Time Traveled Tales Volume 1

Time Traveled Tales Anthologies #1

by Jean Rabe (Editor), Aaron Allston (Contributor), Daniel Myers (Contributor)

A collection of stories about time, travel, and various combinations thereof.

'This volume [original Volume I] was prepared for the 2012 Origins Game Fair, held in Columbus, Ohio, May 30 - June 3, 2012.

The Printing is limited to 500 copies.'

Contains (Volume I Stories):
Replay Value, Aaron Allston
Last Man on Earth, Maxwell Alexander Drake
Slug, Janine K. Spendlove
Adventure of the Ghost Watch, Michael A. Stackpole
The Old Gods, C.S. Marks
For Every Time, A Season, Donald J. Bingle
Know Your Nemesis, Kelly Swails
My Faire Lady, Jean Rabe
The Tinker’s Music Box, Jennifer Brozek
Under a Thin Veneer, Daniel Myers
Deep Salvage, Bryan Young
Impression, Tracy Chowdhury
Sanction, Gregory A. Wilson
Fair Game, Dylan Birtolo
Merchant Market, R. T. Kaelin
In the Time of Dragons, Steven Saus
Among the Stars, Sarah Hans
Parting the Clouds, Bradley P. Beaulieu
Protection, Timothy Zahn

Kickstarter Edition Bonus Stories (2nd Edition)

The Price of Fame, Brian E. Shaw
Collide-o-Scope, Aaron Allston
Time Bomb, Timothy Zahn
Up and Down the Line, Aaron Rosenberg
Timeslip, Maggie Allen
The Crossed-wires Adventure, Michael A. Stackpole

Genres: Science Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fantasy, Time Travel, Science Fiction Fantasy

681 pages, ebook

First published May 30, 2012

About the author

When I am not writing, I toss tennis balls to my cadre of dogs. My house is filled with books and dogs, you can smell both when you walk in the front door. It's a good smell.

I have 36 published novels and am currently writing in the mystery genre. My latest mystery, The Dead of Winter, was a finalist for the Claymore Award and is the first in the Piper Blackwell series.

I live in a tiny town in the middle of Illinois that has a Dollar General, a pizza place with exceedingly slow service, a veterinarian (good thing, eh?), and train tracks...lots of train tracks.

Reviews

[Erin Penn · Rating 5 out of 5]

25 tales centered around time. Some of the anthology writers chose time travel (Collide-O-Scope), others choose watches (Among the Stars), and still others choose the ticking away of time (Last Man on Earth).

Some tales were creepy (For Every Time a Season), others fun (Know Your Nemesis), others haunting (The Tinker's Music Box), and still others action-filled (Deep Salvage).

As with most anthologies, some unevenness in the caliber of the writers exist. Amazingly I found only two tales were total bombs, whereas close to half were absolutely fantastic.

Slug by Janine Spendlove had one of the most interesting commute stories I have ever read. Having heard her talk on panels at cons, I am not certain how much is fictional.

Michael Stackpole two stories had a character "Jack Card, Boy Skeptic" which makes me want to go out and find more stories centered on this character to give my nephews and nieces.

The anthology also has stories by Timothy Zane, Aaron Rosenberg, Aaron Allston, and a dozen or so others. Well, worth the time you spend reading it.

[Donald J. Bingle]

You can catch a video of me reading my story from this anthology at http://vimeo.com/78667228.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty strong for a short story collection. No new authors to check out but time with Zahn, Allston, and Stackpole is usually worth it. I particularly enjoyed the Jack Card stories; very reminiscent of Encyclopedia Brown. A few misses but overall, a lot of fun.

[Stefano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only a small amount of tales were about time, less about time travel.
Most absolutely uninteresting.

[Wampuscat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of tales is quite varied. They all have to do with 'time' in some way. Some are Great, most are good, a few are iffy, but none are awful.

The best 3 are 'The Old Gods' by C.S. Marks, 'Collide-o-Scope' by Aaron Allston & 'Time Bomb' by Timothy Zahn.

I call this one a Really Good Read (3.5 out of 5 stars).


Below are spoilers & story synopsis, so stop reading here to avoid such:

Title (rating) - snippet

Replay Value, Aaron Allston - (3/5) - A lover bets his sould against a Groundhog Day lover's ploy.

Last Man on Earth, Maxwell Alexander Drake - (2/5) - An immortal transcendant man is bored, so he plays games with humanity's future... and loses.

Slug, Janine K. Spendlove - (4/5) - Routine is important, but riding with strangers is not a safe way to save time because you never know when you'll be car-jacked by an alien.

Adventure of the Ghost Watch, Michael A. Stackpole (3/5) - Kid smartypants keeps spinster aunt from wasting her forturnes on hucksters.

The Old Gods, C.S. Marks (5/5) - Best story in the book, so no spoilers. Unique P.O.V. mythos development. So good I read it twice!

