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A review by isabellarobinson7
Time is the Fire: The Best of Connie Willis by Connie Willis
4.0
Rating: 4 stars
There is a line between clever and weird, and classic sci fi always seems to be teetering on the edge of it. Some lean more to the saner side (think Flowers for Algernon) while others dive head first into the weirdness (Stranger in a Strange Land, Ringworld). Time is the Fire: The Best of Connie Willis is the best example of both. There are a couple truly strange stories in here, but also some really grounded ones. I reviewed every story in this collection (some more effectively than others) so this is going to be a loooong review that probably only Future Me will read. Anyway, letsa go.
A Letter from the Clearys:
Awards and nominations: Nebula winner
So the collection opens with a bang. A Letter from the Clearys was a great short story that is a perfect example of what is literarily possible with a minimal page count. I mean, it's 13 fricken' pages! Set during a nuclear winter, it's essentially a post apocalyptic story, but since it is told from the point of view of a child, it doesn't really feel that way until about half way through. There is a dog too, and we always appreciate canine representation.
At the Rialto:
Awards and nominations: Nebula winner; Hugo and Locus nominee
I took forever to read this collection almost entirely due to this story. I kept trying to understand it. Was Connie Willis just being so incredibly smart that everything went over my head? Was I trying to find something that wasn’t there and Willis was simply writing the story as it seemed?
On the surface, At the Rialto is set during a conference surrounding quantum theory, and there is this physicist that is constantly being pursued by this dude and she keeps saying no. Under the surface, however, At the Rialto is a complex story where each character cleverly mirrors elements in the scientific field of quantum theory. BUT the manner that quantum physics is applied to the plot is obscured by the way that it is all portrayed as a Hollywood screwball comedy. Make sense? No? Well, then you understand just as much as I do. And I'm the one who's read the dang thing.
Death on the Nile:
Awards and nominations: Hugo winner; Nebula and Locus nominee
Yesss this one is right up my alley: Agatha Christie and mythology. Fundamentally, Death on the Nile (not to be confused with the Christie novel) is about these tourists in Egypt who end up behaving strangely, like they are characters from Egyptian mythology. It's not so directly paralleled, though, as in it's not shoved in your face that this person is Osiris and this one is Set, but more so in that subtle way Connie Willis is so proficient at. Then we get to the end. Ever heard of open endings? Well, this one is about as open as a-
The Soul Selects Her own Society:
Awards and nominations: Hugo winner; Locus nominee
This one was tiny. Only 10 pages. And yet it still manages to be the weirdest story in here. I will tell you what it is about, but you will just have to take my word for it, because reading this back, I don't even believe myself. This "short story" is actually a (fictional) literature student's dissertation, and the full title is The Soul Selects Her Own Society: Invasion and Repulsion: A Chronological Reinterpretation of Two of Emily Dickinson's Poems: A Wellsian Perspective. It is about Emily Dickinson being a zombie and therefore witnessing the Martian invasion of Earth (i.e. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells) and then writing poems about it. And these poems scared the Martians away because of Dickinson's rhyming. Yes, that is genuinely the premise of this story.
Fire Watch:
Awards and nominations: Hugo and Nebula winner; Locus nominee
Already read this one. Review here
Inside Job:
Awards and nominations: Hugo winner; Locus nominee
This story is about a dude who goes to spiritual stuff like séances to debunk them and expose the coordinators as frauds. He also has an associate who is a fancy movie star and is pretty. They go to this spooky Egyptian-style medium person who they want to expose as fake. Then some creepy stuff happens. Overall, the story is fine, if not my particular taste. Perhaps my least favourite in the collection.
Even the Queen:
Awards and nominations: Hugo, Locus and Nebula winner
This one is about periods. No, not the American version on a full stop, I mean menstrual cycles. Monthlies. Menses. When Aunt Flo comes to visit. Basically, it's set in the near future where women have found a way to stop themselves from having periods, full stop. (Ha ha, just realised what I did there.) There is this group of people called the Cyclists who are essentially a cult, and they like to have periods (or something) so they continue to bleed every month because they are making some statement. It's by and large Connie Willis saying "Fine. You want a feminist sci-fi story? Here. Here's your feminist sci-fi story." It also includes this absolutely brilliant quote:
The Winds of Marble Arch:
Awards and nominations: Hugo winner; Locus and World Fantasy Award nominee
This one is Connie Willis' love letter to the London Underground. Now I've only ever been on above ground trains, and even then only a handful of times, so I have to take Willis' word for how great the Underground really is. I mean, she says it's her favourite place in London besides St. Paul's, which is certainly is high praise. The Winds of Marble Arch is more of a domestic, grounded sci fi story, and the sci fi elements (which are probably more fantasy, if you think about it) are subtle. Isn't my favourite, but good all the same.
All Seated on the Ground:
Awards and nominations: Hugo winner; Locus nominee
This one is about an alien invasion, but the aliens are boring. They just stand there and look disapproving. (In my head, they looked like those bulbous head dudes from the first Star Trek pilot, but that's just me.) Humans try anything and everything in attempts at provoking them (almost every alien invasion movie you can think of is referenced) and still, nothing. The story follows a journalist who is documenting the aliens (i.e. trying to get them to do something so she can film it) when one day, they just sit down. What ensues is a bunch of religious nuts yelling obscenities, quite a few choir practices, a budding romance that I didn't hate for once, many nagging pre-teen girls, and a whole lot of violent Christmas carols. I don't think I can sum it up any better than that.
The Last of the Winnebagos:
Awards and nominations: Hugo and Nebula winner; Locus nominee
This one is the most bleak post-apocalyptic stories out there. It is the worst, dismalest, grimmest, saddest, most miserably depressing story you will probably ever read. In The Last of the Winnebagos, Connie Willis uses the most harrowingly joyless premise she could scrounge up from the deepest, darkest depths of human consciousness. (Have I used the thesaurus enough yet?) This story takes place after a plague has wiped out humanity’s only happiness: dogs. I know. How much more traumatic can you get.
In all seriousness, this story was really hard to read as a dog owner. Willis must have owned a dog herself at some point, because she really knows just how to pull on those particular strings of grief. I won't go much more into it, only just to say that this story should come with some serious trigger warnings about the reopening of old childhood wounds.
The book ends with some speeches Connie Willis has given over her career. There is the wonderful story on how she married her husband (it has to do with Lord of the Rings), and this scarily accurate line about staying up late to finish books that I, at ten past twelve in the morning, almost checked for hidden cameras.
And with that, I mark this review as DONE.
There is a line between clever and weird, and classic sci fi always seems to be teetering on the edge of it. Some lean more to the saner side (think Flowers for Algernon) while others dive head first into the weirdness (Stranger in a Strange Land, Ringworld). Time is the Fire: The Best of Connie Willis is the best example of both. There are a couple truly strange stories in here, but also some really grounded ones. I reviewed every story in this collection (some more effectively than others) so this is going to be a loooong review that probably only Future Me will read. Anyway, letsa go.
A Letter from the Clearys:
Awards and nominations: Nebula winner
So the collection opens with a bang. A Letter from the Clearys was a great short story that is a perfect example of what is literarily possible with a minimal page count. I mean, it's 13 fricken' pages! Set during a nuclear winter, it's essentially a post apocalyptic story, but since it is told from the point of view of a child, it doesn't really feel that way until about half way through. There is a dog too, and we always appreciate canine representation.
At the Rialto:
Awards and nominations: Nebula winner; Hugo and Locus nominee
I took forever to read this collection almost entirely due to this story. I kept trying to understand it. Was Connie Willis just being so incredibly smart that everything went over my head? Was I trying to find something that wasn’t there and Willis was simply writing the story as it seemed?
On the surface, At the Rialto is set during a conference surrounding quantum theory, and there is this physicist that is constantly being pursued by this dude and she keeps saying no. Under the surface, however, At the Rialto is a complex story where each character cleverly mirrors elements in the scientific field of quantum theory. BUT the manner that quantum physics is applied to the plot is obscured by the way that it is all portrayed as a Hollywood screwball comedy. Make sense? No? Well, then you understand just as much as I do. And I'm the one who's read the dang thing.
Death on the Nile:
Awards and nominations: Hugo winner; Nebula and Locus nominee
Yesss this one is right up my alley: Agatha Christie and mythology. Fundamentally, Death on the Nile (not to be confused with the Christie novel) is about these tourists in Egypt who end up behaving strangely, like they are characters from Egyptian mythology. It's not so directly paralleled, though, as in it's not shoved in your face that this person is Osiris and this one is Set, but more so in that subtle way Connie Willis is so proficient at. Then we get to the end. Ever heard of open endings? Well, this one is about as open as a-
The Soul Selects Her own Society:
Awards and nominations: Hugo winner; Locus nominee
This one was tiny. Only 10 pages. And yet it still manages to be the weirdest story in here. I will tell you what it is about, but you will just have to take my word for it, because reading this back, I don't even believe myself. This "short story" is actually a (fictional) literature student's dissertation, and the full title is The Soul Selects Her Own Society: Invasion and Repulsion: A Chronological Reinterpretation of Two of Emily Dickinson's Poems: A Wellsian Perspective. It is about Emily Dickinson being a zombie and therefore witnessing the Martian invasion of Earth (i.e. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells) and then writing poems about it. And these poems scared the Martians away because of Dickinson's rhyming. Yes, that is genuinely the premise of this story.
Fire Watch:
Awards and nominations: Hugo and Nebula winner; Locus nominee
Already read this one. Review here
Inside Job:
Awards and nominations: Hugo winner; Locus nominee
This story is about a dude who goes to spiritual stuff like séances to debunk them and expose the coordinators as frauds. He also has an associate who is a fancy movie star and is pretty. They go to this spooky Egyptian-style medium person who they want to expose as fake. Then some creepy stuff happens. Overall, the story is fine, if not my particular taste. Perhaps my least favourite in the collection.
Even the Queen:
Awards and nominations: Hugo, Locus and Nebula winner
This one is about periods. No, not the American version on a full stop, I mean menstrual cycles. Monthlies. Menses. When Aunt Flo comes to visit. Basically, it's set in the near future where women have found a way to stop themselves from having periods, full stop. (Ha ha, just realised what I did there.) There is this group of people called the Cyclists who are essentially a cult, and they like to have periods (or something) so they continue to bleed every month because they are making some statement. It's by and large Connie Willis saying "Fine. You want a feminist sci-fi story? Here. Here's your feminist sci-fi story." It also includes this absolutely brilliant quote:
" 'You know what I've always wondered?' Karen said, leaning conspiratorially close to Mother. 'If Maggie Thatcher's menopause was responsible for the Falklands War.' "
The Winds of Marble Arch:
Awards and nominations: Hugo winner; Locus and World Fantasy Award nominee
This one is Connie Willis' love letter to the London Underground. Now I've only ever been on above ground trains, and even then only a handful of times, so I have to take Willis' word for how great the Underground really is. I mean, she says it's her favourite place in London besides St. Paul's, which is certainly is high praise. The Winds of Marble Arch is more of a domestic, grounded sci fi story, and the sci fi elements (which are probably more fantasy, if you think about it) are subtle. Isn't my favourite, but good all the same.
All Seated on the Ground:
Awards and nominations: Hugo winner; Locus nominee
This one is about an alien invasion, but the aliens are boring. They just stand there and look disapproving. (In my head, they looked like those bulbous head dudes from the first Star Trek pilot, but that's just me.) Humans try anything and everything in attempts at provoking them (almost every alien invasion movie you can think of is referenced) and still, nothing. The story follows a journalist who is documenting the aliens (i.e. trying to get them to do something so she can film it) when one day, they just sit down. What ensues is a bunch of religious nuts yelling obscenities, quite a few choir practices, a budding romance that I didn't hate for once, many nagging pre-teen girls, and a whole lot of violent Christmas carols. I don't think I can sum it up any better than that.
The Last of the Winnebagos:
Awards and nominations: Hugo and Nebula winner; Locus nominee
This one is the most bleak post-apocalyptic stories out there. It is the worst, dismalest, grimmest, saddest, most miserably depressing story you will probably ever read. In The Last of the Winnebagos, Connie Willis uses the most harrowingly joyless premise she could scrounge up from the deepest, darkest depths of human consciousness. (Have I used the thesaurus enough yet?) This story takes place after a plague has wiped out humanity’s only happiness: dogs. I know. How much more traumatic can you get.
In all seriousness, this story was really hard to read as a dog owner. Willis must have owned a dog herself at some point, because she really knows just how to pull on those particular strings of grief. I won't go much more into it, only just to say that this story should come with some serious trigger warnings about the reopening of old childhood wounds.
The book ends with some speeches Connie Willis has given over her career. There is the wonderful story on how she married her husband (it has to do with Lord of the Rings), and this scarily accurate line about staying up late to finish books that I, at ten past twelve in the morning, almost checked for hidden cameras.
And with that, I mark this review as DONE.