The Nostalgist by Daniel H. Wilson
My rating: 3/5 cats
“Hey there, toaster oven,” said the officer quietly. “Think you’re human?”
These words confused the boy, who said nothing.
look, another free tor short i’m gonna write a quick-and-dirty review for so’s i can get my review-pending stack down to a mere 75! 75 reviews is perfectly reasonable and manageable, right?
grooooaaannn.
this is another one that falls into the “fine” category for me, but other readers with hearts that feel will probably enjoy it more. it’s a bleak sci-fi infused spin on pinocchio by the guy that wrote all those books about killer robots and such.
this is a gentler, sadder take on the robot/human relationship.
it’s about an old man whose Eyes™ and Ears™ are beginning to wear out, who is devoted to a child who calls him grandpa, but is something other than a typical grandson. the love they feel for each other is real, but the world in which they live is harsh, and both man and boy face dangers and challenges in the course of their day which cannot completely be glossed over by this story’s version of rose-colored glasses.
it’s love, it’s revulsion, it’s guilt, it’s grief, it’s fear, and i’m not sure about what it’s ultimately trying to say with its ambiguous ending—is it meant to be optimistic or pathological? it’s either continuing to have hope and belief in the value of love despite all obstacles, or the self-delusion of desperately clinging to a past that wants to be forgotten and recklessly repeating patterns of behavior that have always ended badly.
you tell me.
in any event—BOOM! only 75 more to go!
read it for yourself here:
http://www.tor.com/2009/07/28/nostalg…
and if you like watching things, there is a short film based on this story here:
http://www.tor.com/2016/05/09/daniel-…
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