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raven_morgan's review against another edition
5.0
Read as part of the Hugo packet 2013.
Loved this the first time I read this, loved it reading it again. So creepy and beautiful.
Merged review:
One of my favourite Valente stories, and one of my picks for the Hugo novelette category for 2013.
Loved this the first time I read this, loved it reading it again. So creepy and beautiful.
Merged review:
One of my favourite Valente stories, and one of my picks for the Hugo novelette category for 2013.
setauuta's review against another edition
4.0
It's a very strange "story," and a little esoteric for my taste.
Merged review:
An interesting take on a dystopia, though I was left a little confused by when this was supposed to take place. I liked having the ad copy in between the sections of narrative, since that gave some good color to the world.
Merged review:
An interesting take on a dystopia, though I was left a little confused by when this was supposed to take place. I liked having the ad copy in between the sections of narrative, since that gave some good color to the world.
tanya_the_spack's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it. A snapshot of a fascinating post-apocalyptic world. I want to spend more time in this world.
sonofthe's review against another edition
4.0
Not so much a story as an art guide to future mantises. Interesting.
Merged review:
Alternate-history post-apocalyptic dystopia. Writing that out makes it seem like too many sub-genres smashed together, but this is really a good character-driven story about people in that setting. I immediately wanted to read it again, but I'm working with a deadline.
Merged review:
Alternate-history post-apocalyptic dystopia. Writing that out makes it seem like too many sub-genres smashed together, but this is really a good character-driven story about people in that setting. I immediately wanted to read it again, but I'm working with a deadline.
cybergit's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first copy of Clarkesworld I have read and I must say that it shows all of the other speculative fiction monthly magazines a clean pair of heels. I have been reading Analog and Asimov for many years. Recently I've felt that they have become a little formulaic. I found Clarkesworld from a recommendation on the podcast "The Starship Sofa" (if you like sci-fi and have not heard this podcast - what are you doing! - download it NOW!)
The thing I particularly like is the verity of stories and the way the Editor looks for quality stories rather than what is the current fashion. One of my big gripes with Analog is that it was not challenging me, giving me what I like rather than pushing me towards new things.
The non fiction stuff is also excellent. The interview with Mieville is very well done. Some great questions which draws out a lot of interesting stuff on Mieville's writing process.
I might have said this before, but the subscription service through the Kindle is exceptional. I just set it up and the moment the next issue arrives it is delivered to my device - Magic! The Clarkesworld people seem to like the system as well. This makes me happy, as I feel the path between my money and the creative people is as short as possible. There is no publishing, marketing, distributor, agent or other company creaming off my subscription. It may not be strictly true as I am sure that Amazon take a cut but I'm sure more of my money gets to the "starving artist" than if I had bought the physical product from a book shop.
The thing I particularly like is the verity of stories and the way the Editor looks for quality stories rather than what is the current fashion. One of my big gripes with Analog is that it was not challenging me, giving me what I like rather than pushing me towards new things.
The non fiction stuff is also excellent. The interview with Mieville is very well done. Some great questions which draws out a lot of interesting stuff on Mieville's writing process.
I might have said this before, but the subscription service through the Kindle is exceptional. I just set it up and the moment the next issue arrives it is delivered to my device - Magic! The Clarkesworld people seem to like the system as well. This makes me happy, as I feel the path between my money and the creative people is as short as possible. There is no publishing, marketing, distributor, agent or other company creaming off my subscription. It may not be strictly true as I am sure that Amazon take a cut but I'm sure more of my money gets to the "starving artist" than if I had bought the physical product from a book shop.
nataliya_x's review against another edition
4.0
---This is a review of Fade to White by Catherynne M. Valente, which appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 71 ---
Catherynne M. Valente builds strange and unsettling worlds with the precision and vividness of paintbrush strokes. The experience of reading her stories is like looking at a canvas from close-up - the multitude of swirls and lines and colors suddenly fall together in the stunning finished image once you take a step back and marvel at it.
Valente does not set up her worlds with a concise description or a neat infodump at the beginning of her tales; instead, she draws the readers into the story, allowing them to feel the ambiance, live the setting, have it crawl under their skin, thus creating the final, finished image.
And this is how we get to see something new - the alternate history of the 1960s in the world where there was retaliation for Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing, and the very real war that was anything but 'Cold', and McCarthy is President - and yet the 'traditional' American life (or what we think of as the stagnating 1950s with the babies and 'Honey, I'm home!' and seemingly idyllic Caucasian (of course!) family life and all that) continues - or, at least, the appearance of it, the pretense that nothing has changed. Even though it did - but you have to go on pretending it did not.
