Sunfall

by C.J. Cherryh

Mandarin, 1990, British paperback. First published in 1981, this is a collection of stories. Includes a prologue by Cherryh, and these The Only Death in the City; The Haunted Tower; Ice; Nightgame; Highliner; The General.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction, Dying Earth, Anthologies, Science Fiction Fantasy

158 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Currently resident in Spokane, Washington, C.J. Cherryh has won four Hugos and is one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed authors in the science fiction and fantasy field. She is the author of more than forty novels. Her hobbies include travel, photography, reef culture, Mariners baseball, and, a late passion, figure skating: she intends to compete in the adult USFSA track. She began with the modest ambition to learn to skate backwards and now is working on jumps. She sketches, occasionally, cooks fairly well, and hates house work; she loves the outdoors, animals wild and tame, is a hobbyist geologist, adores dinosaurs, and has academic specialties in Roman constitutional law and bronze age Greek ethnography. She has written science fiction since she was ten, spent ten years of her life teaching Latin and Ancient History on the high school level, before retiring to full time writing, and now does not have enough hours in the day to pursue all her interests. Her studies include planetary geology, weather systems, and natural and man-made catastrophes, civilizations, and cosmology…in fact, there's very little that doesn't interest her. A loom is gathering dust and needs rethreading, a wooden ship model awaits construction, and the cats demand their own time much more urgently. She works constantly, researches mostly on the internet, and has books stacked up and waiting to be written.

Reviews

[mark monday · Rating 5 out of 5]

red sun looms in sky: the end is nigh. cities on earth burrow deep; their residents skulk and creep. each city has its own way, its own path; with the passing of time, each city becomes more itself. the galaxy spans far and wide, full of glittering worlds... the earth glitters too: its last few embers flaring, sparks floating in night; its fire ready to die.

a subtle, stylish Paris lives by the law of reincarnation as lovers and enemies alike die and are reborn to fight and love again. a London full of boxes, containing the past; a Tower of London full of ghosts, living for the future. a fatalistic, wintry Moscow has families colorful and warm; its lonely hunters stalk the cold, fearing and then longing for death. a decadent Rome dreams its fascist dreams of power and submission; its boy Prince the most dangerous dreamer of all. a towering New York, stratified, the bosses and the labor vying for control, corruption and decency in a secret tug of war. a bejeweled and haughty Peking awaits its doom from Mongol invaders; generals and lovers alike live, die, and live again: an endless cycle.

swooningly romantic yet also quiet, contemplative, forlorn... a melancholy classic.

[Frank Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of short stories connected by the theme of being set on an Earth where sun exposure is dangerous, each told in a separate location about unlinked events. Apart from the scifi setting these stories have more of a paranormal vibe and while the writing was marvellously descriptive, right from the prologue, the actual plots of the individual stories were fairly mundane and didn't appeal to me.

The stories all started with a description of a city and then veered off to tell an unrelated mild horror short story. I made brief notes for all but two of the stories. The two I haven't commented on were set in Rome and Peking and were about as enjoyable as any of the others in the collection. My favourite was probably Highliner, but only by a narrow margin, and it was perhaps one of the least scifi stories in the set, certainly one of the least paranormal.

The Only Death in the City (Paris).
This starts off really cool. It describes Paris as an enclosed city, essentially self-contained, (apart from the river Sin that runs through it), and cut off from the outside world; the inhabitants never venture out of the city and in fact never really consider that anything exists outside.

After the interesting set up though, the actual story doesn't really use the setting at all. We meet some of the locals and learn that they don't actually die when they die, they are reborn in the city. And then the story is actually a love story that involves a deal with the devil, or in this case, a deal with Death.

The Haunted Tower (London).
In London most of the townsfolk believe in ghosts apart from some "unbelievers inside the walls [who] insisted they were manifestations of sunstruck brains." I noted that the Thames wasn't renamed like the Seine was in the previous story.

You get the impression that London is also closed off but it didn't mention walls specifically this time. London does have a spaceport though.

"I'm not sure I believe in you."
"You're not sure you don't, and that's enough."

Again the story doesn't feature the actual city much after the introductory paragraphs. This time we have a lady imprisoned in a high tower and seeing ghosts.

Ice (Moscow).
Moskva is another city on its own, out of contact with all other cities since around the time that spaceships stopped returning to Earth, we are told. All the old stone structures have been left to wear the weather of time while modern architecture has returned to using colourful wooden designs. The rivers here were thawed only for a few weeks a year. Werewolves?

