"Time, Again" by Tim Maly

[IreneAdler]

If you've never read it, it's a short story that you can quickly read here.

Time, Again is one of my favorite short stories. I love the time paradoxes, and the fact that the consequences aren't just the typical "Oh no, I killed my own grandfather!" I love that it's not jumping up and down on a timeline as though it were number line, and the characters are learning to add and subtract by jumping spaces. It's got a very Doctor Who "wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey" feel to it.

What do you all think?

 

[Shatinator]

What an ingenious story, can't say I can recall ever reading anything, quite like it in the past...or was that the future LOL! Seriously, it meld together sorrow, nostalgia, fascination, mystery and passion in such an elegant manner. Such a shame this is the only work by this author on the site. Are you aware of any other work by the author.

At any rate, thank you for letting us all know about this expectational work.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I read it, several times over, though I can't understand a single thing about what's going on.

Am I just missing something obvious? Again? It's not a bad story, I just can't seem to 'get' it.

 

[IreneAdler]

This is an example of literary form matching function. The narrator is confused from all the time travel, paradoxes, etc. The narrative is designed to make the reader feel that as well, so you related more to the character.

And as Shatinator said, there really isn't anything else like it.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Well, if the objective is to confuse the reader - in my case, it was a smashing success!!

 

[OmahaStar]

I did a bit of googling on "Tim Maly writer" and couldn't find any other fiction. I did find a writer with the same name who is an extreme right-wing "non-fiction" writer; no idea whether it's the same people, or possibly two people with the same name.

 

[IreneAdler]

Yeah; the Tim Maly you found is someone who I've found via Google search, but in his archives and the like, he never mentions that story. It's quite odd. Sad, because I'd like to see more along the same vein.

 

[OmahaStar]

Have you contacted the website that's hosting the story, and asked them for more info on Tim?