Sunday Short: Jo Walton's Sleeper

Sunday, August 24, 2014
This Sunday's short is Jo Walton's Sleeper published on Tor.com this month.

Previously, I read and really enjoyed Walton's Hugo and Nebula award winning mind-twisty Among Others, so when I saw the recent short published by her, I knew I wanted to read it. 

The story is set in a near future dystopia that doesn't seem all too improbable (corporations in control, class system reigns again). In it, computer science has progressed to the point where we can simulate dead individuals. I thought Walton did a great job of making this tech believable in it's limitations (the simulation needs some sort of video to see the subject moving to be entirely accurate) and applications ( the simulations are used as sort of an add on to get people to buy books).

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and the ideas it brought forth to chew on. We read about historical figures and bring them to life in our minds -- how accurate can we be? How much of our history is subjective? The final few paragraphs were delightful in the way they brought you back to the central theme of history being a thing we make - fact and fiction. 

Favorite line: We make our own history, both past and future.

Rating: 4.5/5

Next week's featured short will be Foz Meadow's Ten Days' Grace, published in Apex Magazine this month. As always, if you have any suggestions of great sci-fi/fantasy short stories to read, leave them in the comments below! 


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