Highliner (New York City).
A city of connected high rise buildings. Liners work on the outside of the skyscrapers and this story is about a workplace accident. The corporation who own the building want to cover it up but Johnny gives them hell. If you're afraid of heights, I suggest you don't look down for this one.

[Jack (Sci-Fi Finds) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cherryh presents a number of short stories set in different cities on a far-future Earth that's bathed in the red glow of a dying sun. She writes them like fables, which sometimes makes for a frustrating reading experience due to a slightly distant perspective and a lack of memorable character development. An interesting literary exercise, but ultimately not one that I would recommend to most.

[Steven Harbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read this way back in the late 80's I think. It's still an all time favorite. Short stories set near the end of the world (think "dying earth" genre, like Jack Vance). I need to re-read it again soon. Mainly remember that the stories were very well done and set in different dying cities around the globe. I highly recommend this one.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I much enjoyed these little gems...

Paris with it's ages upon ages, and the reincarnation and retelling stories of love in the face of even Death.

London with it's ghosts and politics and wealth of Queenly history.

Moscow, cold and lovely in it's beauty, I like the reality of Sunfall, it's every-day lives, that on a Earth where the sun is dying, there is still humanity, with all it's flaws, there are still hunters and lovers.

Rome, oh, that one gave me chills, with it's induced dreaming Tyrant and the "savage" taken from off-planet, it calls to my mind fondly of Andre Norton's Perilous Dreams.

New York with it's towers of steel and heights, would of course not cease to climb to the very heights of heaven. I have never quite liked heights, but this with it's corporate greed, and it's Builders and Residents and the high-liners in their harnesses was both vivid and made me smile at the thought of a man-made mountain of a tower, and the whole of a city within it.

Peking, is...is where there is hope for a future, and not simply repeating of patterns, and yet life in that pattern goes on. A pattern that can be lovely and valued; but has love and life and all the truly important things, like a city and it's people standing up to survive, even with everything seems against them.

Lovely work.

[Marco Beneventi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sul pianeta Terra, ormai vecchio e semi abbandonato in favore di nuovi mondi lontani anni luce, alcune antiche città, culla di una civiltà passata e ora nuova, resistono, qui umanità diverse incastonate in microcosmi autosufficienti vivono le proprie vite.

- "La città delle Luci" (Parigi):
"La città delle luci", l’antica Parigi, è ormai una metropoli lontana dalla luce del sole, territorio insalubre e portatore di malattie, si sviluppa in profondità rimanendo sigillato dall’esterno, vive in una realtà in cui gli abitanti, persone che nascono e muoiono reincarnandosi continuamente e mantenendo i ricordi del passato, intrecciano sempre nuovi rapporti che si sommano a quelli delle vite precedenti sviluppando così un immensa storia in cui il concetto di "novità e cambiamento" è considerato come una goccia d’acqua nel deserto.
Qui nasce per la prima volta Alain Giada, che nonostante i consigli spassionati della madre, si innamora perdutamente di Ermine Onice, giovane donna ma dalle innumerevoli reincarnazioni alle spalle, i due daranno vita ad una relazione destinata a cambiare il destino di un tempo nato per non modificarsi mai.

- "La città della Torre" (Londra):
La vecchia Londra ormai è un cumulo di vecchi ruderi, al suo posto ne è nata una totalmente nuova, una città ordinata e suddivisa in cubi, una città in cui i cittadini abituati a credere ai fantasmi e agli oroscopi, vivono sotto la guida del "Nuovo sindacato", fra i tanti cubi ve ne è anche uno, il più vecchio, residuo dell’antica Londra, chiamato "La torre", ed è proprio lì che è diretta, per esservi incarcerata Bettine, amante del sindaco ma incastrata in un triangolo perchè sorpresa ad amare Tom, un suo collega.
Durante la prigionia, ogni notte incontrerà diversi spiriti del passato che la faranno meditare sul suo superficiale quanto arrivista, modo di intendere la vita.

