Glimpses by Lewis Shiner
Ray Shackleford is trying to deal with the death of his father and the collapse of his marriage when the impossible happens. Music that no one has ever heard before begins to play from his stereo speakers. It is only the first step on a journey that will take him to Los Angeles, London, Cozumel, and points far beyond, and bring him face to face with Jim Morrison, Brian Wilson, Jimi Hendrix-and his own mortality.
In Rock and Roll is Here to Stay, Glimpses is excerpted; it was intriguing enough that I wanted to pull up the rest of the novel. I love the idea of a rock and roll time travel novel, and the excerpt I read was sufficiently thoughtful to make me sure it wasn’t just a gimmick.
The proprietor of The Guilded Earlobe enjoyed it, despite not having any personal connection to the music covered, proving it can work on its own. Kirkus Reviews finds it authentic, if a bit transparent in its target audience. J. Stephen Bolhafner, writing for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, found it satisfying, although he sounds very dismissive of its speculative elements. Publishers Weekly very much enjoyed it, especially its emotional content.
Glimpses was published on July 19th, 1993.
