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Sleeper
History is a thing we make—in more senses than one. And from more directions.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
30 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 12, 2014
328 people want to read
About the author
Jo Walton
84 books3,079 followersJo Walton writes science fiction and fantasy novels and reads a lot and eats great food. It worries her slightly that this is so exactly what she always wanted to do when she grew up. She comes from Wales, but lives in Montreal.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
December 9, 2019
Final review, first posted on Fantasy Literature:
Matthew Corley, a moderately famous British BBC director who died in 1994, is brought back to life ― in a sense ― as a computer simulation in the year 2064 by Essie, a biographer with her own agenda. Corley seems very real to the reader and to Essie, but the story make it clear to us that he is something other:
Jo Walton envisions a rather bleak future world, but the discussion between Matthew and Essie is fascinating in what it reveals about these two characters and the future Essie lives in. The little twists and ironies in this story, particularly the final one, really make it.
Free online at Tor.com.
Matthew Corley, a moderately famous British BBC director who died in 1994, is brought back to life ― in a sense ― as a computer simulation in the year 2064 by Essie, a biographer with her own agenda. Corley seems very real to the reader and to Essie, but the story make it clear to us that he is something other:
Let us say that the entity believing himself to be Matthew Corley feels that he regained consciousness while reading an article in the newspaper about the computer replication of personalities of the dead. He believes that it is 1994, the year of his death, that he regained consciousness after a brief nap, and that the article he was reading is nonsense. All of these beliefs are wrong. He dismissed the article because he understands enough to know that simulating consciousness in DOS or Windows 3.1 is inherently impossible. He is right about that much, at least.And yet it’s easy to forget, while reading about him and his dialogue with Essie, that this simulation is not the original Matthew Corley. Essie uses an illegal phone to “talk” to Corley about the future and her questions for him, and gradually she works her way around to a significant request.
Jo Walton envisions a rather bleak future world, but the discussion between Matthew and Essie is fascinating in what it reveals about these two characters and the future Essie lives in. The little twists and ironies in this story, particularly the final one, really make it.
Free online at Tor.com.
October 15, 2018
Let us say that the entity believing himself to be Matthew Corley feels that he regained consciousness while reading an article in the newspaper about the computer replication of personalities of the dead. He believes that it is 1994, the year of his death, that he regained consciousness after a brief nap, and that the article he was reading is nonsense. All of these beliefs are wrong.
the tor site hasn't updated in a while, there weren't any new shorts for my weekly tor-short read, and i had to go baaaack in tiiiime to find one i hadn't read. which should have been easy, since there are so many, but the first few i clicked as possible goodies i'd already read (one as recently as JUNE), but for some reason didn't recognize the image or synopsis (this BRAIN o' mine), and then there were all the ones tied to a series (and some are pretty sneaky about it, FYI), or just seemed not-for-me, and i was beginning to despair when i came across this one - unread, by an author who'd impressed me in the past, and which i had basically promised Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ i would read more than two years ago.
eventually, i do what i say i will.
and this is a good one. it's short, but there's a lot nestled in its folds, least of which is the double meaning of its title. there's some interesting irony at play in the story, and some so-convoluted-it'll-make-your-head-spin logic to unpack, as far as identity; what is "real," what is construct, the dissemination of propaganda in a future that might have already been altered by the past and whether the old santayana/churchill/jonestown warning about failing to learn from history is going to muck up the good intentions of essie and matthew. or just essie, considering.
a nice bite-sized start to the day, and another short review for a short story tee emm.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2014/08/12/sleepe...
come to my blog!
June 8, 2016
This short story shows a future Earth where many of the chilling predictions from Orwell's 1984 have come to fruition. Then sprinkles in a some political theory discussions with a "simulated consciousness" of a historical figure from the past. And tacks on the typical message of how the working class must rise up and overthrow their oppressors.
Heard it all before, and I've seen that "simulated consciousness" done much better on the excellent Black Mirror: White Christmas episode.
Sorry, Tadiana, but I didn't care much for this one. :'(
Check it out for yourself for free, over at Tor.com. Then feel free to return to my review space, and label me a simpleton, who missed the point, and reads everything wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. ;)
Heard it all before, and I've seen that "simulated consciousness" done much better on the excellent Black Mirror: White Christmas episode.
Sorry, Tadiana, but I didn't care much for this one. :'(
Check it out for yourself for free, over at Tor.com. Then feel free to return to my review space, and label me a simpleton, who missed the point, and reads everything wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. ;)
March 14, 2015
We make our own history, both past and future
Matthew Corley regained consciousness reading the newspaper.
None of those facts are unproblematic. It wasn’t exactly a newspaper, nor was the process by which he received the information really reading. The question of his consciousness is a matter of controversy, and the process by which he regained it certainly illegal. The issue of whether he could be considered in any way to have a claim to assert the identity of Matthew Corley is even more vexed. It is probably best to for us to embrace subjectivity, to withhold judgement.
A clever story that blurs the lines between what you think is real and what isn't... It was a little confusing at first but that only lasted a little bit of the story. I loved the world building and the concept of using a simulation in a book to... well, you'll have to read to see :).
Essie and Matthew were fun to "watch" (so to speak), Matthew is confused but fascinated by Essie's world.
I won't say more than this so as not to spoil it for you, it's one of the best short stories I've read off the site so far... 4.5 stars :) Would love to see more of this world, well done Miss Walton!
Read the story here
Matthew Corley regained consciousness reading the newspaper.
None of those facts are unproblematic. It wasn’t exactly a newspaper, nor was the process by which he received the information really reading. The question of his consciousness is a matter of controversy, and the process by which he regained it certainly illegal. The issue of whether he could be considered in any way to have a claim to assert the identity of Matthew Corley is even more vexed. It is probably best to for us to embrace subjectivity, to withhold judgement.
A clever story that blurs the lines between what you think is real and what isn't... It was a little confusing at first but that only lasted a little bit of the story. I loved the world building and the concept of using a simulation in a book to... well, you'll have to read to see :).
Essie and Matthew were fun to "watch" (so to speak), Matthew is confused but fascinated by Essie's world.
I won't say more than this so as not to spoil it for you, it's one of the best short stories I've read off the site so far... 4.5 stars :) Would love to see more of this world, well done Miss Walton!
Read the story here
June 26, 2019
Wow. This might be her best short. Why didn't it win an award, or even a nomination? How did I miss it? Pretty near perfect story. Go read it! http://www.tor.com/2014/08/12/sleeper...
Good, solid sfnal extrapolation. How biographers might work, a little further up the line, if tech gets better and society gets grimmer. Amazing character-creation in a short story. Wonderful twist-ending.
"[T]he word computer has been obsolete for decades and has a charming old fashioned air, like charabanc or telegraph. Nobody needs computers in the future. They communicate, work, and play games on phones."
Terrible cover art! Unusual for Tor.com stories. Worth reading the comments there, when you're done.
Good, solid sfnal extrapolation. How biographers might work, a little further up the line, if tech gets better and society gets grimmer. Amazing character-creation in a short story. Wonderful twist-ending.
"[T]he word computer has been obsolete for decades and has a charming old fashioned air, like charabanc or telegraph. Nobody needs computers in the future. They communicate, work, and play games on phones."
Terrible cover art! Unusual for Tor.com stories. Worth reading the comments there, when you're done.
November 23, 2015
3.5 stars
Hey, after all;
Right?
You can read it here for free
“Let us say that the entity believing himself to be Matthew Corley feels that he regained consciousness while reading an article in the newspaper about the computer replication of personalities of the dead. He believes that it is 1994, the year of his death, that he regained consciousness after a brief nap, and that the article he was reading is nonsense. All of these beliefs are wrong. ’’A very quick read, great premise. I just wish it longer. Still, it was amazing to see even though time changes, technology advances, and privilege prevails some things stays the same: Some people will go any lengths to see what they want to see.
Hey, after all;
“We make our own history, both past and future.’’
Right?
You can read it here for free
May 11, 2020
I've actually needed more of this story. The idea was simply brilliant and the main characters seemed intriguing, but there was no room for getting to know them. Still, the world built was good and the writing perfect for the mood of the story.
July 13, 2022
A quick read, well-written, clever, and with a nice twist at the end. 3.5 stars.
December 23, 2019
Review of short story “Sleeper@ by Jo Walton.
I wonder how it all turned out? Was Essie able to get her Revolution? Or did she let a genie out of a bottle that didn’t act how she wanted it to? Or did she get what she wanted, but then realized it wasn’t really what she wanted at all? Unintended consequences are a real bear. 4, thought provoking, stars.
I wonder how it all turned out? Was Essie able to get her Revolution? Or did she let a genie out of a bottle that didn’t act how she wanted it to? Or did she get what she wanted, but then realized it wasn’t really what she wanted at all? Unintended consequences are a real bear. 4, thought provoking, stars.
August 27, 2014
Simply amazing. Jo Walton hasn't disappointed yet, and this one's a gem.
It's a fairly simple premise. Man wakes up from what he thinks is a nap, only to find that he's actually dead and what he thinks is "him" is a computer simulation.
Along the way, Walton gets in some geek jokes -- when Matthew Corley wakes up he's reading an article about "computer replication of personalities of the dead" and he thinks its BS because "simulating consciousness in DOS or Windows 3.1 is inherently impossible" -- and at least one dig at the publishing industry -- when Essie's boss considers that the company made lots of money on her last biography "though only a pittance for Essie...".
I loved "the word computer has been obsolete for decades and has a charming old fashioned air, like charabanc [I had to look that up] or telegraph." That's not really "speculative fiction", as computer is already disappearing. We use "pads", "tablets", "phones", but rarely computers.
Even more, I loved the reaction when Essie and Matthew (the simulation) first see each other. Matthew died in the 1980s, and Essie's in 2064. You just know there's going to be culture shock, but naturally, neither of them know just what it is that's going to be so shocking.
But all of this beautifully tight writing is just keeping you interested as Walton leads up to a conclusion that is, in hindsight, utterly predictable -- but that I predict you won't predict...
April 21, 2019
Very interesting concept that suddenly became something else.
July 5, 2017
Matthew Corley regained consciousness reading the newspaper.
None of those facts are unproblematic.
Jo Walton definitely paints a bleak view of the future, but it's one that's not impossible to see from where we stand at this point in time. A thoroughly engossing read.
None of those facts are unproblematic.
Jo Walton definitely paints a bleak view of the future, but it's one that's not impossible to see from where we stand at this point in time. A thoroughly engossing read.
December 4, 2018
Story 4 in my 24 Days of Shorts
Who are you, and how much of you is really you? Which parts of history are true, and which are influenced by historians? Can we ever know??
A delightful brain-bender!!!
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2014/08/12/sleepe...
My 24 Days of Shorts
1. Yiwu by Lavie Tidhar
2.
The Night Cyclist by Stephen Graham Jones
3. AI and the Trolley Problem by Pat Cadigan
4. Sleeper by Jo Walton
5. She Commands Me and I Obey by Ann Leckie
6. Your Orisons May Be Recorded by Laurie Penny
7. This World is Full of Monsters by Jeff VanderMeer
8. The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal
9. Triquetra by Kirstyn McDermott
10. A Human Stain by Kelly Robson
11. Our King and His Court by Rich Larson
12. Errata by Jeff VanderMeer
13. Night's Slow Poison by Ann Leckie
14. A Kiss With Teeth by Max Gladstone
15. God Product by Alyssa Wong
16. Our Faces, Radiant Sisters, Our Faces Full of Light! by Kameron Hurley
17. The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo by Zen Cho
18. The Devil in America by Kai Ashante Wilson
19. Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light by Sarah McCarry
20. The Too-Clever Fox by Leigh Bardugo
21. Daughter of Necessity by Marie Brennan
22. Red as Blood and White as Bone by Theodora GossRobert Charles Wilson
23. 'Tis the Season by China Miéville
24. Julian: A Christmas Story by Robert Charles Wilson
Matthew Corley regained consciousness reading the newspaper.
None of those facts are unproblematic
Who are you, and how much of you is really you? Which parts of history are true, and which are influenced by historians? Can we ever know??
A delightful brain-bender!!!
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2014/08/12/sleepe...
My 24 Days of Shorts
1. Yiwu by Lavie Tidhar
2.
The Night Cyclist by Stephen Graham Jones
3. AI and the Trolley Problem by Pat Cadigan
4. Sleeper by Jo Walton
5. She Commands Me and I Obey by Ann Leckie
6. Your Orisons May Be Recorded by Laurie Penny
7. This World is Full of Monsters by Jeff VanderMeer
8. The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal
9. Triquetra by Kirstyn McDermott
10. A Human Stain by Kelly Robson
11. Our King and His Court by Rich Larson
12. Errata by Jeff VanderMeer
13. Night's Slow Poison by Ann Leckie
14. A Kiss With Teeth by Max Gladstone
15. God Product by Alyssa Wong
16. Our Faces, Radiant Sisters, Our Faces Full of Light! by Kameron Hurley
17. The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo by Zen Cho
18. The Devil in America by Kai Ashante Wilson
19. Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light by Sarah McCarry
20. The Too-Clever Fox by Leigh Bardugo
21. Daughter of Necessity by Marie Brennan
22. Red as Blood and White as Bone by Theodora GossRobert Charles Wilson
23. 'Tis the Season by China Miéville
24. Julian: A Christmas Story by Robert Charles Wilson
December 30, 2015
One of the shortest stories in the collection, but that also makes it one of the punchiest, which means I really liked it. The title has multiple meanings, which become apparent to you as time goes on. It explores the nature of subjective/objective truth & reality, the importance of social services, and artificial intelligence -- of sorts. I won't say much else, for spoilers. But it grabbed me right from the first two paragraphs with Walton's voice and the intriguing setup:
Read it here: http://www.tor.com/2014/08/12/sleeper...
Matthew Corley regained consciousness reading the newspaper.
None of those facts are unproblematic. It wasn’t exactly a newspaper, nor was the process by which he received the information really reading. The question of his consciousness is a matter of controversy, and the process by which he regained it certainly illegal. The issue of whether he could be considered in any way to have a claim to assert the identity of Matthew Corley is even more vexed. It is probably best to for us to embrace subjectivity, to withhold judgement. Let us say that the entity believing himself to be Matthew Corley feels that he regained consciousness while reading an article in the newspaper about the computer replication of personalities of the dead. He believes that it is 1994, the year of his death, that he regained consciousness after a brief nap, and that the article he was reading is nonsense. All of these beliefs are wrong. He dismissed the article because he understands enough to know that simulating consciousness in DOS or Windows 3.1 is inherently impossible. He is right about that much, at least.
Read it here: http://www.tor.com/2014/08/12/sleeper...
December 25, 2015
Sleeper is one of the shortest Tor stories I've read so far. The story plays on the reader's expectations of reality.
The ending isn't much of a surprise, but the way the story blurs the distinctions between real facts and facts that you think are real was an interesting idea to see in motion.
The ending isn't much of a surprise, but the way the story blurs the distinctions between real facts and facts that you think are real was an interesting idea to see in motion.
November 18, 2016
Read it here online!
The story is about a biographer in the future, who's trying to write a biography by talking to a "memory" or hologramm of a dead notable person. It was interesting and I liked it, but didn't love it.
The story is about a biographer in the future, who's trying to write a biography by talking to a "memory" or hologramm of a dead notable person. It was interesting and I liked it, but didn't love it.
June 28, 2017
This was an interesting story. However, it was so short that it didn't have much of a plot. It felt more like a prologue in a book, than a story on it's own. I really hope that the author expands on it, and creates a book from it, possibly about the revolution.
September 20, 2014
A future biographer prepares for the release of her next book.
I forgot how much I like Jo Walton's stories. This one shares some similar themes with the Small Change trilogy. Good stuff.
I forgot how much I like Jo Walton's stories. This one shares some similar themes with the Small Change trilogy. Good stuff.
November 15, 2014
Read my Amazon review -
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1NYICB2...
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1NYICB2...
January 24, 2015
Interesting short.
"We make our own history, both past and future."
"We make our own history, both past and future."
December 9, 2019
An interesting premise but it was way too under-developed for me.
Could do with more editing and clarity.
Could do with more editing and clarity.
July 16, 2025
A computer simulation of a dead man is interviewed by his biographer.
A fascinating concept - what is self, but an agreed set of memories? Walton succeeds in driving home the idea of self outside the body.
A fascinating concept - what is self, but an agreed set of memories? Walton succeeds in driving home the idea of self outside the body.
April 18, 2022
Sleeper by author Jo Walton is a short story you can read for free on the Tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2014/08/12/sleepe...
History is a thing we make—in more senses than one. And from more directions.
Intriguing short with a nice little twist. Would have been interesting to see what happens next.
3.7 Stars
History is a thing we make—in more senses than one. And from more directions.
Intriguing short with a nice little twist. Would have been interesting to see what happens next.
3.7 Stars
November 14, 2017
This was an interesting concept though terribly slow for a short story, I felt. But in order to amend that issue would be to make a full length novel, quicken the pacing with other events/experiences, expanding (in depth) upon the presented ideas and further developing the characters and world, because there were a lot of concepts going on but not enough pages to really expand upon them, given that they were not really the fast-paced type of topics. Long-winded explanation has now ended.
Basically, for how much the short story Sleeper had going on, and with so little room for growth, the theory got a little crushed into a drudging, flat interview; a slow few pages of a future biographer enlightening the "simulated consciousness" of a dead BBC director. It was an interesting concept, although not altogether original; also the Sleeper could seriously use a more polished writing style, since the blandness of the prose makes for an even slower read.
[OFFICIAL RATING: 2.5 STARS]
**Read Free at Tor.com**
Read here: https://www.tor.com/2014/08/12/sleepe...
Basically, for how much the short story Sleeper had going on, and with so little room for growth, the theory got a little crushed into a drudging, flat interview; a slow few pages of a future biographer enlightening the "simulated consciousness" of a dead BBC director. It was an interesting concept, although not altogether original; also the Sleeper could seriously use a more polished writing style, since the blandness of the prose makes for an even slower read.
[OFFICIAL RATING: 2.5 STARS]
**Read Free at Tor.com**
Read here: https://www.tor.com/2014/08/12/sleepe...
November 30, 2017
I enjoyed this short story very much. It is well written, and the narrative is engaging with just enough suspense before the unfolding twists and reveals.
The opening language is humorous and sets the story against this backdrop of subjectivity and possible implausibility. What do you believe and disbelieve? How do we sift through the truth and the stretching of the "truth"? These are things this story addresses obliquely. I think this idea is core, but it is not as deeply dissected as it could have been.
Though in saying this, the story is very enjoyable, and I really enjoyed the interaction of the characters and the subtle clashing of worlds.
The opening language is humorous and sets the story against this backdrop of subjectivity and possible implausibility. What do you believe and disbelieve? How do we sift through the truth and the stretching of the "truth"? These are things this story addresses obliquely. I think this idea is core, but it is not as deeply dissected as it could have been.
Though in saying this, the story is very enjoyable, and I really enjoyed the interaction of the characters and the subtle clashing of worlds.
May 18, 2016
Read in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015
A future biographer digitally brings a long dead notable figure back to life. She asks him questions in order to write about his life, but not the side that most people knew.
A very short story that took me a few paragraphs to get fully immersed in. Once inside though, it wouldn't let me out.
A future biographer digitally brings a long dead notable figure back to life. She asks him questions in order to write about his life, but not the side that most people knew.
A very short story that took me a few paragraphs to get fully immersed in. Once inside though, it wouldn't let me out.
September 5, 2019
We make our own history, both past and future
everything George Orwell predicted in 1984 happened in the year 2064. Essie, a writer, is willing to chnage the world, with the help from beyond the grave. Matthew Corley, a deceased famous BBC director , is brought back to life with the help of a simulator.
This is a rich story, one of the few that makes you wish it was longer.
Read for free on tor.com
Read
July 29, 2015A story about the idea of simulated consciousness - which appears to be breaking no new ground, but handles the ideas very deftly. And then it starts dropping in more details about the world 50 years hence, the plutocrats' dream and everyone else's nightmare, extrapolated from now in a worryingly plausible direction I've somehow not seen before. And oh, then it ties the two together in such a beautifully neat bow that I almost gasped aloud!
December 3, 2017
Stanley isn’t powerful, he isn’t the enemy, he’s just another person trying to get by, like Essie, though sometimes it’s hard for Essie to remember that when he’s trying to exercise his modicum of power over her.
I'm not a huge fan of the writing style - but this was a very interesting short story!
It started off rather dense, but when we hit the meat of the idea (reintroducing communism/socialism), the story becomes worth it.
February 18, 2018
A very interesting story, set in a dystopian yet realistic future where human rights have been eroded by unregulated capitalism turned evil. In this bleak future, technology enable artists to program work of art with artificial intelligence beings that human can interact with. This is the story of an artist's attempt to change the future with the help of another, long dead one.
A reflection of the role of art in shaping our society, and its future.
A reflection of the role of art in shaping our society, and its future.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews