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Getting to Know You
Book by Marusek, David
297 pages, Hardcover
First published January 25, 2007
11 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
David Marusek
47 books116 followersAuthor David Marusek writes science fiction in a cabin in Fairbanks, Alaska. His work has appeared in Playboy, Nature, MIT Technology Review, Asimov’s, and other periodicals and anthologies and has been translated into ten languages. According to Publisher's Weekly, “Marusek's writing is ferociously smart, simultaneously horrific and funny, as he forces readers to stretch their imaginations and sympathies." His two novels and clutch of short stories have earned him numerous award nominations and have won the Theodore Sturgeon and Endeavour awards. “. . . Marusek could be the one sci-fi writer in a million with the potential to make an increasingly indifferent audience care about the genre again . . .”—New York Times Book Review. “Marusek is one of the relatively few contemporary sf writers who seems deeply responsive to the contemporary world”—Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. His current novel project, Camp Tribulation, is a tale of love, faith, and alien invasion set in the Alaskan bush.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 26, 2017
David Marusek made quite a splash with his debut novel - the clever, dizzyingly dense sci-fi tale of a horribly breezy future, Counting Heads. this collection of short stories illustrates the many talents (and slight limitations) of a writer who may be agape at the potential wonder of our future, but who is also quite aghast at its conceivable horrors. Marusek writes with considerable humor and formidable élan. most of his stories are successful ones, with their only notably serious drawback being their tendency towards obviousness in the charting of how certain modern trends (communication by technological proxy, anti-technological bias, drooling media coverage of violent events) can't help but result in dehumanization. several of these tales are set in the world of Counting Heads - a personal favorite being the title story, in which the origin of the suave, sinister AI known as Nicholas is recounted.
central to the collection is the novella The Wedding Album.
this is an amazing achievement, a 5-star story that expanded my mind with possibility when reading it. literally expanded it! sometimes it hurt my poor skull - the pressure, the pressure! the story starts with a small idea (what if we could "cast" ourselves in holographic renditions of our lives' key moments - say, a wedding day - in order to revisit them at our leisure?) and rapidly proceeds to expand upon that possibility in almost every conceivable direction.
what would that holographic rendition think?
how would our mood during the original casting impact the emotional make-up of what is now a limited form of artificial intelligence?
how would revisiting happier times make us feel over the course of our life?
how would it make us feel if we became obsessed with memory, with death, with those happier times...
how would the entire idea make us feel if we became mentally ill?
how would we communicate with those earlier representations of ourselves?
how would these artificial representations feel about how our own lives turned out?
what if these representations could talk to each other?
what if they developed their own experiences inside cyberland? what if they could create their own versions of reality?
what if they were independent enough that they could even be considered separate forms of life?
how would other, newer forms of life (clones, AIs not based upon human templates) feel about these beings?
what if these beings outlived the human race as we know it?
what if these beings dreamed of their own deaths?
so many questions and all are explored in an almost-too-rich yet elegantly written tale that manages to be funny, sad, chilling, and at times rather heartbreakingly poignant.
if you appreciate scifi because of its basic foundation in "speculative fiction", then you really owe it to yourself to find and read this story. it is a masterpiece. and the rest of the collection is not bad either.
central to the collection is the novella The Wedding Album.
this is an amazing achievement, a 5-star story that expanded my mind with possibility when reading it. literally expanded it! sometimes it hurt my poor skull - the pressure, the pressure! the story starts with a small idea (what if we could "cast" ourselves in holographic renditions of our lives' key moments - say, a wedding day - in order to revisit them at our leisure?) and rapidly proceeds to expand upon that possibility in almost every conceivable direction.
what would that holographic rendition think?
how would our mood during the original casting impact the emotional make-up of what is now a limited form of artificial intelligence?
how would revisiting happier times make us feel over the course of our life?
how would it make us feel if we became obsessed with memory, with death, with those happier times...
how would the entire idea make us feel if we became mentally ill?
how would we communicate with those earlier representations of ourselves?
how would these artificial representations feel about how our own lives turned out?
what if these representations could talk to each other?
what if they developed their own experiences inside cyberland? what if they could create their own versions of reality?
what if they were independent enough that they could even be considered separate forms of life?
how would other, newer forms of life (clones, AIs not based upon human templates) feel about these beings?
what if these beings outlived the human race as we know it?
what if these beings dreamed of their own deaths?
so many questions and all are explored in an almost-too-rich yet elegantly written tale that manages to be funny, sad, chilling, and at times rather heartbreakingly poignant.
if you appreciate scifi because of its basic foundation in "speculative fiction", then you really owe it to yourself to find and read this story. it is a masterpiece. and the rest of the collection is not bad either.
