Time Twisters [Paperback]

These seventeen new science fiction tales focus on time travel and the related paradoxes including the impact on the present by changing the past and meeting one's self or ancestors, etc. The short stories are fun to read, but the mode of delivery never allows any of the entries to go deep into the seemingly impossibility of time travel. Still fans of the topic like this reviewer (EC comics hooked me during my prehistorical period - the late 1950s) will find all are Wells with this anthology. All the entries are fun for those who enjoy reading TIME TWISTERS; especially enjoyable are "Yeshua's Choice" at Masada, "Downtown Knight" (the mobster meets the Templar on the latter's turf), nineteen years old conscript Pheidas of the Philistine army who has "Occupation Duty" in Gaza and "Voices" as Joan of Arc learns combat strategy with a modern day military unit. The rest are well written fine contributions to a delightful compilation with all the time in the world to stroll down a not so "Mundane Lane".

Harriet Klausner

I picked up this book at one of those overstock/seconds bookstores for a few bucks, and at that price I'd say it's worth it. (On the other hand, I'd have a very hard time recommending it at the full retail price.) You're getting a collection of stories here that all involve time travel, but the quality varies considerably -- some of the stories just seem unfinished (intriguing ideas the authors had that they weren't able to fully flesh out), whereas others just weren't that engaging (for me). Of the 18 stories, it broke down to about 1/3 that I really liked, 1/3 that I wouldn't have bothered publishing if it'd been my design, and the rest were OK if not particularly memorable.

The stories included are listed below:

* Pruning the Tree, by Chris Pierson -- One of several "time cops have to figure out a divergence point and fix it" stories. OK...
* Occupation Duty, by Harry Turtledove -- More about the futility of war than anything about time travel.
* Mundane Lane, by Kevin Anderson -- A very "down to earth" story in the sense that I could very much see it happening (well, other than the time travel part :-) ).
* The Power and the Glory, by Rober Vardeman -- Nikolai Tesla provides endless fodder for sci-fi stories, and this one doesn't disappoint.
* Voices, by Jackie Cassada -- This is the story with Joan of Arc as the main character. I felt it's overly political in nature and a bit pointless.
* Downtown Knight, by James Ward -- Definitely one of the more entertaining tales, some (brief!) contemplation on what would happen if the mob teleported itself back in time to the middle ages.
* Parsley Sage, Rosemary and Time, by Jon Breen -- Another one of my favorites; very thought provoking. About a man who comes to the realization that the timeline must have been changed -- and he thinks he knows exactly who did it.
* A Better Place, by Linda Baker -- A post-apocalyptic story, that's well done, if only a premise rather than a full story.
* Chaos Theory, by Stephen Leigh -- Didn't do much for me (kinda read like a high school creative writing class assignment)
* The Man in Cell 91, by Gene DeWeese -- Also somewhat overly religious/political in nature, but interesting if you enjoy deep character examinations.
* Oyer and Terminer, by Joe Masdon -- Nice twist on the Salem witch trials.
* Standing Still, by Donald Bingle -- A good character drama between a man-from-the-future holding a time-warping device and the present-day detective who needs to figure out if there's any real danger or if the guy is just crazy; I enjoyed it.
* One Rainy Day in Paris, by Skip and Penny Williams -- Pierre and Marie Currie are visited by a slightly bumbling college student. A cute, sweet story if you're a bit sentimental as I am.
* Try and Try Again, by Pierce Askegren -- A relatively unique premise from the "infinite universes" theory: What happens if many diverging timelines send back the same guy to a critical point in time, before the timelines diverged?
* Yeshua's Choice, by Nancy Virginia Varian -- Somewhat intriguing take on Jesus and what would happen if he weren't crucified (as described in the new testament), although it felt to me like the author was "trying too hard" to imply spiritual significance here.
* Three Power Play, by Wes Nicholson -- An alternative history take on World War II: If D-Day never happened, what would the outcome of the war have been? I found the prediced results pretty hard to swallow, but it's an interesting premise, certainly.
* One Time Around?, by John Helfers -- Another diverging timelines story about a guy who goes back to advise a relative how to avoid a lifetime of abusive relationships. At least in one timeline, that is...

At the very end of the book there are brief (a paragraph or two) biographies of each author. I found this quite useful, as after discovering stories I liked, the author bios gave some idea as to whether or not I'd like their other books (and usually listed recent titles as well).

I'm a huge fan of "focused" collections such as this, and so I was very happy to see that this volume delivered.

Excellent stories throughout--fast paced, neat twists, good writing. Most are time-travel oriented with a couple of alternate Earth stories tossed in for good measure.

Very recommended.

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