Time Patrol

“The Sorrows of Odin the Goth”is a classic of science fiction. The other stories vary and can get a bit cringe worthy at times given pulp-era norms (Manse “being kind” to an ancient prostitute he considered ugly). But this is still formative work. Anderson is so crafty that you can easily miss the fact that the Time Patrol itself is cause of almost every crisis it resolves!

Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com.

This contains ten separate stories about the Time Patrol, of varying lengths, first published across a span of 40 years, from 1955 to 1995. I've been rereading the earlier ones probably since the 1960s (when they were collected in a smaller book), but I've rarely read this whole collection, because they're quite diverse and I don't like them equally. I might give four stars to some and two stars to others, so I give three stars to the collection as a whole.

Time Patrol: This introduces us to Manse Everard, the hero of the stories, showing his recruitment into the Time Patrol in 1954. It makes a good introduction and quite a good story.

Brave to Be a King: Quite a good story about Cyrus the Great, founder of the first Persian Empire. It has a classic time-travel plot since reused by other writers. It's not a happy story, but I reread it nevertheless.

Gibraltar Falls: A minor story about the Zanclean Flood, more than 5 million years in the past; it's OK but there's not much to it.

The Only Game In Town: Quite an interesting story though not one of my favourites; set in America in 1280 AD.

Delenda Est: My favourite of the older stories here, this features a colourful alternative world created by a deliberate alteration of history.

Ivory, and Apes, and Peacocks: Another good and colourful story set in ancient Tyre, 950 BC.

The Sorrow of Odin the Goth: I don't normally reread this one because I find it depressing. Set in the 4th century.

Star of the Sea: I normally skip this one too, for the same reason. Set in ancient Germany in the 1st century.

The Year of the Ransom: The best of the later stories, in which time-travelling baddies plan to steal the gold of the Aztecs, a Spanish conquistador captures a time machine, and Wanda Tamberly is introduced. She later turns up in other stories, though not in this collection.

Death and the Knight: Another unhappy story, about the downfall of the Knights Templar in 1307, although I've occasionally reread it.