The Ice Owl - Carolyn Ives Gilman

The Ice Owl, a novella by Carolyn Ives Gilman's, has been nominated for both the Nebula and Hugo Awards this year. The Nebula has already been awarded to Kij Johnson's The Man Who Bridged the Mist, but since Gilman is still in the race for the Hugo, publisher Phoenix Pick included an e-copy in their monthly newsletter. The novella was originally in the November/December issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction and now Phoenix Pick offers the it as an e-book and in paperback. I always think it is nice to see novellas in print. It is a hard length to get right but the genre has produced some real gems in this shot format. The Ice Owl is set in the same universe as Gilman's earlier novella Arkfall (2008). These stories can be read independently, which is a good thing as I have never read anything by Gilman before.

Thorn is a teenager living in a future where near instantaneous communication is possible but travel is still limited to the speed of light. She and her mother are Wasters. Outcasts in most societies they are part of and often living in their own ghettos, these people are usually seen as trouble, rebels, heretics or rebels. Thorn is a teenager but has already lived parts of her life on nine different planets, making her a 145 years old in sequential time when the story starts. The planet she is living on at that time, is unstable. Riots are common, revolution is in the air. When Thorn's school burns down, she is forced to seek her education elsewhere. That is how she meets Soren Pregaldin, a refugee who will teach her more than he ever intended.

The story contains a lot of interesting science fictional ideas. The situation with information outpacing actual travellers reminded me of Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish universe for instance, where the ansible links the the various planets but actually going to any of them takes years. Every time Thorn moves, she leaves behind the people she knew with the realization that even if she was to go back, they would have aged far more that she has. It is not only people she leaves behind either. Whole political systems and cultures can change in the time it takes for her to travel between the stars. Wasters are used to this, it is another element of what cuts them loose from mainstream society on many of the planets they are found on. For Thorn, the constant moving is becoming a burden, she is looking to lay down roots somewhere.

The planet most of the story is set on is tidally locked, only a small strip of land is inhabitable, a land in perpetual twilight. The planet has no breathable atmosphere and the city Thorn lives in is domed. In her introduction, Gilman mentioned she meant to create a culture that fitted the harsh conditions on the planet. It turned into a strict, religious society, part of which despises the Wasters' loose morals. There is an uneasy parallel with religious fascism and the attraction of such religion on young people in this story. Thorn feels this attraction, as an act of rebellion she even dons the veil proscribed to women. It makes her feel anonymous but also gives her a sense of belonging that under different circumstances could easily have drawn her in. Scary to think how easily that can happen really.

The real conflict in the novel is the relationship between Thorn and her mother though. Thorn realizes that her mother is a woman who has made a mess of her life more than once and she isn't very impressed with it. Gilman capturers the anger. disappointment and attempts at rebellion of Thorn very well I think. Thorn is quite rash in a way and very harsh in her judgement. Something that leads her to equally rash actions as the story progresses. You can't help but feel for either party really. Thorn's mother is not perfect but, even seen through the eyes of her daughter, you can tell she cares and is trying in her own way.

I have only read one of the other Hugo nominees in this category, Ken Liu's The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary, which I think is a more challenging story in a way. It no doubt faces stiff competition but can see why The Ice Owl made the shortlist. It is a very well crafted novella. Gilman makes the most out of the science fictional concepts used in the story. She sketches what is essentially a very recognizable situation but the unusual circumstances raise the stakes considerably. I am definitely going to have to check out Arkfall one of these days.

Book Details
Title: The Ice Owl
Author: Carolyn Ives Gilman
Publisher: Phoenix Pick
Pages: 51
Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: E-book
ISBN: 978-1-61242-111-7
First published: 2011

Act One - Nancy Kress

Ever since reading Kress' wonderful collection Nano Comes to Clifford Falls and Other Stories I've been keeping an eye out for her short fiction. A number of her short works won Nebulas and Hugos, the most recent was a Hugo in 2009 for her novella The Erdmann Nexus, which unfortunately I haven' t read yet. Act One was nominated for the Hugo, Locus and Nebula award but won none of them. It was originally published in Asimov's in 2009. Last year Kress reached an agreement with publisher Phoenix Pick, who made the book available in print and various e-book formats. In January they offered it for free download (you may still be able to get it) so I took the opportunity to finally read it. As usual, it is a thought-provoking and moving story.

I always have trouble reviewing shorter works without giving too much of the story away. The text below is a bit spoilerish.

Barry Tenler is the manager of the ageing and in recent years none too successful actress Jane Snow. Still, there is a new opportunity waiting and Barry believes this role will do Jane's career a lot of good. To prepare for the part, which involved the consequences of recently introduced genetic engineering techniques, Barry and Jane have arranged to meet the members of The Group. An underground organisation willing to go a lot further down the path of genetic modifications than current legislation allows. They are considered terrorists by the authorities and have some very far reaching ideas on the future of the human species. The meeting goes well enough or so Barry and Jane think. It takes a while for the reasons of The Group for agreeing with the meeting to become clear however. And when they do, Barry and Jane realize they are in trouble.

Kress stuffs quite a lot of questions about genetic engineering in this novella. There's the ethical aspect of experimenting on human beings, altering them in ways that are not fully understood without them having a say in it. There is also the question whether or not the product of such can still be considered human. To explore these issues, Kress uses three main elements in the story. Barry, our narrator is the first. He has his own troubled relationship with genetics. Barry suffers from achondroplasia, a mutation that causes dwarfism. A life in a world created for taller people have given him a unique perspective when it comes to genetic engineering. It has also lead him to the decision in his life he regrets most.

The second element that illustrate the main questions the novella poses are the children who have had the benefit of genetic treatments. Kress introduces the Barrington twins, among the first to receive what advocates of the technique call Arlen's Advantage. A genetic modification that makes the children hyper-emphatic. It is almost impossible to lie to them or to even hide your true feelings. This deeper understanding of other people's feelings would make them more sensitive, cooperative and better behaved. As the twins show, the treatment has side effects. The twins, who possess radically different personalities, also serve to point out a problem in genetics that still poorly understood. How much of a certain trait is due to genetic predisposition and how much to nurture. When you read this novella, compare the twins' use of their ability with the natural empathy of Jane and Barry's gradually shifting moods. The way Kress shows us that genetic engineering is more complicated than switching a couple of base pairs in a specific gene is very well done.

A third strand in this story looks at the effects on a larger scale than the individual. Genetics is scary to a large part of the population (think of the ongoing discussions of whether or not to allow genetically modified crops) and the Group's disregard of legislation and the opinions of other people poses a threat to public order. The final part of the story is partly dedicated to showing how such fear and anger can lead to violence and, reaching back to the individual level, how it affects Barry and Jane.

Act One is quite a dense piece of writing, I needed a couple of days to reflect on this story before I began this review. It's one of those stories one should savour, it's not a long text but one that demands some time to read it properly. It is definitely one of the stronger stories by Kress I have read. She must have had some fierce competition to miss all those awards. It's an emotionally intense look at some of the questions raised by advances in genetics. Recommended reading.

Book Details
Title: Act One
Author: Nancy Kress
Publisher: Phoenix Pick
Pages: 77
Year: 2010
Language: English
Format: E-book
ISBN: 978-1-60450-413-2
First published: 2009