Guest Post: SF Writer Lisa Timpf Reviews David Gerrold’s Shadows and Reflections
Here’s our fourth guest post at Life After Gateway … and it’s a review of a wonderful writer’s new work who also happens to be Star Trek royalty.
I love this guest post today. There are numerous reasons:
- I love Star Trek: The Original Series. I’ve been very open about that here at my blog. I also build scale models … and they are strictly Trek.
- I am very familiar with David Gerrold and his famous Trek episode, The Trouble With Tribbles.
- The publisher of this collection is Joe Mahoney of Donovan Street Press. Joe is co-host of the Re-Creative Podcast, where I have previously appeared to discuss The Thing and The Fly.
I can’t wait to pick up a copy of David Gerrold’s new work. Today, Lisa Timpf reviews it and describes the many stories within. I hope you also consider picking up a copy.
“I found Shadows and Reflections entertaining, engrossing, and thought-provoking, and some of the stories stuck with me long after I closed the cover.” — Lisa Timpf, Author of Cats and Dogs in Space (2025)
- Title: Shadows and Reflections: Diving in the Sea of Time
- Publisher: Donovan Street Press
- Writer: David Gerrold
- Cost: $24.99
See the full review just below. Thanks to Lisa Timpf.
— Timothy
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Gerrold’s Shadows and Reflections Whisks Readers to Unexpected Places
Reviewed by Lisa Timpf
Back in the early 1970s, I had a standing appointment at a friend’s house three doors down the street. At 5 p.m. each weekday, we found comfortable seats in the living room to watch Star Trek.
It wasn’t called The Original Series back then; it was the only Star Trek series. We were watching reruns, but that didn’t matter to us. Seeing episodes repeatedly enabled us to memorize our favourite lines, to be recited later.
One of the episodes I enjoyed the most was The Trouble with Tribbles, written by David Gerrold. Based on that affection, and a vague memory of reading When HARLIE Was One back in the day, when I heard that Donovan Street Press was releasing Shadows and Reflections: Diving in the Sea of Time, a collection of short stories penned by Gerrold, I was happy to get a chance to review it.
The collection contained a number of resonant stories, each different enough from the next to maintain interest and a sense of novelty. My favourite story, “In the Quake Zone,” had a noir-detective-meets-time-traveler (or, in this case, time raveler) vibe.
One of the plot devices in this story was “time quakes” in Los Angeles, events that cause people to jump backward or forward in time. This can be disconcerting for those who experience such travel.
As with many things in life, there are people who try to exploit time quakes by hitching a ride to the past to buy items that will later become collectibles and therefore will increase in value. The story’s protagonist, a Vietnam war vet named Mike who is in his late twenties, is not immune to the temptation of picking up such items himself.
But riding the time quakes is also his job. The company he works for is hired by clients who want them to go back in time to do certain things: settle scores, send messages, solve mysteries.
As the story begins, Mike is assigned to find out what happened to a young man who disappeared. As he begins his research, he learns that this person isn’t the only one who has gone missing. He also learns that the victims have something in common: they are all part of the gay scene, discovering themselves in the era before Stonewall.
The story blends foreshadowing with mystery, and is layered with historical references. There are also self-reflections on the part of the protagonist, whose experiences in the war have left him with difficulties in forming relationships.
The story “The Martian Child” revolves around the strangeness of children, and keeps the reader guessing about whether the “child” of the title really has mysterious powers. “Pickled Mongoose” explores the difference between being teased out of malice and the kind of humour that’s intended to invite you in, building bridges rather than pushing someone away.
The story “The Dark,” like many of the others in the collection, could be read on both a literal and metaphorical level.
There are stories about forgiveness, stories about how doing the right thing sometimes involves sacrifice, and stories that reflect the truth that sometimes we realize too late that we have been chasing the wrong things. The collection contains some lyrical sections, and Gerrold demonstrates a knack for creating a strong, immersive sense of place.
According to the book’s introduction, all of the stories were inspired by events in Gerrold’s own life. Despite the sometimes strange and unusual settings, this tracks as true. Though the events described often have an element of the fantastic or surreal, there is a sense of honesty at the core. This kind of vulnerability, the willingness to go where some authors hesitate to travel, deserves to be met with a tip of the proverbial cap.
When I pondered the book after I finished reading, my first reflection was that it wasn’t quite what I’d expected. Before checking out any of the promotional material, that I’d thought the stories would recreate the aspects I’d enjoyed about The Trouble with Tribbles; funny scenarios, witty repartee, all’s-well-that-ends-well. The stories did contain humour, but there was more of a sense of gravitas than the Star Trek episode I’d enjoyed so much.
But misplaced expectations didn’t equate to a lack of enjoyment. I found Shadows and Reflections entertaining, engrossing, and thought-provoking, and some of the stories stuck with me long after I closed the cover.
— Guest post at Life After Gateway by Lisa Timpf, September 2026
- Title: Shadows and Reflections: Diving in the Sea of Time
- Publisher: Donovan Street Press
- Writer: David Gerrold
- Cost: $24.99
Lisa Timpf Biography
Ontario resident Lisa Timpf writes poetry, book reviews, short stories, and creative nonfiction. Her speculative poetry collections Cats and Dogs in Space (2025) and In Days to Come (2022) are available from Hiraeth Publishing in print and electronic formats. Lisa is a member of SF Canada and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association. You can find out more about her writing projects at http://lisatimpf.blogspot.com/. Lisa is also on Bluesky, @lisatimpf.bsky.social
Bluesky: lisatimpf.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.timpf.author
Web site: https://lisatimpf.blogspot.com/
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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.
— Timothy S. Johnston, 17 September 2026