Thyme Travelers is a masterful work of speculative fiction that not only entertains but also educates and inspires. It’s a love letter to Palestinian culture, a lament for the injustices of history, and a hopeful reimagining of what could be. A must-read for those who enjoy speculative fiction with a heart steeped in resistance and storytelling as an act of defiance.

Excellent book, loved it! Looking forward to more from this author! Apologies for the lateness of my review

Thyme Travellers is a vibrant and evocative collection of 12 short stories, each written by a talented Palestinian writer. The anthology showcases a wide range of themes, from identity and displacement to the intricate connections between family, culture, and the passage of time.

What makes this collection shine is its diversity in narrative style, genre and themes. While each story feels distinct, they all contribute to a cohesive exploration of what it means to hold onto heritage while navigating both the past and the future.

Among the standout pieces, The Generational Chip left a lasting impact. I felt very connected to the family and the struggles of accepting the truth about their grandmothers life experience.

Soul Searching was another personal favorite, delving into the journey of self-discovery with a magical realism twist.

Each piece carries the distinct voice of its author, painting a rich and complex picture of Palestinian life, imagination and hope.

Overall, Thyme Travellers is an engaging and thought-provoking read. It’s a celebration of storytelling that will transport you through the many layers of time, history, and personal journeys. A must-read for anyone interested in diverse voices and meaningful, imaginative tales.

Through a veil of speculative fiction, his collection of tales beautifully illustrates not only the very real pain of the Palestinian people, but also how connected they are to their culture, their families, their religion, and also hope despite being spread out across the globe, unable to return home.

C’est un recueil de petites nouvelles écrit par des auteur.ices palestiniens qui se passe en Palestine et malheureusement j’ai pas trop accroché. J’ai bien aimé le concept mais les nouvelles ne m’ont pas plu plus que ça il y en a une ou deux avec lesquels j’ai accroché mais sans plus donc je suis un peu déçu de ma lecture

Post-read:

I'm very happy to say that I quite liked this anthology! The first couple of stories weren't my fave, so I was kinda worried that this might not be my thing (the previous Palestinian spec fic anthology I read, Palestine +100, was just okay).

But I'm glad that my reading experience turned out differently. I think after the first few stories, I got the gist of what the authors were going for (ambiguity, heavy on the metaphors, and leaning towards the fantastical on varying degrees), so it was much easier to understand the more I read.

Some of my favorites from this collection are:
The Generation Chip by Nadia Afifi
Soul Searching by Rana Othman
Cyrano de AI by Karl El-Koura
Gaza Luna by Samah Serour Fadil
The Centre of the Universe by Nadia Shammas


Pre-read:

I fear I might be slightly harsher when it comes to rating speculative short stories than my buddy reader. I'm more of a fan of straightforward, hero's journey type of stories, and so far, these stories are the total opposite. So, maybe take my reviews with a grain of salt.


Thank you to Roseway Publishing and NetGalley for this arc.



Down Under by Jumaana Abdu
3.5/5 stars

Nouran steps into a tunnel that supposedly leads to Palestine.

First story in this anthology! But I'm not too sure how I feel about it. I know Mel really liked it.

It's a very metaphorical story, with two different young women trying to find their way to Palestine. One is an emigrant while the other is a diaspora kid.

Mel said she liked the discussions on the differences and similarities on how they view and experience their Palestinian-ness. I liked that their search for Palestine through tunnels (and getting lost) is a metaphor for Palestine's existence in the future.



The Third or Fourth Casualty by Ziyad Saadi
3/5 stars

A group of children swim in the ocean by Gaza's shores.

This is another metaphorical story on children not being able to return to Gaza after dying while swimming. (Although the writer mentions several times that their deaths aren't relevant, which is an obvious red herring.)

Since it's a huge metaphor, I'm not sure if I understood it correctly. Maybe someone else might read it differently.



