The Time Invariance of Snow

by E. Lily Yu

The Devil made a mirror. A physicist broke it and shards fall through reality and changed everything forever in this sci-fi space opera, The Time Invariance of Snow, a Tor.com Original short story from E. Lily Yu.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Retellings, Space Opera

25 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 4, 2019

Reviews

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Tor short story is a really intriguing mashup of the old Snow Queen fairy tale (where young Kay gets glass in his heart and eye from an evil magic mirror and is whisked away by the Snow Queen, and his friend Gerda sets off on a journey to rescue him) and modern-day physics, with a few twists. It's beautifully written but opaque. You'll probably enjoy this book if you appreciate wry commentary in footnotes and paragraphs like this:

Like the fundamental equations of quantum mechanics, like God Himself, the Devil is a time-invariant equation. The shattering of the mirror shivered outward through fields of light cones, near and far, until the shattering itself became eternal, immutable fact. The fragments of the mirror drifted down through pasts, presents, and futures, clinging and cutting, like stardust and razors.

Here's the link to this story on Tor's website: https://www.tor.com/2019/12/04/the-ti...

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Time Invariance of Snow by E. Lily Yu - 3.5/5★

A sciency retell, or, better said, sequel of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, with accents of feminism, theology and phylosophy. I didn't understand it all, so I'll make sure to revisit it soon, maybe the second reading will shed more light on its meaning.

The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2019 edition and can also be read on Tor.com.

[Auntie Terror · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story full of references, not only to the "Snow Queen" by Andersen (Marie Curie and others, Kafka maybe even). While I found the story not uninteresting or without charm, I couldn't help but wonder if the author had tried to cram in too much. I'm sure there was a moral of the story - but I must have missed it between themes of, and I'm guessing here, social pressure, capitalism and patriarchy critique...?

[Acqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Snow Queen retelling with physics! Not an easy one to follow, both because of how abstract it is and for the format - it even has footnotes - but really interesting nonetheless. It talks about the nature of human evil, about sexism and racism and the kind of cold that seeps into relationships; how all these things can feel timeless once they have manifested themselves, even though that wasn't always reality. About how we tend to rationalize and dismiss evil, because that's how it always has been.
I'm not sure I fully got some scenes, especially the ones of the robber queen and the lap women: maybe an acknowledgment of the importance of friendship and elders in a situation like this one, coupled with the distance this situation has inevitably already formed?
Apart from that, gorgeous writing, and the kind of science fairytale I could see myself returning to.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this one. Last of the year! 4 stars.

[Phoenix2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story took a spin on the Snow Queen myth, with a more feministic version of it. I guess, it described a realistic take on the relationship and the dynamics between men and women. That said, it wasn't a bad read, but it got messy and confusing. But, overall, it was enjoyable.

[Stephen Richter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tor.com Short Story touches on the nature of evil in the form of the Devil's mirror and quantum physic.

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A retelling of the Snow Queen, with some Biblical mythology of the nature of the Devil and evil, and quantum physics. I loved this story, for its fairy tale retelling that intersperses hard science with folklore, all created with beautiful, flowing language.

Some critiques of the story fault it for its seemingly lack of cohesion and flow. It has section headings and footnotes, for Devil's sake! Completely logical, in my warped estimation.

Awesome good stuff.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

actual rating: 3.5

Definitely an intriguing read and the author has a very ethereal writing style, but ultimately just a bit too short to really sink your teeth into. I would love to read a longer piece based on this or maybe something else in the same universe though.

[Nicholas Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stuck between a 2.5/5 and a full 3/5

This was an interesting re-imagining of the Snow Queen with some pretty writing and usage of physics. I understand it had some messages about men and women, war, and imperialism, but I think it got lost in some places.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful piece of short writing. A mixture of physics, theology, feminism, fantasy and fairy tales, and somehow it works for me!

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would you trust a magic mirror?

This tale did a wonderful job of using metaphors to explain how and why the world had become such a terrible place after the devil’s mirror was accidentally broken. There were footnotes after the final paragraph to explain some of them. I was glad I paused to read each one as it popped up in the text and would suggest that other readers do the same thing. Those footnotes were beautifully written and really helped me to understand some of the more complex metaphors.

Most of the characters revealed their proper names during the course of the plot. Some were identified by the first letter of their name, and others were described by their occupation or some other label. It was amazing to see how well I got to know them regardless of how they were addressed. The author did a wonderful job of showing who they were as individuals, from their interests to their personality traits.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this story was the ending. The beginning and middle were filled with scenes that didn’t always seem to be related to each other. There were times when I wondered where the author was going and if my theories about it were correct, so it was a joy to see everything coalesce in the end in about the way I hoped it would.

The Time Invariance of Snow was the best piece of hard science fiction I’ve read this year. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

[Fifi’s Bookshelf · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not understand this AT ALL. This literally made absolutely no sense. Maybe I’m just dumb or something but I really didn’t get it.

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a lyrical and beautiful piece that doesn't really have a plot so much as a series of musings on The Snow Queen, the concept of fairytales, misogyny, women's wisdom, and other ideas. i'm giving it 4 stars because it's beautifully written, but i would be more inclined to call it a prose poem than a story.

[yenna]

ok i think i have a soft spot for intriguing retellings of fairytales - this one was a physics based snow queen retelling with some funky footnotes. it was a little disjointed at times and a little messy with the author trying to fit in a lot of references and metaphors, but still worth the read imo as an original slant on the tale... an idea to experience u feel...

[Miriam Cihodariu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely speculative tale weaved from Andersen's The Snow Queen as a starting point, but in a very contemporary and feminist spirit. I loved it, though I wish it was more developed. I think it could have been spun into quite the standalone long read.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Devil, physics, the nature of evil, and The Snow Queen fairy tale. I particularly enjoyed this because, coincidentally, I had watched Frozen 2 this evening, so there was some thematic overlap.

[Alex Sarll]

It's a tricky balancing act to write a story which is full of anger at real injustices, while also giving them a fairytale explanation, and for me this didn't quite pull it off.

[Diba Tano · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ideas and the aesthetics were great but I didn't understand why I should care about what's happening and sometimes the metaphors were just a little too obvious.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating short story that has a familiar feel to it. Taken from the Hans Christian Anderson tale of The Snow Queen, I liked the scifi quality that Yu added and the simplicity of her storytelling.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short story that is beautiful and painfully accurate at the same time

[Akemi G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever adaptation of The Snow Queen. I like it, and now I want to read more stories by this author.

[Peregrine · Rating 2 out of 5]

quantum fairy tale was a premise i couldn't resist so i went and read this right away but frankly it ended up being a waste of ten minutes. It starts off kind of cool but devolves pretty quickly into tumblr-text-post-story flavored blandness. i was expecting something sharper. oh well.

[Raf · Rating 4 out of 5]

🌟⭐ 8.25 out of 10 stars ⭐🌟
It's a bit confusing but beautiful and deep! I don't fully grasp the whole messages and hidden meanings (because I'm dumb) but it still hit me deep.

Keywords: novellette, fantasy, magical realism, fairytale retelling, metaphorical, feminism (?)

REVIEW
The Time Invariance of Snow is a beautiful retelling of Snow Queen with deep meaning and contemplation of life. It tells about a demon who made a mirror that distort humans' perception. A physicist broke the mirror and its shards entered humans eyes, starting a chain of sufferings. There are characters from Snow Queen that made their appearance in here, like G. or Gerda from the original fairytale and K. or Kai in the original.

What I like:
I really like the poetic prose E. Lily Yu used. The sentences are beautiful. I also like the metaphors and how it convey humans nature very well. The story is about how we see the world, about forgiveness and making peace with ourself, about acknowledging our mistakes. Life is a lifelong learning. There are also some hints of feminism in the story but not focused. The story itself is very short and can be read in one sitting!

What people might dislike:
The language is heavy and the deep meanings are hidden, so to some this story might sounds pretentious or confusing. The magical realism aspect of the story also make the plot obscured and the story feel strange. While actually the plot itself is very simple. The story also need the reader to be familiar with the fairytales or else it would be harder to understand.

Conclusion
I like it but I know this book is not for everyone. Either you will like it or confused af and dislike it.

"A tempering all your life, then. A tempering and a war. As I have lived openings and closings. As I have yielded and withstood.

So you and I have been made of use."

[patry 🇵🇸🇨🇩🇸&#x1f · Rating 3 out of 5]

fell in love with the writing GIVE ME MORE

“This is how the Devil’s mirror worked:
A woman warned a city of its destruction, of soldiers creeping in by craft, and her friends and family laughed her mad.
The city burned.
The woman was raped, and raped again, and murdered.
A woman stood before men who would become consuls and said, believe me, I was forced by this man. To be believed, she struck her own heart with a dagger.
A woman stood before senators and said, believe me, I was—
A woman stood before senators and said, believe—
A black woman said, listen, and no one heard.
A dusky child cried, and no one comforted him.
An indifferent cartographer divided other people’s countries into everlasting wars.
The physicist died. Her male colleagues received a Nobel Prize.5
The Devil looked upon his work and laughed.”

[Lizabeth Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the Devil's mirror splinters, it enters the hearts and minds of mankind, spreading hate and violence despair and depression. G and K are in love, but G is wary of the violence of men. When K makes a comment on how he would kill her, she protests his cruelty. He leaves. Despite knowing how the story will end, G goes on a quest to save him from the Snow Queen.

A subversion of fairy tales and a treatise on both them and the treatment of women. I have to admit that I was annoyed by the use of footnotes in this fictional short story. I barely tolerate them in non-fiction books. That said, as I struggled on, once G and K came onto the scene it became easier a read. I think I would've enjoyed this more if it had been expanded. 3 out of 5.

[Ayon Ibrahim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is ethereal and pretty and addicting, but I'm afraid I just didn't quite get it. I am sure there are some interesting themes and underlying ideas the author was writing about in this story that combines the myth of the snow queen, Christian mythology, and quantum mechanics - and I do glimpse some of it - most of it flew over my head and the story left me feeling largely unsatisfied, despite having enjoyed the poetic quality of the writing. It is a short read, so I would give it a read if you like this sort of mixing of genres - maybe you'll glean the underlying messages better than I did!

[Pedro Poeira · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Time Invariance of Snow” me comprou como um reconto de “The Snow Queen”. E, como um, trouxe sua própria versão da história de maneira bastante perturbadora. Misturando fantasia com ficção científica, conto de fada e mitologia cristã, o conto me deixou cada vez mais confuso, e proporcionalmente interessado em desvendar seus mistérios, conforme se desenrolava. O estilo da escrita, em especial, contribuiu para o feito. Talvez eu precise de mais tempo para processar o conto por completo, mas, por ora, posso dizer: gostei bastante.

[karenbee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will come thinking to rescue you. That my tears will wash the glass from your eye and melt the ice in your heart. That the Snow Queen’s spell will break, and you will be free.

But when I arrive I will find no Snow Queen, no enchantment, no wicked, beautiful woman who stole you away.

Only you.

I feel like I wasn't smart enough for this one. It happens. I liked the idea of it, though.

[Aleksandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

As so many readers here, I love the Tor freebies. Always an excellent choice of an author and his/her's short fiction. This was no exception.
E. Lily Yu manages to combine quantum physics, religion and an Andersen tale into a fantastic tiny shard of a story (or rather a poem) about the philosophy of time and finding one's purpose in life. At least that was my own conclusion, looking through the glass.