The Boy Who Cast No Shadow

by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Free ebook download (epub & mobi).

AN ETALE by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Two male teenagers with peculiar bodies...

The Boy Who Cast No Shadow won the prestigious Paul Harland Award for best Dutch story of the Fantastic in 2010. Mr. Olde Heuvelt tells us he wrote it in a four-day rush in between two chapters of a novel which was giving him uncontrollable screaming fits at the time. "To me," he adds, "it's a story about being different and coming to terms with the fact that that ain't such a bad thing. With this story I humbly paid homage to Joe Hill's Pop Art, which I think is the best short story of the 21st Century."

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Ebooks, LGBT, Horror, Fiction

32 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Thomas Olde Heuvelt (1983) is the international bestselling author of HEX. The much-praised novel was published in over twenty-five countries around the world and is currently in development for TV by Gary Dauberman. Olde Heuvelt, whose last name in Dutch dialect means “Old Hill,” was the first ever translated author to win a Hugo Award for his short story "The Day the World Turned Upside Down".

His new novel ECHO will be out with Nightfire Books in the US and Hodder & Stoughton on February 8, 2022. International publication of his novel ORACLE, which topped all the bestseller charts in The Netherlands in March '21, will follow soon thereafter.

Thomas lives in The Netherlands and the south of France and is an avid mountaineer.

Praise for HEX:

“This is totally, brilliantly original.” —Stephen King

“Creepy and gripping and original.” ―George R.R. Martin

“Spielbergian in the way Olde Heuvelt shows supernatural goings-on in the midst of everyday life... It’s a fabulous, unforgettable conceit and Olde Heuvelt makes the most of it.” ―The Guardian

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melancholy story about the title boy and his friendship with a boy made of glass. If you try to apply logic to it you'll just get irritated, so just kind of take it as one of those magical realist things.

It's kind of oddly titled, given it seems more significant that the boy has no reflection given the focus is on his relationship with a boy who is apparently made of very flimsy mirrored glass, like one of those old christmas ornaments. Symbolism is always over my head, so idk wtf I'm supposed to get out of the characters physical conditions, but I enjoyed it.

Probably not for everyone. There's a particular sexual encounter, and some slurs, and some pretty awful bullying that will be beyond the line for those who think fiction shouldn't be allowed to reflect the nastiness of life, or can't believe that slurs can ever be used in an affectionate way.

Anyway, read this as a sort of sample for the author as he's got some books that look interesting but are priced way too high in general, much less for a new to me author. Enjoyed it enough that I will definitely keep the novels on the TBR.

[Carrie Kellenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely original and very clever. I admire author that can pack so much into their short stories and really allow the reader to connect with the characters. Talented writer!

The Boy Who Cast No Shadow was nominated for a Hugo Award in 2013.

[Sanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This short fantasy story is nominated for the Hugo Awards 2013, so I was curious what it was about. You can download it for free from the publisher's website.

The story is about a boy without a shadow, who meets a boy made of glass. The story starts very slow and I found the language in the first part very jarring. Perhaps it also has to do with it's translation from Dutch to English, I don't know. The last part (from page 20 onwards) finally got me engaged and I thought that part was moving. Unfortunately, the story is only 32 pages long, so for the first 20 pages to be not interesting isn't good.

[Galatea2.2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for stories with a certain amount of melancholy. 'The boy who cast no shadow' has that in the right dosage.

So it's a nice story. Well written, well balanced.

Every other comment is just nitpicking. So this is nitpicking: I'm not sure if the translation was revised by a native speaker English. Neither am I too happy with the reference to Carglass. Considering this is a local company (non-English) it should have been changed into something more generic. Most people outside of the Benelux won't get the humour of the reference to Carglass.

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy named Look has skin that does not cast a shadow. As a result, he cannot be photographed or seen in mirrors. Look befriends a boy named Splinter who is made of glass—glass that acts as a mirror. Being made of glass, Splinter’s body is extremely fragile and his parents go to extremes to protect him from harm, but this also shields him from being able to experience most of the joys and sorrows of living. Look helps Splinter run away from home and helps him find happiness. This loose retelling of the Pinocchio fable is a touching exploration of friendship and love.

[Marcel van der Rijst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have red the story in Dutch. One of the best stories I read the last few years. It is a beautifull story about a boy without shadow who fell in love with a boy of glass. It is about freedom, it is about acceptation, but the story is especially about love.
This is de best story I have red so far of Thomas. I recommend this story to all my friends, because the story is beyond all frontiers. It is well written and gives you a inside in persons emotions.

[Jeremy Preacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still not exactly sure what I think of this story. It's certainly a deft portrayal of the social consequences of being visibly different in high school, and evocative of being an angry, hormonal young man in that position. And the glass boy's arc from overprotectedness to chosen risk and freedom works just fine. But somehow it doesn't quite hang together for me. I'm left less moved than I feel I should be.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool, funny, weird, creative, and totally kick ass. I would put it in YA genre, but badass YA like Weetzie Bat. I started out thinking it seemed cute, and ended in startled, happy tears. If my vote counts for anything, the first Dutch writer to be nominated for the Hugo awards will be the first to win.

[Patrick Lemmers · Rating 2 out of 5]

In elk geval niet een lang verhaal. Ook niet heel slecht, maar bevat die typische manier van veel Nederlandse schrijvers om op een onnodig vulgaire manier te 'choqueren'. Geen idee waarom dat zo populair is.. het voegt niets toe.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and melancholy. One of my picks for Hugo novelette 2013.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simply put, the title refers to the wrong character, and the plot is all about how awful life is.

[Gonçalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We stared at each other sheepishly and then burst out laughing. Right then we’d
become friends. At our age you thought the depths of your own hell are the darkest; Splinter
proved it could be worse. A little self-reflection ain’t a bad thing. Splinter was all reflection.
Seeing him wash his face in front of the mirror made my head spin. A mirror in a mirror in a
mirror, an optical illusion of infinity. That’s friendship. You give and you take, even if you
have nothing to give."

I don't know what to think about this tale, for the most part it is beautifully written, but has some parts that left me uncomfortable.
A story about the importance of being seen.

[Jana Bianchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um conto muito, muito lindo, de apertar o coração. Gosto da proposta de um realismo mágico que toca muito o popular, sem explicações decisivas a respeito das condições dos personagens (as que são feitas, encaixam totalmente na proposta meio non sense do conto). É engraçado que o fim é bem previsível (não como é feito, mas o que acontece) e há inclusive algumas dicas do que vem vindo quando você começa a ler, mas ainda assim ele não perde nem um pouco da força. A voz do protagonista narrando em primeira pessoa é muito característica. Certamente merece as indicações a prêmios que recebeu. :)

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read the Polish version in a magazine. That was a great story, the plot was great and felt real. A very touching story.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the short story and as with Hex it was a great experience. heuvelt is an amazing writer. I hope to find more of his books.
I realy need to find Espelho de Água.

[Jillian Ferry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great short coming of age about two boys that are very different from everyone else and finding friendship on their uniqueness.

[Kara Babcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Invisibility is one of the best superpowers, in my opinion, though it also requires a little wiggle room to be truly often. For instance, invisibility where you have to get naked to work the power can be … awkward. Similarly, I wouldn’t want to be invisible permanently, or invisible to myself! That would also lead to no end of problems. In Look’s case, he isn’t invisible per se (except on camera, for some reason that I don’t really understand). But he is the eponymous “Boy Who Cast No Shadow”, a global phenomenon, and this causes no end of problems for him.

I’d love to like this story. It’s heartfelt and generally intriguing. Olde Heuvelt creates two intriguing characters, each with their own particular unique problem, who somehow manage to lose themselves in each other. I sympathized with Look and with Splinter, lamented their inevitably tragic ending. Unfortunately, “The Boy Who Cast No Shadow” also has a few bumps and rough edges that require some critique.

Let’s take it as a given that Look indeed casts no shadow and that Splinter is somehow, impossibly, a living boy made of glass. This is science fiction (or fantasy), and your story doesn’t have to be believable, just consistent. So I’m confused why people can see Look in person but not on camera. He isn’t visible on X-ray machines either (the rays “fall through him”), implying that he does not reflect X-rays. Fair enough. But cameras record the reflection of visible light. If he were transparent to the light the camera picks up, he should be transparent to everyone else as well, even if they are looking right at him.

Olde Heuvelt also glosses over much of Look and Splinter’s relative celebrities. At the beginning of the story, Look goes on about how he has been on Oprah, how the United States government has kidnapped him and experimented him, etc. Now he’s attending an ordinary school like an ordinary boy. Splinter doesn’t seem to have that level of celebrity (glass runs in his family), but I’m surprised that, considering his fragility, he’s allowed to attend a mainstream school at all. Obviously he needs to in order to meet Look and have these adventures, but that makes the situation a little more contrived than it should have to be.

If you can work past these nitpicks, then “The Boy Who Cast No Shadow” is moving, a modern day tragedy about dealing with difference. Olde Heuvelt uses the form to his advantage, and I can see why this has garnered a nomination. It’s not quite my cup of tea though.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-executed story, but not one that connected with me. I'm coming to terms with the fact that a lot of modern fantasy is not what I'm looking for -- no magic, elves, dragons, or any of the good stuff. Instead, there are a couple of almost-whimsical changes to our world made by introducing the titular boy without a shadow and his friend, a boy made of glass. While fine as a coming-of-age story, I wasn't that interested in the fantastical elements of it.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

amazing in places, rather overwrought in others... i hardly need a story to explain 'difference', but i do rather tire of the balancing act of 'we're all the same, really' with 'notice me because i'm not like anyone else'... at times, we focus entirely too much on what makes us different instead of realizing how similar we are in so many ways... yet i also understand the lack of rights and awful treatment of those deemed to not 'fit'... that being said, this story ended beautifully...

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bitter-sweet story about growing up different, or perhaps with a disability, and a friendship between two boys in those circumstances. There was some raw emotion there, but maybe the main themes weren't too original. But it was a good little story/novelette.

Edit 2014: I think I liked it better on the second reading, I sound pretty critical in that first review! I changed it from 3 to 4 stars.

[Ishan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked it up as it was nominated for Hugo awards.Beginning was promising but the author was not able to carry it on. i think that the story refers to the wrong character, it must have been named after the glass boy Story is of a gay boy who casts no shadow and reflection and his friendship with a boy made of glass.

[Sunil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy who casts no shadow falls in love with a boy made out of glass. A lovely, sad romance between two unusual people. It doesn't really delve into the science of anything, but the narrator is so engaging it doesn't matter.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

One boy born without a shadow/reflection, and one boy made of glass. Their relationship is destined for sadness no matter which way you look at it, even if you can't see. (Also, I don't think it's often that a translated item gets nominated, and I liked reading this author unknown to me.)

[Arisu Mendez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Splinter is a beautiful character that makes you wonder about love, life and death… we might not be made of glass, but our lives are tragically fragile nevertheless and we're lucky to have made it this far.

That message is worth the reading.

[Bo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous, tender story about young love.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few thoughts on the story and the Hugo nomination it has received can be found here.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gay teen who does not cast a shadow falls in love with a boy made of glass. They run away together and the inevitable happens. Very incredibly sweet and well-written love story.

[Grey · Rating 3 out of 5]

sad and sweet

[Fritze Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I thought this might be cheesy. "Oh gods, is he gonna be a vampire?" But no! This is original and beautiful.

[Ed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting themes of letting people go to experience life but I still felt disconnected from it and especially didn't like some of the story elements.