Robert Steiner took the title of his collection of short stories, DREAMTIME, from an Aboriginal idea regarding the magical period of time when the world was created. The tales in this collection pay homage to those wrinkles in reality where that dreamtime magic still seems to exist - the unexplainable nooks and crannies where creation still seems to be in flux. The book seems to be designed, in general, to move from stories more well-grounded in reality to those that explore the more mysterious phenomena.

Common themes, such as life after death, reincarnation, religion, evil, politics, memory, and perceptions, show up in many of the stories and help to create a cohesive collection. Life after death and reincarnation are explored from several different angles in the stories "The Student Pilot", "The Returning Student", "The Disappearance", "The Hiker's Tale", and "The Pilgrim". In the first two stories, the protagonist is visited by a student who appears to be the corporeal ghost of a long-dead and famous person. In each case, the ghost or reincarnation seems to be freed from his normal after life duties to experience modern advances in some of their areas of interest. The latter stories involve explorations into life after death with heavy religious tones. "The Pilgrim" walks the reader along the path that leads to, presumably, heaven. It is a refreshing departure from the prevalent image in fiction of a bright light marking the entry into the next world and owes a great deal to C.S. Lewis. "The Hiker's Tale" takes us on a journey into the hazy world between life and death by way of a slow, but comfortingly discombobulating, descent into hypothermia. "The Disappearance" looks at the idea of the Rapture and what it might feel like to those not chosen, but seem to have an idea about what is going on. This story touches on other prevalent themes in the book such as the constantly changing nature of memory and perception.

Themes of memory and perception are explored in "The Disappearance" as discussed, as well as the stories "The Decoy", "Canine Fantasies", "The Uninvited Guest", and "Round Trip". "The Decoy" is the least supernatural of the stories and one of the more interesting. A self-described ugly and foolish looking graduate student takes advantage of how others perceive him, enjoys a summer in Europe, and has his own self-perception altered through a violent experience. The strange world of self perception is again explored in "Canine Fantasies" when a fairly grounded man is forced to confront the fact that he has been blessed, or cursed, with an imaginary dog. The potential ramifications of certain public policies are on display in "The Uninvited Guest" and "Round Trip". Each story is an exceptional display of imagination as the author explores a surreal visit to a lost mansion and the failed return of one of earth's first time-traveling astronauts. Memory and perception again play key roles.

I highly recommend this book. It has the power to both entertain and stir your imagination. The topics explored range from the simple walk in the countryside to life after death, and are treated with equal reverence. DREAMTIME is an excellent book to have with you to take advantage of those times when you are stuck in a line or a waiting room. Take it out, and enjoy any one of these short stories. Time will pass too quickly.