June 10, 2022
David Marusek has been committed to novels in the past twenty years, but for awhile in the 1990s and early 2000s he was one of the more interesting short story writers in SF, publishing mostly in Asimov's Science Fiction magazine. This is his only story collection. His stories deal with simulations of humans, intelligent AI assistive devices, and other cool things that now have a sort-of equivalent in today's world, but not back then.
What his stories are really about are the relationship between people, especially family members, and how technology can get in the way of a healthy relationship. One recurring theme is the annoying selfishness of a character as seen by the first-person narrator, only to find how self-centered and unaware that narrator was to others. The narrator is not usually unreliable in recounting the facts, but in their self-awareness. As can happen to the best of us.
What his stories are really about are the relationship between people, especially family members, and how technology can get in the way of a healthy relationship. One recurring theme is the annoying selfishness of a character as seen by the first-person narrator, only to find how self-centered and unaware that narrator was to others. The narrator is not usually unreliable in recounting the facts, but in their self-awareness. As can happen to the best of us.
November 7, 2016
I toggled between 3 and 4 stars for this book, as I found it solidly in between.
The stories are interesting, but they felt very similar to each other without meaning to be. Although there were different characters in each story, most of the stories took place in a nearly identical future: people used holographic proxies to represent themselves when they could not be somewhere in person, they used belts that seemed to be our smartphones x10, rejuvenation reached the heights of people being able to live for hundreds of years and still physically appear to be 20-30 years old, and the traditional birth of babies was banned due to overpopulation. Although I did find this future-state an interesting backdrop for the stories, it would have been nice to see more variety.
The stories are interesting, but they felt very similar to each other without meaning to be. Although there were different characters in each story, most of the stories took place in a nearly identical future: people used holographic proxies to represent themselves when they could not be somewhere in person, they used belts that seemed to be our smartphones x10, rejuvenation reached the heights of people being able to live for hundreds of years and still physically appear to be 20-30 years old, and the traditional birth of babies was banned due to overpopulation. Although I did find this future-state an interesting backdrop for the stories, it would have been nice to see more variety.
April 20, 2019
Five stars for the The Wedding Album, one of the finest sci-fi short stories I've ever read. Leave it to Mr Marusek to find a crossroads in the future of a.i. in which we have to find the humanity reckon with theirs .
August 13, 2019
If you haven't read "The Wedding Album" and "We were out of our minds with joy" yet, you should do it now! I'm sure Yurek Rutz read them before dying. Those two pieces of work are incredible. I think that "The Wedding Album" must be one of the best stories I've read in my life, and "We were out of our minds with joy" is also incredible. "Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz" is a very smart piece of work: you don't need big explosions in order to make a good story.
Both "Cabagges and Kale" and "Getting to know you", although good, pale in comparison to the aforementioned works. VTV made me think about 4chan and the good old REKT threads.
I wish Marusek published more often.
Both "Cabagges and Kale" and "Getting to know you", although good, pale in comparison to the aforementioned works. VTV made me think about 4chan and the good old REKT threads.
I wish Marusek published more often.
February 17, 2020
Several of Marusek's stories spin in a future world of "sims," digital copies of people who, though disposable, are fully realized, self-aware versions of the person. Imagine a picture of yourself that can talk and think, even questioning its existence. His commentary about his stories is an added bonus. I don't know why more writers don't do this (or aren't allowed) -- I love understanding how a story came to be and its meaning for the writer. The late Harlan Ellison did this consistently through his career and its part of what makes his work so engaging. I'm looking forward to reading more by Marusek. Yurek Rutz! (Read the book and you'll find that funny.)
