Book Details
“Vintage Season” by Harry Kuttner & C.L. Moore | The Time Traveler’s Almanac collection
Editors: Ann VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer
Total Pages in the collection: 960
Published: March 18, 2014 by Tor Books
My Review
Welcome back for another #TimeTravelThursday review of The Time Traveler’s Almanac! I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season 🙂
So…when we hear the word “vintage,” we think of vintage clothing or cars, things which bring back the nostalgia of a time gone by. So what is a vintage season? According to this gem of a story by Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore, it’s an amazing moment or phase in history that has been scientifically identified as one of the best moments–which makes it a perfect venue for a time traveler to observe and witness.
Oliver can’t seem to figure out why three odd people from an unknown place want to rent out his home, but they paid a handsome sum and he needs the money. However, he sticks around to see what they’re up to–and what he finds is both fascinating and horrifying. It doesn’t take him long to figure out the truth about these people (I won’t spoil the ending, but there’s great suspense as to what’s truly going on and why they’ve traveled to Oliver’s home), and it was definitely intriguing seeing Oliver’s reaction to everything.
Great story to start the New Year off with.
My Rating:
4 out of 5
About The Time Traveler’s Almanac
The Time Traveler’s Almanac is the largest and most definitive collection of time travel stories ever assembled. Gathered into one volume by intrepid chrononauts and world-renowned anthologists Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, this book compiles more than a century’s worth of literary travels into the past and the future that will serve to reacquaint readers with beloved classics of the time travel genre and introduce them to thrilling contemporary innovations.
This marvelous volume includes nearly seventy journeys through time from authors such as Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, Michael Moorcock, H. G. Wells, and Connie Willis, as well as helpful non-fiction articles original to this volume (such as Charles Yu’s “Top Ten Tips For Time Travelers”).
The Time Traveler’s Almanac Review Group
This review is part of an on-going review series. We’re trying to review a short story per week from The Time Traveler’s Almanac. Please join us and share your thoughts! My partners in crime on this reading adventure includes the following authors and bloggers. Check out their reviews as well:
I’m dubious about the ‘best’ moments. What I mean is… sure, they sure took advantage of an idyllic month… but they were there as spectators in the final event. I dunno. A bit of a dichotomy? I know they discussed that the tour was of the seasons. But the perfect seasons with some ‘seasoning’ attached, perhaps?
Yeah, I think they did come, in part for the weather. The pilgrimage, I think was one of those idyllic moments that they wanted to capture. I think there was that darker element that Laurel was hinting at, too, that “seasoning,” that excitement over seeing something grotesque.
Laurel, yes, especially the part with Cenbe at the end.
H.M., and doesn’t that (as well as some of their other antics) hint at the hypocrisy in their supposed precision and poise?
What it really reminded me of was how we impose our current values, morals and ethics on events and people of the past – something that most academic historians aim NOT to do, as it messes with accurate understanding of the past. These people didn’t even TRY to understand the people of the past (as too many already do today) – for them it was pure entertainment (and of course, for connoisseurs…)…