Time Machines: The Greatest Time Travel Stories Ever Written [Hardcover]

Bill Adler (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1997

Time Machines is a mind-bending collection o f time-travel tales from popular and science fiction writers . It is one of the most fluid forms of storytelling and cros ses over between science fiction and literary fiction. '

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-Even readers who generally avoid science fiction can find something enjoyable in this anthology. The 22 stories represent a wide range of authors and time periods. Edgar Allan Poe, Rudyard Kipling, Issac Asimov, Rod Serling, Ray Bradbury, Connie Willis, and Robert Sawyer are among the writers included. The quality of the stories is exceptional; each tale is a thought-provoking experience. From the transportation of Sherlock Holmes to the 21st century to solve an enigma, to a time traveler who refuses to die, to a graduate history student doing his practicum in World War II London, all of the stories are readable, enjoyable, and stimulating. The cover claims that a tale by H. G. Wells is included (it is not). Despite this error, the book is highly recommended for young adults.
Carol DeAngelo, Garcia Consulting Inc., EPA Headquarters, Washington, DC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

An interesting collection of time travel short fiction from varied perspectives?hard science to no science at all. The 22 selected short stories were published between 1850 and 1997 and represent both classic writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Rudyard Kipling, Isaac Asimov, John W. Campbell Jr., Rod Serling, and Ray Bradbury and contemporary authors like Connie Willis, Harry Turtledove, Jack McDevitt, and Robert Sawyer, among others. Recommended for larger sf collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 382 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub; 1 edition (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786704934
• ISBN-13: 978-0786704934
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #713,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A satisfying read, July 15, 2000

By 

M. Garrison (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time Machines: The Greatest Time Travel Stories Ever Written (Hardcover)

As the editorial review mentions, these stories are not necessarily the ones you'd see up for the Hugo Awards -- this isn't really a "best of" kind of anthology. However, this is exactly the reason why I enjoyed this book so much. I've already read the "best of" stories, and I was looking for something new. This book did a wonderful job of combining some of my favorite short stories in the genre with other excellent stories I'd never even heard of before. I originally purchased the book solely to get my hands on a copy of the story "Star, Bright" by Mark Clifton (one of my favorites since childhood), but thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book as well.

As an aside, I've also found these stories to be well read and enjoyed by the junior and senior high students I teach. Short stories are a great way to introduce them to the genre of science fiction!

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother, July 16, 2001

By 

R. ALLEN "Dad = Home IT Mgr" (Liverpool, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time Machines: The Greatest Time Travel Stories Ever Written (Hardcover)

As the other reviewers state, this is hardly the "best" time travel stories. Some of them are quite lame. And the cover is a lie! It says the book features a list of authors, including H.G. Wells, but there is nothing in there by H.G. Wells! I was extremely disappointed by the stories included. When I read the story written by the editor, Bill Adler, Jr., I thought that was one of the worst, which may explain the poor selections. In conclusion, this was a great idea, but poorly executed.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Best Timemachines ever written ??????????????, February 9, 2001

By 

dave hart (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time Machines: The Greatest Time Travel Stories Ever Written (Hardcover)

I would not say that these are the "best" timemachine stories ever written. However there are some popular authors included, and Star, Bright is included. Ray Bradbury has a very overrated story in here. Since I am writing a timemachine story myself, I decided to check this book out. It is not a total waste of money, but this book is overrated. Sorry for using the same adjective twice. Serling has a story in here, but everyone has seen the story before on Twlight Zone before. The publisher even puts one his own stories in it, (filler?).

Anyway, the book is not easy to find, and not all the stories are that easy to find either. In that aspect it is worth purchasing if you really want to have a copy of Star, Bright.

DH