Fairy Tale Spotlight: Paladin of the Lost Hour [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the premise of this story.]

"Paladin of the Lost Hour" is a short science fiction story by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1986. I can't help but feel like I've seen this one before. I did notice that it was adapted into a Twilight Zone episode, but I looked it up and don't really remember it. It might just be Deja Vu.

The story here is about an old man who is actually carrying around the universe's last hour in an old pocket watch. Basically, he is not allowed to use any of that time or else the world will end. And that is a really neat idea. Imagine if you were in charge of keeping the end of the world at bay.

I did spoil this story because the entire premise of it is revealed in the final moments, and I still wanted to write this review. I do like the idea of it, but one weird thing about it is just how secular it is. A pocket watch like this would easily fall under the realm of God, but it seems like it just sort of exists or is the result of the actions of ancient men. But what are you gonna do? It's modern science fiction.

Either way, this one was a fun read, and the way they presented the pocket watch was really surreal and interesting. The author definitely had some really fascinating visuals in his head when he wrote this one. I do recommend it.

This blog was written on August 15, 2024.

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