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Borrowed Time
A collection of seven time-bending sci-fi stories by the author of the New York Times–bestselling Lost Fleet series—with new author’s notes for each story.In “Betty Knox and Dictionary Jones in The Mystery of the Missing Teenage Anachronisms,” a pair of time travelers get stuck in 1964—and in the bodies of their fifteen-year-old selves. It’s a terrible time to have other time travelers looking to kill you. SFRevu called this story “one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve had in a long time.”In four interlinked short stories, a pair of Temporal Interventionists try to solve some of history’s greatest mysteries—from the origin of the Spanish Flu to an unexplained explosion in the world’s least-inhabited region in 1908. Why were ironclad warships being developed by both the South and the North at the exact same time during the American Civil War? And why don’t we know who fired the ‘shot heard ’round the world,’ the lone gunshot that started the American Revolution?In “Joan,” a time-traveling researcher named Kate has gotten a little too close to Joan of Arc, both emotionally and temporally—and now has a chance to rescue her from being burnt at the stake. And in the final story, “Crow’s Feat,” a skeptical writer goes back to Elizabethan England to discover the true author of Shakespeare’s plays.
188 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 12, 2013
76 people are currently reading
196 people want to read
About the author
Jack Campbell
115 books3,038 followersJack Campbell is a pseudonym for American science fiction author John G. Hemry.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
John G. Hemry is an American author of military science fiction novels. Drawing on his experience as a retired United States Navy officer, he has written the Stark's War and Paul Sinclair series. Under the name Jack Campbell, he has written four volumes of the Lost Fleet series, and on his website names two more forthcoming volumes. He has also written over a dozen short stories, many published in Analog magazine, and a number of non-fiction works.
John G Hemry is a retired United States Navy officer. His father, Jack M. Hemry, also served in the navy and as John points out was a mustang. John grew up living in several places including Pensacola, San Diego, and Midway Island.
John graduated from Lyons High School in Lyons in 1974 then attended the US Naval Academy (Class of '78) where he was labeled 'the un-midshipman' by his roommates.
He lives in Maryland with his wife and three kids. His two eldest children are diagnosed as autistic and suffer from Neuro immune dysfunction syndrome (NIDS), an auto-immune ailment which causes their illness, but are progressing under treatment.
John is a member of the SFWA Musketeers whose motto reads: 'The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword, but the Wise Person Carries Both'.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
John G. Hemry is an American author of military science fiction novels. Drawing on his experience as a retired United States Navy officer, he has written the Stark's War and Paul Sinclair series. Under the name Jack Campbell, he has written four volumes of the Lost Fleet series, and on his website names two more forthcoming volumes. He has also written over a dozen short stories, many published in Analog magazine, and a number of non-fiction works.
John G Hemry is a retired United States Navy officer. His father, Jack M. Hemry, also served in the navy and as John points out was a mustang. John grew up living in several places including Pensacola, San Diego, and Midway Island.
John graduated from Lyons High School in Lyons in 1974 then attended the US Naval Academy (Class of '78) where he was labeled 'the un-midshipman' by his roommates.
He lives in Maryland with his wife and three kids. His two eldest children are diagnosed as autistic and suffer from Neuro immune dysfunction syndrome (NIDS), an auto-immune ailment which causes their illness, but are progressing under treatment.
John is a member of the SFWA Musketeers whose motto reads: 'The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword, but the Wise Person Carries Both'.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
September 26, 2020
“Playing god isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
An anthology of time travel short stories “Campbell” wrote 1999 through 2007. Variable quality. Nice cover art.
“Some details changed, that’s all.” “But . . . but . . . someone once said God is in the details!” “They did? They were wrong. God doesn’t care about details. Neither does the Universe. Ask a quantum physicist. Historians used to care about details, which is why all the inconsistencies in the historical record drove them crazy.”
My favorite was “Crow’s Feat.” “Joan” was disappointing. As was the “Betty Knox …” story; rife with errors. (Campbell confuses the 50s with the 60s; I was in high school circa 1960-1964.) “These are the Times’ ended exactly where it should have, but only after a tangled web was woven.
“It’s not my fault causality is circular through time.”
An anthology of time travel short stories “Campbell” wrote 1999 through 2007. Variable quality. Nice cover art.
“Some details changed, that’s all.” “But . . . but . . . someone once said God is in the details!” “They did? They were wrong. God doesn’t care about details. Neither does the Universe. Ask a quantum physicist. Historians used to care about details, which is why all the inconsistencies in the historical record drove them crazy.”
My favorite was “Crow’s Feat.” “Joan” was disappointing. As was the “Betty Knox …” story; rife with errors. (Campbell confuses the 50s with the 60s; I was in high school circa 1960-1964.) “These are the Times’ ended exactly where it should have, but only after a tangled web was woven.
“It’s not my fault causality is circular through time.”
August 31, 2020
Time travel stories, mostly interconnected, with only one real stinker in the bunch - oddly enough, the one the main blurb describers as the 'centerpiece'.
July 1, 2020
Awesome time-travel short stories.
This is a collection of seven short stories about time-travel. But this time it's the fun, action-adventure type of time-travel that is the type that gets the limelight. Mr. Campbell has written a series of fun, upbeat stories with likable main characters. Especially the first four stories featuring the Time-interventionist Tom and Pam stood out in a good way. If he ever decided to write af full novel with these characters than it will be sure to make an appearance on my to-read shelf.
Fun adventure short stories about time-travel.
This is a collection of seven short stories about time-travel. But this time it's the fun, action-adventure type of time-travel that is the type that gets the limelight. Mr. Campbell has written a series of fun, upbeat stories with likable main characters. Especially the first four stories featuring the Time-interventionist Tom and Pam stood out in a good way. If he ever decided to write af full novel with these characters than it will be sure to make an appearance on my to-read shelf.
Fun adventure short stories about time-travel.
July 10, 2017
Small Moments in Time
Dry and moves at a glacial pace. It's mostly time travel setup (which is mildly different in some of the other stories we have in this anthology and is presented faster in there) and the eventual dilemma.
Where Does a Circle Begin
Good. In this setting, whatever is done could be undone at any moment and that makes it hard to get invested but it still was an enjoyable adventure. None of the stories have a local character as an active part of the story and I think this is the one that could have fit one and have benefited from it.
Working on Borrowed Time
Perfect. It has many familiar beats but it's short enough not to be aggravating and ends up being a fun classic adventure
These are the Times
Predictable but ok. Romance felt rushed but ironically it would have been better if more was going on . Here is the breakdownthat was surprisingly little for a time period allegedly crawling with time travelers and all sorts of intrigue. Some of it can be chalked up to the nature of short stories but not all of it.
Joan
Ok. It starts out as a story whose aim it is to dispel its protagonist's assumptions about the past, but you are unlikely to learn anything new about Joan here, nor does the story go into details about her, instead it makes assumptions about some of her views and character. Any back and forth is very reserved because our main character is Joan's number 1 fan and pushing Joan more about god would have been pointless anyway.Main character is an obsessed fanatic, who learns (I think) that people should not make assumptions about history and while it is sad that trailblazers suffer, someone has to be the first.
Betty Knox and Dictionary Jones in the Mystery of the Missing Teenage Anachronisms
Wasted potential. In contrast to previous story this one seems to have hatred of the past and current times. The story is about 2 people who have traveled into their younger bodies and must find out what happened to their team. Some of the other stories have mildly preachy elements but this one goes full blast and buys into every stereotype of the past. For example no one expected "duck and cover" to save you from a direct nuclear hit, it was a way to keep people from feeling helpless and is actually useful depending on the distance from the blast. The answer to the question of what happened to the other team was underwhelming, especially since during speculation many far more interesting possibility are presented
Despite the preachiness the story does not go into details so it is a general warning about pollution and vague misuse of technology. I think this story would have benefited by focusing more on the main characters feelings and thoughts, less talk about phone operators and more family interactions.
Crow's Feat
I'm sorry but whenever an author writes an author character I feel like they are using it as a soapbox to vent their frustration. This one lacked details and is going through the motions for the people that are already in the know. I have read some articles saying shakespeare was dyslexic, Im not sure about validity of such claims but even without them I'm firmly in the "shakespeare is not a fake" camp. I do not understand why authors send their proxies to historical figures(shakespeare,tesla, conan doyle, etc) and then use those historical figures as puppets to give affirmation to those proxies. I mean I understand why someone would make such a thing for personal enjoyment but I fail to see why they would publish it.
Dry and moves at a glacial pace. It's mostly time travel setup (which is mildly different in some of the other stories we have in this anthology and is presented faster in there) and the eventual dilemma.
Where Does a Circle Begin
Good. In this setting, whatever is done could be undone at any moment and that makes it hard to get invested but it still was an enjoyable adventure. None of the stories have a local character as an active part of the story and I think this is the one that could have fit one and have benefited from it.
Working on Borrowed Time
Perfect. It has many familiar beats but it's short enough not to be aggravating and ends up being a fun classic adventure
These are the Times
Predictable but ok. Romance felt rushed but ironically it would have been better if more was going on . Here is the breakdownthat was surprisingly little for a time period allegedly crawling with time travelers and all sorts of intrigue. Some of it can be chalked up to the nature of short stories but not all of it.
