First published 2013
This anthology presents twenty-three tales where characters navigate the complexities of temporal displacement and dimensional shifts. Aaron Allston's "Replay Value" opens the collection, followed by Maxwell Alexander Drake's "Last Man on Earth," where a survivor confronts isolation across time. Timothy Zahn contributes "Protection" and "Time Bomb," exploring how temporal interference creates moral dilemmas. Michael A. Stackpole delivers both "Adventure of the Ghost Watch" and "The Crossed-wires Adventure," weaving supernatural elements into chronological puzzles. The stories span from medieval dragons to interstellar voyages, each examining how individuals respond when linear existence breaks down. Characters face choices between altering past events or accepting predetermined outcomes. The collection originated as a limited printing for Origins Game Fair 2012, later expanded with additional stories. These narratives focus on human agency within temporal constraints, showing how people adapt when cause and effect become malleable.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, time-travel
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: cause-and-effect, temporal-constraints
455 pages · Paperback · Silence in the Library