Shaw’s focus on the household arena of a decaying relationship feels unnervingly realistic, the barbs that fly are barbs which fly between husband and wife. One can reduce most books to a barebones list which sounds ridiculous…. Dopplegängers argue about who gets to keep their wife. SF idea #2: WEIRD ASTRONOMICAL OCCURANCESĥ. Wife remembers insult late at night–the Cold War escalates: “She could remember that one, for discussion, probably at 3:00 AM when he was trying to sleep” (5).Ĥ. Husband hurls barbed (secret) insult: “Breton ran a mental eye over the quiver full of sarcasms which immediately offered itself, and finally-in deference to their guests-selected one of the least lethal” (5).ģ. The arena of a decaying intrapersonal relationships between man and wife…ġ.

A series of SF tropes are hurled willy-nilly into and entwined within the domestic space of a living room. And, most importantly, he has a gun to dispose with his other self. And of course, as John’s relationship is on the way out perhaps Jack will be able to rekindle some of the old passion and love. Jack had found a way to enter John’s timeline and prevent the murder from happening….Īnd now Jack has returned to John’s timeline to reclaim the wife he had rescued. In Jack Breton’s timeline Kate had been “clubbed, raped and stabbed” (36). Cue SF element: the man who rescued Kate was indeed John, or rather, Jack Breton. Despite a flawless (and true) alibi, a witness swore to the police that the man who killed Kate’s attempted murderer was indeed John! Key scenes in John’s life, for example, the police interactions investigating the crime and his own disturbing thoughts about how his life would be better without Kate, come back to him in “flashes of absolute recall” (23). John, after a spousal squabble, had left her to walk alone to a party. A horrific trauma and mystery looms oppressive in the background–“nine years earlier, to the month, a police cruiser had found Kate wandering in the darkness of 50th Avenue, with flecks of human brain tissue spattered across her face” (14). John Breton’s relationship with his wife, Kate, is on the shoals. For the full glory of the image, I’ve included a his-res scan below. I tried, I must confess, but wasn’t in the mood and then something about The Two-Timers’ Diane and Leo Dillon cover-the doubling visages, contorted, anguished, and angular-pulled me in. Instead, I cast wary eyes toward my shelves and read The Two-Timers. Various Bob Shaw fans told me to read Nightwalk (1967) or find a copy of Other Days, Other Eyes (1972)-especially as I adored one of the short stories that appeared in the later fix-up novel - “Light of Other Days” (1966). (Diane and Leo Dillon’s cover for the 1968 1st edition)

The Ragged Astronauts by Bob Shaw