Fields of Gold

by Rachel Swirsky

Enjoy this reprint of “Fields of Gold” by Rachel Swirsky, originally published in ECLIPSE 4 edited by Jonathan Strahan (Night Shade Books, 2011). “Fields of Gold” is nominated this year for a Nebula Award in the Best Novelette category.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction

32 pages, ebook

First published May 1, 2011

About the author

Rachel Swirsky holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop and is a graduate of Clarion West. Her work has been short-listed for the Nebula, the Hugo, and the Sturgeon Award, and placed second in 2010's Million Writers Award. In addition to numerous publications in magazines and anthologies, Swirsky is the author of three short stories published as e-books, "Eros, Philia, Agape," "The Memory of Wind," and "The Monster's Million Faces." Her fiction and poetry has been collected in THROUGH THE DROWSY DARK (Aqueduct Press, 2010). A second collection, HOW THE WORLD BECAME QUIET: MYTHS OF THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, is forthcoming from Subterranean Press.

Reviews

[Norman Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a largely unmemorable story about the afterlife. New arrival Dennis meets various dead celebrities such as Cleopatra, Napoleon, Shakespeare, Jesus, and Alexander the Great, while lamenting his unfulfilled bucket list. As a character study this story is well done, but there is not much plot to hang it on.

[Omly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read it because it was included in the Hugo 2012 packet, but this was not one that appealed to me. It's cast of famous dead seemed a little cliche, and I could not find myself to care for the main characters.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every writer (and plenty of people who are not writers but who have a secret folder of old stories) has written this story. This isn't a bad version of this story, nor is it a particularly stand-out version of this story.

[Fatima · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You married a problem solver" "Then you became a problem".

Three messy dead people reconcile their relationships when they were living in the afterlife, some is Lannister-coded, if you will, and the other is women's wrongs - you weaponized incompetence? She weaponizes your diabetes!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. The intertwined story, the setup, was all sort of haunting and kind of beautiful.

[Per · Rating 2 out of 5]

https://reactormag.com/fields-of-gold/

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story doesn’t go anywhere and the protagonist isn’t someone I want to spend anytime with. Writer tries to hard to be funny and ends up failing.

[Simonfletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have just started reading Swirsky's blog this year, and am really impressed by her work. I read Eros, Agape, & Philia which I think is one of the most striking and thoughtful android pieces of fiction I have read. Now Fields of Gold.

Eva Cassidy died young, as does Dennis in the start of this story. Eva sung the haunting song Fields of Gold, which Rachel is clearly referencing here, and I think the lyrics of that song play on the themes of this story: memory, change, death, life, and typical to ghosts: nostalgia. The narrative of this short story is very easy to read, and easy to get involved in. I really admire the way Rachel swings from playful lists of what Dennis hadn't done on his To-Do lists before he dies, the caricatures of famous dead people who fill the afterlife, and then to darker moments, reminding us of the brokenness of the world we live in.

It's an engaging story, easily read but also very refined and carefully written, which just makes me want to read more of her work. Fields of Gold was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novelette.

[prk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of the 2012 Hugo Voter Packet.

A quirky tale of the afterlife, which opens with a party in Heaven in honour of Dennis' arrival, with guests such as previously departed family, but also celebrities as varied as Cleopatra, Napoleon, Shakespeare, Jesus and Alexander the Great. The story is character driven, and as the party unfolds we find out about Denis and Melanie's (a close cousin) relationship, Dennis' life and how he came to die, followed soon after by his wife, Karen, whose welcome party Dennis crashes. There are a few interesting twists, but as more of a plot driven reader, I didn't enjoy this story as much as I expect others will have.

[Mike Ehlers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story, read at Tor.com

I found myself swept up in this story (I was reading it rather than doing my self assessment at work). Interesting idea of party hopping in the afterlife. Who do you really want to see and what do you really want it to be like in heaven?

On another note, I can't believe I haven't read more by this author. I have really enjoyed all three stories I've read by her. A new master of the short story.

[Kate Seger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been dazzled by every piece I've read by Rachel Swirsky. Each and every one has a unique and surprising theme and a fresh and believable voice. Fields of Gold was no exception. Speculating on an after life that is something between a blissful heaven and tormented hell, characters who are painfully human (despite being dead) leap to life in this engaging and thought provoking vignette.

[Alarra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written short story with an interesting premise. I think I wanted a bit more from Fields of Gold - I loved the concept, and I would've liked even more exploration of this afterworld, but she makes her characters feel very real in a short space.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

When these people died, they kept on doing the same sorts of things that got them killed back when they were alive. I pretty much hate this kind of story, DNF, bounced. Not for me! No idea why it got nominated for a major award. Story link: http://www.tor.com/2012/03/20/fields-...

[Adam Shaeffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not my favorite of her stories, but it was interesting nonetheless...

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fields of Gold is nominated this year 2012 for a Nebula Award in the Best Novelette category. Read on Tor.com. Good short read. When they have a party for your wake, who do you think will show up?

[Miquel Codony · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh...

[Happy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievably good. One of the best SF short stories I've ever read. So satisfying when a novelette is done right.

[Katharine (Ventureadlaxre) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally read during Aurealis judging of Eclipse Four. Re-read for Hugo nomination.

[Iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poignant and nostalgic but with a pleasant edge to it. Very good.

[Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compelling, despite the fact that I disliked the characters. An interesting view of the afterlife, though not as haunting as the Brief History of the Dead.

[ambyr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not really sure this is fantasy. Allegory might be a better genre.