- "La città del Ghiaccio" (Mosca):
Mosca, la nuova Mosca, è ormai una città fatta di case di legno intagliato e dipinto con colori sgargianti, si trova isolata da tutte le altre da una coltre infinita di neve e ghiaccio, in essa si celebra ogni giorno, con canti e balli, la bellezza della civiltà e della vita in contrasto con il bianco accecante e pieno di pericoli dell’esterno in cui nessuno si avventura mai.
Così però non è per il cacciatore Andrei Gorodin abituato ad uscire in cerca di prede, ed è in una di queste battute di caccia che incontrerà un enorme lupo bianco che gli farà scoprire invece la vera bellezza che vige all’esterno della città, una bellezza sconosciuta e che ammalia talmente tanto chi la vede da non poterne più fare a meno, quello che dei moscoviti è chiamato il "Male bianco", con la scoperta di essa, al cacciatore si aprirà un vero e proprio nuovo mondo.

- "La città dei Sogni" (Roma):
La città dei sogni, così viene ora chiamata la vecchia Roma, una città che vive letteralmente negli stessi grazie ad un macchinario che permette a tutti di viverli in maniera vivida e tangibile ma ció è concesso solo a coloro che possiedino una fervida immaginazione, i nobili, per gli altri, il lavoro manuale forzato o essere prede sacrificali dei primi nei sogni, sono gli unici sentieri percorribili.
Qui vive Belat, cacciatore di sogni, invitato dal Tiranno della città, il giovanissimo Elio, a fargli dono di uno degli schiavi più desiderati per questa "caccia" ma sarà proprio durante questa esperienza che il giovane troverà ció di cui ha sempre avuto più timore.

- "La città dei Livelli" (New York):
La vecchia New York ora si sviluppa in altezza, una gigantesca torre con una base immensa si protende sempre più sù, alla base vivono i lavoratori più umili, i "Costruttori" mentre alla sommità i cosiddetti "Altitudinari", l’elitte.
Fra questi c’è anche Johnny che con sua sorella Sara e i due fratelli Din e Sam formano la "50 Est" una squadra di scalatori estremi specializzata nello studiare la crescita del palazzo, individuando anomalie o zone di rottura ed è proprio su questa peculiarità che gli interessi economici nascosti di una corporazione specifica, faranno vivere a Johnny un esperienza in bilico fra trasparenza e sotterfugi, fra verità e bugia ma soprattutto fra vita e morte.

- "La città del Cielo" (Pechino):
Dell’antica Pechino era rimasta in piedi solo la "Città proibita", aveva prosperato circondata dalle mura ed era ora un luogo di pace, armonia ed abbondanza, attorno a se peró un arida pianura si stendeva a perdita d’occhio, una pianura abitata da innumerevoli tribù che nei momenti di carestia sciamavano per attaccare e razziare la ricca città, ed è proprio in quella più grande, governata dal vecchio e potente Ylian Baba, il "Padre Serpente", che si accenderà una lotta di potere per la successione al comando fra l’amato e stimato
Shimshek e il perfido Boga.

“Il crepuscolo della Terra”, pubblica nel 1981 da
Carolyn Cherryh si presenta come un racconto corale che vede sei storie, autoconclusive, differenti.
Lungo li svolgersi della storia scopriremo sei città, ultimi baluardi di una civiltà ormai fuggita su altri pianeti per l’avvicinarsi della fine della Terra, totalmente differenti una dall’altra per usi, costumi, politica e anche architettura.
Un libro, questo, che di fantascienza ha ben poco ma che tende molto di più al fantasy con alcuni rimandi a concetti filosofici.
La struttura narrativa, legata ad una scrittura troppo ermetica e spesso confusionaria, così come anche alla scelta, infelice, di ridurre al minimo i dialoghi, rendono le storie decisamente troppo lente sino, a volte, quasi alla pedanteria.
I personaggi, così come gli ambienti, risultano estremamente poco dettagliati, sceltà che farà sì che le informazioni in possesso del lettore siano solo quelle essenziali per capire il racconto che si sta affrontando.
Un lavoro questo “Il crepuscolo della Terra” che a livello di trama prometteva molto ma che purtroppo per i difetti sopra elencati si è rivelato decisamente troppo pesante e poco avvincente.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