The Generation Chip by Nadia Afifi
5/5 stars

Kamel reunites with his family and becomes the sole custodian of his grandmother's "generation chip."

Excellent short story! So far, this one is my absolute favorite! Futuristic sci-fi dramas about family secrets are definitely my jam.

I'm not sure if there was any specific word count, but if there was, the author really used it to their advantage. There's a beginning, middle, and end, and there's even a hero's journey of sorts. The characters are fleshed out enough that the reader is immersed in the story.

I'd read more from Nadia Afifi!



Soul Searching by Rana Othman
5/5 stars

Young Hiba gets an opportunity to atone for her mean girl bullying

I'm not usually a fan of grown-up stories with little kid characters, but I was very surprised by this one! It's the typical "mean girl learns that bullying is wrong" type of trope-filled story, but I think the Palestinian setting and characters gave it both a realistic and fantastic depth. It reads like a modern-day fable with a Palestinian twist, and I loved it.



The Heart Knows the Truth by Layla Azmi Ghoushey
2/5 stars

Arwa goes on a journey through time and space.

I'll admit, I don't really understand this one. It's very fantasy-based and I'm definitely not knowledgeable enough to understand any of the cultural references. My imagination did love Palestine as a planet, the time traveling, and the people that the MC met, so it wasn't a total bust for me.



Cyrano de AI by Karl El-Koura
4.5/5 stars

Nait and his father reflect on life with and without augmentations.

Just when I thought that this anthology wasn't going to hold my interest, here comes another interesting short story! But then again, I do love stories about augmented humans and I'm very intrigued when it comes to learning about how AI (whether it's "true" AI or just generative AI) will help or hinder us.

This was also a story about a father and his adult son disconnecting from the digital world for a bit and reconnecting in real life, not to mention the son learning from his failures with using AI as a crutch. I do love feel good parent-child stories.



The Frontrunner by JD Harlock
1/5 stars

Bilal Mohsen is in a literal life and death situation on a plane.

I'll be honest. I wasn't a fan of this at all. There wasn't really a conclusive ending, nor was the ending the type of ending that made me think deeply. It just felt like your typical thriller on an airplane where the antagonist(?) asks the MC if he wants to take the red pill or the blue pill.



A Table Set for Two by Emad El-Din Aysha
3/5 stars

An Arab scientist and a Spanish scientist build a time machine.

As a lover of time travel stories, I should like, if not outright love, this. But it was just okay. It was more about the two scientists' relationship in the first half, and the second half suddenly went into overdrive with compare and contrast, alternate reality/future time travel stuff. It felt really disjointed and would've been better if it was longer.



In the Future, We Can Go Back Home by Sara Solara
4.5/5 stars

The MC, a child of Palestinian refugees, visits Palestine for the first time.

I questioned whether I would belong, and still that fear eats at me. It is my first time here in Palestine. I cannot speak the language of my ancestors. There is so much I do not yet know, as much as I have tried to learn, because I was barely raised in my own culture, because it was taken from me in the violence of colonialism that pressured my family to erase themselves. There is also the fact I am in love with a woman, and I cannot help but wonder: Will the land love me back in all my queerness? It all hangs heavy over my shoulders.


I'm always a sucker for stories about people from any diaspora going back to their homeland and learning about their family's past. Amidst what's happening, this was a really well-written and feel-good story that hit all the right notes.



The Forty by Sonia Sulaiman
4/5 stars

A small group of pilgrims bear Witness to the past, their ancestors, and the Occupation.

I quite liked this simple futuristic short. You can feel yourself as part of the pilgrimage and everyone is remembering Palestine and the occupation from long ago, in their own way. The cairns being built and placed feel like a religious rite that places nature above all else. And mixing it with memory feels very philosophical.



Remembrance in Cerulean by Elise Stephens
4/5 stars

Paul Thresher, a mechanical engineer taking after his father, forges a bond with Vezda, an alien being who forces him to reconcile with his past.