The two central characters in this story are Sylvie and Martin. Sylvie, a fifteen-year-old girl on a brink of inevitable engagement to fulfill her fertile role in this new/old society (and with a secret she shares with her mother, and another secret that she shares with a boy who's not white enough to fit into this world). Martin is a fifteen-year-old boy who dreams of nothing besides being a Husband, is filled to the brim with such genuine sincerity that it hurts, and looks forward to his Father's visits for a week each month.
They inhabit this world of picture-perfect America with the background of Geiger counters and Victory Brand Capsule Gardens ("Fight the Communist Threat in Your Own Backyard!") and Glass of California ("On the white sheet, they watched California melt.") and increasingly Japanese Utah, and possible future closeness with the Bouffant, and the all-approved Father's Day products advertised by a couple of cute children ("Note to Casting: get us a boy and a girl, blonde, white, under ten, make sure the boy is taller than the girl. Put them in sailor suits, everyone likes that.")
The full free text of this novella can be found here, on the Clarkesworld Magazine site. An audio version is here, too, if you prefer hearing it.
As a bonus, if you happen to be a China Miéville fan, like me, this issue also has an interview with CM here. Enjoy!
——————
Recommended by: Heidi
Catherynne M. Valente builds strange and unsettling worlds with the precision and vividness of paintbrush strokes. The experience of reading her stories is like looking at a canvas from close-up - the multitude of swirls and lines and colors suddenly fall together in the stunning finished image once you take a step back and marvel at it.
Valente does not set up her worlds with a concise description or a neat infodump at the beginning of her tales; instead, she draws the readers into the story, allowing them to feel the ambiance, live the setting, have it crawl under their skin, thus creating the final, finished image.
This is how we saw the mythical country of Buyan and the dying besieged Leningrad, the strange skin-etched sexually-transmitted city of Palimpsest, the ever-shifting Interior of Elefsis, and the strangely whimsical Fairyland.
And this is how we get to see something new - the alternate history of the 1960s in the world where there was retaliation for Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing, and the very real war that was anything but 'Cold', and McCarthy is President - and yet the 'traditional' American life (or what we think of as the stagnating 1950s with the babies and 'Honey, I'm home!' and seemingly idyllic Caucasian (of course!) family life and all that) continues - or, at least, the appearance of it, the pretense that nothing has changed. Even though it did - but you have to go on pretending it did not.
"The mayor gave a speech. They watched a recorded message from President McCarthy's pre-war daughter Tierney, a pioneer in the program, one of the first to volunteer. Our numbers have been depleted by the Germans, the Japanese, and now the Godless Russians. Of the American men still living only 12% are fertile. But we are not Communists. We cannot become profligate, wasteful, decadent.We must maintain our moral way of life. As little as possible should change from the world your mothers knew—at least on the surface. And with time, what appears on the surface will penetrate to the core, and all will be restored. We will not sacrifice our way of life."
The two central characters in this story are Sylvie and Martin. Sylvie, a fifteen-year-old girl on a brink of inevitable engagement to fulfill her fertile role in this new/old society (and with a secret she shares with her mother, and another secret that she shares with a boy who's not white enough to fit into this world). Martin is a fifteen-year-old boy who dreams of nothing besides being a Husband, is filled to the brim with such genuine sincerity that it hurts, and looks forward to his Father's visits for a week each month.
They inhabit this world of picture-perfect America with the background of Geiger counters and Victory Brand Capsule Gardens ("Fight the Communist Threat in Your Own Backyard!") and Glass of California ("On the white sheet, they watched California melt.") and increasingly Japanese Utah, and possible future closeness with the Bouffant, and the all-approved Father's Day products advertised by a couple of cute children ("Note to Casting: get us a boy and a girl, blonde, white, under ten, make sure the boy is taller than the girl. Put them in sailor suits, everyone likes that.")
"As little as possible should change."The story unfolds bit by bit, and with it the entire picture of the horror of this false picture-perfect world, chilling and yet not that difficult to imagine. Sad and bleak, and memorable in the lovely narrative voice of Cat Valente, it left a clear imprint on my heart. 4 stars. Valente continues to amaze.
"On the sheet, the Golden Gate Bridge vanished.----------
Sylvie rolled the reel back. They watched it over and over. A fleck of nothing dropping out of the sky and then, then the flash, a devouring, brain-boiling, half-sublime sheet of white that blossomed like a flower out of a dead rod, an infinite white everything that obliterated the screen.
Fade to black.
And over the black, a cheerful fat man giving the thumbs up to Sylvie, grinning:
Buy Freedom Brand Film! It's A-OK!"
The full free text of this novella can be found here, on the Clarkesworld Magazine site. An audio version is here, too, if you prefer hearing it.
As a bonus, if you happen to be a China Miéville fan, like me, this issue also has an interview with CM here. Enjoy!