In hindsight it's unclear if these stories, the cities, are in fact joined in a common setting, or if their settings are merely very similar. Each is a different exploration of ennui, decadence, and exhaustion, of cities gone introverted and strange. They make beautiful pictures (if sometimes difficult to follow in the languid writing), but those expecting a Jack Vance style to their Dying Earth will be disappointed.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were ghosts in old London, that part of London outside the walls and along the river, or at least the townsfolk outside the walls believed in them: mostly they were attributed to the fringes of the city, and the unbelievers inside the walls insisted they were manifestations of sun-struck brains, of sense deceived by the radiations of the dying star and the fogs which tended to gather near the Thames. Ghosts were certainly unfashionable for a city management which prided itself on technology, which confined most of its bulk to a well-ordered cube (geometrically perfect except for the central arch which let the Thames flow through) in which most of the inhabitants lived precisely ordered lives. London had its own spaceport, maintained offices for important offworld companies, and it thrived on trade. It pointed at other cities in its vicinity as declined and degenerate, but held itself as an excellent and enlightened government; since the Restoration and the New Mayoralty, reason reigned in London, and traditions were cultivated only so far as they added to the comfort of the city and those who ruled it. If the governed of the city believed in ghosts and other intangibles, well enough; reliance on astrology and luck and ectoplasmic utterances made it less likely that the governed would seek to analyze the governors upstairs.

from "The Haunted Tower (London)"

The novella collection (I would never call this a "short story" collection because these stories are varied and deep but never, ever "short") by C.J. Cherryh examines major cities--Paris, London, Moscow, Rome, New York, and Peking--when our sun is slowing fading out. It's a landscape where no one ventures unprotected outside their city walls under the bloated, red, dying sun. But that thread is really all that links these stories. Each one is different--some are fantasy, some are science fiction, and some are romantic melodramas. "Nightgame (Rome)" and "Highliner" fully embraces the science fiction genre. "The Only Death in the City (Paris)" and "The General (Peking)" deal with the concept of reincarnation in fascinating ways. "The Haunted Tower (London)" and "Ice (Moscow)" are fantasy. All stories, regardless, follow the path of a character challenging the assumptions or beliefs of their respective cities which, over the centuries, have become vapid and confining.

All the stories bear C.J. Cherryh's unique voice and vision. While some embrace fantasy cliches or sentimentalism, each have engaging characters in fascinating situations. Each of the opening paragraphs of these stories is a writing lesson in how to start big and provocative and then, slowly, focus on the one niche of this city universe which will move the story forward.

In The Collected Short Fiction of C.J. Cherryh, Cherryh adds "MasKs (Venice)," which ties in well with the overall collection though the story, surprisingly since it is written much later in Cherryh's illustrious career, is the most derivative and cliche of the lot. Still, her descriptions of Venice is first-rate.

I recommend this collection to anyone interested in sampling C.J. Cherryh's work but is timid about starting with one of her byzantine space operas. Each novella here is familiar terrain made unfamiliar yet beguiling by Cherryh's writing.

Bravest of all in Moskva were those who could venture outside the walls, who wrapped themselves in their bright furs and their courage and ventured out into the frozen wastes--the hunters, the loggers, the farers-forth, who could look out into the cold whiteness and keep the colors in their hearts.

from "Ice (Moscow)"

[Carl Barlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A far future Earth where all the grand designs of humanity are occurring out amongst the stars, and the homeworld is an all-but-forgotten backwater - it's sun dying, its cities insular and -where they are not overcome with ennui- backward. History repeats ad nauseam where it doesn't outright destroy.

Paris is almost all subterranean, ruled by an immortal -and quite bored- elite. London once again locks up its undesirables in the Tower, where ancient and wise ghosts yet wander. Moscow -fittingly- freezes, its primitive populace terrified of the wild beauty beyond the city walls on the deserted ice and snow. Rome's nonchalant masters, barely human, spend all their time dreaming, bored beyond endurance with Reality. New York city has morphed into a single gargantuan Babel, but within its cloud-piercing walls the old corporate intrigues still fester... and still bandy with the lives of the working classes. The Forbidden City is once again beset by hordes, but within the commanders and masters is the awareness that what they do has been done countless times previously, down through the ages since humanity was young - but perhaps further repetitions are now actually numbered...

Doesn't quite have the real Dying Earth atmospherics (some stories could easily have been placed in the distant past rather than the distant future), but everything here is imbued with the characteristic Cherryh subtlety and grace, and a correct and proper melancholy also pervades. Something of a little gem of a collection.

[Caleb Best · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite stories - All of them! But since I have to pick, I will go with The Only Death in the City, Ice, and The General

This is potentially going to be my book of the year! This means that Mrs. Cherryh now has not one, but two books that are in contention for book of the year!