I love tentacled aquatic aliens as much as the next sci-fi enthusiast, but mix it with a MC who has to reckon with his family issues? Count me in.

At first, I didn't understand the point of the aliens, but I think they're a tool for the MC to understand himself and also might be a metaphor for... colonization? And maybe humanity's trigger-happy reaction to anything that we quickly deem as threats to our survival? I'm not sure.


Gaza Luna by Samah Serour Fadil
5/5 stars

Handala is smuggled into the US and achieves his dreams, but not in the way that he had planned.

The older I get, the more I really don't mind fantasy-based endings on stories that otherwise read as realistic fiction. Sure, you really, really have to suspend your disbelief here, but I loved how the ending was the type of far-reaching dream that a smart refugee kid, who worked hard his entire life, could someday achieve.

Of course, I also loved how it's a reminder that your birthplace, your childhood, your parents, etc. can heavily factor into your future.



Orlando's Wolf by Rasha Abdulhadi
3/5 stars

Yusuf stages a revolt against the European invaders.

I might be too dumb for this since I wasn't an English lit major, so I understood nothing. I did like the historical (Crusades era?) vibes though.



The Centre of the Universe by Nadia Shammas
4.5/5 stars

When Abigail interacts with a specific person, it is the only time that they can physically move or act.

I didn't think I'd like this story (it felt pointless at first), but fighting against your programming is always one of my favorite themes in SFF. The ending is *chef's kiss*

This collection is so strong and I'm so grateful I got the chance to read it. I love that the stories are so diverse, but they also work together beautifully, making the book as a whole incredibly impactful, and greater than the sum of its parts. Highlights for me are Soul Searching by Rana Othman, The Frontrunner by JD Harlock, and The Centre of the Universe by Nadia Shammas. My only critique would be that I don't think the stories centring on AI have enough space to explore the ethics of using the technology, especially in regards to disability, accessibility and consent. However, I still would highly recommend Thyme Travellers to everyone. Free Palestine!

An incredible speculative anthology by Palestinian authors. There were no let-downs among these stories spanning various speculative genres. Each new story was a pleasant surprise! The ones that stood out to me most were The Third or Fourth Casualty by Ziyad Saadi, Remembrance in Cerulean by Elise Stephens, and Gaza Luna by Samah Serour Fadil.

Kindly remember that the death of Palestinian children is irrelevant to this story.

—The Third or Fourth Casualty, Ziyad Saadi

I also want to highlight the first line of the first story, Down Under by Jumaana Abdu:

I STARTED DIGGING MY WAY TO PALESTINE LATER THAN MOST, but I made good time. I had very little to carry.


I definitely understand why this story was the first in the anthology, because what a perfect way to begin.

This is one of those books that reminds me why I love speculative fiction.

A wonderful collection of speculative fiction from the Palestinian diaspora. I always prefer a compilation with a theme, and the sociopolitical commentary and emotions run deep in each and every one of these stories. Inevitably, some resonated with me more, but I think everyone can find a story or two here that hits home for them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Roseway Publishing for the arc!

Review:
✨My opinion when reviewing an anthology or any story collection is that it is inevitable to prefer some stories from the others. It is the same for this book.
✨When I checked back after my reading, most of the stories that I prefer have elements of science fiction in them. Technology vs human, or technology and human. This is what I see from some of the stories here.
✨Some stories that caught my attention are the Down Under (Jumaana Abdu), The Generation Chip (Nadia Afifi), Cyrano de AI (Karl El-Koura), A Table Set for Two (Emad El-Din Aysha), Remembrance in Cerulean (Elise Stephens), and Gaza Luna (Samah Serour Fadil).
✨Looking at this list, my thought is, am I in my sci-fi mood now? *thinking*
✨I’m not a Palestinian or have any Palestinian ancestry, so I can understand a little bit of their feelings and their plights through this anthology. I don’t know how to feel if my home is my home no more.
✨ Thank you to NetGalley and (Roseway Publishing & Columbia University Press) for this ARC! This review was voluntarily written by me.

