Short Science Fiction Story Review – Brian W Aldiss – A Book In Time
1955 – The Friday Project Press – Spoiler alerts
Aldiss is one of the giants of British science fiction, and still writing in his 90’s. A Book In Time is among his earliest works.
It features a book-seller pursuing a suspected shoplifter only to find the thief is from a hundred years in the future, which he ends up visiting when he ends up on the time-thief’s time machine.
The hero discovers a future where books have been outlawed and mostly destroyed but doting antiquarians repopulate book-shelves by taking books from our time.
Not an accurate or prophetic vision of the future given that here are no references to electronic book readers but a lovely vision of the importance of maintaining the arts by any means possible, even time-travel.
Arthur Chappell
Comments
seren3 wrote on January 8, 2015, 10:29 AM
I'm glad to think that time travelers might risk coming back here (or to the '50's) and getting caught as a petty thief, for a book!
Koalemos wrote on January 8, 2015, 11:58 AM
I was an avid reader of Brian Aldiss when I was younger, but do not know this particular story.
BodieMor wrote on January 8, 2015, 11:08 PM
I remember reading this a long, long time ago, perhaps in an anthology. How lovely that he is still alive and writing!
scheng1 wrote on January 9, 2015, 9:01 AM
I think students will be very happy if ever books are outlawed.
crowntower wrote on February 12, 2015, 6:08 AM
Wow I think the story is cool, and I think he does not know that there will be electronic books in the future. But I really admire his bran for keep on writing until his 90s. He is a surely a writer who really love his profession and passion.