The Chorochronos Archives

by Jessica Augustsson, Susanne Hülsmann, Mike Adamson

Time travel. The desire to achieve this stems from the human need to KNOW. What really happened that day? What will happen in the future? How can we put a stop to that bad thing, or achieve this good thing? How will we react if something goes wrong with our attempts to do any of this? How do we get there in the first place? Within these covers, you'll find a whole host of stories investigating these questions and more!

497 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 8, 2021

About the author

Jessica Augustsson is the editor-in-chief of JayHenge Publishing. She is a grammar nerd, eclipse chaser, part-time writer, and a bit of a geek. As the editor of spec-fic anthologies, most of her writing can be found nestled among the words of other authors, but she can’t help typing out a few of her own stories now and then. As for speculative fiction in her own life, she was voted by her Idaho high school class to be the most likely to go live on the moon; when she was 20, she moved to Sweden so she guesses that’s pretty close.

Reviews

[Calensûl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will review this book by describing each individual story with three words and a rating from 1 to 5 stars. Overall, I rate it 4 stars because the good stories were worth it and I liked the compilation format, which is something I don't usually read. Also also, the ones marked "no time travel" do NOT have time travelling elements. They have historical or sci fi elements, but not time travel, so I don't think they belong here, although some of them are quite good.

1. Cozy, cute, heartwarming, 3
2. Mysterious, nostalgic, hopeful, 4
3. Flippant, funny, no time travel, 2
4. Thrilling, charismatic, open, 5
5. Science, eccentric, no time travel, 4
6. Longing, numb, unrealistic, 2
7. Crescendo, history, unsettled, 4
8. Stakes, charming, realistic, 5
9. Steampunk, chaotic, puzzle, 3
10. Loving, fast, flat, 2
11. Mysterious, cruel, history, 4
12. Pointless, cheated, no time travel, 1
13. Alternative, ingenious, no time travel, 4
14. Vibrant, tragic, hopeful, 5
15. Fine, scene, muddy, 3
16. Thrilling, chilling, realistic, 5
17. Funny, chaotic, clever, 4
18. Sad, subtle, simple, 4
19. Betrayal, bittersweet, direct, 3
20. Frustrating, anguish, cyclic, 3
21. Confusing, sparse, pointless, 1
22. Dreary, buildup, strong, 5
23. This one is special for me, because it is the one that brought me to this book in the first place. It's "I did but dream", by Becca Edney. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it much. It takes place at some point of English history, and it feels a lot like fanfic, in the sense that it is assumed that the reader already has the context for it. Therefore, I was very confused with all of the names thrown around, and most of its significance was lost on me. It was also quite rushed, it felt more like a summarised info-dump. I think the story would have benefited from being a bit longer, which would have given it time to explain its context to the uninitiated, and to let the emotional momentum build. I didn't care for this particular king, or why he was being betrayed. Finally, the time travel element was incredibly obvious, I guessed it as it was happening, and even if I hadn't, the mystery was resolved immediately. Not a win for me, but I will keep an eye out for anything else the author publishes. 2
24. Hopeful, messy, cheeky, 4
25. Funny, simple, clever, 4
26. Impactful, intelligent, no time travel, 4
27. Unfinished, confusing, intriguing, 1
28. Positive, warning, pointless, 3
29. Empty, unexplained, cheated, 1
30. Fine, cheeky, weird, 3
31. Scene, funny, shallow, 2
32. Politics, flat, no time travel, 2
33. Heartfelt, nonsense, confusing, 1
34. Friendship, standard, nice, 3
35. Trepidant, sensory, exciting, 5
36. Thrilling, mystery, open, 5
37. Pessimistic, action, no time travel, 4

Thanks for reading!

[Dale Stromberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story of mine was in this anthology, so naturally my rating is biased. It includes thoughtful speculative pieces, zany sci-fi action, tech fantasy and human drama. My hands-down favourite piece was R.C. Kjellstrand's "Snapshots," with Gareth D. Jones's "The Long Afternoon of Sir Rupert Moncrief" a close second. Other standout stories for me were by Robert Runté, Geoff Hart, Wendy Nikel, Louis Evans, and Nathaniel Lee. I recommend this to all lovers of time-travel tales.