I am very excited that I found this absolute gem of a book. I am very much into short stories as well as speculative fiction. To top it off, this is a collection of very important voices of Palestinians in exile.

I cannot describe how honored I felt to be able to read this book.

And it certainly didn't disappoint. Of course, as with every other short story collection, some of them spoke more to me than the others. But every single one of them had some sort of food for thought. The stories here are mentioning very important social and therefore political issues. Some voices seem more bold than others, while there are those that seem more intimate. Nothing is overlooked, all levels of relationships are examined - friendships, romantic love, family, community.

The stories are also very diverse, the main characters vary in age, gender etc. Every new story is its own universe.

For me, this is a very important book that deserves a lot of recognition.

This collection of short stories by Palestinian authors released earlier this month! I’ve found I enjoy speculative short fiction, and Thyme Travelers delivers with 14 compelling stories in various measures of reality. As with any anthology, some stories resonated with me more than others. My favorites included Down Under, The Generation Chip, Cyrano de AI, and Gaza Luna.

If you enjoy speculative fiction, are looking for something shorter to capture your imagination, or want to read work from Palestinian authors, give this collection a try!

Thank you to Rosemary Publishing and to Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book. Opinions are my own.

As with most short story collections, Thyme Travellers has a wide range of styles and themes on offer, and I can’t say I enjoyed all of them, but most helped me gain better understanding of Palestinian life under Israel’s oppression and in that respect I think it’s a worthy read. Some of the stories though are are truly good examples of what speculative fiction can achieve when constrained to a limited length.
The highlights of the collection for me were:
The generation chip - the moving story of a family discovering their late grandmother’s identity, past and regrets through memory chips she left to her grandchildren.
Remembrance in Cerulean - a bittersweet, poignant first contact story.
Gaza Luna - young Palestinians secretly build a rocket of Ottoman design.
Soul Searching - this story takes a while to take off, mostly as we’re discovering what’s expected of the protagonist together with them, but the conclusion is touching and satisfying.
Cyrano de AI - a concise but well-orchestrated cautionary tale about the pitfalls of augmented reality.
The Frontrunner - A twisty, compelling spy story in just 6 pages.

Note: I received this book for free as an ARC from #NetGalley but the opinions above are mine and unbiased.

Okay, who wouldn’t love the title + the fact that it is speculative fiction written by authors of the Palestinian diaspora?! As with any anthology, there are stronger and weaker stories, but THYME TRAVELLERS is a welcome addition to the deeply talented pool of Palestinian and Palestinian diaspora writers to keep Palestine on all our minds.

In the preface, editor Sonia Sulaiman makes the interesting note that the call for submissions was made before October 2023. This is worthwhile to know because not all of the stories explicitly touch upon Palestinian culture or issues.

And that’s okay, I think. Because while every Palestinian is marked by the horror of the Nakba, by apartheid, and by genocide, that is not all that they are. The diversity of diaspora Palestinian voices that appear in this anthology reflect that. (And this is also heartbreaking to think about: that there are many more Palestinians outside of Palestine than there are who live there.) I loved that Sulaiman allowed these authors to just run with their ideas and be who they are.

Some of my favorite stories do address issues of Palestinian oppression or freedom head-on. For instance, my absolute favorite is the first one, “Down Under,” in which Jumaana Abdu gives us a taut, thriller-esque story in which diasporic Palestinians resort to digging a tunnel through the Earth’s core to reach Palestine.

In others, violence against Palestinians is like an initially shallow cut at the side of your eye that grows into an oozing, all-consuming sore. “The Third or Fourth Casualty” by Ziyad Saadi is one such deceptively mundane, increasingly horrifying tale of a group of boys who swim out to sea for a regular day of “fun”.

