.
In fact, the whole book seems sloppily put together. The introduction is less that one page in the small paperback edition that I own and it reads more like marketing copy. There are no insights into either the topics or the selection.
www.shortsf.com :
67 Anthologies + 13 Single Author Collections + 7 Slates of Award Finalists + 2 Magazine Issues
There are two stories that make The All-Time Great List:
The Man Who Walked Home • (1972) • short story by James Tiptree, Jr. Haunting time travel tragedy that is really different, alienating, and ultimately triste. An explosion devastated the world, but the strange figure of a struggling man in a spacesuit keeps appearing to different people over the centuries.
Trapalanda • (1987) • novelette by Charles Sheffield. Thrilling story of a wealthy blind man who hires an explorer to help him find the mythical Trapalanda at the southern mountains of Argentina. An exciting story of exploration of the ragged edges of existence: mountains, time dilation, and the broken pieces of the human heart. This story would be even better if its secret wasn’t revealed by the theme of this anthology.
TIMEGATES
12 STORIES : 2 GREAT / 5 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 1 POOR / 1 DNF
How do I arrive at a rating?
The Man Who Walked Home • (1972) • short story by James Tiptree, Jr.
Great. Haunting time travel tragedy that is really different, alienating, and ultimately triste. An explosion devastated the world, but the strange figure of a struggling man in a spacesuit keeps appearing to different people over the centuries.
Air Raid • (1977) • short story by John Varley
Good. Leaving a future where the world and her body is falling apart, a woman steps into the present day and takes over the life of a stewardess. Once aboard the flight, she begins shunting passengers unknowingly through other portals.
The Hole on the Corner • (1967) • short story by R. A. Lafferty
DNF. I couldn’t handle the jokey language in this story about an invisible portal on a street corner and the wacky alternative world hijinks that happens.
Trapalanda • (1987) • novelette by Charles Sheffield
Great. Thrilling story of a wealthy blind man who hires an explorer to help him find the mythical Trapalanda at the southern mountains of Argentina. An exciting story of exploration of the ragged edges of existence: mountains, time dilation, and the broken pieces of the human heart. This story would be even better if its secret wasn’t revealed by the theme of this anthology.
Arachon • short story by Damon Knight (variant of Anachron 1954)
Average. Two wealthy brothers discover a portal that facilities the ‘collection’ of historical items, but the problem is that they disappear and return to their own time. The problem gets solved with weird temporal problems solving … and murder.
Hole-in-the-Wall • (1991) • short story by Bridget McKenna
Average. A racist jerk of a health inspector gets his comeuppance through a portal to the future.
Time's Arrow • (1989) • short story by Jack McDevitt
Good. An inventor keep inventing time machines, but he can only visit dangerous moments in history. He doesn’t get the message.
Anniversary Project • (1975) • short story by Joe Haldeman
Good. Quirky little sorry that really succeeds in making the future feel alien. It is the Millionth Year Anniversary of reading, so weird future beings grab a normal couple from the present day. They will ride the brains of this people to experience what reading has to offer.
The Secret Place • (1966) • short story by Richard McKenna
Average. Probably a fantasy story about a military scientist who investigates a small amount of uranium in the Oregon desert. A young woman’s imaginary world may hold the key.
The Price of Oranges • (1989) • novelette by Nancy Kress
Good. Charming tale of two older men in 1989 who sit, talk, and try to make the best of life. One man travels back in time 1937 to buy things at must cheaper prices —- and maybe find a man to make his granddaughter happier.
Full Chicken Richness • (1983) • short story by Avram Davidson
Poor. A lot of SciFi humor is garbage and this is no exception. If you want a summary, its about a restaurant and a recipe that is mostly chicken.
Another Story • [Hainish] • (1994) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
Good. A man tells the story of his life on the Planet O with an emphasis on the diverse marriage and sexual structures of his people. He travels to the planet Hain to do research on a transportation portal that will allow instantaneous transfer of matter. Like most of Le Guin’s fiction the emphasis here is the deep and (overly) detailed world building and very realistically human relationships.
May 27, 2023
"The Man Who Walked Home": 9
- More pleasant when it told me little, but showed me much. I’m a sucker for Top-Down narration, and the elation at the unfolding centuries in quick, descriptive succession hit a thud with the slowdown to real space time. And the solution to the mystery too pat and eyebrow raising, whereas the nameless “apparatiative monster” of the first half accomplished just the same without explication.
- More pleasant when it told me little, but showed me much. I’m a sucker for Top-Down narration, and the elation at the unfolding centuries in quick, descriptive succession hit a thud with the slowdown to real space time. And the solution to the mystery too pat and eyebrow raising, whereas the nameless “apparatiative monster” of the first half accomplished just the same without explication.
November 29, 2018
As with any collection of short stories, some are good and some are okay. This collection focuses on time travel via a portal or such so it is instantaneous. If you enjoy time travel of any type you'll find something in here for you.
June 1, 2008
A collection of time travel stories from some proven leaders in SF writing. I'll rate them with stars:
"The Man Who Walked Home" by James Tiptree Jr. (Dr Alice Sheldon) I rate: ***
"Air Raid" by John Varley. I rate: ****
"The Hole on the Corner" by R.A. Lafferty. I rate: *
"Trapalanda" by Charles Sheffield. I rate: ****
"Arachon" by Damon Knight. I rate: ****
"Hole in the Wall" by Bridget McKenna. I rate: ****
"Time's Arrow" by Jack McDevitt. I rate: ***** (The ending is great!)
"Anniversary Project" by Joe Haldeman. I rate: ** (The writing is good but too depressing.)
"The Secret Place" by Richard McKenna. I rate: ***
"The Price of Oranges" by Nancy Kress. I rate: ****
"Full Chicken Richness" by Avram Davidson. I rate: ***
"Another Story" by Ursula K. Le Guin. I rate: *****
"The Man Who Walked Home" by James Tiptree Jr. (Dr Alice Sheldon) I rate: ***
"Air Raid" by John Varley. I rate: ****
"The Hole on the Corner" by R.A. Lafferty. I rate: *
"Trapalanda" by Charles Sheffield. I rate: ****
"Arachon" by Damon Knight. I rate: ****
"Hole in the Wall" by Bridget McKenna. I rate: ****
"Time's Arrow" by Jack McDevitt. I rate: ***** (The ending is great!)
"Anniversary Project" by Joe Haldeman. I rate: ** (The writing is good but too depressing.)
"The Secret Place" by Richard McKenna. I rate: ***
"The Price of Oranges" by Nancy Kress. I rate: ****
"Full Chicken Richness" by Avram Davidson. I rate: ***
"Another Story" by Ursula K. Le Guin. I rate: *****
January 25, 2014
This was an interesting collection of time-travels by some of the 'masters' of science fiction. I really enjoyed them, but question: why can't more modern authors write stuff like this - thoughtful, calm stories, with little violence, sex or gut-wrenching scenes?
November 17, 2014
A solid mix of time travel stories.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews