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The Gordian Division #2.5 - Doctor Quiet
Time Troopers
NEW AND CLASSIC STORIES OF TIME TRAVEL MILITARY SF
ETERNITY
Once, military actions were entirely two dimensional, confined to the surface of land and sea, but then submarines and aircraft added a third dimension, vastly extended by spaceflight. Now, consider that if time travel is possible, the fourth dimension of time opens up new possibilities for combat, necessitating new defenses, new strategies and tactics. A battle that was once decisively won might be refought, or a narrow victory might be subtly tilted to the other side. Never mind the history books, they’re only works in progress. There might be even more than four dimensions involved, if parallel universes and alternate realities exist and can be accessed. Imagine a universe where Rome never fell and its troops want to do something about our universe, where it did fall. Or another where more recent wars turned out very differently. Battle is a recurrent motif in the Earth of this universe, and would alternate realities be different or all too similar, with the tune the same, but different lyrics. Supplying the lyrics for spacetime combat in these pages is an all-star general staff including Robert Silverberg, Poul Anderson, Fritz Leiber, John C. Wright, H. Beam Piper and more. It’s zero hour, in whatever time stream, so grab your time-appropriate weapon, be it sword or ray blaster, buckle on your general issue timeporter belt, and follow the Time Troopers into action across strange aeons!
About Time
"The editors’ mastery of the military SF and time travel subgenres is evident in their thoughtful selections. Fans of literate speculative fiction will hope for more from these experts."— Publishers Weekly
Praise for previous anthologies edited by Hank
Cosmic Corsairs :
“Who doesn’t like space pirates? (Well, their victims I guess, but that’s beside the point.) . . . Hank Davis has a fine sense for choosing a wide mix of stories, and this book is no exception. No story is like another, yet they manage to form a whole greater than the parts. From sapient ships to piratical sibling rivalry, pirate detectives to ingenious captives seeking freedom, from alien biology to orbital mechanics, the stories share some of the same elements—pragmatic thinking, moral complexity, loyalty, and betrayal. Definitely a fun one.”— Analog
I n Space No One Can Hear You
“[T]he 13 tales in this collection blend sf with horror to demonstrate the resiliency of both genres . . . offers strong tales by the genre’s best storytellers.” — Library Journal
“[F]irst-rate science fiction, demonstrating how short stories can still entertain.” — The G alveston County Daily News
A Cosmic Christmas 2
“This creative and sprightly Christmas science fiction anthology spins in some surprising directions. . . . A satisfying read for cold winter evenings . . . a great stocking stuffer for SF fans.” — Publishers Weekly
A s Time Goes
“ As Time Goes By . . . does an excellent job of exploring not only romance through time travel—relationships enabled or imperiled by voyaging through time—but the intrinsic romance of time travel itself. . . . The range of styles and approaches is as wide as the authors' sensibilities and periods might suggest . . . full of entertaining and poignant stories . . . ” —Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, IntergalacticMedicineShow.com
About Star Destroyers, coedited by Christopher
“. . . spectacular space battles and alien contacts . . . themes of military ethics, the uses of artificial intelligence, and the limits of the capacity of the human mind. . . . it is the human interactions and decisions that ultimately drive the stories. . . . will appeal to fans of military and hard science fiction and any readers fascinated by the possibilities of space travel.”— Booklist
“. . . stories of giant spaceships at war, at peace, and in the often-gray areas between. . . . a worthy addition to a long tradition of ship-based fiction, and its authors portray captains, arcane astrogators, and civilian child passengers with equal depth. It’s recommended for fans of military SF and space adventure.”— Publishers Weekly
“. . . you’d probably expect some tight, action-filled space opera stories of giant space battles . . . and there’s some of that. But there are also espionage stories, rescue missions, political conflicts, alternate histories, even a few humorous tales. . . . each author took the premise in a different direction . . . if I had to identify one common feature to all the stories, it would be that they’re all fun. . . . Like it says, big ships blowing things up. What’s not to like?”— Analog
ETERNITY
Once, military actions were entirely two dimensional, confined to the surface of land and sea, but then submarines and aircraft added a third dimension, vastly extended by spaceflight. Now, consider that if time travel is possible, the fourth dimension of time opens up new possibilities for combat, necessitating new defenses, new strategies and tactics. A battle that was once decisively won might be refought, or a narrow victory might be subtly tilted to the other side. Never mind the history books, they’re only works in progress. There might be even more than four dimensions involved, if parallel universes and alternate realities exist and can be accessed. Imagine a universe where Rome never fell and its troops want to do something about our universe, where it did fall. Or another where more recent wars turned out very differently. Battle is a recurrent motif in the Earth of this universe, and would alternate realities be different or all too similar, with the tune the same, but different lyrics. Supplying the lyrics for spacetime combat in these pages is an all-star general staff including Robert Silverberg, Poul Anderson, Fritz Leiber, John C. Wright, H. Beam Piper and more. It’s zero hour, in whatever time stream, so grab your time-appropriate weapon, be it sword or ray blaster, buckle on your general issue timeporter belt, and follow the Time Troopers into action across strange aeons!
About Time
"The editors’ mastery of the military SF and time travel subgenres is evident in their thoughtful selections. Fans of literate speculative fiction will hope for more from these experts."— Publishers Weekly
Praise for previous anthologies edited by Hank
Cosmic Corsairs :
“Who doesn’t like space pirates? (Well, their victims I guess, but that’s beside the point.) . . . Hank Davis has a fine sense for choosing a wide mix of stories, and this book is no exception. No story is like another, yet they manage to form a whole greater than the parts. From sapient ships to piratical sibling rivalry, pirate detectives to ingenious captives seeking freedom, from alien biology to orbital mechanics, the stories share some of the same elements—pragmatic thinking, moral complexity, loyalty, and betrayal. Definitely a fun one.”— Analog
I n Space No One Can Hear You
“[T]he 13 tales in this collection blend sf with horror to demonstrate the resiliency of both genres . . . offers strong tales by the genre’s best storytellers.” — Library Journal
“[F]irst-rate science fiction, demonstrating how short stories can still entertain.” — The G alveston County Daily News
A Cosmic Christmas 2
“This creative and sprightly Christmas science fiction anthology spins in some surprising directions. . . . A satisfying read for cold winter evenings . . . a great stocking stuffer for SF fans.” — Publishers Weekly
A s Time Goes
“ As Time Goes By . . . does an excellent job of exploring not only romance through time travel—relationships enabled or imperiled by voyaging through time—but the intrinsic romance of time travel itself. . . . The range of styles and approaches is as wide as the authors' sensibilities and periods might suggest . . . full of entertaining and poignant stories . . . ” —Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, IntergalacticMedicineShow.com
About Star Destroyers, coedited by Christopher
“. . . spectacular space battles and alien contacts . . . themes of military ethics, the uses of artificial intelligence, and the limits of the capacity of the human mind. . . . it is the human interactions and decisions that ultimately drive the stories. . . . will appeal to fans of military and hard science fiction and any readers fascinated by the possibilities of space travel.”— Booklist
“. . . stories of giant spaceships at war, at peace, and in the often-gray areas between. . . . a worthy addition to a long tradition of ship-based fiction, and its authors portray captains, arcane astrogators, and civilian child passengers with equal depth. It’s recommended for fans of military SF and space adventure.”— Publishers Weekly
“. . . you’d probably expect some tight, action-filled space opera stories of giant space battles . . . and there’s some of that. But there are also espionage stories, rescue missions, political conflicts, alternate histories, even a few humorous tales. . . . each author took the premise in a different direction . . . if I had to identify one common feature to all the stories, it would be that they’re all fun. . . . Like it says, big ships blowing things up. What’s not to like?”— Analog
672 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published May 30, 2023
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36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 21, 2022
The four new stories in this anthology are nothing special, but there are some genuine all-time classics from Heinlein, Leiber, Laumer and more in these pages. Worth picking up for those stories if you've never read them. On a personal note: the one classic time-travel story NOT included here that I would really like to see reprinted somewhere is Ross Rocklynne's "Time Wants a Skeleton". I read it thirty-something years ago in either junior high or high school in an Asimov-edited anthology that's no longer in print. I would like to get my hands on that story again to see if it's as good as I remember. Probably would have bumped this review up to four stars if it was included here :-)
July 26, 2024
Some very, very good stories, but also some very mediocre ones. The Long Remembered Thunder and The Oldest Soldier had FANTASTIC atmosphere. Choosers of the Slain was also very good.
