Time Travel. What a compelling, uniquely seductive science fiction theme! The chance to correct a wrong, witness an historical event first hand, or simply escape to a better time when the world made sense; you know – the “good old days”.

Often described as the “sequel” to H.G. Wells’ “The Time Traveler”, this 1976 short story by Richard Cowper breathes new life into the classic tale and extends the adventure.

Told in a rich, antiquated British literary style, Cowper adds an authentic feel to this masterful tale as he transports us back to 17th Century England.

The Story In A Nutshell:

Upon the death of his Great Aunt Victoria (a dealer in old books and antiquities), Francis Decressie is left the Hertford Manuscript – a volume written and produced in the late 17th century.

Serving mainly as an historical register, this boring volume would remain undisturbed, collecting dust if not for the inexplicable fact that, bound up with the original contents, Francis discovers several sheets of different paper, written in a different hand, outlining a journal of someone from the early 20th century!

The journal unfolds thus;

The journal goes on to detail his desperate attempt to effect repairs and return to his own time.

The Good:

• Very well researched and written.
• A vivid portrayal of the period is presented and our vicarious journey is enhanced greatly in 2 ways:
  1. The diary/journal format creates the belief that this is indeed a factual account.
  2. The overall style with which the story is told lends a degree of credibility for the period in which it takes place.

The Bad:

• Those who want great “Science” in their S.F. won’t find it here. Personally the Science factor is a non issue unless it is key to the story and THEN it better be at least good. A great plot, human drama, wonderful characters are all more desirable to me than the mechanics of how light speed or anti-gravity is achieved.
• For those who are NOT Dicken’s fans, the old British style used here may be a turn off.
• My absolute favorite Science Fiction theme is Time Travel so I am heavily biased in my love of this story!

Some Interesting Tidbits

• Word Count 13,493
• Page Count 18
• Appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction October 1976
• Included in Donald A. Wollheim Presents The 1977 Annual World’s Best SF

Non-Spoiler Summary

Bobby and his wife have gone back in time for a special mission. This isn’t their first time traveling trip either, oh no – they are veterans of crossing timelines. With his neutral garb and a backpack full of “required items” Bobby finds himself in a fashion conscience Melbourne in the year 2073. Unfortunately he sticks out like a sore thumb, but after some minor harassment he makes his way to the library to look for a special collection that needs to be “taken care of” before it becomes too dangerous!

Some Juicy Tidbits About This Story

• Word count: 3,769 (6 pages)
• Did you know that Damien Broderick is an Australian science fiction writer who holds a Ph.D. in Literary Studies and has won several Ditmar Awards? Yep. You can learn more about this talented author at Wikipedia.

Where To Find Time Considered as a Series of Thermite Burns in No Particular Order

• This short story first appeared in May 2011 on the web site Tor.com – where you can still read it online for free!

Craving More SF Stories Like This One?

If you liked "Time Considered as a Series of Thermite Burns in No Particular Order" then be sure to take a look at the other time travel stories I have reviewed – there have been some cool ones!

Ghost Ship

Do you know the legend of The Flying Dutchman? Here is a bit of a modern SciFi take on the story – with some really cool results!

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell

Vittoria Pellini is a rich Italian woman who travels all over the world with her husband. They are getting tired of traveling though, and have decided to purchase an apartment on a gigantic luxury liner that will roam around the globe catering to its super rich occupants. Sounds nice doesn’t it? Except soon after leaving the port in Singapore they start to experience some strange storms – and the places they visit afterwards get curiouser and curiouser… and a little bit scarier too!

My Two Cents…

• This story was a fascinating read! I loved the built up suspense as the passengers tried to figure out what was happening to them.
• Telling the story from Vittoria’s point of view was quite clever. A pampered, rich woman (who isn’t too bright either) made for a great narrator of this strange story.
• I wish the story would have gone on longer – there were so many cool avenues to pursue! But, alas, it didn’t. At least we were given glimpses of strange people and places, and the boat was pretty nifty too.

Interesting Tidbits:

• Page Count: 11
• Word Count: 4,658
• Did you know that Liz Williams is the daughter of a stage magician and a Gothic novelist? Yep. You can learn more about this fascinating author at Wikipedia.
• Special thanks to Free SF Reader for suggesting this story.

Where You Can Find Century to Starboard:

• This short story first appeared on the web site Strange Horizons – where you can still read it for free.
• You can read more of Liz Williams other short stories in her collection The Banquet of the Lords of Night and Other Stories – available at Amazon.com or eBay.

Craving More Science Fiction Short Stories?

If you liked "Century to Starboard" then you might also enjoy “Under the Honey,” another story by Liz Williams – about a person who can come back to life after being killed, and her time in a traveling circus.

Legend has it that Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned. But is that really what happened? One way to know for sure would be to actually go there and see.

Read Fiddle online for free at the Daily Science Fiction web site.

Have a great weekend!

A man with a new type of infection learns that the meteor show he watched one night brought with it a beautiful and efficient killer.

Read Fingers, Itchy and Green online for free.

A woman who set up temporal sending and receiving stations really messed up the time line… or did she?

Read Time Stations online for free.

Have a great weekend!

When one professor creates a tiny time machine he discovers that even small devices must obey the laws of the universe.

Read Experiment online for free.

A soldier 50,0000 light years from home discovers just how bad war can be – especially when fighting ghastly aliens!

Read Sentry online for free.

Have a great weekend!

Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate

What is it about dinosaurs and science fiction? The two seem made for each other. And the match spans the entire spectrum of SciFi too – from stories to novels to comics to movies and TV shows. I have read several of these type of stories, and here is yet another one – this time with its own similarities to (and differences from) all the rest. If you read it let me know how you think it compares to the others.

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell

Rivers and Aiyar are specialized hunting guides – they take wealthy clients into Earth’s far past to hunt the really big and dangerous game… like dinosaurs! However, clients still need to meet minimum size and weight qualifications. Why? Because, as Rivers tells us, he once took two unprepared men into the Late Mesozoic era and the results were both disastrous and vengeful.

My Two Cents…

• I enjoyed all the detailed descriptions of both the plant and animal life of the Mesozoic era.
• The characters were fun to read about with all their pulp SciFi stereotypical attitudes!
• Yes, there were some far-fetched and hard-to-swallow parts to this story, but isn’t that what pulp SciFi is all about? And overall it was still a fun read.

Interesting Tidbits About This Story:

• Page Count: 17
• Word Count: 10,627
• Did you know that L. Sprague de Camp wrote several biographies of fantasy authors, including Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft? Yep. You can learn more about this prolific writer at Wikipedia.

Where You Can Find A Gun for Dinosaur:

• This story was originally published in the March 1956 edition of Galaxy Science Fiction.
• You can read a nice online version of “A Gun for Dinosaur” at the Baen CD web site – where it is part of their awesome free book The World Turned Upside Down.

Craving More Stories?

If you liked “A Gun for Dinosaur” then you’ll probably also enjoy A Sound of Thunder – another cool story about hunting dinosaurs, by Ray Bradbury.

Would you buy a huge, rusty, old, non-working robot? You might if you knew something special about it!

Read Garbage Scow online for free.

A woman awakes to find her husband (who doesn’t believe in history) building a time machine. She takes the news like an apathetic princess, only to discover several international visitors in her house.

Read Married Life is Strange online for free.

Have a great weekend!

A man is called in to hunt Time Killers – beasts that can see each direction in time and gorge themselves by eating chunks of it. But even the hunter has problems when a huge chronovore appears and gobbles up months of people’s memories!

Read Chronovore online for free.

One student is chosen to tell the University’s self-directed artificial intelligence that they are giving up on it… but discovers that it has been preparing itself for this day!

Read You’re In Good Hands online for free.

Have a great weekend!

My Favorite Author And My Favorite Subject

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Isaac Asimov. His classic Foundation series are the books that launched me into the realm of science fiction from which I have never looked back. So in a way I feel that he has a small part in my starting of this web site. What is perhaps lesser known is the fact that I also love anthropology. Yep, that would have been my first choice of study at the university, but I felt I had a better chance of making a living in computer science. Anyway, I was thrilled to find that this story contained both elements: Asimov and anthropology. I was also a bit taken aback by how much I enjoyed the story and how involved I became in the plot. Not only was the story line a very cool idea, but I was surprised by how touched I was by the plight of Miss Fellowes and Timmie. This may very well qualify as my new favorite story by Isaac Asimov.

The Boy In The (Time) Bubble

So then, “The Ugly Little Boy” is about Edith Fellowes, a former maternity ward nurse who has recently been hired by Stasis, Inc. to take care of an “un-pretty” child. After accepting the job she is surprised to learn that the child is a small Neanderthal boy brought from 40,000 years in the past! Even though he is ugly and uncivilized she still grows attached as she cares for him in the special 3 room apartment which he can never leave. Over time, as several scientists study his physiology and behavior, Miss Fellowes teaches “Timmie” to talk, act civilly and eventually read. But as Miss Fellowes grows closer to the boy, her employer becomes more obsessed with perfecting the time-snatching technology, and this leads to to an unpleasant confrontation about Timmie’s future.

My Two Cents…

• A very touching story which caused me to think about the social ramifications connected with high technology.
• Very well written. Better, I think, than some of Asimov’s other stories.
• I found myself thinking about “The Ugly Little Boy” for days after reading it – a sign of a good story indeed.
• It is, however, not an action story. This is one of those “thinker” stories, so if you don’t like those kinds of stories then this may not be for you.

Stats:

• My Rating: 4.9 out of 5
• Page Count: 19
• Word Count: 11,759
• “The Ugly Little Boy” first appeared in the September 1958 issue of Galaxy Magazine under the title “Lastborn”, but was later reprinted under its current title in the 1959 collection Nine Tomorrows.
• It placed 40th in the 1999 Locus All-Time poll for best novelette.
• It is included in the excellent collection Isaac Asimov: The Complete Stories, Vol. 1., which you can find at Amazon.com or on eBay.
• You can read “The Ugly Little Boy” online for free at the Miss Fellowes blog.

More of The Ugly Little Boy

In case you didn’t know (like me), this story was expanded into a novel also named The Ugly Little Boy in 1992. The novel was written by both Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg, and apparently it expands the story and gives more details about Timmie’s Neanderthal tribe, talks about a child advocacy group that is trying to free Timmie, and explains what happens to Miss Fellowes after the events in this novelette. You can find the novel at Amazon.com or on eBay.

“The Ugly Little Boy” was also made into a short film (26 minutes) in 1977. You can watch a cool clip from the movie where Timmie shows up for the first time, at YouTube.

Craving More Stories?

If you liked this story then you might also enjoy Jeffty is Five by Harlan Ellison – about a five year old boy who lives in a very strange pocket of time.