15 Mar The Zen Time Traveler
★ A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY EDITOR’S PICK ★
Stephen Maine is a middle-aged project manager navigating the collapse of his marriage and the quiet despair of modern burnout. But his weekly Zen meditation class in a Massachusetts church basement offers an unexpected escape. By reciting a mysterious haiku, Stephen finds his consciousness hurtled across the space-time continuum, landing squarely in the body of Wùkōng, a Japanese monk traveling through Song Dynasty China in the year 1225.
In this vibrant, dangerous ancient world, Zen koans are not abstract intellectual riddles—they are visceral, life-or-death encounters with legendary Chan masters. As Stephen navigates this dual existence, he finds himself increasingly drawn to the past, captivated by a fierce, magical sword maker named Yabaku, and the thrilling asceticism of his host’s spiritual quest.
Yet, the fabric of history is delicate. Stephen belatedly realizes that his host, Wùkōng, is none other than Dogen, the revered founder of Japanese Soto Zen. Caught between a fantastical past and his disintegrating reality in 2024, Stephen faces a profound choice. To save the future of a global spiritual tradition, he must confront his own attachments, relinquish his escapist fantasies, and do the hardest thing of all: return to his own flawed life…
• • •
- Legacy Edition (Hardcover) | Full-Color Premium Interior | Available June 21, 2026
- Collector Edition (Paperback) | Full-Color Illustrated Interior | Available June 21, 2026
- Digital Edition (eBook) | Available June 21, 2026 (Pre-Order May 15, 2026)
- Standard Edition (Paperback) | B&W | Expected Fall 2026
TECHNICAL INFORMATIONS
Page count
236
Format
6 x 9 in
ISBN
Paperback: 9781788946896
Hardback: 9781788946988
Price (suggested, in USD)
Paperback: 29.90
Hardback: 44.90
eBook: 9.90
LOOK INSIDE
Early Reviews for The Zen Time Traveler
“In The Zen Time Traveler, Stephen Billias offers up a wild joyride through the temples of ancient China. This read is a romp that honors the great Zen masters while exploring the age-old universal ache of clinging, in this case to two different worlds. Forget about quiet sitting; this is a whirlwind tour of the 13th century masters, filled with classical koans, spiritual comedy, and fun.” —Chōbun Nenzen, Abiding Teacher, Jikoji Zen Center
“Definitely worth reading and rereading! The Zen Time Traveler tells an engrossing story that explores multiple dimensions of time, space, and personal identity, while at the same time providing a unique opportunity for beginners, and experienced practitioners as well, to contemplate Zen koans and their implications.” —Barbara McHugh, Teacher of Buddhism and meditation & author of the award-winning novel Bride of the Buddha
“It’s an oft-repeated cliché that the journey is more important than the destination. But in Stephen Billias’s The Zen Time Traveler, the journey is the destination. For those familiar with Zen koans, it will be an uncommon and moving quest to find meaning in their purposeful ambiguity. For the rest of us, it’s an encouragement to continue seeking. Because even if we never get where we thought we were going, we’ll learn a lot about ourselves on the way.” —John Harrison, Writer, Director; Tales From The Darkside, Frank Herbert’s Dune, The Miniseries; Author of the novels Passing Through Veils and Residue
“Stephen Billias has combined the hard-won wisdom of a student of Zen with the imagination of the free-wheeling storyteller. In a wise and witty tale that visits many of the touchstones of the Zen tradition, Billias hustles his narrator through space and time, imparting numerous delicious insights along with way. Western Zen has found a lively contemporary voice in The Zen Time Traveler.” —Pierce Butler, author of A Child of the Sun and student of Zen
★ A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY EDITOR’S PICK ★
Billias (A Book of Fields) launches readers into a sweeping saga following modern-day Zen student Stephen Maine—self-described as “everymanish”—who finds himself unexpectedly transported into Song Dynasty China while meditating. When Stephen fixates on a haiku during Zen class one day, he’s propelled into the body of a 13th century monk named Wùkōng. As he walks ancient monastery halls, encounters masters, and grapples with paradoxical koans, Stephen struggles to balance these experiences with his real-life responsibilities, particularly his modern-day marriage to Joanna.
Billias drops readers into the contemplative world of Zen then peels back layers to show the challenge of living with awareness while caught between two realities. Through Stephen’s eyes, we witness the tension between intellectual understanding and lived experience. His literal immersion into koans forces him to confront Zen principles like detachment, presence, and the illusory nature of time, prompting his reflection, “The koans are a way for us to examine ourselves… The koans are mirrors. I didn’t like what I was seeing in the mirror.” Stephen’s obsession with Yabaku, the mysterious sword-maker, probes human attachment and desire, while the story’s shifts through time and space eventually reveal that Stephen’s host, Wùkōng, happens to be Dogen—the monk who established Japanese Sōtō Zen. That revelation carries with it the potential to change history.
The story is at once a journey, a spiritual exploration, and a meditation on the ways time, perception, and devotion intersect. Billias’s style draws readers directly into Stephen’s experience, with immersive prose that paints vivid scenes of Song Dynasty monasteries and Zen rituals. Readers experience Stephen’s bewilderment, awe, and attachment as his disorienting episodes leave him wondering how he can have “the time of my life back there while my twenty-first-century life was slowly unraveling, disintegrating.” Though the narrative occasionally slows in internal reflection, the rhythm mirrors meditation itself, resulting in a seamless exploration of presence, awareness, and human longing.
Takeaway: Speculative journey into ancient Zen koans and self-awareness.
Comparable Titles: David Guy’s Jake Fades, Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
► Read the full review on BookLife / Publishers Weekly.
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