A short story collection including Bob Shaw's "Slow Glass" story

[Toby Frost]

This is a book of short SF stories, possibly with a name like "Visions" (but not Dangerous Visions). The lead story was "Light Of Other Days" by Bob Shaw. Another story deals with a group of pious time travellers who go to the crucifixion and, in trying to fit in, accidentally cause the death of Jesus. The cover of the version I read (many years ago) had stars on it. None of the stories would be less than 30 years old.

Thanks!

 

[Peter V]

Could the Jesus story be Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock? That is in a collection with Light of Other Days

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

"Light of Other Days" has been reprinted many, many times.

Title: Light of Other Days

www.isfdb.org

None of the books in which it appeared have the word "visions" in the title, however.

Based on the clue about the other story, I wonder if it would be the collection Constellations: Stories of the Future, which also contains "Let's Go to Golgotha!" by Gerry Kilworth.

Let's Go to Golgotha! - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

!

Time-travelling tourists go on a "Crucifixion Tour". The tour operator warns the tourists that they must not do anything to disrupt history: specifically, when the crowd is asked whether to spare Jesus or Barabbas, the tourists must all join the call "Give us Barabbas!" (a priest absolves them from any guilt for so doing). However, when the moment comes, the protagonist suddenly realizes that the crowd condemning Jesus to the cross is composed entirely of tourists from the future, and that no actual Jewish Jerusalemites of 33 AD are present at all.

Does either of these covers ring a bell?

 

[Toby Frost]

Neither cover rings a bell, but I'm sure it's Constellations. I think I remembered the stars from the title as the cover image. I think it also contained "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut and "Beyond Lies the Wub" by Philip K Dick. Thanks - I'll have to get a copy!

 

[Venusian Broon]

Was the Slow Glass story the one where a murder or something is committed in front of the huge pane of glass that takes light, years to go through, so they have to wait to catch the killer???

 

[Peter V]

Was the Slow Glass story the one where a murder or something is committed in front of the huge pane of glass that takes light, years to go through, so they have to wait to catch the killer???

No, not Light of Other Days but Shaw used the idea in other stories, so it could be in one those. The original idea & story are absolutely brilliant

 

[Venusian Broon]

No, not Light of Other Days but Shaw used the idea in other stories, so it could be in one those. The original idea & story are absolutely brilliant

I think I'm thinking about the story 'Retroactive' that is in the Universe 2 compilation book edited by Terry Carr. Although I can't find any summary of the story online and I have no idea where I picked up and read that compilation!

 

[Hugh]

I think I'm thinking about the story 'Retroactive' that is in the Universe 2 compilation book edited by Terry Carr. Although I can't find any summary of the story online and I have no idea where I picked up and read that compilation!

Also possibly "Burden of Proof" in Analog 7. I don't recall details or have the book to hand but my notes read "Retired Judge Harpur is waiting for crucial evidence to be revealed through a panel of slow glass".

 

[Matteo]

Was the Slow Glass story the one where a murder or something is committed in front of the huge pane of glass that takes light, years to go through, so they have to wait to catch the killer???

Are you maybe thinking of Burden of Proof (which was 'fixed-up' as part of Other Days, Other Lives)? In that, a retired judge is watching some slow glass to see if he was right to sentence a man for murder. It's also in the Analog 7 collection.

 

[Matteo]

Ahh...beaten by @Hugh who leapt in as my computer went down...

 

[Venusian Broon]

@Hugh @Matteo Very probably. I definitely read it in a short story collection, but as I don't have Analog 7 in my index of books who knows where I read it

 

[Matteo]

Same here for Let's Go to Golgotha!. I read the story years ago but don't have, or recognise, any of the collections it is in.

Although the Wikipedia description (found by @Victoria Silverwolf) is not quite correct; it's the actual time traveller of the story (a young kid, I think) that shouts out "Barabbus".

 

[tinkerdan]

This is the isfdb page with all the covers for publications with Light of Other Days

All Covers for Light of Other Days

www.isfdb.org

Unfortunately I think it might be incomplete but I will have to hunt for the book I have to demonstrate that
.

Ah...there it is.