——————
Recommended by: Heidi
booksandbosox's review against another edition
5.0
Is there anything Cat Valente can't write? I'm just in awe every time I read something by her - this novelette is no exception. Brilliant and captivating.
spacescape's review against another edition
4.0
"The Third Bear": What a pleasure to read some early work by Jeff Vandermeer before his eventual success. This is a fantastically-written horror/ psychological thriller set in fantastical/ medieval times in a small town near a large forest. An unseen monster haunts and silently kills many who enter the forest, and it's up to the town to figure out why. A particular town member has visions of the beast, the horror it creates, and knows what he must do to stop the killings. A truly enjoyable read!
"The First Female President": damn. Zero percent what I was expecting. Well written and accurate portrayal of domestic violence gone worse than imagined. Not sure how this story is sci-fi related, but what a great (horrible/ sad?) idea at the end. This is nuts and it was a tough read, emotionally.
"The First Female President": damn. Zero percent what I was expecting. Well written and accurate portrayal of domestic violence gone worse than imagined. Not sure how this story is sci-fi related, but what a great (horrible/ sad?) idea at the end. This is nuts and it was a tough read, emotionally.
jen1110's review against another edition
5.0
Please, oh please, oh please let this win a Hugo! This is OUTSTANDING!! I have not the words. It's distilled awesome and lyrical and terrifying and and and.
Yes. I liked it. Lots.
Yes. I liked it. Lots.
tachyondecay's review against another edition
3.0
The novelette offers an opportunity to experiment in a way that short stories and novels don’t often do. You have much more room in which to create a world than a short story, where a glimpse at the larger picture is often all that you can afford. On the other hand, unlike a novel, there is no requirement to have a lengthy plot. With “Fade to White”, Catherine Valente depicts a world torn apart by war and a society that has changed dramatically to compensate. She uses the length of the novelette to delve in and out of different parts of this world, even as she constructs a simple plot about coming of age after the apocalypse.
“Fade to White” is set in an alternate 1950s United States. This is a country recovering from the aftermath of nuclear warfare. McCarthy is in the White House. With much of the population infertile, those who can reproduce are valued for this act, elevated to the role of Mother and Father. Since fertile men are in much smaller supply than women, each Father has four households that he visits in a weekly rotation. Sterile men and women become civil servants, imbibing by order of the state a drug that suppresses their sex drives and makes them happy with their lot in life. Valente doesn’t give us much of an idea of the diversity of occupations in this society, but we spend a lot of time learning about how propaganda works.
The underlying irony of this story is simple: America won the war, presumably, only to turn into the very type of paternalistic, fascist state that they were fighting against. Mutually assured destruction was not so mutual, but it was definitely assured, and now the survivors are trying to pick up the pieces. The government has had to make a lot of hard decisions about how to keep the country together; I don’t envy the leaders who had to step up to the plate after whatever disaster befell them. Valente handles the horror of this world with a light touch, guiding us towards the realization of what has happened but not actively preaching against it. I found this to be a very effective and satisfying way of handling the story.
I’m not sure this novelette is experimental so much as it is a return to older forms. It reminds me of something that an author out of previous generations, someone like Bradbury, might have written. It has that same concern with using science-fiction to depict what society could become, if certain excesses occur. And it has the same dour tone mixed with a kind of dark but situational humour. Retro in feeling, this is a charming but also chilling story that I’d definitely recommend.
“Fade to White” is set in an alternate 1950s United States. This is a country recovering from the aftermath of nuclear warfare. McCarthy is in the White House. With much of the population infertile, those who can reproduce are valued for this act, elevated to the role of Mother and Father. Since fertile men are in much smaller supply than women, each Father has four households that he visits in a weekly rotation. Sterile men and women become civil servants, imbibing by order of the state a drug that suppresses their sex drives and makes them happy with their lot in life. Valente doesn’t give us much of an idea of the diversity of occupations in this society, but we spend a lot of time learning about how propaganda works.
The underlying irony of this story is simple: America won the war, presumably, only to turn into the very type of paternalistic, fascist state that they were fighting against. Mutually assured destruction was not so mutual, but it was definitely assured, and now the survivors are trying to pick up the pieces. The government has had to make a lot of hard decisions about how to keep the country together; I don’t envy the leaders who had to step up to the plate after whatever disaster befell them. Valente handles the horror of this world with a light touch, guiding us towards the realization of what has happened but not actively preaching against it. I found this to be a very effective and satisfying way of handling the story.
I’m not sure this novelette is experimental so much as it is a return to older forms. It reminds me of something that an author out of previous generations, someone like Bradbury, might have written. It has that same concern with using science-fiction to depict what society could become, if certain excesses occur. And it has the same dour tone mixed with a kind of dark but situational humour. Retro in feeling, this is a charming but also chilling story that I’d definitely recommend.