February 19, 2013
“The Wedding Album” is a novella, the longest piece in the book, and switches perspective between a couple of different characters, though mostly it’s told from the view of a simulated Anne, captured on her wedding day. A couple of hundred years pass as civilization rises and falls through the evolution of their technology, but wedding-Anne has no say in what happens around her. It’s sad with brief bits of loving, though it’s mostly a look at how selfish one man can be.
“The Earth Is On The Mend” is a flash piece, well done, a slightly rambling account of one survivor’s day in the frozen wasteland that was the Earth. It tells you enough to suspect this story will end badly. That’s what flash is about – setting a scene, giving you one moment, and enough other bits to hint at a great deal more.
“Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz” was written as a letter to editor Gardner Dozios, who published it and gave Marusek his start as a published writer. The epistolary style isn’t one of my favorites, but this version is light-hearted. It’s got dying husbands and cryogenics and Alaska small-town culture – it qualifies as a science fiction story, certainly. In the end it’s just cheeky, daring you to enjoy it and daring Mr. Dozois to publish it. Worth a read.
“A Boy In Cathyland” was originally a chunk of “The Wedding Album” but was cut from the final version. Marusek revised it into a stand-alone short. It explains a minor detail from the novella, but that’s not what’s important about it. The best part of “A Boy” is that Marusek blends Russian into the dialogue without explaining the meaning. He places description and action around the non-English parts to give the reader enough context to suss out the meaning on their own. The story is weak without the knowledge of what happens in “Wedding Album” but I like his use of language a lot.
“We Were Out Of Our Minds With Joy” is another novella, Marusek’s second published piece and the first of this length. It’s set in the same universe as “Wedding Album” and makes up the beginning of his novel. Like several of his other stories, Marusek introduces an idea, then ignores it while he goes through all of the history and scene-setting, then gets back to his opening toward the end.
The introduction to “VTV” warns that it was an exercise in writing a miserable story, and the reader should feel free to skip it. I didn’t, and I’m glad, because while it contains many of Marusek’s most-used elements, it stands out from the others because of its subject matter. It’s more concerned with making a point which, while still negative, has the potential to affect our lives now instead of centuries in the future. One of the more interesting pieces.
“Cabbages and Kale or: How We Downsized North America” is another one about the same old things. So is ”Getting To Know You”. Not bad, but dull after reading all of the rest.
“Listen to Me” is written in second-person perspective, which immediately makes it stand out. It’s about boredom and, again, about isolation and selfishness. But it’s also set aboard a starship, which is different. It’s very short, and I liked it.
“My Morning Glory” is another flash piece, forcefully exuberant, a quick-step shuffle off the edge of the cliff that is the end of the book.
There isn’t much to connect with, emotionally, in this collection, except the overriding feeling of sadness. It’s sad that these people can’t be happy for long. It’s sad that technology outpaces humanity. It’s sad that the only other feeling to come across is one of isolation. I don’t know if Marusek is disconnected from the world or if it’s the one emotion he knows how to write well, but it’s there, with the sadness, in every story. They’re two sides of the same coin – the characters are sad because they’re distanced from the things that make us happy, like love and companionship and hope.
In a way, that’s what makes the book kind of boring. Marusek has a few ideas which he clearly loves, so much that he recycles them through several stories. His “original” ideas, the ones not part of his “Wedding Album” universe, appear in the shortest stories of the book, as if he didn’t want to - or couldn’t – write about them in the same way he writes about his holos, simulacrum, and clones. He even recycles characters (not just Cathy from “Cathyland” but Yurek Rutz, who’s mentioned in “VTV”) and locations – Alaska comes up a lot. I don’t mind any of that as much as I mind him recycling plot points. After all, so many of the stories are about the exact same thing: how do you handle living in a future where artificial people are common and naturally-born humans are not?
Apparently Marusek only has one answer to that question. I would like his work much more if he had more to say.