All You Zombies - 2/5
The Archaenaut - Skipped until Sun Eater read through
The Long Remembered Thunder - 5/5
Delenda Est - 3/5
Evading History - 2/5
Recruiting Station - 3/5
The Oldest Soldier - 5/5
House of Bones - 4/5
Free Time - 3/5
Choosers of the Slain - 5/5
Against the Lafayette Escadrille - 3/5
Doctor Quiet - 2/5
Remember the Alamo - 4/5
Comrades of Time - 3/5
Time Crime - 2/5
All You Zombies - 2/5
The Archaenaut - Skipped until Sun Eater read through
The Long Remembered Thunder - 5/5
Delenda Est - 3/5
Evading History - 2/5
Recruiting Station - 3/5
The Oldest Soldier - 5/5
House of Bones - 4/5
Free Time - 3/5
Choosers of the Slain - 5/5
Against the Lafayette Escadrille - 3/5
Doctor Quiet - 2/5
Remember the Alamo - 4/5
Comrades of Time - 3/5
Time Crime - 2/5
April 13, 2022
Some of the most critically-praised and award-winning authors of classic sci-fi, like Robert Silverberg, Poul Anderson, Gene Wolfe, Robert A. Heinlein, and more are featured in this mind-bending collection of time travel stories. A captain protects the galaxy’s borders from outworld barbarians that are more out of this world than she ever expected. A secret agent’s mission leads him to a man who has fought in an alien war for ages. The Time Patrol works to prevent the past from being changed by dodgy time travelers, but when their team goes forward in time they find a world they don’t recognize. This collection is a mix of swashbuckling space adventures, crimes against time, and even a bit of western, and the scope is both futuristic and Paleolithic.
There’s nothing hugely remarkable here except for a few lost stories from authors who set the standards for sci-fi in the first place, but it’s still an exciting and entertaining collection. The stories are reflective and explore the barrier of time between cultures, communication, and misunderstandings that result in both uplifting and violent consequences. Fans of the classic time travel trope will enjoy this.
(This review was originally written for Library Journal magazine.)
There’s nothing hugely remarkable here except for a few lost stories from authors who set the standards for sci-fi in the first place, but it’s still an exciting and entertaining collection. The stories are reflective and explore the barrier of time between cultures, communication, and misunderstandings that result in both uplifting and violent consequences. Fans of the classic time travel trope will enjoy this.
(This review was originally written for Library Journal magazine.)
July 2, 2022
This book has a good selection of time travel stores. Some I had read before and enjoyed again. Others were new to me. Some written year's ago and others more recently. The stories varied from each other and were all quality stories. I will now be on the look out for books by the newer authors like the Hoyts, John C. Wright, Jacob Holo and of course Christopher Ruocchio - I recently finished book Empire of Silence since I discovered him about a month ago. This anthology is recommended reading for all time travel/alternate history fans.
August 1, 2023
Using a loose definition of time travel, Hank Davis and Christopher Ruocchio have gathered a collection of time travel short stories by diverse authors. Many are classics - Heinlein's "All You Zombies," Lieber's "The Oldest Soldier," and Anderson's "Dulenda Est." others are by more recent authors - Holo's "Doctor Quiet" and Hoyt and Hoyt's "Free Time." I was surprised and pleased to discover a H. Beam Piper Paratime story - "Time Crime." If you are looking for a decent collection of time travel stories to have on your shelf, this collection will do.
May 3, 2024
satisfying short stories, a really good longer story by H. Beam Piper
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews