The Time Ships

“The Time Ships was written for the centenary of H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine. I’m generally suspicious of sequels and prequels to classic books being written by modern authors, but in this case it really works. His idea was that when Wells was writing, he was drawing on what was, at the time, the most cutting-edge scientific, cultural and sociological ideas going, for the creation of his future. And he takes that idea and runs with it. In The Time Ships, the time traveller from Wells’ novel has returned to London in 1895, but begins to feel guilty about having left behind the Eloi girl who trusted him. So he attempts to travel once more into the future, but discovers that his actions – the very existence of him and his time machine – have altered the future, and she no longer exists in the timeline in which he travels.” Read more...

The Best Science Fiction Worlds

Tom Huddleston, Novelist