Overall I’d suggest reading this collection for the technique. The structures are crisp, the writing is clean, there’s rarely anything unnecessary going on. Parts which appear to be side stories get mentioned or dealt with again before the tale is finished. Marusek is a skillful writer and is able to keep control of stories with circular natures. This tight hold on where his writing is going takes some of the surprise out of the ending but I look at this collection like the start of something good. If he has this much skill when he’s starting out, all he needs to do is maintain that level of writing while adding in whatever he’s fascinated by next.
Read GETTING TO KNOW YOU one story at a time and take a break in between. You’ll appreciate it better that way.
“The Earth Is On The Mend” is a flash piece, well done, a slightly rambling account of one survivor’s day in the frozen wasteland that was the Earth. It tells you enough to suspect this story will end badly. That’s what flash is about – setting a scene, giving you one moment, and enough other bits to hint at a great deal more.
“Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz” was written as a letter to editor Gardner Dozios, who published it and gave Marusek his start as a published writer. The epistolary style isn’t one of my favorites, but this version is light-hearted. It’s got dying husbands and cryogenics and Alaska small-town culture – it qualifies as a science fiction story, certainly. In the end it’s just cheeky, daring you to enjoy it and daring Mr. Dozois to publish it. Worth a read.
“A Boy In Cathyland” was originally a chunk of “The Wedding Album” but was cut from the final version. Marusek revised it into a stand-alone short. It explains a minor detail from the novella, but that’s not what’s important about it. The best part of “A Boy” is that Marusek blends Russian into the dialogue without explaining the meaning. He places description and action around the non-English parts to give the reader enough context to suss out the meaning on their own. The story is weak without the knowledge of what happens in “Wedding Album” but I like his use of language a lot.
“We Were Out Of Our Minds With Joy” is another novella, Marusek’s second published piece and the first of this length. It’s set in the same universe as “Wedding Album” and makes up the beginning of his novel. Like several of his other stories, Marusek introduces an idea, then ignores it while he goes through all of the history and scene-setting, then gets back to his opening toward the end.
The introduction to “VTV” warns that it was an exercise in writing a miserable story, and the reader should feel free to skip it. I didn’t, and I’m glad, because while it contains many of Marusek’s most-used elements, it stands out from the others because of its subject matter. It’s more concerned with making a point which, while still negative, has the potential to affect our lives now instead of centuries in the future. One of the more interesting pieces.
“Cabbages and Kale or: How We Downsized North America” is another one about the same old things. So is ”Getting To Know You”. Not bad, but dull after reading all of the rest.
“Listen to Me” is written in second-person perspective, which immediately makes it stand out. It’s about boredom and, again, about isolation and selfishness. But it’s also set aboard a starship, which is different. It’s very short, and I liked it.
“My Morning Glory” is another flash piece, forcefully exuberant, a quick-step shuffle off the edge of the cliff that is the end of the book.
There isn’t much to connect with, emotionally, in this collection, except the overriding feeling of sadness. It’s sad that these people can’t be happy for long. It’s sad that technology outpaces humanity. It’s sad that the only other feeling to come across is one of isolation. I don’t know if Marusek is disconnected from the world or if it’s the one emotion he knows how to write well, but it’s there, with the sadness, in every story. They’re two sides of the same coin – the characters are sad because they’re distanced from the things that make us happy, like love and companionship and hope.
In a way, that’s what makes the book kind of boring. Marusek has a few ideas which he clearly loves, so much that he recycles them through several stories. His “original” ideas, the ones not part of his “Wedding Album” universe, appear in the shortest stories of the book, as if he didn’t want to - or couldn’t – write about them in the same way he writes about his holos, simulacrum, and clones. He even recycles characters (not just Cathy from “Cathyland” but Yurek Rutz, who’s mentioned in “VTV”) and locations – Alaska comes up a lot. I don’t mind any of that as much as I mind him recycling plot points. After all, so many of the stories are about the exact same thing: how do you handle living in a future where artificial people are common and naturally-born humans are not?
Apparently Marusek only has one answer to that question. I would like his work much more if he had more to say.
Overall I’d suggest reading this collection for the technique. The structures are crisp, the writing is clean, there’s rarely anything unnecessary going on. Parts which appear to be side stories get mentioned or dealt with again before the tale is finished. Marusek is a skillful writer and is able to keep control of stories with circular natures. This tight hold on where his writing is going takes some of the surprise out of the ending but I look at this collection like the start of something good. If he has this much skill when he’s starting out, all he needs to do is maintain that level of writing while adding in whatever he’s fascinated by next.
Read GETTING TO KNOW YOU one story at a time and take a break in between. You’ll appreciate it better that way.
October 30, 2017
Marusek mentions in the introduction that it often takes him an entire year to finish writing a short story. The hard work shows. Deeply thought-out future scenarios involving body simulations, anti-aging, near-immortality, and all of the changes (big and small) such things would bring. Sometimes disturbing, often provoking. Excellent stuff.
November 5, 2022
I'd already read the best short stories in this collection in Asimov's. "VTV" was a bit of a bummer but otherwise the rest is solid.
January 4, 2024
A really excellent collection of short stories - original but not trying too hard, slightly off but without being all-out weird.
July 10, 2024
Yurek Rutz Yurek Rutz Yurek Rutz Yurek Rutz Yurek Rutz. I'll be expecting my check in the mail. A delightfully bizarre story.
I'm a David Marusek groupie, and I don't say that lightly.
I'm a David Marusek groupie, and I don't say that lightly.
May 26, 2015
4.6 stars, 10 short stories, some feed into the novel Counting Heads by the author. I've marked those with a "#"
Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz- Funny. A recipe for immortalism. And the author carries the name through his novels and other short stories. -4 stars
#The Wedding Album- On a couple's wedding day, a happy occasion, sims are cast of the couple. And at many anniversaries too. Tale is told from the sims' POV; made me me feel badly for them. (Yurek Rutz makes an appearance!) VERY sophisticated, convoluted, complicated story. Supposed to have been in Counting Heads, but it certainly was NOT, to in this form or as long. This story is its own story. - 5 stars
The Earth is on the Mend- A man alone, with a malamute, finds he's not the last man on Earth after --- changes his tactics. Funny though; it's political! - 4 stars
#A Boy in Cathyland -(cut entirely from Counting Heads) Very sad. Brave character. This author knows well how to tell a story simply and purely, how to pluck the strings of a heart, to elicit pity for a fictional character, how to give that character life. - 5 stars
#We Were Out of Our Minds with Joy- The story of the courtship of Samson Harger and Eleanor- how they meet, fall in love, get married; how El becomes more, a politician of the highest order, their honeymoon. This story illustrates well the world the author has built, the nanos that give extended life; and take it. The AIs are crucial living in this world. Then, the couple is given the VERY RARE permission to "activate" a child. That process, well explained, is new to me in fiction. Not the base idea, but the entire process -- the author has really thought this idea through extensively. Having already read the novel, and that recently, it's fascinating to read these earlier versions of parts that became integrated into the novel, how different they are as shorter pieces, and stand alone works. Also, since I know how it all ends, I see these stories in a new lift. Small events actually have greater meaning. - 5 stars
VTV NSFW Written as an exercise to see if he could make a despicable picture of humanity and get away with [it]. This is before the Abu Graib scandal and GWBush justification of torture. It wasn't received well so the author assumes he accomplished his goal. By a reporter, so "news" Let me count the ways: 1: uses a video of a car running over a pregnant girl's cat; 2: news stories of date rape with organ theft, and 3: enraged Dad Kills Wrong Family; 4: Cannabalistic Pot Bellied Pig; 5: PMS Pit Bull; 6: How to Mummify your Pony; 7: Dog on a leash (worst of all), nasty, far worse and yet we've seen this story on the news not all that long ago, with a black man on a chain, -- the dog, horrible, as a dog lover, I know why the author got the response he did, the one he was looking for; 8: grown men swallowing live guinea pigs; 9: prison lottery to be on execution firing squad; 10: people getting blow to smithereens; 11: no effort made to save the last know person on that list; 12: wrong number of a stray bullet shown exiting a man shocked to know his death is upon him just before his head explodes; 13: Political snuff films as souvenirs, sold by the networks, though torture, death by suffocation, reviving the boy, extend the film; but this horrible-on-purpose story is a HUGE statement on the American News Machine -- all of them. CNN, FOX news, all of them. And worth the reading. The horrible stories are necessary for the message to be strong enough to elicit real change. to that it will. No news reporter would ever EVER read this story. - 5 stars
