In this amazing tome, editors Ann and Jeff
Vandermeer present a broad survey covering time travel across its literary
development from the 1880’s to the present. The anthology starts with a
delightful essay on the Top Ten Tips for Time Travelers by Charles Yu. It
sets-up ones’ expectations: be open to varied scenarios and to forget
about the so-called rules of time travel. The book is then divided into four
sections: Experiments; Reactionaries and Revolutionaries; Mazes and Traps; and
Communiques. Each section wraps up with an educational, non-fiction gem.
All bets are off: go back and visit yourself to give advice; don’t worry about
killing your grandfather before you were born; and certainly set yourself up to
win the lottery. Accept the logic of time travel in each story as it is,
and enjoy the ride.
VERDICT: Completely satisfying; the
almanac will appeal on some level to every science fiction reader. Although
these stories were written over time, from the first time travel story ever
published, The Clock That Went Backward (1881) by Edward Page Mitchell to Thirty Seconds From Now (2011) by John Chu, they each prove timeless.
No comments:
Post a Comment