Tales out of Time

by Barbara Ireson (Editor)

The hero of H. G. Wells's The Time Machine overcomes time in the most straightforward way, by getting into his machine and setting off for the future. Characters in other stories included here circumvent time by more subtle methods - by using 'slow' glass which reflects earlier scenes, by posting a letter to a demolished house at a disused post office, by shifting into another dimension - or find themselves the victims of manipulated time, like the people whose quiet country town becomes the tourist trap for visitors from the future.

Pawley's peepholes by John Wyndham
Light of other days by Bob Shaw
Time has no boundaries by Jack Finney
Alice's godmother by Walter De La Mare
The shape of things by Ray Bradbury
Time traveling by H.G. Wells
Blemish by John Christopher
The love letter by Jack Finney
Halloween for Mr. Faulkner by August Derleth
Phantas by Oliver Onions
The new accelerator by H.G. Wells
Trying to connect you by John Rowe Townsend
A sound of thunder by Ray Bradbury
Deadline by Richard Matheson

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction

247 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Barbara Ireson grew up on the South Coast, took a degree in Economics at Nottingham, and then worked in Paris at the British Embassy and UNESCO. She married a university lecturer, and his career took her to several university towns, where she become intensely interested in conservation and the restoration of old buildings. Her three children have inherited this enthusiasm, and her two sons run an antiques business at Tours in France. She and her husband also live in Tours, and she is able to lend a hand in the business whilst continuing with her own writing.

She is particularly well known for her work on children's anthologies, both poetry and prose, and she has edited a number of highly praised and popular collections.

1987

Reviews

[Annabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A time travel tale fetishist, of course I had to have this anthology, first published in 1979 (this accounts for its retro short stories, retro SF being another fetish of mine). The best thing about this book is that it doesn't focus on time travel as a result of science and invention, therefore explainable. Come to think of it, this collection doesn't really focus on time travel, but rather, TIME itself.

The first story, Pauley's Peepholes by John Wyndham, almost made me regret my purchase. The time travel tourism boom of the future had many wonderful possibilities which Wyndham could have pursued as he had so successfully done with The Day of the Triffids. Instead he gave us this caper, which would have worked better as a comic book story of the week.

Three notable writers each have two contributions: H.G. Wells, Jack Finney, and Ray Bradbury. The first two were especially partial to time travel. Finney's The Love Letter feels enchanting, with its plot of requited unrequited love. I've read both of Bradbury's pieces here, and I think The Shape of Things, the boy born shaped like a blue pyramid, must has wandered off from a Tales out of Dimensions anthology, it does not belong here. However, I don't mind having Bradbury's genius piece, and one of my favorite short stories of all time--A Sound of Thunder, here. (In fact, A Sound of Thunder should be in every time travel anthology!)

Apart from a few scenes that may remain with me, the rest of the stories are forgettable, not to mention undecipherable (Phantas by Oliver Onions). But if I were to rate this book on the strength of the second story alone, I'd give it 5 stars. I don't recall having come across the writings of Bob Shaw before, but I'll be sure to hunt down his other works. His is a short short story, but Light of Other Days unfolds slowly, beautifully, with a tragic finality that makes you realize you can still recapture the gratification felt toward the end, if you quickly go back and read it from the very beginning, even slower this time, as already-familiar scenes feel more poignant, now that you know how the story ends. Light of Other Days illuminates why I read science fiction.

[J.F. Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite books growing up. It strikes a deeper chord now that I've grown a little. It seems a little more bleak to me now than it use to be, but I can also pick up on the optimism without necessarily getting "stuck" in the bleak. Anyway, if you decide to read it there's a great story in here about a relationship in two different periods of time, and the futile communication between both participants. Great read indeed.

[Kathy Sebesta · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the interesting things about reading "best of" stories at a distance of many years - in this case the anthology was released in 1979 - is seeing which stories have stood the test of time. Aside from the true classics which have been anthologized to death (four) I found only one new-to-me that I thought deserved wider exposure: Time has no boundaries by Jack Finney. It's worth a bit of effort to find it somewhere.