I won this on a Frst Reads giveaway and was really intrigued by the premise. It is a collection of short stories, each based on a specific idea about time: time travel, expansion of time, time that folds in upon itself, etc. The time concept is then put into use for a story about love, whether romantic, paternal or fraternal. So yes, I have to admit I was definitely more intrigued by the science aspect...

It started off really well with the first story: what happens if time stops for everyone but you, at would could be the most important moment of your life? This first story was well, thought out and well-written. Unfortunately, the collection did not stand up. The rest of the collection seemed unfinished. I appreciate an author who lets me think for myself instead of spoonfeeding me every little detail, however, there was a lot left out here for me. The first story is left at a point where the reader can imagine a number of endings, and it felt right. The rest just seem stunted after very promising beginnings.

Probably the second most thought-provoking part for me was one of the time intros, based on the seven days of Genesis and our current (mis?)understanding regarding such. ( )

"Time, emiT, and Time Again" was stimulating to read. The book contains essays about time and sci-fi stories in which something about time is central to plot. Both "Second Thoughts" (the first story in the book) and "Buying Time" (the last story) are thoughtful, well-written short stories that tell us that if "A" were true about time, then "B" could happen in ordinary lives.

Since I have not known anyone whose concepts about time are similar to my own, I was surprised and gratified to learn that at least one other person sees time with the same expansiveness and limitations. I will gratefully add Mr. McClanahan's book to my library so that I can return to its pages and feel at home once more.

(I received a free copy to review.) ( )