I am thrilled to review Thyme Travellers, an excellent collection edited by Sonia Sulaiman. This collection of short speculative fiction by Palestinian diasporic authors accomplishes so, so much in a relatively short page count. There are a wide array of speculative motifs here – AI, alien species, space travel, and time travel to name a few – and there is a range in terms of story length, mood/tone, and themes. I appreciate the inclusion queer representation in several stories. 

Inevitably with a collection one will find certain stories stand out, but it is very difficult to choose a few favourites given how consistently strong this one is. Several stories have really stuck with me after having finished them; I suspect this is a book I’ll revisit to re-read some stories again. 

I had only read a few of these authors before: Emad El-din Aysha (whose work also appeared in Palestine +100), Nadia Afifi (whose novel The Sentient I enjoyed), and Sonia Sulaiman (whose short fiction I’ve read, and whom I’m happy to call a friend). I am looking forward to reading more from the authors featured here & absolutely recommend this collection wholeheartedly. 

Content warnings: violence, war, murder, death, death of a parent, suicide, police brutality, classism, racism, colonization, bullying 

Thank you to Roseway Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.