This book was able to tell complete and satisfying stories in under 200 pages. This collection shows exactly why I love C.J. Cherryh. She makes sure that every word she uses is necessary and thought-provoking. Somehow, Cherryh is able to speak on climate issues without it coming off as preachy. She highlights why it's important to start thinking about the future of our planet. Having the characters be so focused on the problems in their lives - relationships, wars, love - and not focused on their future, really parallels how people thought back when this was written - and unfortunately, now. The books also really helped me slow down my reading. I find that all the series that have a place in my heart and brain - ASOIAF, Sun Eater, The Morgaine Saga, Empire of Justice, Vald Taltos, and The Chronicles of Hawklan- I have read slowly. Enjoying not only the words on the page but the feeling those words evoke. I am going to really try and do that with the next couple of series I read in hopes that I can not only glean more of what the author is trying to tell me, but learn a bit more of myself.

The first and last stories are truly some of the best pieces of fiction I have ever read in my life, making me keener to try short story collections in the future.

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un recueil de nouvelles situées dans le même univers, sur la même planète, mais dans différentes villes (Paris, Rome, Pékin, Londres, Moscou, New York) dans le futur avec des tons et des narrations très différentes les unes des autres. L'ensemble est intéressant, certaines nouvelles se distinguent particulièrement plus que d'autres (celle à Londres est certainement intéressante) et on mélange bien la science-fiction et la fantasy au cœur des récits.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some good stories in here ("Highliner" and "The General" were the highlights for me) but I don't think this collection really benefits from the slightly flimsy shared theme/universe aspect. There are familiar Cherryh themes, particularly involving reincarnation, shady schemes, and repeating patterns, but this is probably a collection for established fans rather than newcomers.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t dislike it but at no point did I want to sit down and read it so I can’t honestly go higher than 2.

6 short stories that are all supposedly taking place on the same earth, in different cities, in a time with a dying a sun. In practice it read like 6 completely different universes with different rules.

The Only Death In The City (Paris): 4*
The Haunted Tower (London): 2*
Ice (Moscow): 1*
Nightgame (Rome): 2*
Highliner (New York): 3*
The General (Peking): 1*

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection was pretty great! It was very Le Guin-esque, which is basically the highest compliment I can bestow.

Everyone knows that someday the sun will explode. What this book presupposes is, what would life be like right before that happens?

Each story takes place in a city on Earth a zillion years from now, when they've all isolated themselves and become very WHATEVER . . . very Paris, very Peking, very Rome. New York City is literally just one enormous skyscraper. It's the sort of science fiction that has very little science in it, it's so far into the future. I enjoy that kind! Very anthropological. Kerry recommends.

[Devero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cinque racconti brevi ambientati nella Terra del futuro, dove le città rimangono abitate da uomini. Cinque città, molto diverse da come sono oggi, ma modellate come sviluppo di ciò che è oggi l'essenza della città; descritte magistralmente attraverso gli occhi di alcuni abitanti.
Si passa così da una New York in crescita verso lo spazio come un unico, immenso grattacielo, ad una Roma che si perde ancora nella sua decadenza al ricordo di un impero dissolto. C'è Londra con la sua Torre ed i suoi fantasmi, e Mosca, in legno e neve. Infine Pechino, ed una storia archetipa che si ripropone continuamente nel mondo degli uomini.

[Phil Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunfall is a slim volume of six short stories, each focused on a city in a common setting of Earth far in the future when the sun is dying. Each city-based story deals with the fading sun in different ways. The near-apocalyptic setting close to the end of the Earth’s life reminded me of Michael Moorcock or Jack Vance. This felt very different to most of the other CJ Cherryh stories I have read.

Thus, it was fun to read these connected short stories. They were different enough from much of her other work to be refreshing and new.

[Cátia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked all the stories in this book, but I loved more "The only death in the city" and "The haunted Tower". It was my first time reading a book from C.J. Cherryh and I hope to read more in the future.

[Konstantine · Rating 3 out of 5]

really interesting even if the delivery doesnt always land, particularly liked the depictions of far future rome, paris, and new york

[S.M.M. Lindström · Rating 4 out of 5]

En intressant samling korta historier om hur livet kanske skulle se ut på Jorden när solens bana går mot sitt slut. Vi får följa folk i olika städer, från Paris till Beijing (i denna översättning kallad Peking), som lever sina mycket olika liv på slutet av Jorden, när de flesta människor flytt till andra planeter, andra stjärnor.

