Time Crawlers: Stories From a Parallel Universe

Varun Sayal

“These stories are events that my brain somehow tapped into and captured in detail. Let me know if your unconscious mind visited the same universes as mine.”

Time Crawlers: Stories From A Parallel Universe is a collection of six short science fiction stories. The stories do not lack action, advanced technology, or mythology but are a little choppy if you are not used to reading hard science fiction. I am not a hardcore science fiction reader but still found Time Crawlers to be a great read.

You will be thrown into different events that pose a similar question: Does technology take away our moral/ethical reasoning? Sayal pushes the boundaries of the genre with his ability to weave mythology with science fiction. At first, I was not sold. But by the end of the first story, Narka-Astra, The Hell Weapon, I had to know what the other stories were about. Sayal does a great job of getting right to the point. With each story, you jump into a world and get a peek into the life there..sometimes you want more, and sometimes you’ve had just enough. 

I do feel the need to warn the reader. These stories have darker undertones that may be unsettling and or triggering to the reader (mental illness, mass death, bio-weapons, death, war). Personally was not disturbed by the content, Time Crawlers was a refreshing break from what I have been reading recently.

The stories:
1. Nark-astra, The Hell Weapon
2. Death by Crowd
3. Genie
4. Time Crawlers
5. Eclipse
6. The Cave

Overall, I was pleased with each story. I have to admit, I did almost stop reading during the first one because of the zombie themes. Zombies are my biggest fear and one of the few reasons I will stop reading a book, but I pushed through baring my teeth at the gory details. My favorite story was Genie. It was an interesting twist on the Djinn/Genie myth. I cannot rave enough about my love and appreciation for the blend of mythology and science fiction, I recommend you check out Time Crawlers for that alone.

If you are looking for a quick read or something to thumb through grab a copy of Time Crawlers. While I do highly recommend you check out this collection of short stories, I did struggle with some of the “hard science fiction” and accepting how the worlds functioned. That is a personal complaint and may not be true to every reader. If you enjoy science fiction/hard science fiction definitely give Time crawlers a read.