Past Imperfect

past imperfect - tense of a verb showing an action/condition in the past as incomplete, continuous, or coincident with another action - from THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY Segriff's introduction establishes a foundation for readers who may be familiar with some varieties of time travel stories but not others. The initial general discussion of "Golden Age" science fiction leads to how science has transformed many concepts that were once pure fiction, which in turn leads to a short discourse on the physics of time travel. One issue I have with this anthology is that "write what you know" goes too far when a noticeable fraction of the stories focus on writers and comics. Bailey, Robin Wayne: "Doing Time" initially carries a strong flavour of Wells' THE TIME MACHINE - particularly that last trip beyond the end of the world, to an empty world. But here the prototype-testing time-traveller discovers that time travel will eventually give a new meaning to "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time." Braunbeck, Gary A.: "Palimpsest Day" The narrator, sole caregiver of his Down's-syndrome-afflicted sister, has had to abandon many dreams, the hardest of which was love. Now the past and present have started bleeding into one another, leading back to a particular day when his mother nearly miscarried. Much of consideration of physics, souls, and second chances. Crowther, Peter: "Things I Didn't Know My Father Knew" Fantasy, not SF. Finding YOU HAVE WON A VISIT FROM YOUR FATHER! on a message with the morning paper, Bennett meets a nameless stranger (remarkably like his dad) walking out of a mysterious fog surrounding his home. Lots of leisurely scene-setting, emphasizing scent rather than visual imagery since the story's focus is on memory. Duane, Diane: Rob spent his childhood "In the Company of Heroes" - until a stranger stole his comics collection, destroying his innocent confidence that he could always protect what mattered to him. Now one kind of broken time machine has led him to a Swiss clockmaker who has connections with a quite different kind of time machine, if someone really *needs* to travel. Hoffman, Nina Kiriki: Time travel's nastier accidents have results ranging from phobias and scars to wiped records, so the CollectorCorps charges premium prices for acquiring luxury items, such as "Mint Condition" comics. But the title has other meanings: - the narrator's "mint condition" self between missions, as opposed to her real self on a mission, remembering some things she's been forced to do by partners armed with a post-hypnotic password. - the world's "mint condition" in the past, with breathable air freely available under the open sky, lots of life Sissy's unusually gifted, while her rookie partner Steve (brother of a board member) only cares about his fantasy of driving a hot car. Nice contrast with Sissy's simpler pleasures of busking outdoors, especially since Steve prefers quick theft to acquire local currency. Nice attention to pract

_..to finish this one. I have read all but two story's in this book and I am so impressed with it , well if I put it down today, I could sleep well and satisfied. _I almost feel like I ripped off the writers and the publisher because I got WAY more than my money's worth in this one. _I am completely happy with these up-to-date exciting and great storys...

Martin Greenberg and Larry Segriff's Past Imperfect provides a strong, involving collection of short stories all centered around time travel, paradoxes, and alternative worlds created by time travel. From a scientist with a time machine who finds himself stealing his own invention to visitors who intend to observe the past with an eye to changing it, this gathers some top name writers (Diane Duane, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and more) and provides original tales.

This collection of twelve wonderfully well-written tales centers on the paradox of time travel with some tales going back into the past and other forward into the future. This reviewer's personal preferences are those tales that focus on the impact of someone altering an acceptable historical event (unless someone drifts back and takes away the EC comic involving sending a probe back to the dinosaur age that I read as a child). Each entry is fun and supports the limitless possibilities of what if that makes time paradoxes so engaging and imaginative, and time streams so impossible to grasp. These dozen are very good and entertaining. These strong authors provide readers with near perfect contributions for inclusion in PAST IMPERFECT.Harriet Klausner