What do you think?
Rate this book
The Gambler
In this Hugo and Nebula Award-nominated short story, a Laotian journalist, Ong, tries to succeed in an American news agency where glamorous “click-bait” stories drive revenue, and in-depth news stories are a dying breed. As Ong struggles to survive in the newsroom, he must choose whether he will pursue clicks and success, or stay true to his ideals, and risk everything because of it.
“The Gambler” was nominated for the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, and the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novelette. It was featured in Gardner Dozois’s “Year’s Best SF” Twenty-Sixth Edition, Jonathan Strahan’s “Best SF of the Year” Volume 3, and originally published in Pyr’s Fast Forward 2Anthology.
“The stories he [Paolo] chooses to write are those that make an easy extrapolation of the present into the near future, but with an immediacy and richness of detail that shows the reader just how close we are to seeing this come to pass. The world of The Gambler isn’t as dystopian as what we normally get from him, but his protagonist still serves a similar function as a lone voice of reason in a future you would not prefer but which seems somehow inevitable. There may be some analogy there with the author himself, but either way this is a nicely done story.” --- Mataglap SF
“…The story … wisely spends its time deepening Ong’s quiet but firm sincerity. The end of the “The Gambler” is probably the most touching thing Bacigalupi has yet what Ong gambles on is human nature, and Bacigalupi makes us want him to win.” ---Torque Control
“The Gambler” was nominated for the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, and the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novelette. It was featured in Gardner Dozois’s “Year’s Best SF” Twenty-Sixth Edition, Jonathan Strahan’s “Best SF of the Year” Volume 3, and originally published in Pyr’s Fast Forward 2Anthology.
“The stories he [Paolo] chooses to write are those that make an easy extrapolation of the present into the near future, but with an immediacy and richness of detail that shows the reader just how close we are to seeing this come to pass. The world of The Gambler isn’t as dystopian as what we normally get from him, but his protagonist still serves a similar function as a lone voice of reason in a future you would not prefer but which seems somehow inevitable. There may be some analogy there with the author himself, but either way this is a nicely done story.” --- Mataglap SF
“…The story … wisely spends its time deepening Ong’s quiet but firm sincerity. The end of the “The Gambler” is probably the most touching thing Bacigalupi has yet what Ong gambles on is human nature, and Bacigalupi makes us want him to win.” ---Torque Control
53 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2008
41 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Paolo Bacigalupi
133 books4,951 followersPaolo Bacigalupi is an award-winning author of novels for adults and young people.
His debut novel THE WINDUP GIRL was named by TIME Magazine as one of the ten best novels of 2009, and also won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Compton Crook, and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards. Internationally, it has won the Seiun Award (Japan), The Ignotus Award (Spain), The Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis (Germany), and the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire (France).
His debut young adult novel, SHIP BREAKER, was a Micheal L. Printz Award Winner, and a National Book Award Finalist, and its sequel, THE DROWNED CITIES, was a 2012 Kirkus Reviews Best of YA Book, A 2012 VOYA Perfect Ten Book, and 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist. The final book in the series, TOOL OF WAR, will release in October of 2017.
His latest novel for adults is The New York Times Bestseller THE WATER KNIFE, a near-future thriller about climate change and drought in the southwestern United States.
His debut novel THE WINDUP GIRL was named by TIME Magazine as one of the ten best novels of 2009, and also won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Compton Crook, and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards. Internationally, it has won the Seiun Award (Japan), The Ignotus Award (Spain), The Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis (Germany), and the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire (France).
His debut young adult novel, SHIP BREAKER, was a Micheal L. Printz Award Winner, and a National Book Award Finalist, and its sequel, THE DROWNED CITIES, was a 2012 Kirkus Reviews Best of YA Book, A 2012 VOYA Perfect Ten Book, and 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist. The final book in the series, TOOL OF WAR, will release in October of 2017.
His latest novel for adults is The New York Times Bestseller THE WATER KNIFE, a near-future thriller about climate change and drought in the southwestern United States.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 4, 2019
Read this while in Laos, thought it was a touching and interesting short story.
April 7, 2025
A beautifully concise story , about stories that matter , in a world which only want stories that don’t.
Speculative fiction a little too close to our current reality.
Speculative fiction a little too close to our current reality.
July 1, 2023
An immigrant from Laos to USA working as a journalist creating clickbait faces fundamental questions in a good 30 page short novel
January 7, 2019
The Gambler is firmly grounded in today's reality. The protagonist, Ong, is Laotian. He is a refugee from the New Lao Kingdom, a repressive dictatorship that has pushed aside the old Lao Democratic Republic. Ong is employed by an online media company that thrives on scandal and celebrity news. But he is not willing to play along in he game. Ong insists on writing stories about the impact of climate change and other pieces intended to impress policymakers. His work receives the fewest clicks of anyone's. Then the star reporter in the newsroom hands off to him a surefire breakthrough story bound to rescue his career.
About the author
Paolo Bacigalupi has won the Hugo, Nebula, Compton Crook, Theodore Sturgeon, and Michael L. Printz awards, and was nominated for the National Book Award. In addition to his five sci-fi novels, a collection of short stories, and these three novelettes, he has collaborated on a novella and a novel, both of them works of fantasy.
About the author
Paolo Bacigalupi has won the Hugo, Nebula, Compton Crook, Theodore Sturgeon, and Michael L. Printz awards, and was nominated for the National Book Award. In addition to his five sci-fi novels, a collection of short stories, and these three novelettes, he has collaborated on a novella and a novel, both of them works of fantasy.
October 23, 2017
The ultimate "fake news" tutorial!
Where is the 24/7/365 news cycle leading us? Meet Ong, a recent emigre' from Laos, who works for a news network writing small, earnest important stories that are not getting enough clicks, according to his boss. In "The Gambler" author Bacigalupi offers up his midnight-in-a-coal-mine view of things to come. It is a story well worth your time.
Where is the 24/7/365 news cycle leading us? Meet Ong, a recent emigre' from Laos, who works for a news network writing small, earnest important stories that are not getting enough clicks, according to his boss. In "The Gambler" author Bacigalupi offers up his midnight-in-a-coal-mine view of things to come. It is a story well worth your time.
May 26, 2017
short story.
a look at modern american journalism, ad revenue, and what is news from the pov of an immigrant Laos journalist.
a look at modern american journalism, ad revenue, and what is news from the pov of an immigrant Laos journalist.
October 21, 2017
clever and poignant -likeable, but missing some essential element of life just the same
March 24, 2018
Well written short story that begs to be a novel.
July 14, 2023
Impressive description of actors - in a few words, but it's enough to imagine a person with rich background.
Didn't find, how it's related to SF.
Didn't find, how it's related to SF.
April 15, 2016
Impressive characterization. Just runs out of steam. Boring at first, too.
December 7, 2016
A terrific -- and not very flattering -- long short story/novelette portrayal of modern journalism.
October 9, 2016
Lots to think about in this short piece.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews