Listen

Sing #2

by Karin Tidbeck

A strange people have appeared out of nowhere. Their speech is impossible to understand for most human beings; their agenda, they say, is to colonize the "right place". The interpreter Mika accompanies one of their ambassadors to the little moon Kiruna. Here, celestial bodies play havoc with sound, and reality may not be what it appears. (A sequel to SING)

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Swedish Literature, LGBT, Speculative Fiction

20 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 9, 2016

Reviews

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!

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 29

“I left for a reason. I don’t want to go back there. They treated me like dirt. I was heavy and in pain. I can be light here.”

“We can cure you.”

“I don’t need curing,” Aino said. “It’s just the wrong place.”

this is the sequel to tidbeck's other free tor short, Sing. and for those of you wondering what happened to petr kozlov at the end of that story, wonder no more! or, continue to wonder until you read this one - i'm not giving away the goods.

there are barely any birds in this one, despite what the 'cover' image would have you believe, except a rehash of 'what happens to kids on kiruna,' and in that rehash they are called 'insects,' which confused me because, while i am no zoologist, that



is a bird.

but i'm probably just misremembering the details of Sing; there's probably some sort of hitchhiking insect involved in the bird-throating process that is instrumental to the... linguistic transition. is that what we're calling it?

ANYWAY - i thought this story was okay. it introduces new characters and new conflicts and new... discomforts specific to people and their environments and people and their challenges w/r/t communication, interacting socially and other assorted mental and physical idiosyncrasies. i would rather have had the story just focus on petr and aino instead of dropping their follow-up into a whole other set of new circumstances to process, but i would also rather have ten million dollars and i'm used to not getting what i want. so there you have it.

read it for yourself here:

https://www.tor.com/2016/03/09/listen...

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come to my blog!

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free online story @ https://www.tor.com/2016/03/09/listen...

[lauraღ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Imagine the most beautiful music you’ve ever heard, with a hundred under- and overtones in harmony, a music that contains everything, so complex that it never bores you, and listening to it almost makes you cry. And you understand why music exists. And when it’s over, you just want more.”

Another really interesting short story in the same world as Tidbeck's "Sing". Fascinating, but this one wanted for clarity, I think. I can only just guess at what this was trying to say, and now that it's over I'm a little confused and unsatisfied. Though, considering what the story is about, perhaps the feeling it elicits is purposefully meta and Tidbeck is a genius, actually. Who knows. Also: another gorgeous cover! I love the art for these.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

apparently this is a sequel to a story i didn't read so i obviously missed the importance of a lot of plot points but i liked the world building i did understand

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2016/03/09/listen... a direct sequel to Sing, another sf short story about swedish colonists in a moon where interesting things happen to sound. I have been having a virtuous, self-improving notion of reading more sff which was not originally written in English (with mixed results) and this fits.

And like with Sing, I am very lukewarm about it. Made me think some more on what is sf, what is fantasy. The sf scenario makes it feel fresher, but is it really what I call sf? The mood is almost McKillip-esque, the sf so unexplained undistinguishable from magic (sounds waves, right. But more than that the lack of going into why the ambassadors could not speak to everybody or even the biology) that I just take it as magic. It does not explore what mechanism is around, it does not show characters (even in the face of the too mysterious) show elements of scientific thought. It is just all magic.

What remains then is characters and what they feel, and it is an interesting setup but the writing is so laconic this is too short (or maybe too long, another possibility) to make it justice.

Notes: interesting swedish culture in the far future...

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mika is an interpreter who has come to Koruna to investigate why Aino has left Petr behind.

A strange sequel to Tidbeck's "Sing", the wondrous mystery of the world is still there, layered in Aino's regret and Mika's longing.

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2013, Karin Tidbeck wrote Sing, a short story with memorable characters, and an entertaining plot. 3 years later the author bring us back to Kiruna, and tell us more of what happened after the events in Sing. While Listen is a good story, it lacks some of the magic of the first novel. This said, I would love to read more about the Kiruna colony, and Aino.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sequel to the equally strange Sing, these two stories should definitely be read together. It continues the story of Aino and her strange planet, and adds background to the original while expanding it.

[Jorgon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anotehr wonderfully weird and evocative tale from Tidbeck, a sequel to "Sing".

[Hanneleele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loo idee kõnetas mind, aga teostus jättis soovida.

[Per · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.tor.com/2016/03/09/listen...

[Emmett · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down

[Bill Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should just cut and paste my review of Sing here. Stunning and really makes me want to read the rest of the book. I haven't read much SF in many years but these two chapters(?) seem to me to fulfill the promise of the best of the New Wave in that ancient spring season. Looking forward to more.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad to have the sequel to "Sing." It answers many of the questions I had, but I can't say I enjoyed it as much... perhaps because of the unfortunate consequences everything seems to hold.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen is a sequel to Sing, showing readers what Aino has been up to since she left her world. Mika is a translator who is helping a new people with strange speech powers talk to Aino about moving to her old world. The story is oddly haunting, with interesting commentary on disability. I really want to see a novel set in this universe so that Tidbeck can explore the weirdness more.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

About all I can say for it is that it provides some conclusion to the previous story Sing.

[Julia]

Read for online class

[Ɛɾιɳ ẞҽҽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it here: https://www.tor.com/2016/03/09/listen...

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 / 5

I liked this one a little less, but again I loved the mystery and the way it ended. Again, some horrorfying imagery in this which I enjoyed (?) if I can say that.