Book Review: The Forest of Time and Other Stories by Michael Flynn

The Forest of Time and Other Stories by Michael Flynn

This collection of stories has been sitting on my Kindle for ages. I finally came back to it. Here's the story-by-story review:

The Forest of Time--In an alternate present, the United States of America does not exist. Various commonwealths and confederations have been in conflict for two centuries, so the Industrial Revolution was severely curtailed. Into this backward land a time traveler lands. His time jumps have turned into reality jumps, causing new Earths to emerge. The current story is set in his sixth jump. His problem is getting back. The locals' problem is whether he is telling the truth or is insane or is a spy for one of the other small nations on the North American continent. Conflicting ideas and moral commitments are shown by the scout who found the traveler, the general who is interested in the fantastic stories of advanced technology (for military purposes, of course), and the psychologist who wants to cure the traveler of his delusions. The story is about much more than science fiction. I found it very interesting.

Great, Sweet Mother--A seemingly melancholic story about stumbling across someone picnicking by the sea. The person misses a friend and tells their story in fits and starts. The story is interesting because it's given as a dialogue, with the reader being half the conversation. The readers part is ellipses, but the questions are obvious from context. The slow reveal of what's going on is nice.

On the High Frontier--A space cowboy has a run-in at a bar in the outer limits of our solar system, forcing him into a trip with his cyborg spaceship. The story is more of a tall tale than a great tale. The Old West dialogue and cliches were fun enough. 

The Common Goal of Nature--A financial exec in New York City who has a lot of disdain for the "useless" people who live on the streets and beg/steal/prostitute themselves. He has an idea for fixing the situation and enlists the newly visiting aliens, the Hraani. Their language is strange and their grasp of English is also very odd. The language barrier causes an interesting problem for the negotiations and provides forward movement for the characters. The ending is obvious but satisfying.

Grave Reservations--Another NYC story, this time set in a future where the city is its own country and people come from out of town (i.e. other countries like Ecotopia and The Breadbasket) to see the sights on a guided tour. The satire is fun (the tour includes a staged mugging!) and imaginative.

The Engineer Discourses on Love--Some dirty poetry using scientific double entendres.

Mammy Morgan Played the Organ, Her Daddy Beat the Drum--A librarian experiences something seemingly supernatural late one night in the old college library. A scientist is brought in to investigate because he has a materialistic explanation for ghosts. He's got his own agenda, making for an interesting and thoughtful ending to the story.

Spark of Genius--An author gets drunk because his seventh novel is, according to his editor, a soon-to-be bestseller and the best work he's ever done. The drinking isn't to celebrate, though, and the ultimate reason is another thought-provoking explanation.

On the Wings of a Butterfly--Pizarro is exploring South America when he runs into a half-breed native who guides him in country. Pizarro is looking for gold and glory; the guide has another agenda. This story wasn't as strong as others in the collection.

The Feeders--A World War I German soldier gets a head injury during a battle and suddenly can see small, naked, bat-like creatures who seem to feed off both the living and the dying, but not everybody. Are they demons or aliens or just his own imagination? A fun, seemingly-predictable puzzle ends much better than I thought it would.

Melodies of the Heart--A cynical doctor who has been serving part-time at an assisted-living home becomes obsessed with one of the patients who complains because she hears music on an off, though there is no audible source. Is she having some sort of memory relapse, re-experiencing earlier times in her life? Can the doctor turn it into an article or book? But the songs go back farther than her supposed age. Can she really be over 120 years old? That premise is intriguing enough but Flynn gives the story a much deeper level and resonance since the doctor has a daughter who has a rare disease--she is aging too quickly and will probably die at puberty. The parallel stories play off each other and meet naturally and dramatically at the end.

 

The stories are very entertaining. The book is even better because Flynn gives little essays after each story describing the creative process for the story.

Recommended.