silently and very fast
Apr. 21st, 2012 05:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormsewerI mentioned on Twitter that Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne Valente (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yuki_onna) is one of the best stories I ever read. Here are some more detailed thoughts:
I am in shock and awe at how good this story is. This is the first time I've encountered Valente trying her hand at science fiction, and she is actually ridiculously good at it. Part of what makes it so special is that she suffuses the story with her deep understanding of myth and her almost supernatural ability at reinterpreting and reapplying it (which is the sort of thing I suppose fantasy should be about). This brings dimensions to science fiction that you don't usually see, but which, as this story makes abundantly clear, are always lurking beneath the surface. (Recounting the life of Alan Turing in Snow-White terms? Who would even think to do that? And yet it is so perfect, so true. Genius.) Yet another part is that it is an illuminating and provocative meditation on what it really means to exist, to be sentient, to feel (orfeel as the case may be), and to love, and it may even be an attempt to prepare us for the future (which is the sort of thing I suppose science fiction should be about), asking important questions without trying to force-feed the answers (which is the sort of thing I suppose fiction in general should be about).
Many people have made attempts at fusing fantasy and science fiction in the same story, but I've never read anything that evinces such a deep understanding of what these two genres should, at their best, be trying to achieve, and then achieves both simultaneously. Not to mention, the imagery is captivating and immersive, and the pathos is soul-swallowing. It's also the kind of story you can read and re-read, and glean a bit more each time. It's a masterpiece. Seriously, wow.
(It also blows my mind that she can be so prolific and yet so good. You read enough of her and you start to see that much of her stuff can be considered variations on a theme, but the theme is wonderful, and some of the variations (like the one mentioned above) are truly inspired. Another one I'm ridiculously fond of is White Lines on a Green Field.)
yuki_onna) is one of the best stories I ever read. Here are some more detailed thoughts: I am in shock and awe at how good this story is. This is the first time I've encountered Valente trying her hand at science fiction, and she is actually ridiculously good at it. Part of what makes it so special is that she suffuses the story with her deep understanding of myth and her almost supernatural ability at reinterpreting and reapplying it (which is the sort of thing I suppose fantasy should be about). This brings dimensions to science fiction that you don't usually see, but which, as this story makes abundantly clear, are always lurking beneath the surface. (Recounting the life of Alan Turing in Snow-White terms? Who would even think to do that? And yet it is so perfect, so true. Genius.) Yet another part is that it is an illuminating and provocative meditation on what it really means to exist, to be sentient, to feel (or
Many people have made attempts at fusing fantasy and science fiction in the same story, but I've never read anything that evinces such a deep understanding of what these two genres should, at their best, be trying to achieve, and then achieves both simultaneously. Not to mention, the imagery is captivating and immersive, and the pathos is soul-swallowing. It's also the kind of story you can read and re-read, and glean a bit more each time. It's a masterpiece. Seriously, wow.
(It also blows my mind that she can be so prolific and yet so good. You read enough of her and you start to see that much of her stuff can be considered variations on a theme, but the theme is wonderful, and some of the variations (like the one mentioned above) are truly inspired. Another one I'm ridiculously fond of is White Lines on a Green Field.)
