There are times when Amazon’s recommendation engine is off. And when I say off, I’m talking way off. I’d use the phrase ‘out in left field,’ but there are times when it’s not even in the same zip code let alone the same ballpark.
Then there are times when the Amazon recommendation engine is right on the money. It’s like it knows what I’m reading, which, of course, it does. Such was the case when it recommended Impossible Dreams by Tim Pratt. The book checked nearly all of my regular reading boxes – science fiction, new author (for me), and short story. It was a no-brainer to add to my reading list.
Impossible Dreams is a Twilight Zone style story of a film buff who discovers a parallel universe contained inside a video store, which has two key characteristics. First, it is only present for a certain window of time each evening which gets smaller with each passing day. Second, the films in the store come from this parallel universe. In this alternate reality, the films have the same titles and similar plots, but they’ve been altered to contain different actors or to conform better to the director’s original intent. There’s a third twist as well, which involves the things our film buff has to do to actually watch these ‘alternate’ movies. It’s rather humorous to see the lengths he’s willing to go to screen the films.
Impossible Dreams is a cute story. It’s well written, moves quickly, and reads easily. I wouldn’t recommend you drop what you’re doing to read it. However, it’s a short read that’s worth 30 minutes or so of your time. Think of it like watching an episode of the Twilight Zone. It’s a short, entertaining, whimsical story that is certain to bring a smile or two to your face.