Jag var inte beredd på hur mycket "fantasy" de här berättelserna skulle komma att innehåll. Inte för att jag klagar, men det kan vara bra att veta att det är inte är en rent "vetenskaplig" syn på hur livet i Jordens slutskede skulle kunna te sig. Vi rör oss från Paris där folk oförklarligt återföds med alla minnen av sitt förra liv, till London där spöken tröstar dödsdömda i Towern, till Beijing där återfödsel och död också är ett starkt tema.

Favoriterna i den här boken för mig var historierna om New York och Moskva. I New York får vi följa linarbetare (som i "lina" inte växten lin) som hamnar i en fruktansvärd situation när rika människor inte vill att New York expanderar uppåt åt deras håll. I Moskva är det en dödsdom att titta upp mot norrskenet, då detta förändrar hela din syn på verkligheten. Den första historien är mer en thriller där huvudpersonen måste överleva och överlista mäktiga företag med total brist på empati för mänskligt lidande. Den andra är en nästan Lovecraft-inspirerad skräckhistoria om en jägare om blir offer för norrskenet.

På det hela taget rekommenderar jag den här novellsamlingen, speciellt till folk som gillar "science-fantasy"!

[Zach Laengert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating idea for a collection, reminding me of Hodgson's "The Night Land" but with each story (and city) having its own powerful energy.

The Only Death in the City (Paris): 4/5
A fascinating world, with millennia of reincarnation in a sealed Paris. Enjoyed the meditation on what gives life meaning, though kinda strange that Alain just gets his own exception anyway as far as I understood.

The Haunted Tower (London): 3.5/5
Not quite as big a nerd about the history of the British monarchy as I think you need to be to get the most out of this story, but I liked Bettine’s character arc.

Ice (Moskva): 2.5/5
Had a tough time getting into it and ultimately didn’t find it terribly rewarding. A meditation on beauty and meaning in a world where that’s all they have anymore I suppose.

Nightgame (Rome): 4/5
Vivid descriptions and a cool idea; as with all of these so far I’d just love a little more detail to fully enjoy it. Is Elio his son at the end? Is that dream going to stay on forever? Why is this one so unique? But still, very cool.

Highliner (New York): 3.5/5
Cute, and I feel like this must have in some way inspired Josiah Bancroft’s “Books of Babel” series. Again awesome idea & visuals.

The General (Forbidden City): 4.5/5
Boldly poetic in addition to the usual lovely imagery. The reincarnation idea is as close as this collection gets to having a theme, and Cherryh uses it well.

MasKs (Venice): 2.5/5
Political romance isn't really my thing, but as usual Cherryh's descriptions are fascinating.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea of the book is interesting. It contains 6 short stories; each taking place in a different city, in the distant future when the Sun is dying (why the Sun is dying seemingly a few million years in the future rather than a few billion, I'm not sure of). It also contains supernatural elements, such as visitations from Death and reincarnation.

Unfortunately the delivery itself seemed dull, humorless, and with prose that was often unclear (at least to me). I'm amazed it took me so long to get through such a tiny volume.

It also seemed pretty ridiculous to me that after all this time, humans would remain physically unchanged. It's thought that modern humans have been around for a few hundred thousand years, or less; I would think that millions of years in the future humans would have changed (probably to the point where we long ceased being remotely recognizable as human). It's a pretty large lost opportunity from a storytelling perspective (read Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men to see what I mean).

Or, maybe the fact that we hadn't changed was the whole dystopian point. Oh well, I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea.

[Dillan · Rating 3 out of 5]

You think people would be more concerned about the prospect of the sun dying and taking a deteriorating earth with society falling apart at the seams with it. Guess not!

Sunfall's short story collection loops in a common theme of degeneration and deterioration more than anything. The concept of the sun dying is really more of an afterthought (if it's mentioned at all) across these stories. The writing was definitely trippy, with varied themes behind each of the stories that are strong enough to generate some discussion as to what really happened. That being said, there were some bangers in this collection, but definitely some flops too, though my overall experience was positive. Without further ado, my ranking of the stories:

1. Highliner: Power to the people and all that.
2. The General: Horse.
3. The Haunted Tower: Title is accurate, the tower is indeed haunted.
4. Ice: Never invade Russia in winter (or be there at all, apparently).
5. The Only Death in the City: I'll never understand the french.
6. Nightgame: This one made my brain tired - which is somewhat on theme!

[Artur Coelho · Rating 2 out of 5]

No futuro distante, com o sol a enfraquecer e os filhos da Terra espalhados pelo espaço, restam no planeta as antigas grandes cidades, cada qual decaída nos seus mundos interiores. Este romance conta-se através de histórias passadas nestas exóticas cidades de um futuro, não o típico futuro de megalópoles hiper-tecnológicas a que estamos habituados, mas a uma visão exótica de urbanismo, onde os antigos grandes centros estão isolados em si próprios. Esta visão evocativa da degenerescência barroca da arquitetura é o ponto de interesse deste livro, composto de histórias de recorte algo surreal, que embora sejam evocativas, não são particularmente interessantes.

[Gregoire]

6 nouvelles réunies sur le thème de la mort à travers 6 tableaux plutôt clichés des villes capitales (Moscou sous la neige, Paris en catacombes, la "Tour de Londres etc ) dans une lente agonie de la planète
L'humain a tout perdu même le goût de vivre Nos auteurs actuels auraient plus insisté sur l'évolution de l'Homme vers un après plus différent même s'il y a quelques touches de fantastiques (réincarnations, apparition de la mort ...) C'est triste et pessimiste
Cela reste écrit par C J Cherryh càd très bien mais dans le style un peu ampoulé des années 80

[Angelo Maria Perongini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dopo aver letto (in parte) la saga di Morgaine della stessa autrice credevo che avrei apprezzato questo piccolo volume che si muove sul filone della terra morente, che pure è un tema che ero ansioso di esplorare.
Peccato che la terra morente qui sia solo un pretesto per una cornice narrativa abbastanza debole.

6 racconti che non sembrano neanche lontanamente ambientati nello stesso universo (neanche dello stesso genere narrativo). Le trame sono spesso inconsistenti, e la prosa è davvero poco ispirata.
Un'occasione mancata.

Parigi ⭐⭐⭐
Londra ⭐ ½
Mosca ⭐⭐
Roma ⭐
New York ⭐⭐⭐½
Pechino ? (Non sono riuscito a finirlo)

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cherryh describes her scenes beautifully and gives her characters life in a world that is dying. There are 6 stories here, all set in cities in different parts of the world where the sun is dying. They are all stories of pain and death and of description. And that's where this book falls short for me. There is hardly any action happening in these stories and the little that is here is passive. Perhaps I just haven't found her more action-oriented works because I think I would love them as she writes so well but this just leaves me cold and wishing for what might have been. Like the characters in this book, ironically.

[Filippo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Il libro propone una serie di racconti ambientati su un pianeta terra crepuscolare. L'ambientazione mischia fantascienza e sovrannaturale. Ogni racconto è ambientato in una città che rappresenta un mondo a se.
Sebbene le idee alla base delle varie ambientazioni siano spesso affascinanti, e alcuni racconti in certi momenti riescano a proporre una storia coinvolgente, la caratteristica che contraddistingue tutto il libro è la noia. Probabilmente la scelta tematica di inevitabilità, sconfitta e declino ha influito negativamente anche sul mio giudizio.

[without overthinking · Rating 3 out of 5]

O que me atraiu nesta colecção foi a premissa que atravessa todo o livro, o nosso Sol está moribundo, mas isto acaba por ser pouco mais que um pormenor ao longo das 6 histórias que compõem esta colectânea.
Histórias com um pouco de ficção cientifica e fantasia mas sem grande fulgor.

A ideia transversal, a vida num futuro distante com a acção em 6 cidades distintas (sem ligação entre elas e aparentemente com regras diferentes) lidando com a morte anunciada da nossa estrela, acaba por ser o ponto mais original.
Ainda assim, foi interessante de ler.

[Karl Stark di Grande Inverno · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jack Vance è un'altra cosa. Il Ciclo della Terra Morente è un'altra cosa.
L'idea è carina: l'affresco del mondo in un remoto futuro, tante storie incentrate sulle più famose città del mondo.
Solo che lo svolgimento è noioso: quasi tutte le storie sono raccontate maluccio, in alcuni punti in modo davvero confusionario, e non sono per niente interessanti.
Arrivati alla fine le sensazioni sono di un'occasione sprecata e di sollievo perchè il patimento della lettura è finalmente terminato.