Anders, Charlie Jane: Six Months, Three Days
Six Months, Three Days
Written by: Charlie Jane Anders
Art by: Sam Weber
Genre: Short Story/Science Fiction
Published by: Tor.com
Rating: Couldn't Put It Down
If you're new to my book blog, you know that I don't read short stories very often, and when they do, they are safely tucked away in a bound collection so that I'm not straining my already dubious vision trying to read on the computer. I tend to be far more critical when reading stories on the computer screen, because that's where I read and critique manuscripts, so when I see short stories pop up on sites I frequent, like Tor.com, I tend to ignore them.
With "Six Months, Three Days," I couldn't.
First was the art. It just grabbed me. Not just the promise of a romance-centric piece, and the tree graph (that's what it's called, right?) overlaying the image. Then I read the opening line:
The man who can see the future has a date with the woman who can see many possible futures.
My first reaction, which was quite full of mental snark: "Oh, great. Summarize your story in the first sentence. Just wonderful. That's art."
And my second reaction was, "Who am I kidding? I can't resist that premise!"
So I read. And I couldn't stop.
This is the kind of story that gets my brain firing. It excites me. Don't get me wrong: it's not perfect, and the more I think about it, the more I start poking holes and asking "Why didn't THIS happen?" when it came to the story not following my own internal logic, but these are the questions I love asking. I read this yesterday, and yet I wanted to read it again today, because I love the premise so much, the way the story unfolded. A couple so doomed, yet not, if that makes sense. The never-ending tension between fate and free will, all personified in the form of a dating couple: the guy who sees a single future, and the girl who sees many.
It's delicious. It's delightful. It makes my brain hurt in a wonderful way, which is what you should expect from someone like me, who adores television shows like Lost and Fringe.
I'd not heard of Charlie Jane Anders before I'd read this story, and now, I'm going to keep an eye out. Not just for her work either, but rather than ignoring the shorts on Tor.com, maybe I should give the beginnings at least a cursory glance, no?
As for "Six Months, Three Days," I loved it. You can read it here.
And a quick comment about the accompanying art: Sam Weber has done covers that've caught my eye before, but I'd never put two and two together until I visited his site: he's done the cover art for the e-reader Ender's Game, Karin Lowachee's The Gaslight Dogs, and L. Jagi Lamplighter's Prospero Lost. Great stuff, and you should visit his site.