For Every Time, A Season, Donald J. Bingle - (4/5) - Kind of a creepy story, but an awesomely unique perspective on the flow of time.... !deserveR

Know Your Nemesis, Kelly Swails - (3/5) - Spy Kid's/Criminals training school assisination game assignment.

My Faire Lady, Jean Rabe - (4/5) - Really good modern fantasy tale of enchanted love.

The Tinker’s Music Box, Jennifer Brozek - (4/5) - Haunted justice patrol reunites man and wife in the hereafter. Really good story with room for much more develompent. I'd like to see a whole novel about these two main characters' adventures.

Under a Thin Veneer, Daniel Myers - (1/5) - Know-it-all saves wife from Demon at seance... not exactly.

Deep Salvage, Bryan Young - (2/5) - Greed is good... unless it causes you to get eaten. Characters are not believable and interesting creatures need more detail.

Impression, Tracy Chowdhury - (4/5) - Really good story arc. Wish to see more. Young being seeks to Impress a Companion.

Sanction, Gregory A. Wilson - (4/5) - Ego makes some great, but it can also make them forget how they got there. Good story that holds the final resolution all the way to the end.

Fair Game, Dylan Birtolo - (3/5) - Shifting back in time hurts more the farther you go. How would you use such a gift?

Merchant Market, R. T. Kaelin - (3/5) - Sometimes the things that are taboo are the most interesting... and useful.

In the Time of Dragons, Steven Saus - (4/5) - The 'true' story of Beowulf! Awesome premis and twist of the orgins of the Norse myth.

Among the Stars, Sarah Hans - (1/5) - Psychic slot machine... How will I die?... twist of fate... women's lib... yeah.

Parting the Clouds, Bradley P. Beaulieu - (3/5) - A journey of self-discovery through the eye of a typhon is the beginning of wisdom.

Protection, Timothy Zahn - (4/5) - A Werewolf shepherd & a Mermaid foil a gang of Mobsters. Same old story... not!

The Price of Fame, Brian E. Shaw - (3.5/5) - Time traveling documentarian makes a name for himself... as a Gladiator!

Collide-o-Scope, Aaron Allston - (5/5) - 2nd best story in the book. When you're a time agent, you really have to know who you are, were, and will be.

Time Bomb, Timothy Zahn - (5/5) - 3rd best story in the book. Paradox gets a new and interesting perspective.

Up and Down the Line, Aaron Rosenberg - (2/5) - "We were losing. Tell the eggheads we need more cavemen!"

Timeslip, Maggie Allen - (3/5) - Timebending teen has an out-ot-temporal-plane experience with her rock idol (John Lennon).

The Crossed-wires Adventure, Michael A. Stackpole (2/5) - Kid smartypants episode II.

[Janine Spendlove · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never reviewed a book I had a story in before, but I suppose now's as good a time as any to start. Aside from my story, Slug (which I'm told is hilarious, but I don't feel qualified to review), this collection of short stories was a complete blast!

I've met all of these authors, and aside from liking them as people, they can also tell a great story! Each bite sized morsel made me want to go read more by each of them & I truly hope that Origins Game Fair continues to put out an anthology every year with stories from its author guests.

If you can get your hand on a copy of this book don't let it out of your sight! It was limited to a print run of 500...

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again in the interest of disclosure, I have a story in this anthology. Like A Hero By Any Other Name, I finally got around to reading the whole thing. This book, due to the success of the Kickstarter that funded it, is way longer. Because it's packed with so many stories, I was surprised to find that I enjoyed all of them. Some more than others, sure, but there wasn't a story I didn't like. Which is kind of amazing when you consider the number and diversity of authors involved with the project. Calling out individual stories I liked would take me a while because I enjoyed so many of them so much. Great job, fellow authors!

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This interesting collection of short stories has one truly stand out piece that haunts my memory of the collection to the exclusion of the others - For Every Time, A Season by Donald J. Bingle. The technique is subtle : "snow, unencumbered by dirt, floated heavenward to form gray clouds". The story gets more and more horrific, yet remains a quiet meditation on life and purpose.

[Priya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun short story series. I know it took me two years to get through it but that's what makes short stories so great. They are bite size morsels of fantasy. In this volume the Time Traveled Tales ranged from two stories from the late Aaron Allston that tickled my funny bone to a delightful story about souls trapped inside a music box.

[L.E. Doggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good set of short stories by some of the better writers. Good descriptions, great action scenes. The plots of the tales were interesting and many intriguing. Most if not all were science fiction a couple with perhaps a touch of fantasy. Two, about a certain boy, were more general fiction. Very good.

I recommend it to all readers.

[Tim Cahoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great collection of short stories that kept me entertained for the whole collection. Many stories left me wanting for more. I also really liked the art between stories. Jean Rabe did a great job editing this large and diverse collection.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

stellar!!

[Phyllis Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished! Awesome stories!!

[John Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of stories, although I think I like the ones by Zahn and Allston best. :)

[Daniel Borochovitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

i didnt like the storeys up to the mieadel and the last
but there were a number of good stores in it

[Peter Lougee · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some truly fun stories in this collection.