Joan
Ok. It starts out as a story whose aim it is to dispel its protagonist's assumptions about the past, but you are unlikely to learn anything new about Joan here, nor does the story go into details about her, instead it makes assumptions about some of her views and character. Any back and forth is very reserved because our main character is Joan's number 1 fan and pushing Joan more about god would have been pointless anyway.Main character is an obsessed fanatic, who learns (I think) that people should not make assumptions about history and while it is sad that trailblazers suffer, someone has to be the first.
Betty Knox and Dictionary Jones in the Mystery of the Missing Teenage Anachronisms
Wasted potential. In contrast to previous story this one seems to have hatred of the past and current times. The story is about 2 people who have traveled into their younger bodies and must find out what happened to their team. Some of the other stories have mildly preachy elements but this one goes full blast and buys into every stereotype of the past. For example no one expected "duck and cover" to save you from a direct nuclear hit, it was a way to keep people from feeling helpless and is actually useful depending on the distance from the blast. The answer to the question of what happened to the other team was underwhelming, especially since during speculation many far more interesting possibility are presented
Despite the preachiness the story does not go into details so it is a general warning about pollution and vague misuse of technology. I think this story would have benefited by focusing more on the main characters feelings and thoughts, less talk about phone operators and more family interactions.
Crow's Feat
I'm sorry but whenever an author writes an author character I feel like they are using it as a soapbox to vent their frustration. This one lacked details and is going through the motions for the people that are already in the know. I have read some articles saying shakespeare was dyslexic, Im not sure about validity of such claims but even without them I'm firmly in the "shakespeare is not a fake" camp. I do not understand why authors send their proxies to historical figures(shakespeare,tesla, conan doyle, etc) and then use those historical figures as puppets to give affirmation to those proxies. I mean I understand why someone would make such a thing for personal enjoyment but I fail to see why they would publish it.
February 26, 2013
Loved the book and theme of time travel. I hope you expand the TI characters further as the characters and settings were great and more of the same in the future would be a welcome read. The other stories were surprising and imaginative.
The short quick stories were perfect for quick reads.
Have the other recent releases and look forward to more.
A long way from the Black Jack stories but refreshing and a joy to read.
The short quick stories were perfect for quick reads.
Have the other recent releases and look forward to more.
A long way from the Black Jack stories but refreshing and a joy to read.
June 18, 2025
I rank the Lost Fleet Series as one of my favorite series of all time. Included in that praise would the sequels the Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier and The Lost Fleet: Outlands. While the off-shoot, the Lost Stars, was a step below the Black Jack Geary books, I am always open to reading anything by Jack Campbell.
First, i assumed this was 1 novel, which it was not. Instead, this is a collection of short stories, all dealing with time travel. Because i was unaware of this, my expectations were a bit battered when we left one short story for another one. That said, some of the short storeis are great. I thought the Joan of Arc story was phenomenal. I didn't much care for the final story, and i found the autoimmune story to be pretty interesting. Thus, I think this is a mixed bag of stories, some of which you will enjoy, and others less so. It's a good book to occupy a little time, allowing the reader to return to read a different short story days, weeks, or months later. I would've preferred a novel, for sure, but I still enjoyed most of these stories.
First, i assumed this was 1 novel, which it was not. Instead, this is a collection of short stories, all dealing with time travel. Because i was unaware of this, my expectations were a bit battered when we left one short story for another one. That said, some of the short storeis are great. I thought the Joan of Arc story was phenomenal. I didn't much care for the final story, and i found the autoimmune story to be pretty interesting. Thus, I think this is a mixed bag of stories, some of which you will enjoy, and others less so. It's a good book to occupy a little time, allowing the reader to return to read a different short story days, weeks, or months later. I would've preferred a novel, for sure, but I still enjoyed most of these stories.
June 2, 2023
There is something about the way that Jack Campbell writes that I like. It is simple and clear, so much so that I suspect it is not easy to do. He reminds me in this way of a few other writers like Richard Parks in his Japanese ghost stories about Yamada Monogatari. Parks writes about completely different topics, but their style seems simple but is really not. Campbell also has a sense of honor and respect in his stories that is quite likeable that shows in some of the tales.
These stories are fun and at times convey a lot of feeling. The first four, a sort of paratime cops organization are fun to read. I found the story about Joan of Arc quite touching and in keeping with the sense of honor and devotion that you get from his now long series of Black Jack books.
His weakest story was about Betty Knox and Dictionary Jones but still entertaining. Finally, I very much liked his take on the Shakespeare writing controversy and how he wrote it.
These stories are fun and at times convey a lot of feeling. The first four, a sort of paratime cops organization are fun to read. I found the story about Joan of Arc quite touching and in keeping with the sense of honor and devotion that you get from his now long series of Black Jack books.
