What do you think?
Rate this book
The Time Traveller's Almanac #1
The Time Traveller's Almanac Part 1 - Experiments
Here are 14 daring experiments in time travel from Richard Matheson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Robert Silverberg, Michael Moorcock, William Gibson, Douglas Adams, and, of course H.G. Wells.
Intrepid chrononauts Ann and Jeff VanderMeer have scoured time itself to bring you this instalment (the first of four) from their über-guide to exploring the fourth dimension, THE TIME TRAVELLER’S ALMANAC. Be warned: reality will be warped, wormholes opened, paradoxes woven and parallel universes breached.
Just as well then that within these pages you’ll also find Charles Yu's Top Ten Tips For Time Travellers...
Also available:
THE TIME TRAVELLER’S ALMANAC (THE COMPLETE VOLUME)
or,
THE TIME-TRAVELLER’S ALMANAC PART 2: REACTIONARIES & REVOLUTIONARIES
THE TIME-TRAVELLER’S ALMANAC PART 3: MAZES & TRAPS
THE TIME-TRAVELLER’S ALMANAC PART 4: COMMUNIQUES
Intrepid chrononauts Ann and Jeff VanderMeer have scoured time itself to bring you this instalment (the first of four) from their über-guide to exploring the fourth dimension, THE TIME TRAVELLER’S ALMANAC. Be warned: reality will be warped, wormholes opened, paradoxes woven and parallel universes breached.
Just as well then that within these pages you’ll also find Charles Yu's Top Ten Tips For Time Travellers...
Also available:
THE TIME TRAVELLER’S ALMANAC (THE COMPLETE VOLUME)
or,
THE TIME-TRAVELLER’S ALMANAC PART 2: REACTIONARIES & REVOLUTIONARIES
THE TIME-TRAVELLER’S ALMANAC PART 3: MAZES & TRAPS
THE TIME-TRAVELLER’S ALMANAC PART 4: COMMUNIQUES
250 pages, ebook
First published May 1, 2014
7 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
Ann VanderMeer
66 books260 followersAnn VanderMeer is an American publisher and editor, and the second female editor of the horror magazine Weird Tales. She is the founder of Buzzcity Press.
Her work as Fiction Editor of Weird Tales won a Hugo Award. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantasy Award, the International Rhysling Award, and appeared in several year's best anthologies. Ann was also the founder of The Silver Web magazine, a periodical devoted to experimental and avant-garde fantasy literature.
In 2009 "Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal" won a Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Though some of its individual contributors have been honored with Hugos, Nebula Awards, and even one Pulitzer Prize, the magazine itself had never before even been nominated for a Hugo. It was also nominated for a World Fantasy Award in 2009.
Her work as Fiction Editor of Weird Tales won a Hugo Award. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantasy Award, the International Rhysling Award, and appeared in several year's best anthologies. Ann was also the founder of The Silver Web magazine, a periodical devoted to experimental and avant-garde fantasy literature.
In 2009 "Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal" won a Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Though some of its individual contributors have been honored with Hugos, Nebula Awards, and even one Pulitzer Prize, the magazine itself had never before even been nominated for a Hugo. It was also nominated for a World Fantasy Award in 2009.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 28, 2017
This includes my favourite time travel story, Richard Matheson's "Death Ship", a story I read in my teens and still remember. However, I found most of the stories uninteresting but I was fully compensated after reading Jason Heller's excellent article "Music for Time Travellers" (playlist included!), which consists the last chapter, although it is a non-fiction piece; many references on '60s and 70's psychedelic rock, prog rock and heavy metal, I realized time travel or the possibility of alternate worlds and the limitations of science still inspire artists from different genres. And a great deal of new discoveries to listen to!
July 6, 2025
An incredibly inconsistent anthology with some stories being brilliant and others an absolute pain to read.
All in all, I love the concept - time travel is such a central sci-fi notion that it makes perfect sense to have a collection that features this theme. They've included some heavyweights here too, which was a welcome sight.
Howeeeever, aside from a few very good stories ("Death Ship", for example, and of course Le Guin's "Another Story or A Fisherman of the Inland Sea"), the others were a disappointment. Rambling, cryptic, confusing - because time travel amirite - some were an absolute slog to read and I admit to even skiping one or two because of how incomprehensible they were.
Now I could write a whole separate review on why Le Guin's was so good (and am honestly once again surprised reading other reviews and learning how divisive she is as an author for some), but I guess this is not the place. Suffice to say she excels were others fail.
2 points for Ursula and 1 for the other few good stories.
All in all, I love the concept - time travel is such a central sci-fi notion that it makes perfect sense to have a collection that features this theme. They've included some heavyweights here too, which was a welcome sight.
Howeeeever, aside from a few very good stories ("Death Ship", for example, and of course Le Guin's "Another Story or A Fisherman of the Inland Sea"), the others were a disappointment. Rambling, cryptic, confusing - because time travel amirite - some were an absolute slog to read and I admit to even skiping one or two because of how incomprehensible they were.
Now I could write a whole separate review on why Le Guin's was so good (and am honestly once again surprised reading other reviews and learning how divisive she is as an author for some), but I guess this is not the place. Suffice to say she excels were others fail.
2 points for Ursula and 1 for the other few good stories.
September 19, 2017
It's hard to rate anthologies. Wish I could give it 3.5 stars, but there were too many I didn't care for to give it 4 stars.
Death Ship (Richard Matheson) - 2/5
Ripples in the Dirac Sea (Geoffrey Landis) - 4/5
Needle in a Timestack (Robert Silverberg) - 5/5
Another Story OR A Fisherman of the Inland Sea (Ursula K. Le Guin) - 2/5
Hwang's Billion Brilliant Daughters (Alice Sola Kim) - 2/5
How the Future Got Better (Eric Schaller) - 3/5
Pale Roses (Michael Moorcock) - 1/5
The Gernsback Continuum (William Gibson) - 2/5
The Threads of Time (C.J. Cherryh) - 4/5
Triceratops Summer (Michael Swanwick) - 5/5
The Most Important Thing in the World (Steve Bein) - 4/5
Himself in Anachron (Cordwainer Smith) - 2/5
The Time Machine (H.G. Wells) - skipped, already read.
Young Zaphod Plays It Safe (Douglas Adams) - skipped, already read.
Death Ship (Richard Matheson) - 2/5
Ripples in the Dirac Sea (Geoffrey Landis) - 4/5
Needle in a Timestack (Robert Silverberg) - 5/5
Another Story OR A Fisherman of the Inland Sea (Ursula K. Le Guin) - 2/5
Hwang's Billion Brilliant Daughters (Alice Sola Kim) - 2/5
How the Future Got Better (Eric Schaller) - 3/5
Pale Roses (Michael Moorcock) - 1/5
The Gernsback Continuum (William Gibson) - 2/5
The Threads of Time (C.J. Cherryh) - 4/5
Triceratops Summer (Michael Swanwick) - 5/5
The Most Important Thing in the World (Steve Bein) - 4/5
Himself in Anachron (Cordwainer Smith) - 2/5
The Time Machine (H.G. Wells) - skipped, already read.
Young Zaphod Plays It Safe (Douglas Adams) - skipped, already read.
December 7, 2018
A lot of effort and rereads but ultimately worth it. I love the overall theme of time travel but they are often stories with time as an element but that works for me.
Death Ship. Richard Mathewson
Retro SciFy from the 1950s. I loved the space ship with levers being pulled for up and down and a needle that Mason can move by hand to show a false outside temperature reading. Not even any glass covering! Three space explorers are exploring other planets and come across a crashed ship with their own bodies inside. Is this a glimpse into their future or can they thwart it?
Ripples in the Dirac Sea. Geoffrey A Landis. An uncomfortable sort of time travel but beautifully written. The best story in the collection.
