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Sing #1
Sing
In a village on the distant colony of Kiruna, the outcast Aino has worked hard to created a life for herself. The fragile status quo is upset when the offworlder Petr arrives and insists on becoming a part of her life. But he has no idea what it will cost him, and has cost Aino, to belong to the people who sing with inhuman voices, in Sing by Karin Tidbeck.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
23 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 17, 2013
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448 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
January 1, 2019
WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!
boilerplate mission statement intro:
links to all stories read in previous years' calendars can be found at the end of these reviews, in case you are a person who likes to read stories for free:
2016: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2017: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
scroll down for links to this year’s stories which i will update as we go, and if you have any suggestions, send 'em my way! the only rules are: it must be available free online (links greatly appreciated), and it must be here on gr as its own thing so i can review it. thank you in advance!
DECEMBER 15
people are all the time asking me what my deal is with birds & all the shade i throw their way. and sometimes i think "maybe i am being too hard on birds." and then i giggle at having said "hard on." and then i read a story like this and i am like NOPE!
even at their best, birds're dicks.
none of that has anything to do with the story, except that it gave me one more reason to stand my ground on my anti-bird worldview. birds don't even need a reason to do what they do. regard - unprovoked evil.
anyway, story. it's great. however, i am really glad i knew going into this that there is a follow-up story, Listen, because although expertly written and descriptive as hell, it does leave you wanting more. it's a story of the dark underbelly of the symbiotic relationship but maybe also a cautionary tale about cultural appropriation or what happens when an outcast meets a newcomer in a parasitic world.
bonus points to story for being secret twin peaks fanfic, a place where the phrases Where we're from, the birds sing a pretty song" AND "Sometimes my arms bend back" come into play.
i told you these would be short. i'm not trying to be lazy, but i gotta get 30+ booknotches on my belt by the end of the month. is PRESSURE!
♥
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2013/04/17/sing/
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come to my blog!
boilerplate mission statement intro:
for the past two years, i’ve set december’s project aside to do my own version of a short story advent calendar. it’s not a true advent calendar since i choose all the stories myself, but what it lacks in the ‘element of surprise’ department it more than makes up for in hassle, as i try to cram even MORE reading into a life already overcrammed with impossible personal goals (live up to your potential! find meaningful work! learn to knit!) merry merry wheee!
since i am already well behind in my *regular* reviewing, when it comes to these stories, whatever i poop out as far as reflections or impressions are going to be superficial and perfunctory at best. please do not weep for the great big hole my absented, much-vaunted critical insights are gonna leave in these daily review-spaces (and your hearts); i’ll try to drop shiny insights elsewhere in other reviews, and here, i will at least drop links to where you can read the stories yourselves for free, which - let’s be honest - is gonna serve you better anyway.
HAPPY READING, BOOKNERDS!
links to all stories read in previous years' calendars can be found at the end of these reviews, in case you are a person who likes to read stories for free:
2016: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2017: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
scroll down for links to this year’s stories which i will update as we go, and if you have any suggestions, send 'em my way! the only rules are: it must be available free online (links greatly appreciated), and it must be here on gr as its own thing so i can review it. thank you in advance!
DECEMBER 15
What I had wanted to say, when he started talking about how Kiruna was just one world among many, was that I’m not stupid. I read books and sometimes I could pick up stuff on my old set, when the satellite was up and the moons didn’t interfere with it so much. I knew that Amitié was a big space station. I knew we lived in a poor backwater place. Still, you think your home is special, even if nobody ever visits.
people are all the time asking me what my deal is with birds & all the shade i throw their way. and sometimes i think "maybe i am being too hard on birds." and then i giggle at having said "hard on." and then i read a story like this and i am like NOPE!
even at their best, birds're dicks.
none of that has anything to do with the story, except that it gave me one more reason to stand my ground on my anti-bird worldview. birds don't even need a reason to do what they do. regard - unprovoked evil.
anyway, story. it's great. however, i am really glad i knew going into this that there is a follow-up story, Listen, because although expertly written and descriptive as hell, it does leave you wanting more. it's a story of the dark underbelly of the symbiotic relationship but maybe also a cautionary tale about cultural appropriation or what happens when an outcast meets a newcomer in a parasitic world.
bonus points to story for being secret twin peaks fanfic, a place where the phrases Where we're from, the birds sing a pretty song" AND "Sometimes my arms bend back" come into play.
i told you these would be short. i'm not trying to be lazy, but i gotta get 30+ booknotches on my belt by the end of the month. is PRESSURE!
♥
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2013/04/17/sing/
*******************************************
DECEMBER 1
DECEMBER 2
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come to my blog!
July 31, 2021
Sush a very painful-looking cover art... And the topic, frankly, ugh, I dunno, strange & artsy & not really making lots of sense / based on plot leading to nowhere or to, ugh, some really painful developments, if you get me?
April 11, 2014
Tidbeck is definitely an author to watch out for - she deserves recognition. I loved her collection, 'Jagannath,' and this is another deftly told tale. A tailor, disabled and shunned by her community, meets an off-world man who looks at her without the condemnation she is used to from her own people. She is attracted to the vision he offers her of a wider world. And he, in turn, appreciates her. But there is a secret that the people of her world do not speak of. The story captures real complexity of emotion.
January 14, 2023
Free online fiction @ http://www.tor.com/2013/04/17/sing/
What an uncomfortable read. Strange, beautiful, and there's a second story that I'm rushing off to read. I have this obsessive urge right now to read anything Tidbeck!
What an uncomfortable read. Strange, beautiful, and there's a second story that I'm rushing off to read. I have this obsessive urge right now to read anything Tidbeck!
December 31, 2018
I really love this woman's writing. It's so weird and disturbing and perfect.
October 16, 2021
We stay in the background, we who didn’t receive the gift unscathed.
If I'm ever asked the question, "What do you like in weird science fiction?" I can just point to this short story. I was intrigued by the disturbing (and lovely) cover art and I wasn't let down. In a broad way, this is about outsiders falling in love, but it's also about yearning for acceptance, and what we'll do to achieve that. The setting and worldbuilding are both really fascinating, and the story itself is just so fucking weird and upsetting. And I loved it. @ Karin Tidbeck thanks a lot for further fuelling my irrational fear of birds.
July 16, 2025
Aino has worked hard to live with her disability and manages to live her lonely life until Petr arrives from off world.
Tidbeck's story is incredibly sad - from the planet's secret, to Ajno's disability to the tragic affair with Petr. A great SF concept though.
Tidbeck's story is incredibly sad - from the planet's secret, to Ajno's disability to the tragic affair with Petr. A great SF concept though.
August 18, 2023
It would have been 5 stars if the ending was something else. I was disappointed at the end. Pretty cover though.
October 11, 2025
Bird song gone wrong.
3.5⭐️
3.5⭐️
December 23, 2025
23 pages. I liked it, but just so you know, I'm rarely critical of short stories.
October 12, 2020
This was a short and unusual little story that was intriguing, and it left me wanting more - in a good way, of course. The concepts in this story were incredibly interesting, and I feel as though it could have been fleshed out a bit more into a novella, at the very least. But I look forward to seeing what Ms. Tidbeck writes in the future!
June 9, 2017
Petr is a biologist studying a village of people living on a backwater planet. Aino’s physical disabilities have made her an outcast from that village, but her singing voice captivates Petr from the moment he hears it.
A short, beautifully written and poignant story that will make you think.
A short, beautifully written and poignant story that will make you think.
February 21, 2023
From the tor.com website, a sf short story from a Swedish author https://www.tor.com/2013/04/17/sing/ . I am actively trying to read more sf/f from authors who do not originally, mainly write in english (because for sf/fantasy english language publications are so central, overwhelming...).
This was beautifully written and there interestingly set (in an inhabited moon called Kiruna) and there is an elusiveness, reticence to defining the relationships which maybe is not typical of english-written stories. But I did not love it, I am not sure about the sf bits, it is a very classic golden era sf trope which feels tired and horror rather than science ( a biologist would hopefully be less naïve, I think). I also did not like the structure of the narrative, starting with final scene and then a lot of foreboding through the story, this is too short a story to need that. I am actually not totally sure if the first scene is set immediately before the final scene or not, presumably so, but just complaining it was not obvious (for me at least). Ending left opening, also somewhat frustrating.
There is a (also free) sequel to this, which I might pick. Rating is 2.5-3 stars, interesting enough but frustrating for this reader.
This was beautifully written and there interestingly set (in an inhabited moon called Kiruna) and there is an elusiveness, reticence to defining the relationships which maybe is not typical of english-written stories. But I did not love it, I am not sure about the sf bits, it is a very classic golden era sf trope which feels tired and horror rather than science ( a biologist would hopefully be less naïve, I think). I also did not like the structure of the narrative, starting with final scene and then a lot of foreboding through the story, this is too short a story to need that. I am actually not totally sure if the first scene is set immediately before the final scene or not, presumably so, but just complaining it was not obvious (for me at least). Ending left opening, also somewhat frustrating.
There is a (also free) sequel to this, which I might pick. Rating is 2.5-3 stars, interesting enough but frustrating for this reader.
February 19, 2025
What a strange story. It feels like Tidbeck doesn't particularly like birds. Or maybe I'm wrong and they do.
I like birds and am very interested in them. I'm no biologist by profession, but I have read a considerable amount of ornithological literature. And real birds are already strange enough.
But the birds here? They seem terrifying at first. Until one starts to really think about what happens. Now I'm not so sure who even are the terrifying ones. I don't know what to think anymore.
Stories that are as deeply unsettling as Sing without being about violence are my kind of horror.
I like birds and am very interested in them. I'm no biologist by profession, but I have read a considerable amount of ornithological literature. And real birds are already strange enough.
But the birds here? They seem terrifying at first. Until one starts to really think about what happens. Now I'm not so sure who even are the terrifying ones. I don't know what to think anymore.
Stories that are as deeply unsettling as Sing without being about violence are my kind of horror.
August 27, 2017
4 Stars.
Vague. Short. Intriguing.
I loved it. The scenes felt like to-the-point snapshots. In any other situation I would have hated not having a backstory, a lengthy explaination or in depth world building. But since I'm, I think, still experiencing a reading slump this was easy to get through.
Overall the writing style was good and very easy to read and I would definitely be interested in a full-length novel from the author.
Vague. Short. Intriguing.
I loved it. The scenes felt like to-the-point snapshots. In any other situation I would have hated not having a backstory, a lengthy explaination or in depth world building. But since I'm, I think, still experiencing a reading slump this was easy to get through.
Overall the writing style was good and very easy to read and I would definitely be interested in a full-length novel from the author.
October 29, 2023
Setting: Kiruna, an distant moon and ex-mining colony
Characters: Aino, a physically-handicapped local & Petr, a visitor from the Space Station Amité.
Petr is a visiting scientist, and Aino a tailor. When one of the moons rise, the locals stop talking and only sing, like birds.
Petr is fascinated by Kiruna and wants to stay, however Aino wants to experience the weightlessness and equality of Amité.
A lot of story in 32 pages!
Characters: Aino, a physically-handicapped local & Petr, a visitor from the Space Station Amité.
Petr is a visiting scientist, and Aino a tailor. When one of the moons rise, the locals stop talking and only sing, like birds.
Petr is fascinated by Kiruna and wants to stay, however Aino wants to experience the weightlessness and equality of Amité.
A lot of story in 32 pages!
March 27, 2017
Racconto weird sci-fi breve e intenso. Qualche punto in comune con Embassytown di China Miéville.
Tidbeck è un'autrice che sarebbe bello trovare tradotta in italiano. Ha pubblicato alcuni racconti sparsi, una raccolta e un romanzo. Spero che arrivi anche nelle nostre librerie.
Sing si trova in ebook oppure gratis su questa pagina, editato nientemeno che da Ann VanderMeer: http://www.tor.com/2013/04/17/sing/
Ha un racconto sequel, Listen: http://www.tor.com/2016/03/09/listen-...
Tidbeck è un'autrice che sarebbe bello trovare tradotta in italiano. Ha pubblicato alcuni racconti sparsi, una raccolta e un romanzo. Spero che arrivi anche nelle nostre librerie.
Sing si trova in ebook oppure gratis su questa pagina, editato nientemeno che da Ann VanderMeer: http://www.tor.com/2013/04/17/sing/
Ha un racconto sequel, Listen: http://www.tor.com/2016/03/09/listen-...
August 29, 2017
Tidbeck is rapidly becoming my favourite author. After the amazing Amatka, this short story may appear to be slight, but she manages to pack plenty of information, invention and emotion into a few pages. And, of course, the instability and unreliability of surroundings adds to both the suspense and the depth of the story. Awesomely weird.
January 20, 2018
Weirdly fascinating short story with Finnish like words where sometimes you have to sing and where birds are scary.
"I told him about how Oksakka kills the sound of birds, and how giant Maderakka peeks over the horizon now and then, reminding us that the three of us are just her satellites." - Karin Tidbeck, Sing
February 7, 2019
Ma lugesin vales järejekorras: apparently on see esimene osa. Mis selgitab natuke asju. Aga endiselt: põnev idee, mille teostus jätab soovida. (Ma oskaks nii palju muid asju ette kujutada! Ma tahaksin romaani sellest maailmast näiteks. Aga põhiliselt lihtsalt tegelased ja nende mõttemaailm ei tõmmanud absoluutselt emotsionaalselt kaasa ja jäi pealiskaudseks peale selle.)
May 12, 2019
Sing is an unusual story set on a planet called Kiruna! :D It features neat little plot twist as it follows Peter and Aino! :D Petr and Aino come across as ruthless characters who certainly know what they want! :D Cleverly intriguing, plot twists, adventure and action! :D Brilliant stuff and Highly Recommended! :D
June 5, 2017
A short story (Kindle single) that I just had to read after reading Tidbeck's collection, Jagannath, which I loved. This, too, was strange and intriguing in all sorts of ways. Not my favorite of her stories, but I will never pass up a ticket to her world.
March 9, 2021
Muito criativo e instigante, com personagens bem construídos, e ainda uma ótima escrita que sabe como trabalhar uma narrativa não linear. Fiquei apaixonada e aterrorizada ao mesmo tempo, achei incrível
January 9, 2023
This was a short quick read where I really enjoyed the writing, the atmosphere and the cliff-hanger at the end was really good! It is a good mix of sci-fi and horror. Some of the imagery was horrorifyingly good!
April 24, 2023
Is Aino callous, is she cruel? Does Petr survive? Is he happier he can sing? Is he crippled but uncrippled? Short stories leave a lot of questions unanswered. But the idea of a fully parasitic is interesting.
February 13, 2018
Quick and enchanting read. This story deserved to be more than a novella. Very enjoyable.
February 14, 2018
It's just not my cup of tea. Sorry...
March 3, 2018
Still good; still bleak. I'll pretty much read anything by Karin Tidbeck now (need to find a copy of Jagannath), and this cold Scandi SF might be a new favorite genre.
July 3, 2018
oh there is a part two alos called Listen
https://www.tor.com/2016/03/09/listen...
https://www.tor.com/2016/03/09/listen...
January 21, 2019
Isolation. Love. Birds.
Read it here: https://www.tor.com/2013/04/17/sing/#
Read it here: https://www.tor.com/2013/04/17/sing/#
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