His weakest story was about Betty Knox and Dictionary Jones but still entertaining. Finally, I very much liked his take on the Shakespeare writing controversy and how he wrote it.
February 26, 2019
Generally, I'm not a fan of short stories. This collection, however, was very good. I think it was because at least one of the stories was really interesting. Then, the others were related stories with different twists on the same time travel narrative. The progression of stories had enough similarity to make them a cohesive collection. Placing them next to each other also highlighted different treatments of some of the same themes.
November 6, 2023
Four very enjoyable stories about "Temporal Interventionists", one very bad story about Joan of Arc,
an indifferent but interesting Shakespeare story and a decent story about eco-reformers. All a little undeveloped, as you might expect from a short story, but I'd quite like to read more stories in the T.I. world. If you really like Campbell, or see it nice and cheap, it's one to pick up, but it's not really one to start with.
an indifferent but interesting Shakespeare story and a decent story about eco-reformers. All a little undeveloped, as you might expect from a short story, but I'd quite like to read more stories in the T.I. world. If you really like Campbell, or see it nice and cheap, it's one to pick up, but it's not really one to start with.
April 17, 2025
I loved the first stories, all with the same characters and fun dialogues about when they met a long time ago in the future, or how they will do something yesterday. The other three were OK. Time travel stories by nature require a huge suspension of disbelief, but the one about Joan of Arc was oh so silly.
December 14, 2018
Great stories
An excellent collection of short stories. Time travel always presents challenges for the author that the author handles superbly. Exciting reading , well thought out and presented.
An excellent collection of short stories. Time travel always presents challenges for the author that the author handles superbly. Exciting reading , well thought out and presented.
March 1, 2020
Great read
I really enjoyed this book of small tidbits of time travel! The separate stories were interesting and fun to read! My favorite was the story about William Shakespeare! I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys time travel stories!
I really enjoyed this book of small tidbits of time travel! The separate stories were interesting and fun to read! My favorite was the story about William Shakespeare! I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys time travel stories!
September 23, 2020
Amusing Tales
I liked the ideas behind the stories and enjoyed each tale. My three star rating is down to the fact that I'm not a fan of short stories really, so more a comment about me than the author or the book!
I liked the ideas behind the stories and enjoyed each tale. My three star rating is down to the fact that I'm not a fan of short stories really, so more a comment about me than the author or the book!
January 13, 2022
Enjoyable anthology of Jack Campbell's time travel stories. Each story is interesting and has excellent characterization. It was very nice to read out and out time travel stories again. Recommended.
July 17, 2022
It’s more difficult to review several stories at once. They were a bit uneven. The stories with the TIs were too confusing as they all seemed to step on one another’s toes. I also thought that time travelers weren’t supposed to change history…
July 22, 2025
Some day Day we will have the technology
Totally write down my street. I really love this book it, really I would love to go back to my high school days and relive some of those experiences.
Totally write down my street. I really love this book it, really I would love to go back to my high school days and relive some of those experiences.
June 26, 2017
I don't usually care much for time travel stories but these are pretty decent for the genre. The usual time travel tropes are here but these are at least well done.
July 31, 2017
New stories, only one I had read before. Interesting take on Joan of Arc.
December 25, 2019
This is three five-star stories, followed by two three-star stories. The first three share a character and perspective and are really good. The rest are meh.
December 18, 2020
Fun read
I liked the author notes before each story. Each story unique and easy to follow. Good writing. Couple would make a good movie.
I liked the author notes before each story. Each story unique and easy to follow. Good writing. Couple would make a good movie.
December 29, 2020
This was an entertaining collection, if not quite up to the standard I've come to expect from this author.
January 10, 2021
This book is right up my alley. I love time travel! I was thinking about it long after the book was over, going over the time-loop-continuum in my mind. Haha!
November 17, 2021
This is a collection of short stories all involving time travel. I enjoyed all of them. it mentions an earlier book so I need to go find it!
January 11, 2023
Good little stories and worth 4 stars. A book to leave and read others then go back at a later date to finish off. Borrowed time indeed.
August 14, 2023
An uneven collection of time travel stories, but for fans of this genre, well worth the time to read.
October 4, 2023
Enjoyable light read.
October 18, 2023
As with most collected stories, there are hits and misses. These were all fascinating stories with one exception: The Joan of Arc fangirl story.
July 28, 2024
These were fun, but really ran the spectrum on enjoyment. 5* to the one on the American Revolution, 2* to the one on Joan of Arc, the rest were in the middle.
December 29, 2020
A little gem of a collection of time travel tales based upon real moments in history and the causality effects of a time travellers intervention. Clever, punchy and very readable, loved it.
February 7, 2020
All time travel, a bit uneven, but some are great.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews