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The Windy City Files #0
From Time to Time, a short story
October 1871, Chicago burned.
And from the ashes emerged the Chicago St. Clairs.
As recent transplants to a foregone era, the St. Clairs of the Clarion Division are still acclimating to their surroundings. It will probably take a while.
Meet River St. Clair, the city’s newest medical examiner and a female necessarily disguised as a man, and her brother Archer, the business district’s police inspector. And although both are specially equipped to handle criminals of the twenty-second century, their high-tech skills are far less useful for crime-fighting in the Victorian Windy City.
The death of Arthur Boyd is their first case since being displaced in time, and it looks like they’ll have to solve it the old-fashioned way, almost.
And from the ashes emerged the Chicago St. Clairs.
As recent transplants to a foregone era, the St. Clairs of the Clarion Division are still acclimating to their surroundings. It will probably take a while.
Meet River St. Clair, the city’s newest medical examiner and a female necessarily disguised as a man, and her brother Archer, the business district’s police inspector. And although both are specially equipped to handle criminals of the twenty-second century, their high-tech skills are far less useful for crime-fighting in the Victorian Windy City.
The death of Arthur Boyd is their first case since being displaced in time, and it looks like they’ll have to solve it the old-fashioned way, almost.
23 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 9, 2019
33 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Ellison Blackburn
12 books87 followersAn early interest in the soft sciences, together with a career in information technology, ignited Ellison Blackburn's curiosity in singularities. Among her published stories are "Flash Back," the literary, slow-burn book one of The Fountain post-apocalyptic trilogy; "If There Be Giants," book one of The Watchers urban fantasy duology; "An Untimely End," the first book in the time-travel mystery series the Windy City Files; and the dystopian, cyberpunk novella "Virtue Us, The Future of Love."
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 13, 2019
The Angst of Peter Boyd is a short story by Ellison Blackburn. It would not be a spoiler to say that the biggest angst of Arthur Boyd is that he is, in fact, dead and that this condition is revealed on page one of this prequel short story. The principal purpose of the work is to get the reader interested in follow up novels about the Chicago St. Clairs. This story does that very well for two reasons.
Throughout this entire story there is no explicit mention that the five or six principal characters, the investigators, are time travelers. The possibility is suggested by sentences such as “I think most people die relatively young in this time period.” (Kindle location 38-39).
A more interesting hook that I believe will guarantee reader interest is the character of River, one of five male investigators into this homicide. But River is not male. Again, we get the not explicitly stated idea of time travel. For River to be part of the team, she had to function as a male in a time (the Great Chicago Fire) when females were equal to chattel. River studied males on the team to understand how she would have to act to give the appearance of a “normal” male. Males on the team, Archer was one, did not appreciate the role of lab rats as River tried to use them as examples for emulation.
It gets more complicated by the possibility (no direct information) that there might be a romantic interest going on between River and Archer. This romantic or sexual interest could not be expressed in a homophobic society. Any suggestion would set off alarms in a society where every gesture and vocabulary choice carried multiple levels of meaning. Readers should look at the interaction between Archer and Mrs. Boyd during an interrogation scene to find an example of this complexity.
After reading this story, I will read at least one of the follow-on novels to see how these unusual themes are carried out as the characters enter complex, intertwined relationships. If I were to give this a rating for fulfilling its purpose, arousing reader interest in a series, I would give this short story (23 pages) five Amazon stars. As a piece of historical fiction (Great Chicago Fire, state of medicine at the time) I would also give the story five Amazon stars. For subtle presentation hinting at things to come, the story deserves five Amazon stars. If I calculate an average of the three factors …
This story was an unexpectedly good short read and a good introduction of things to come. I received this as a free download on the Amazon book page. Stories this good are hard to come by for USD 0.00.
Throughout this entire story there is no explicit mention that the five or six principal characters, the investigators, are time travelers. The possibility is suggested by sentences such as “I think most people die relatively young in this time period.” (Kindle location 38-39).
A more interesting hook that I believe will guarantee reader interest is the character of River, one of five male investigators into this homicide. But River is not male. Again, we get the not explicitly stated idea of time travel. For River to be part of the team, she had to function as a male in a time (the Great Chicago Fire) when females were equal to chattel. River studied males on the team to understand how she would have to act to give the appearance of a “normal” male. Males on the team, Archer was one, did not appreciate the role of lab rats as River tried to use them as examples for emulation.
It gets more complicated by the possibility (no direct information) that there might be a romantic interest going on between River and Archer. This romantic or sexual interest could not be expressed in a homophobic society. Any suggestion would set off alarms in a society where every gesture and vocabulary choice carried multiple levels of meaning. Readers should look at the interaction between Archer and Mrs. Boyd during an interrogation scene to find an example of this complexity.
After reading this story, I will read at least one of the follow-on novels to see how these unusual themes are carried out as the characters enter complex, intertwined relationships. If I were to give this a rating for fulfilling its purpose, arousing reader interest in a series, I would give this short story (23 pages) five Amazon stars. As a piece of historical fiction (Great Chicago Fire, state of medicine at the time) I would also give the story five Amazon stars. For subtle presentation hinting at things to come, the story deserves five Amazon stars. If I calculate an average of the three factors …
This story was an unexpectedly good short read and a good introduction of things to come. I received this as a free download on the Amazon book page. Stories this good are hard to come by for USD 0.00.
January 1, 2022
From Time to Time Earns 5/5 Hidden Identities…Engaging Fun!
Ellison Blackburn offered a very short prequel that I enjoyed while waiting for a delivery. The premise is a fascinating, gender-bending, time-traveling mystery about the St. Clair siblings navigating 1871 Chicago. Archer is a police inspector, and his sister, River, the first person narrator, is the medical examiner. However, the twist is quite entertaining. Along with engaging ups and downs navigating a society centuries from their own, River must disguise herself as a man in order to bypass the restriction placed on women of the Victorian era. Clever. Their detection methods and scientific skills may be more contemporary, but being hampered by the nineteenth century is compelling. A great introduction to the rest of the series!
Ellison Blackburn offered a very short prequel that I enjoyed while waiting for a delivery. The premise is a fascinating, gender-bending, time-traveling mystery about the St. Clair siblings navigating 1871 Chicago. Archer is a police inspector, and his sister, River, the first person narrator, is the medical examiner. However, the twist is quite entertaining. Along with engaging ups and downs navigating a society centuries from their own, River must disguise herself as a man in order to bypass the restriction placed on women of the Victorian era. Clever. Their detection methods and scientific skills may be more contemporary, but being hampered by the nineteenth century is compelling. A great introduction to the rest of the series!
September 2, 2019
This short ended rather abruptly; didn't actually get confirmation that the siblings' theory around the crime was accurate, but I guess I'll just assume they were right.
The story, setting, and characters have potential, though I do think I'd get more into them in a longer work. As it was, I have many questions about our lead protagonists (who they are and where they came from) and hope that a longer work would provide more enlightenment there.
The murder mystery itself in this short was just that...short. We're not giving much of a chance as a reader to wonder at what happened. Instead, all the clues are very quickly described to us and a theory as to what happened laid out plainly. No real mystery there or chance to wonder. No twists or turns either. Though I appreciate this is meant to be a prequel and merely a short story, I think it could have benefited from a bit more length to let the crime take a little bit longer to solve. Would have given the reader more to sink their teeth into.
All that said, I'm interested in reading more by this author. I definitely see potential here.
The story, setting, and characters have potential, though I do think I'd get more into them in a longer work. As it was, I have many questions about our lead protagonists (who they are and where they came from) and hope that a longer work would provide more enlightenment there.
The murder mystery itself in this short was just that...short. We're not giving much of a chance as a reader to wonder at what happened. Instead, all the clues are very quickly described to us and a theory as to what happened laid out plainly. No real mystery there or chance to wonder. No twists or turns either. Though I appreciate this is meant to be a prequel and merely a short story, I think it could have benefited from a bit more length to let the crime take a little bit longer to solve. Would have given the reader more to sink their teeth into.
All that said, I'm interested in reading more by this author. I definitely see potential here.
February 20, 2019
I enjoyed this short story – especially like how the one detective was really a girl dressed and pretending to be a guy so they could solve cases easier and together….the cause of death of the businessman was sort of obvious, but cute little story!
May 5, 2019
This is a charming short story about time travelling detectives stuck in Victorian times. As it was a short story it didn't much detective work to solve the murder case, but as it is a prequel to 'the ashes of Aubrey miller' I love to read that as well.
May 21, 2019
Interesting til the very end. Liked it!
June 4, 2019
I enjoyed this short prequel, a good introduction to the series, I hope! Interesting storyline & good characters! Will be looking forward to reading more by this writer!
November 13, 2020
Were you suppose to know the series before reading this prequel? All speculation, no proof shown.
September 18, 2019
This short story was interesting but I had many questions. I actually got some answers from the book description on Goodreads. I don’t usually read descriptions or book blurbs except when I first choose a book. I often get several per month, so by the time I get around to reading a story I have forgotten any foreknowledge about it. I realize it is related to a series and I’m very interested to see where the stories lead. I think this short would have been better after the first in the series.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook from the author and this is my honest and freely given opinion.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook from the author and this is my honest and freely given opinion.
September 26, 2019
This is the setting for the St. Clairs of Chicago after the Chicago fire. The mystery is a good start to Ellisons "An Untimely End" which has a little of every genre from time travel, mystery, history, and 22nd Century Technology. A good beginning to her series.
February 5, 2020
Here we have a tale of murder and time travel and a woman forced to endure a male dominated landscape to which she is quite unfamiliar. Although the time travel bit is mostly conveyed by allusion to a better future, the subtle indications are there. Overall, an enjoyable short read.
January 13, 2020
Wonderful!
I loved the style of writing; old world with just the right amount of modern cues. I also really liked the premise of the story itself and look forward to the next one.
If I had any complaints it would be that the story was too short!
I loved the style of writing; old world with just the right amount of modern cues. I also really liked the premise of the story itself and look forward to the next one.
If I had any complaints it would be that the story was too short!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews