Mind Out of Time

by Christopher Stasheff

His Warlock and Wizard in Rhyme series have sold hundreds of thousands of copies around the world. Now Five Star is proud to bring together the best of Christopher Stasheff's short fiction -- including a brand new novella featuring Angus McAran. Stories include The Warlock's Grandfather, Coronach of the Bell, Pride and Puppetry and many more.

Genres: Science Fiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 2, 2003

About the author

The late Christopher Stasheff was an American science fiction and fantasy author. When teaching proved too real, he gave it up in favor of writing full-time. Stasheff was noted for his blending of science fiction and fantasy, as seen in his Warlock series. He spent his early childhood in Mount Vernon, New York, but spent the rest of his formative years in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Stasheff taught at the University of Eastern New Mexico in Portales, before retiring to Champaign, Illinois, in 2009. He had a wife and four children.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of seven short works by Stasheff; five of them are of novelette or novella length. Stasheff, who was a noted novelist, was not known for his short work, and several of the stories here have the feel of being summaries or pieces of longer works. Three of them originally appeared in theme anthologies edited by Bill Fawcett and Stasheff, the titular novella is original to this collection, one appeared as a sidebar in a previous Warlock novel, and the other two first appeared in traditional original anthologies. Three of the stories are part of the Warlock series, his best-known works. The Warlock's Grandfather (which curiously first appeared in a Christmas anthology) features Rod's very early days and tells how the family was established. It features what must be Fess's first appearance. The Martyrdom of St. Vidicon of Cathode is a very amusing story of technology and religion, and Mind Out of Time is a long story of politics and academia and time travel that relates how some of the major players in the Warlock universe started. Coronach of the Bell is a moral fable with a Native American flavor, Pride and Puppetry is a clever story reminiscent of Larry Niven's The Magic Goes Away with a prince and magic and a lesson in loyalty, and I found Gordon's Quest to be a little hard to follow, a story of Old Gods and a man with a death wish squabbling over ancient Chinese war philosophy. My favorite story was Who Ghost There?, a nice romantic fairy tale with many amusing bits and clever puns and a strong fantasy element, very similar in feel to his best known novels. The book was published in 2003 with a cover I found quite unappealing, and I believe it Stasheff's only collection. Stasheff was one of the best at mixing fantasy and science fiction together, as well as showing how families work together better than individuals or random bands of adventurers, and I enjoyed the variety displayed in this volume.

[Andrew Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

time travel books... But it is fun

They never work. Stasheff has some pretty impressive skills in writing his characters with compelling language... And his ideas include some funny twists with the smart Neanderthals and so forth. Just... Time travel novels never work. Either they get tied up in paradox, or follow faulty logic into the multiverse theme, or in this case both.
But he is funny!