Needle in a Time Stack. Robert Silverberg. A delightful story with people going backwards and forwards to alter one another’s time lines.
Another Story or A Fisherman of the Inland Sea. Ursula Le Guin. I have enormous trouble finishing and liking Le Guin. After a few attempts I forced myself to finish this very rambling and over long story and I’m pleased I went through to the end. There is some redemption at the end but a lot of getting to it.
Hwang’s Billion Brilliant Daughters. Alice Sola Kim. Easy to read so it is well written but ultimately a fairly drab idea.
How the Future got Better. Eric Schiller. Light, well written, slight and amusing - but only slightly amusing.
The Time Machine. H G Wells. Interesting and amusing. The time machine seems to be bicycle-like with two levers, forward and back. There’s a little bit of Late Victorian over writing but then a lovely description of his arrival in the future and falling off the machine, just like off a bike. This excerpt just covers the actual time travel and it is great.
These are the ones that stood out.
Death Ship. Richard Mathewson
Retro SciFy from the 1950s. I loved the space ship with levers being pulled for up and down and a needle that Mason can move by hand to show a false outside temperature reading. Not even any glass covering! Three space explorers are exploring other planets and come across a crashed ship with their own bodies inside. Is this a glimpse into their future or can they thwart it?
Ripples in the Dirac Sea. Geoffrey A Landis. An uncomfortable sort of time travel but beautifully written. The best story in the collection.
Needle in a Time Stack. Robert Silverberg. A delightful story with people going backwards and forwards to alter one another’s time lines.
Another Story or A Fisherman of the Inland Sea. Ursula Le Guin. I have enormous trouble finishing and liking Le Guin. After a few attempts I forced myself to finish this very rambling and over long story and I’m pleased I went through to the end. There is some redemption at the end but a lot of getting to it.
Hwang’s Billion Brilliant Daughters. Alice Sola Kim. Easy to read so it is well written but ultimately a fairly drab idea.
How the Future got Better. Eric Schiller. Light, well written, slight and amusing - but only slightly amusing.
The Time Machine. H G Wells. Interesting and amusing. The time machine seems to be bicycle-like with two levers, forward and back. There’s a little bit of Late Victorian over writing but then a lovely description of his arrival in the future and falling off the machine, just like off a bike. This excerpt just covers the actual time travel and it is great.
These are the ones that stood out.
May 26, 2020
Decent mix of old and newer time travel stories.
Top Ten Tips for Time Travelers by Charles Yu - NF - good
“Death Ship” by Richard Matheson - ok
“Ripples in the Dirac Sea” by Geoffrey Landis - excellent
“Needle in a Timestack” by Robert Silverberg - excellent
“Another Story” by Ursula K. LeGuin - read it before, goes on too long and as usual too much anthropology but OK
“Hwang’s Billion Brilliant Daughters” by Alice Sola Kim - read it before, dull
“How the Future Got Better” by Eric Schaller - good, funny
“Pale Rose” by Michael Moorcock - dull, didn't finish
“The Gernsback Continuum” by William Gibson - read it before, excellent
“The Threads of Time” by C.J. Cherryh - excellent
“Triceratops Summer” by Michael Swanwick - read it before, excellent
“The Most Important Thing in the World” by Steve Bein - very good
“Himself in Anachron” by Cordwainer Smith - ok
“(excerpt from) The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells - didn't bother listening to it
Music for Time Travelers by Jason Heller - NF - dull, didn't finish
Top Ten Tips for Time Travelers by Charles Yu - NF - good
“Death Ship” by Richard Matheson - ok
“Ripples in the Dirac Sea” by Geoffrey Landis - excellent
“Needle in a Timestack” by Robert Silverberg - excellent
“Another Story” by Ursula K. LeGuin - read it before, goes on too long and as usual too much anthropology but OK
“Hwang’s Billion Brilliant Daughters” by Alice Sola Kim - read it before, dull
“How the Future Got Better” by Eric Schaller - good, funny
“Pale Rose” by Michael Moorcock - dull, didn't finish