And some are just writers with Palestinian heritage allowing themselves to write anything they want. For instance, I quite enjoyed Karl el-Koura’s “Cyrano de AI” take on a world in which people wear implants that tell them the best things to say to be the funniest, most charming, and most empathetic person in the room, but I wouldn’t go into the story expecting “Palestinian-ness”.

Definitely get your hands on this quirky and moving little collection if you like short stories featuring diverse voices, speculative fiction, and a free Palestine.

In a Nutshell: An anthology of Palestinian speculative fiction. Focusses on the Palestinian identity as well as the speculative content without losing track of either. The OwnVoices writing and the undertone of wistfulness adds to the impact. Much recommended to SFF lovers.

"All Palestinian fiction is speculative; we are always grappling with the past and living in expectation of the future..."
"The world as I know it will be a memory by the time you read these words."
This anthology of fourteen stories was conceptualized before the latest war began. So the above sentences in the editor’s note seem even more poignant. While we know war comes with uncertainty and mayhem, most of us haven’t experienced living under a daily threat of death and destruction. No wonder fantastical writing is the preferred mode of storytelling for Palestinian authors.

Though speculative, there's a strong flavour of Palestine, its people and its culture in these stories. The pulse of the story is not on the weird but on the real, with each tale focussing on the humans and their emotions, even though their world isn't the one we necessarily know.

As every contributing author is from Palestine, their writing depicts their innate awareness of the social structure and the political upheavals. Many of the tales contain an undertone of hiraeth, and of wishful thinking, seeking an end to the turmoil and wanting justice to come to Palestine.

The lengths of the stories differ, as do the ages of the central protagonists. Some of the stories are on the longer side, but they don’t feel dragged. However, a few of the stories were a bit too disjointed for my liking. They leaned far too much into the speculative side, which my pragmatic head struggles with. Those who are bigger fans of SFF might not face a similar issue. That said, every single one of the tales was imaginative and distinct, never creating a feeling of déjà vu.

I can’t help contrast this experience with another anthology I read in November last year. ‘Embroidered Worlds’ is also an OwnVoices speculative fiction collection, written by writers from yet another war-torn nation: Ukraine. However, most of the stories in the Ukrainian collection had no glimpse of Ukrainian culture or beliefs or the politics. Instead, the focus was solely on the speculative. On the contrary, this Palestinian collection makes sure that the stories don’t lose track of their cultural identity even while exploring the speculative. No points for guessing which approach I preferred.

There is a detailed glossary at the end this book, and to my surprise, discussion questions as well. I have never seen this in any anthology I've read to date.

The bio of each contributing author is present at the end. I wish these details had been placed immediately after their respective stories; this makes it so much easier to know more about writers whose work clicked well for us.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the fourteen stories, seven stories reached or crossed the four-star mark. The rest were more varied in performance, getting anywhere between 2-3.5 stars. These were my top favourites.
🍉 Down Under - Jumaana Abdu: A strong speculative story that offers an ending but doesn't offer closure. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍉 The Third Or Fourth Casualty - Ziyad Saadi: Wish the ending had worked better for me but this was still a powerful story. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍉 The Generation Chip - Nadia Afifi: Such a beautiful story of a life not lived to the fullest! Excellent blend of fantasy and reality. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍉 Soul Searching - Rana Othman: This took an expected pattern of storytelling and made it magically speculative. The child narrator’s perspective made it even better. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🍉 Cyrano de AI - Karl El-Koura: An interesting look at a world where human interactions are entirely enhanced through AI add-ons. This might just be the future, and if it is, I don't think I'm looking forward to it. Loved the ending! - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🍉 The Frontrunner - J.D. Harlock: Started off as a typical story about a psychic warning about potential catastrophe. Ended in a totally unexpected way. Enjoyed the turn-around. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍉 The Centre of the Universe - Nadia Shammas: Probably one of the most bizarre stories I have read in my life! I just didn’t see where it was going. I wish there had been more detailing at the end. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

On the whole, I enjoyed my first flavour of Palestinian fiction and would love to read more from the region. Here’s wishing for a quick resolution to the conflict.

