A review by Futures Past and Present

I began reading a collection of essays by John C. Wright not too long ago and was really impressed with both what the man had to say and how he said it. I’m still reading the book. It’s one I want to savor rather that rush through. I’ll post a review at some point when I’ve finished, probably at Adventures Fantastic.

Anyway, I decided to see if Mr. Wright’s fiction was as good as his nonfiction. I’d heard positive things about his work for a number of years now. I decided to start with City Beyond Time. It was short, which is always a plus when reading on a phone. And time travel is one of my favorite subgenres of science fiction….

There’s a deep undercurrent of philosophy in these stories.   They aren’t simply adventure tales or clever little time paradoxes or mish-mashes of historical figures.  While some the stories in City Beyond Time contain those things, they also transcend the tropes of time travel and deal with some pretty serious issues.  The relationship between father and son, the objectification of women, and the role of free will in a person’s life to name a few.

These stories and the overarching narrative that contains them is science fiction for people who think and feel on a deep level.  I highly recommend City Beyond Time.  It’s one of those books that’s all too rare these days, one in which the rereading is every bit as good as the reading.