#Cabbages and Kale or: How We Downsized North AmericaWell written but I was confused by the ending. Having read the book, I knew where the vote would go, but the author fooled me. He had me guessing. - 4 stars
#Getting to Know You- Though set in the same universe as Counting Heads, this story did not appear in it. The Reader gets background on that world; is about people who can't afford the rejuvenation fees; how they end up in Hospice Care; and Love… but the story shows best how the AIs grew to know their "owners" so very well…
- 5 stars
Listen To Me- Disturbing (as the author had warned). Spaceship travel is long -- people are given "squeegees" to help with the loneliness, but some people still have problems adjusting to ship life. - 5 stars
My Morning Glory- Being surrounded by all the chipper, cheery stuff would drive me crazy! But Rule 3 on The Road to Success says "Baby steps. One Step at a time." I guess it's hard to be unhappy (or crazy) if you take everything in your day in a Stride of One Baby Step at a Time! - 4 stars
________
Errors: "Zoranna of their mother the day before she [had] died."; 274 - "no initiation of bedding down among[st] the dying".
Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz, Yurek Rutz- Funny. A recipe for immortalism. And the author carries the name through his novels and other short stories. -4 stars
#The Wedding Album- On a couple's wedding day, a happy occasion, sims are cast of the couple. And at many anniversaries too. Tale is told from the sims' POV; made me me feel badly for them. (Yurek Rutz makes an appearance!) VERY sophisticated, convoluted, complicated story. Supposed to have been in Counting Heads, but it certainly was NOT, to in this form or as long. This story is its own story. - 5 stars
The Earth is on the Mend- A man alone, with a malamute, finds he's not the last man on Earth after --- changes his tactics. Funny though; it's political! - 4 stars
#A Boy in Cathyland -(cut entirely from Counting Heads) Very sad. Brave character. This author knows well how to tell a story simply and purely, how to pluck the strings of a heart, to elicit pity for a fictional character, how to give that character life. - 5 stars
#We Were Out of Our Minds with Joy- The story of the courtship of Samson Harger and Eleanor- how they meet, fall in love, get married; how El becomes more, a politician of the highest order, their honeymoon. This story illustrates well the world the author has built, the nanos that give extended life; and take it. The AIs are crucial living in this world. Then, the couple is given the VERY RARE permission to "activate" a child. That process, well explained, is new to me in fiction. Not the base idea, but the entire process -- the author has really thought this idea through extensively. Having already read the novel, and that recently, it's fascinating to read these earlier versions of parts that became integrated into the novel, how different they are as shorter pieces, and stand alone works. Also, since I know how it all ends, I see these stories in a new lift. Small events actually have greater meaning. - 5 stars
VTV NSFW Written as an exercise to see if he could make a despicable picture of humanity and get away with [it]. This is before the Abu Graib scandal and GWBush justification of torture. It wasn't received well so the author assumes he accomplished his goal. By a reporter, so "news" Let me count the ways: 1: uses a video of a car running over a pregnant girl's cat; 2: news stories of date rape with organ theft, and 3: enraged Dad Kills Wrong Family; 4: Cannabalistic Pot Bellied Pig; 5: PMS Pit Bull; 6: How to Mummify your Pony; 7: Dog on a leash (worst of all), nasty, far worse and yet we've seen this story on the news not all that long ago, with a black man on a chain, -- the dog, horrible, as a dog lover, I know why the author got the response he did, the one he was looking for; 8: grown men swallowing live guinea pigs; 9: prison lottery to be on execution firing squad; 10: people getting blow to smithereens; 11: no effort made to save the last know person on that list; 12: wrong number of a stray bullet shown exiting a man shocked to know his death is upon him just before his head explodes; 13: Political snuff films as souvenirs, sold by the networks, though torture, death by suffocation, reviving the boy, extend the film; but this horrible-on-purpose story is a HUGE statement on the American News Machine -- all of them. CNN, FOX news, all of them. And worth the reading. The horrible stories are necessary for the message to be strong enough to elicit real change. to that it will. No news reporter would ever EVER read this story. - 5 stars
#Cabbages and Kale or: How We Downsized North AmericaWell written but I was confused by the ending. Having read the book, I knew where the vote would go, but the author fooled me. He had me guessing. - 4 stars
#Getting to Know You- Though set in the same universe as Counting Heads, this story did not appear in it. The Reader gets background on that world; is about people who can't afford the rejuvenation fees; how they end up in Hospice Care; and Love… but the story shows best how the AIs grew to know their "owners" so very well…
- 5 stars
Listen To Me- Disturbing (as the author had warned). Spaceship travel is long -- people are given "squeegees" to help with the loneliness, but some people still have problems adjusting to ship life. - 5 stars
My Morning Glory- Being surrounded by all the chipper, cheery stuff would drive me crazy! But Rule 3 on The Road to Success says "Baby steps. One Step at a time." I guess it's hard to be unhappy (or crazy) if you take everything in your day in a Stride of One Baby Step at a Time! - 4 stars
________
Errors: "Zoranna of their mother the day before she [had] died."; 274 - "no initiation of bedding down among[st] the dying".
September 3, 2008
"Cabbages and Kale or: How We Downsized North America" (in anthology Getting to Know You, 2007; story first published 1999) is Fairbanks writer Marusek's SF story about an Alaskan Vice President!!! [who] "...makes virtual proxies of himself to attend votes, answer journalists' questions, make appearances, and so on, spreading himself much more widely than a single individual ever could. A Procreation Ban is being debated in the Senate as a reaction to longevity treatments, and something goes wrong with the proxies, who start spouting a variety of bigoted and extremist statements far removed from the politician's actual, middle-of-the-road politics."--Adam Roberts, Strange Horizons
Engrossing story, set in Summer 2033, mostly in Saul's (the VP) garden and tea house in Fairbanks, Alaska with some action going on in Washington and meetings across the globe. SF features (proxies, holograms, realbody appearances) very understandable and not overly techy. Saul's mistress, abortion and the language used in talk about it, the old vs. the young, political nasty tricks, in other words, all today's headlines make this story very current even though nearly 10 years old.
Engrossing and lots of fun to read in the light of the Sarah Palin pick!!
Engrossing story, set in Summer 2033, mostly in Saul's (the VP) garden and tea house in Fairbanks, Alaska with some action going on in Washington and meetings across the globe. SF features (proxies, holograms, realbody appearances) very understandable and not overly techy. Saul's mistress, abortion and the language used in talk about it, the old vs. the young, political nasty tricks, in other words, all today's headlines make this story very current even though nearly 10 years old.
Engrossing and lots of fun to read in the light of the Sarah Palin pick!!
September 20, 2009
On StaticMultimedia.com I gave this 2 1/2 stars. While I can't say that I really enjoyed this particular collection of stories, I will keep Marusek on my lists of authors to keep an eye on because of his interesting take on a possible near future.
Below are some highlights from that review. To read my full review go to: http://www.staticmultimedia.com/print...
In Marusek’s future vision, people have so long indulged in artificially sustained longevity and rejuvenation that the natural human condition has become something alien and detestable. Population growth is almost zero because natural procreation has been outlawed. Evolution, both physical and spiritual at a standstill, humans have become blander and more mechanical than their tech-generated proxy alter egos.
“VTV,” a look at the future of TV journalism, stands out from the other stories, although the forewarning by the author’s foreword should be heeded by more sensitive readers. Some gruesome details make this a stomach-turning read, but even more disturbing is the similarity to disturbing trends in today’s news media and their reliance on ratings-driven, sensationalized stories.
Below are some highlights from that review. To read my full review go to: http://www.staticmultimedia.com/print...
In Marusek’s future vision, people have so long indulged in artificially sustained longevity and rejuvenation that the natural human condition has become something alien and detestable. Population growth is almost zero because natural procreation has been outlawed. Evolution, both physical and spiritual at a standstill, humans have become blander and more mechanical than their tech-generated proxy alter egos.
“VTV,” a look at the future of TV journalism, stands out from the other stories, although the forewarning by the author’s foreword should be heeded by more sensitive readers. Some gruesome details make this a stomach-turning read, but even more disturbing is the similarity to disturbing trends in today’s news media and their reliance on ratings-driven, sensationalized stories.
August 4, 2012
Marusek is the sci fi author who has my head (if not my heart) most aflutter of late, and this collection of short stories and novellas is a treasure trove for fans of the world described in COUNTING HEADS--full of invaluable insights into the history of that world and its politics, Not every story is a gem in this collection, but the already-canonized "Wedding Album" alone is worth the price of admission, and, for fans of his two novels, "Cabbages and Kale" is frankly equally good. For me, who stopped reading sci fi mags in the 70s, it was a revelation to realize what smart and visionary writing was coming out of these descendants of the great pulps of the 20s and 30s. ---- j
August 1, 2010
Yes, David Marusek is the darling of the science-fiction intelligentsia, and COUNTING HEADS had some great speculation in it, but the acclaimed stories in his collection GETTING TO KNOW YOU are all too precious. Dense, slow and stuffed full of the in-joke clubbiness that went out of style in NEUROMANCER‘s wake, GETTING TO KNOW YOU is like Robert Goulet: The names that are dropped aren’t that impressive, and while the old folks might love it, it’s a lot less important than it wants to be.
More: http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/sci-f...
More: http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/sci-f...
July 28, 2011
An excellent collection from one of my favorite new authors. The stories range from good to great ("The Wedding Album", in particular, was wonderful). Several of the stories take place in the same setting used by Marusek in his first two novels, including the original version of "We Were Out of Our Minds with Joy", which Marusek incorporated into his first novel, "Counting Heads". At least 3/4 of the stories had some idea/phrase/concept that my mind would turn over for hours after finishing the story.
November 16, 2016
I've been hearing the buzz about Marusek for a few years now, and finally got to reading this collection. And I am glad I did: it is human, humane and, at its best, mind-expanding. Some of the best short science fiction stories of the last decade or two. While the idea content is not quite up to par with the best of the genre (although certainly not lacking), Marusek's gentle approach and underlying sense of empathy make up for that. Looking forward to his novels, which apparently share a universe with some of the stories here.
April 15, 2010
Marusek's gentle approach to sci fi is a nice change of pace from most writers in the genre, who can be pretty abrasive in style and especially in message.
I find the man's work to be a relaxing read. The dialogue gets things accomplished. People in his stories seem to be listening to one another. There are some damn good ideas packed into this short story anthology as well. Recommended and spoiler free.
I find the man's work to be a relaxing read. The dialogue gets things accomplished. People in his stories seem to be listening to one another. There are some damn good ideas packed into this short story anthology as well. Recommended and spoiler free.
June 17, 2017
There are few stories in this book that are really good, while other ones are not that interesting. But the good ones alone make this book worth buying. Some of these stories are set in the same universe as Marusek's novels, which is fun.
July 1, 2008
A series of mind-bending short SF stories, from the author of Counting Heads. The stories are thick with ideas, but not weighed down by them. Great stuff.
September 11, 2009
Very interesting and intriguing but depressing!
August 11, 2009
I really liked these sci-fi short stories (and the world that most of them were set in). Only a couple were duds. I didn't really like the author's intros to the stories though.
November 28, 2009
Excellent companion volume to his first novel. Short stories.
June 10, 2010
Really enjoyed this collection. So much so in fact that I bought it for my Nook.
May 24, 2014
Colección irreegular. Las novelas cortas Getting to know you, The wedding album y We were out of our minds with joy son estupendas, lo demas flojito.
November 27, 2017
I liked the first story a lot, but then most of the others felt like marginally successful imitations.
August 2, 2007
Short stories, including some set in the world of Marusek's Counting Heads. Pretty fun.
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