Definitely recommended to short fiction lovers looking for a dash of Palestinian flavour and a splash of speculative storytelling through OwnVoices perspectives.

3.5 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each tale, rounding up for the theme and the OwnVoices factor.

My thanks to Roseway Publishing for providing the DRC of “Thyme Travellers” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This is a beautiful collection of speculative fiction which explores Palestinian history, folklore, and 'futures'.

***Trigger Warnings**
- death & grief - gun violence/violence in general - genocide & war - bullying - colonialism

All the stories were amazing in there own ways, making it hard to choose favorites; but I did enjoy:
"Remembrance in Cerulean" by Elise Stephens
"The Third or Fourth Casualty" by Ziyad Saadi
"The Centre of the Universe" by Nadia Shammas

Plus, I know they were short stories but I do wish some of them were a bit longer! But to soak up these stories, I'd suggest taking your time and reading maybe 1 or 2 chapters/stories a day.

Thank you NetGalley and Roseway Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thyme Travellers is a collection of speculative fiction stories written by Palestinian authors. These covered a wide range of topics, but my favorites were about the social consequences of implanting an AI chip in one’s brain and an inheritance consisting of memories that reveal secrets and bring family together. While there few a few stories that didn’t quite land for me, I thought the collection overall was well-done.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

This is a wonderful anthology of short speculative fiction stories written by Palestinian authors from the diaspora, that range in length as well as subgenre.

While some draw attention directly from Palestinian history as well as present times others are more subtle in their messaging but each and every piece though vastly different, share themes of belonging, connection, resilience and remembrance.

From considering alternative history, to the exploration of different types of technology, to characters being touched by magic the level of imagination across this collection is fascinating. There were definitely some stories that I connected to less than others but this mostly came down to the fact that they were too short and I was left wishing the authors of those ones had expanded on them a little more.

My personal favourite was Nadia Afifi’s ‘The Generation Chip’ but two other standouts which I am not going to forget any time soon were Ziyad Saadi’s ‘The Third or Fourth Casualty’ and Nadia Shammas’ ‘The Centre of the Universe’.

Packed with heartfelt emotion and thought-provoking sentiments, Thyme Travellers will without a doubt have something for everyone.
Final Rating - 3.5/5 Stars

I often track my feelings and ratings of each separate story in an anthology, and give my overall rating as an average on that - however, in the case of Thyme Travellers, the stand-out tales were so exceptional that they were given a heavier weighting. The collection as a whole has a good balance, with all of the stories engaging me in some way. My particular favourites were Nadia Afifi's The Generation Chip, and Elise Stephens' Remembrance in Cerulean. I feel that I will keep mulling these over for a long time after finishing reading. Although both tales focus on memory, they do so in vastly different ways. This is prevalent throughout the collection - whilst themes of colonialism and forced displacement are always present, some tales hone in much more directly with Palestine itself. Other highlights included Nadia Shammas' The Centre of the Universe, Rana Othman's Soul Searching, Jumaana Abdu's Down Under, and Samah Serour Fadil's Gaza Luna. There's a wonderful range of narratives within Thyme Travellers - from the poetic, to the humourous, to the deeply moving. I can see myself revisiting particular stories again and again.

My favourites from this speculative fiction anthology were:

Down Under by Jumaana Abdu: this was captivating and bizarre and I loved it. Dig your way to Palestine? Yes.

The Third or Fourth Casualty by Ziyad Saadi: a heart breaking story of boys swimming in the sea; an important truth, a much needed reminder of what is potentially already happening in real life as I type this.

Soul Searching by Rana Othman: a sweet magical story involving children, riddles, a cat, and Tata Jameela!

The Heart Knows the Truth by Layla Azmi Ghoushey: dreamy and whimsical and lovely.

Remembrance in Cerulean by Elise Stephens: I loved what the author created — these memory-absorbing-infusing species of “aliens”.

Got an ARC of this book from Netgalley.