“The Gernsback Continuum” by William Gibson - read it before, excellent
“The Threads of Time” by C.J. Cherryh - excellent
“Triceratops Summer” by Michael Swanwick - read it before, excellent
“The Most Important Thing in the World” by Steve Bein - very good
“Himself in Anachron” by Cordwainer Smith - ok
“(excerpt from) The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells - didn't bother listening to it
Music for Time Travelers by Jason Heller - NF - dull, didn't finish
October 29, 2020
Slightly disappointing if an anthology consists of:
Stories you already know, because they are "canon": ("Time Machine" by H.G. Wells, "The Gernsback Continuum" by William Gibson, "Needle in a Timestack" by Robert Silverberg), "Triceratops Summer" by Michael Swanwick
Stories you didn't know, but are boring beyond belief ("Another Story" by Ursula K. LeGuin) or fallen out of time ("Pale Roses" by Michael Moorcock, which wouldn't be published this way today due to pedophilic undertones)
Some filling material ("Music for Time Travellers" by Jason Heller, "Top Ten Tips for Time Travelers" by Charles Yu)
Audiobook: One of the readers has an annoying American accent, stretching every second vowel to (perceived) about a second, the others are doing a great job.
Stories you already know, because they are "canon": ("Time Machine" by H.G. Wells, "The Gernsback Continuum" by William Gibson, "Needle in a Timestack" by Robert Silverberg), "Triceratops Summer" by Michael Swanwick
Stories you didn't know, but are boring beyond belief ("Another Story" by Ursula K. LeGuin) or fallen out of time ("Pale Roses" by Michael Moorcock, which wouldn't be published this way today due to pedophilic undertones)
Some filling material ("Music for Time Travellers" by Jason Heller, "Top Ten Tips for Time Travelers" by Charles Yu)
Audiobook: One of the readers has an annoying American accent, stretching every second vowel to (perceived) about a second, the others are doing a great job.
July 5, 2020
I'm fond of the time travel and manipulation sub-genres, and this collection has some great examples in it.
Unfortunately, it also has stories that come under the headings of "what was the point?", "is this ever going to get to the point?", and "where's the button that gets me to the end of this ridiculously long slog to nowhere?".
Overall, it was worth the read, but there were really only four stories in the book that I really enjoyed with the rest ranging from readable but not really giving me anything to chew on or fitting into the headings above.
Your mileage may vary, of course, but I'm not in a hurry to look at the rest of the sub-collections in this set.
Unfortunately, it also has stories that come under the headings of "what was the point?", "is this ever going to get to the point?", and "where's the button that gets me to the end of this ridiculously long slog to nowhere?".
Overall, it was worth the read, but there were really only four stories in the book that I really enjoyed with the rest ranging from readable but not really giving me anything to chew on or fitting into the headings above.
Your mileage may vary, of course, but I'm not in a hurry to look at the rest of the sub-collections in this set.
May 2, 2021
This was a really good anthology. I really liked the ideas that were explored even when they got very techno-babbly. There were a few misses for me but I guess the good thing about anthologies is that you can skip those. A Fisherman on the Inland Sea was by far my favourite
August 25, 2018
Great grab bag of short stories about time travel. Entertaining and though-provoking.
November 10, 2019
There were definitely some amazing 5s in this book, but a collection of short stories by different authors would be hard pressed to come out better than average.
April 3, 2020
A great anthology of stories from some of my favourite authors. The only one I had read before was the HG Wells one. Looking forward to the next one.
August 22, 2020
Enjoyed some of the stories but the inclusion of the history of time travel music was unnecessary.
December 11, 2019
I'm looking into stories about "time-travel", as I am beginning a new story based on this genre. I chose
The Time Traveller's Almanac
series, as I thought this would give me a good idea of what's out there.
That said, this anthology was like most other anthology books I've read; some stories were quite interesting, while a majority were either boring or just a load of rubbish. I will continue with this series, however, as the interest for me is more the research. I'm hoping that the next book has more interesting stories and less exasperating ones.
That said, this anthology was like most other anthology books I've read; some stories were quite interesting, while a majority were either boring or just a load of rubbish. I will continue with this series, however, as the interest for me is more the research. I'm hoping that the next book has more interesting stories and less exasperating ones.
March 8, 2016
A very mixed bag of stories; some brilliant, and others absolute rubbish. This book is definitely worth getting hold of (and I actually have the bind-up of all four parts myself) for die-hard fans of time travel fiction, but I very much doubt that there's anyone who'll be thrilled with every story in the collection (particularly, I sense, in the case of this first volume, which is much more eclectic - hence the title "Experiments" - than the others seem to be). My own personal favourites were Another Story OR A Fisherman of the Inland Sea by Ursula K. Le Guin, and Hwang's Billion Brilliant Daughters by Alice Sola Kim.
Individual story ratings:
Death Ship (Richard Matheson) - 2/5
Ripples in the Dirac Sea (Geoffrey Landis) - 4/5
Needle in a Timestack (Robert Silverberg) - 4/5
Another Story OR A Fisherman of the Inland Sea (Ursula K. Le Guin) - 5/5
Hwang's Billion Brilliant Daughters (Alice Sola Kim) - 5/5
How the Future Got Better (Eric Schaller) - 3/5
Pale Roses (Michael Moorcock) - 1/5
The Gernsback Continuum (William Gibson) - 3/5
The Threads of Time (C.J. Cherryh) - 2/5
Triceratops Summer (Michael Swanwick) - 2/5
The Most Important Thing in the World (Steve Bein) - 3/5
Himself in Anachron (Cordwainer Smith) - 3/5
The Time Machine (H.G. Wells) - Not rated, since only an extract is included in this book.
Young Zaphod Plays It Safe (Douglas Adams) - 2/5
May 21, 2015
I'm a huge Sci fi fan, particularly when it comes to Time Travel stories, so this was an obvious choice when I was looking for an e-audio title to listen to on the bus. It is a series of short stories - perfect for journeys to and from work.
It was a very mixed bag. Some stories I really enjoyed, and wished the journey was longer so I could finish the chapter. Others were more 'take it or leave it'.
Some were 'WOW', while others left me bemused and bewildered, more like wtf.
Still, I think there is probably something in here for everyone who enjoys a 'quantum leap' through literature.
I've just downloaded part 2...
It was a very mixed bag. Some stories I really enjoyed, and wished the journey was longer so I could finish the chapter. Others were more 'take it or leave it'.
Some were 'WOW', while others left me bemused and bewildered, more like wtf.
Still, I think there is probably something in here for everyone who enjoys a 'quantum leap' through literature.
I've just downloaded part 2...
January 20, 2015
Some interesting stories, and I liked the final chapter about the origins and pop culture around the genre. Not good enough for a 4 star though, it also had some dire stories that I enjoyed neither the style not the substance of. I had a love/hate thing going with the Orson Scott Card story, I restarted it after getting lost in the genealogy of its protagonist but enjoyed it a lot more the second time through.
January 19, 2015
Apart from an extract from HG Wells's 'The Time Machine' and William Gibson's 'The Gernsback Continuum' this collection is full of old-fashioned, tedious rubbish. 'Another Story' by Ursula K. LeGuin holds the accolade of being the most boring and pointless thing I've ever read in my entire life. I won't be picking up volume two.
May 31, 2014
Abandoned after 5short stories
November 5, 2015
I love time travel. This collection of time travel stories though is really unimpressive. Some are nice, some try too hard, but mostly they are "meh". Too bad.
April 6, 2017
Una recopilación de historias sobre viajes en el tiempo de caracter desigual. Algunas son oro puro, otras del montón. Y las de K. Leguin y Moorcock un par de truños indecentes.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews