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Everything That Isn't Winter
Does a renewed world still have a place for those who only know how to destroy? While defending a tea-growing commune in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, one person seeks an answer.
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.
23 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 19, 2016
4 people are currently reading
477 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Killjoy
57 books1,457 followersMargaret Killjoy is a transfeminine author and editor currently based in the Appalachian mountains. Her most recent book is an anarchist demon hunters novella called The Barrow Will Send What it May, published by Tor.com. She spends her time crafting and complaining about authoritarian power structures and she blogs at birdsbeforethestorm.net.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
April 30, 2020
“Why do you think they did it?” I asked.
Bartley shrugged. “People don’t like it when other people have nice things.”
my weekly quickreview of a free tor short.
i'm torn on this one. i really liked all the action-parts - strong, necessary, consequential violence as post-apoc survival strategy, but the other half of this story is all seesawing relationshippy feels, and i can always do without that. althea ann's review compares this to an episode of The Walking Dead, and that's exactly right. whenever there are zombies in that show, it's fun as hell, but whenever people are just sitting around talking about their 'motions, i tune out and wait for the zombies to come back. no zombies in this story, but other than that, it inspires the same rise and fall of my interest level.
as far as not divulging the gender of the narrator, aiden, i go both ways on that. on the one hand, the author pulls it off without making the story read awkwardly or drawing too much attention to the omission. on the other hand -meh. i suppose it's a fine writing workshop exercise to write an ungendered POV, but there's no narrative purpose for it here. it's a novelty that merits a mention, but its absence doesn't contribute anything to the story itself. if you're going to tell a story, you need to give the reader enough detail to grip onto, and if you're gonna be coy about some of it, it's more satisfying to be coy-with-purpose that coy for coy's sake. but what do i know; i'm just me.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2016/10/19/231037/
come to my blog!
February 7, 2017
This story felt like an episode of The Walking Dead; it had very similar dynamics.
In a post-collapse world, a group of people have managed to survive by creating and running a cooperative tea plantation. But when they're attacked by a vicious group with heavy artillery, they may be outnumbered, outgunned, and out of options.
However, our narrator, Aiden and her friend Bartley, the commune's two lookouts, have a bold and desperate plan to save them.
As in TWD, there's plenty of post-apocalyptic action, but the main focus is on interpersonal relationships and characters' inner strengths. In general, that's something I'm in favor of, but in this case, I didn't find myself really caring about Aiden's lackluster relationship with her boyfriend.
Still, this wasn't bad. I'd read more by the author. The politics, while present, never overwhelmed the story, and the characters were nicely drawn.
[Only because it appeared no less than 3x... It's ordnance. It's not ordinance. Those are different words.]
In a post-collapse world, a group of people have managed to survive by creating and running a cooperative tea plantation. But when they're attacked by a vicious group with heavy artillery, they may be outnumbered, outgunned, and out of options.
However, our narrator, Aiden and her friend Bartley, the commune's two lookouts, have a bold and desperate plan to save them.
As in TWD, there's plenty of post-apocalyptic action, but the main focus is on interpersonal relationships and characters' inner strengths. In general, that's something I'm in favor of, but in this case, I didn't find myself really caring about Aiden's lackluster relationship with her boyfriend.
Still, this wasn't bad. I'd read more by the author. The politics, while present, never overwhelmed the story, and the characters were nicely drawn.
[Only because it appeared no less than 3x... It's ordnance. It's not ordinance. Those are different words.]
October 21, 2016
Solid. Gripping and sweet. Nicely integrated.
February 1, 2022
Tea-pickin' hillbillies find love amongst the ruins.
A charming, beautifully written shorty about life after the apocalypse in the hills of Washington State. I liked this one from tor.com.
A charming, beautifully written shorty about life after the apocalypse in the hills of Washington State. I liked this one from tor.com.
March 3, 2019
This Tor best of collection continues to impress. Another author new to me, Killjoy tells an evocative, affecting and effective tale of a post-apocalypse township dealing with a threat, through the eyes of a young woman who is the de facto chief of military and tactical matters and is dealing with her own personal issues. The story is wonderfully told, grounded in superb characterisation and a strong sense of place.
April 5, 2025
Margaret Killjoy's athmosperic, ecological, anarchist, vaguely post-apocalyptic* short fiction should in abstract be something I should love easily, yet it often hasn't clicked with me.
This has hit the highest, of all of her writing that I've read so far. There is still a lot that struggles for more space: dense inner life and drama, phrasing that is stark and dramatic, and almost too awesome not to get more set-up. But no material that begs to have filled out a novel either.
____________
* I had this written up in my head only to remember that the post-apocalypse of Everything That Isn't Winter isn't vaguely defined, for its length. (~50 years after a (presumably) athropocene-ending geomagnetic storm. A commune in the hills of the state of Washington. Some idiots with guns (everyone looks like a target if all you have is a gun.)
Nor, for that matter, is the rest of Killjoy's fiction strictly post-apocalyptic: her Danielle Cain novellas¹² aren't, they just have the feel of it: of being cut off from the world, from past and future, where survival is only as strong as the human connections that hold to you. (As it ever was.)
This has hit the highest, of all of her writing that I've read so far. There is still a lot that struggles for more space: dense inner life and drama, phrasing that is stark and dramatic, and almost too awesome not to get more set-up. But no material that begs to have filled out a novel either.
____________
* I had this written up in my head only to remember that the post-apocalypse of Everything That Isn't Winter isn't vaguely defined, for its length. (~50 years after a (presumably) athropocene-ending geomagnetic storm. A commune in the hills of the state of Washington. Some idiots with guns (everyone looks like a target if all you have is a gun.)
Nor, for that matter, is the rest of Killjoy's fiction strictly post-apocalyptic: her Danielle Cain novellas¹² aren't, they just have the feel of it: of being cut off from the world, from past and future, where survival is only as strong as the human connections that hold to you. (As it ever was.)
January 25, 2018
A great short story. If it had held more action I would have been happier with it but overall it was a great story.
May 25, 2019
“I’m afraid. I’m afraid of you and I’m afraid of us and I’m afraid of this new world we’ve built, that one day soon it’ll be no place for me and everything I’ve done and everything I am. I’m afraid of everything that isn’t winter and I’m afraid of everything but dying.”
How do you fit in to a new world when you were born into a post-apocalyptic world and everything you've ever known as been struggle and death? The question is posed in this well written story, set in the wilds of former Washington state on a tea commune of about 100 people. I never noticed that the narrator's gender is never revealed until reviewers mentioned it in the comments; I always assumed the voice was female. Rereading it now, I can appreciate the duality. Kudos to the author - very well done!
How do you fit in to a new world when you were born into a post-apocalyptic world and everything you've ever known as been struggle and death? The question is posed in this well written story, set in the wilds of former Washington state on a tea commune of about 100 people. I never noticed that the narrator's gender is never revealed until reviewers mentioned it in the comments; I always assumed the voice was female. Rereading it now, I can appreciate the duality. Kudos to the author - very well done!
October 23, 2016
The sort of post-apocalyptic Americana described here felt somewhere between Into the Forest, The Postman, and Station Eleven (admittedly Canadian).
I like.
I like.
September 28, 2021
Post-apocalyptic goings on with a main character whose gender is not specified, so I guess how you envisage them may be enlightening in respect of your own unconscious assumptions.
The story was interesting, if a little glitchy in parts, and somewhat generic in tone, but as a short story I guess it's hard to establish a unique setting. I think there's potential for the author to expand it into a full novel with deeper world-building and expanded characterisation.
The story was interesting, if a little glitchy in parts, and somewhat generic in tone, but as a short story I guess it's hard to establish a unique setting. I think there's potential for the author to expand it into a full novel with deeper world-building and expanded characterisation.
April 23, 2019
Loved this! Just really wish I could read a whole novel set in this world!
September 5, 2017
Peace didn’t work for me. Battle is a thing that gets into my gut, makes me desperate to live. Love is a thing that gets into my gut, makes me wish I were dead.
Another short story from Margaret Killjoy that displays her outstanding talent - she writes like no-one else does about those who want so badly to build something better. They do say to write what you know!
It really would be a shame to spoil this one, and it's not a long read to risk your time on - find it here: https://www.tor.com/2016/10/19/231037/
Another short story from Margaret Killjoy that displays her outstanding talent - she writes like no-one else does about those who want so badly to build something better. They do say to write what you know!
It really would be a shame to spoil this one, and it's not a long read to risk your time on - find it here: https://www.tor.com/2016/10/19/231037/
Read
October 20, 2016A story of the hard-bitten idylls that might grow up after the collapse of civilisation, and how those idylls will still have to deal with the fact that a lot of people are absolute shits, and how even the ones who aren't evil need to do desperate things sometimes to stop the ones who aren't, and even for good people love will never be easy. It's not a laugh riot, is what I'm getting at, but the hard-won hope at the core of it all is quite something.
January 3, 2017
Pleasantly atmospheric with interesting characterization, but the ending felt too rushed to really resolve the internal conflicts established earlier.
January 24, 2018
Just okay but felt weirdly like it kept returning to the romance at unsuitable times. Khalil was unsettling with his crying and pouting. He kinda ruined the story for me. Also, if he and Aiden had been together since the apocalypse started when they were both in their late teens, ten years before the story started, what did she do about birth control for all those years ...?
December 8, 2019
Rep: nonbinary mc, Black bi(?) li
January 16, 2023
Lovely writing style with action, angst, Sun Tzu references, and a struggling relationship.
April 3, 2023
"I’m afraid. I’m afraid of you and I’m afraid of us and I’m afraid of this new world we’ve built, that one day soon it’ll be no place for me and everything I’ve done and everything I am. I’m afraid of everything that isn’t winter and I’m afraid of everything but dying."
And I felt that in my bones.
Easily the best title and monologue in the Tor short stories I've read so far.
And I felt that in my bones.
Easily the best title and monologue in the Tor short stories I've read so far.
October 25, 2016
Interesting story about a post-apocalyptic settlement. There were 2 features that made it rise above a 3.5 up to 4 stars:
- Deatils: This is a tea-growing settlement, which gave it character (among other details
- Badass female characters, but most importantly, nurturing men. Iam so fed up with stories where all men are abusive,evil,etc. They are in no way contributing to changing the stereotypes. Now, nurturing man who is believeable, and smart in his own right, and who is rightfully annoyed at the badass heroine, now that is something I'd like to see more of. Also, this story isn't just about a reversal of roles (although one would expect that in most such stories the man would deal with defense tactics and the woman with horticultural matters), but about making those characters and their interactions believeable, which the autor most certainly does.
- Deatils: This is a tea-growing settlement, which gave it character (among other details
- Badass female characters, but most importantly, nurturing men. Iam so fed up with stories where all men are abusive,evil,etc. They are in no way contributing to changing the stereotypes. Now, nurturing man who is believeable, and smart in his own right, and who is rightfully annoyed at the badass heroine, now that is something I'd like to see more of. Also, this story isn't just about a reversal of roles (although one would expect that in most such stories the man would deal with defense tactics and the woman with horticultural matters), but about making those characters and their interactions believeable, which the autor most certainly does.
November 30, 2016
I read this book by genderqueer author Margaret Killjoy for @ladybookmad‘s #readthemargin month.
This short story surprised me with it’s poignancy. A post-apocalyptic setting for a short-story of only 26 pages seemed ambitious at best, and yet the world building flowed seamlessly into the beautiful prose, the characters were remarkably fleshed out for a story of this length and, fitting this challenge, diverse and norm-challenging.
And what a story it is- dramatic, violent, thought-provoking and touching. The summary tells you a lot, but it only hints at how close to home the issues in this story hit. Because even if the world is changed utterly, humanity stills asks the same questions, and love is still not easy.
I recommend this to anyone wanting a brief, engaging and emotional attachment with powerful characters.
This short story surprised me with it’s poignancy. A post-apocalyptic setting for a short-story of only 26 pages seemed ambitious at best, and yet the world building flowed seamlessly into the beautiful prose, the characters were remarkably fleshed out for a story of this length and, fitting this challenge, diverse and norm-challenging.
And what a story it is- dramatic, violent, thought-provoking and touching. The summary tells you a lot, but it only hints at how close to home the issues in this story hit. Because even if the world is changed utterly, humanity stills asks the same questions, and love is still not easy.
I recommend this to anyone wanting a brief, engaging and emotional attachment with powerful characters.
October 20, 2016
Everything That Isn't Winter reminded me of the TV show Revolution, except Everything That Isn't Winter was not a horrendous piece of #$%@. The short story, however, wasn't anything special. Dystopias have been quite popular lately, and it is hard to write one that really stands out. Killjoy's piece is well written, but the story failed to really capture my imagination. Her protagonist felt like someone I've read about before, and the central conflict has been done before as well. It's a pleasant read. I enjoyed my short journey into the world. But it's not anything particularly special.
December 13, 2016
Not as good as it could have been - a bit too drawn-out for a really good setup. That said, when it was good, it really shone. So except for over-analysing itself, often a weakness of new writers, a good story.
October 23, 2016
This was very stream of consciousy and not very explanatory. That was mostly ok but left lingering questions as I read. I think this commune needs more people protecting it.
December 30, 2016
Honestly, I only clicked on this because it mentioned the word ‘tea’. I stayed for the beautiful writing, and the interesting characters. It's honestly one of the best short stories I read.
August 24, 2018
★★★★★ (5/5)
A selection of my favourite passages from the book
• Songs that transport us from the world of the living to that liminal place of both battle and sex, where we make and take life
• I wasn’t really curious but I preferred to listen to her speak than listen to my heart beat arrhythmically like it always did after I shot somebody. Doc says it’s just jitters, what some of the old books call generalized anxiety. I say it’s me getting off light, karmically speaking
• I got the children and the infirm into the bomb shelter—a hundred-year-old relic of a paranoid generation that had been right about the apocalypse, just wrong about its timing—then set out organizing an all-hands watch
• I liked to think I knew the difference between the evil and the desperate, and those two had just been desperate
• It made sense to capture our holdings. Whomever I was running off to try to shoot, I didn’t understand them. If you know your enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear one hundred battles. If you know yourself and not your enemy, you will lose as often as you win. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will never know victory.
• Evil isn’t something we do to one another, it’s the way in which we do it, it’s why we do it.
• All eyes and all guns were on me, which I wanted—within a certain, very limited, understanding of the word “want.”
• I’d loved him half my life, the half that mattered
• I went down the concrete steps into the bomb shelter. It was full of people, and they were hurt and scared and they wanted to talk to me but they all had the distinct disadvantage of not being Khalil
• Smoke drifted up from the ruins of our home, and love was something in my gut and it made me want to live.
A selection of my favourite passages from the book
• Songs that transport us from the world of the living to that liminal place of both battle and sex, where we make and take life
• I wasn’t really curious but I preferred to listen to her speak than listen to my heart beat arrhythmically like it always did after I shot somebody. Doc says it’s just jitters, what some of the old books call generalized anxiety. I say it’s me getting off light, karmically speaking
• I got the children and the infirm into the bomb shelter—a hundred-year-old relic of a paranoid generation that had been right about the apocalypse, just wrong about its timing—then set out organizing an all-hands watch
• I liked to think I knew the difference between the evil and the desperate, and those two had just been desperate
• It made sense to capture our holdings. Whomever I was running off to try to shoot, I didn’t understand them. If you know your enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear one hundred battles. If you know yourself and not your enemy, you will lose as often as you win. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will never know victory.
• Evil isn’t something we do to one another, it’s the way in which we do it, it’s why we do it.
• All eyes and all guns were on me, which I wanted—within a certain, very limited, understanding of the word “want.”
• I’d loved him half my life, the half that mattered
• I went down the concrete steps into the bomb shelter. It was full of people, and they were hurt and scared and they wanted to talk to me but they all had the distinct disadvantage of not being Khalil
• Smoke drifted up from the ruins of our home, and love was something in my gut and it made me want to live.
November 5, 2016
Another freebie from Tor you can read here. It's post-apocalyptic Washington state. It started out well enough. Would have been better if it had been a little more realistic.
The mood bit was OK, the descriptions & writing good. Unfortunately, I think she decided to try for some sort of feminist statement that didn't work because it was surrounded by so much idiocy.
The mood bit was OK, the descriptions & writing good. Unfortunately, I think she decided to try for some sort of feminist statement that didn't work because it was surrounded by so much idiocy.
May 12, 2017
Short but beautiful and extremely compelling. I love short stories that don't try to explain everything about a world or how the characters ended up where they are. I knew just enough to be intrigued to read more and to care about the protagonist. There’s a great balance of external and internal conflict and it's resolved enough for the conclusion to feel satisfying, but I didn’t get the sense that anything in Aiden's life would ever feel stable. If you're interested in dystopias, anarchy, tea, communes or just well-written short stories, check this out. It's currently free as part of a collection from Tor, but I'll probably buy a copy as I'm rapidly become a fan of everything Margaret Killjoy creates.
February 3, 2019
Margaret Killjoy é uma autora que descobri recentemente e fiquei bastante empolgado. Ela se define como anarquista e sua obra, por meio da ficção científica e da fantasia, especula as possibilidades de um mundo que contesta a lógica capitalista. Mas, infelizmente, minha porta de entrada para seus livros foi este conto. Acompanhamos uma comunidade de plantadores de chá em um futuro pós-apocalíptico. Eles tentam a todo custo manter seu estilo de vida igualitário, que preza pela tolerância à diversidade. A escrita de Killjoy é dinâmica e cheia de energia. Mas o problema é o desenvolvimento incompleto da narrativa, como se o conto fosse um trecho de algo maior. Isso acaba frustrando a experiência de leitura. Mesmo assim, vou em busca do resto da obra dessa autora que promete.
January 2, 2022
Oh my God, this is gorgeously written.
"I’m afraid of this new world we’ve built, that one day soon it’ll be no place for me and everything I’ve done and everything I am. I’m afraid of everything that isn’t winter and I’m afraid of everything but dying"
And "Battle is a thing that gets into my gut, makes me desperate to live. Love is a thing that gets into my gut, makes me wish I were dead" THEN for the ending to be "Smoke drifted up from the ruins of our home, and love was something in my gut and it made me want to live."
"I’m afraid of this new world we’ve built, that one day soon it’ll be no place for me and everything I’ve done and everything I am. I’m afraid of everything that isn’t winter and I’m afraid of everything but dying"
And "Battle is a thing that gets into my gut, makes me desperate to live. Love is a thing that gets into my gut, makes me wish I were dead" THEN for the ending to be "Smoke drifted up from the ruins of our home, and love was something in my gut and it made me want to live."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2023
Everything That Isn’t Winter by author Margaret Killjoy is a short story you can read for free on the Tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2016/10/19/231037/
Does a renewed world still have a place for those who only know how to destroy? While defending a tea-growing commune in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, one person seeks an answer.
My ongoing quest to get current with the Tor short stories. This one was excellent.
4 Stars
Does a renewed world still have a place for those who only know how to destroy? While defending a tea-growing commune in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, one person seeks an answer.
My ongoing quest to get current with the Tor short stories. This one was excellent.
4 Stars
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews