Paper blows through the wasteland Depleted. Corrugated metal rusts. People live in shacks made of unwanted objects, clothing in tatters. Worn down things serve worn down purposes. Scraps of cloth fly from poles marking villages of refuse and homes of healers. Everything has been lost and found again. Treasure seekers find many worthless artifacts. Acres of Depleted go on. Engines sit quietly on heaps of rusted parts. Wild dogs, rats, cats, and lizards scamper in tunnels of refuse. The resourceful residents use what they can find to survive. Some try to create beauty. They awake at night when the heat dissipates and clear circles of rubbish for dancing. They climb garbage piles and try to see where Depleted ends, “See that wave, could it be the beginning of a river?”
Why it springs to mind: You'll never look at an ice cube the same way again. Where read: In the 2014 Hugo award-winning Lightspeed Magazine , August. Length: 5,194 words Summary: A woman has an ice cube for a soul. Memorable: How the story invites us to think about the shape of our soul, how it (or our perception of it) influences us and how it changes. What ordinary every day object would your soul be? A silver spoon, a beech stick? A great party conversation starter, this. Quote: “All life is an experiment." Notable: The protagonist Rina is an avid reader (always a good choice). Pairs well with: T.S. Elliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay Origin: The story was written in 24 hours based on a writing prompt. (See Author Spotlight: Ken Liu ) About the author: Ken Liu’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings , the first in a fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, is due out from Saga Press ( a new Simon & Schuster imprint ) in 2015.
Comments
Post a Comment