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scamp1234's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye, Night of the Cooters, and Beluthahatchie. Overall a strong issue.
musicaltati's review against another edition
4.0
I went into this not knowing what to expect. I haven't read a magazine submitted short story since maybe middle school (MANY years ago) & this reminded me, not only of how entertaining this medium of story can be, but how easy it can be to get caught up in it.
I read this as because it is on the shortlist for the Booktube SFF awards & I must say, I think this is my favorite of the 3, which is surprising to me because of the SFF genres, I don't read a lot of science fiction, and this is the science fiction read vs the other 2 which are fantasy.
At one point I thought the story could be called Boundless Beths, but to refrain from giving spoilers, I will say that I liked the changes that took place in The Meeker & how his view of the Eye & The Beth changed as the story progressed. Great, free, read!
I read this as because it is on the shortlist for the Booktube SFF awards & I must say, I think this is my favorite of the 3, which is surprising to me because of the SFF genres, I don't read a lot of science fiction, and this is the science fiction read vs the other 2 which are fantasy.
At one point I thought the story could be called Boundless Beths, but to refrain from giving spoilers, I will say that I liked the changes that took place in The Meeker & how his view of the Eye & The Beth changed as the story progressed. Great, free, read!
bruacioly's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed The Meeker and The All-Seeing Eye. It had great world-building and a fascinating idea. However, most of the other stories were very meh and forgettable for me.
As for the non-fiction, the piece or prosthetics was very interesting and informative.
As for the non-fiction, the piece or prosthetics was very interesting and informative.
thereadingoutlaw's review
4.0
I, like many recently, read this as part of my participation in the 2015 Booktube SFF Awards, not to mention it's inclusion on the Nebula list.
While this short story, like many short stories, takes a moment to sink in to (I listened to Kate Baker read the piece as part of the Clarksworld podcast) but is so ultimately rewarding for the effort. The story of the Meeker, a multi-limbed being who pilots a ship called the The Bulb, through space along with his companion the All-Seeing Eye. The Eye is a kind of universe in and of itself, composed of thousands of stars and planets that have been eaten by the Eye throughout the millennia. Their eons-long journey of travelling the galaxy harvesting dead stars to be deposited into the Eye's "Great Corpus" eventually brings them into contact with a crystal carrying information that, when decoded by the Eye, produces a human lifeform named Beth. I won't continue the plot from there, as the story is so worth reading for itself, but safe to say that existence for both the Meeker and the Eye will never be the same.
One of the most powerful tools of the short story is it's ability, as a form, to function as a magnifying glass on various traits of society, perhaps even more closely and cruelly than can be done in longer fiction. Kressel's piece here is no exception! We're brought in to discussions of power (the Meeker is called that simply because his being meek allows the Eye to be stronger) as well as the currently very apt discussion of when discovery crosses a kind of ethical or humanistic boundary by causing pain to it's subjects. Here I'm thinking of various forms of medical research, weapons development, and technological advancements that on the one had answer so many questions we have as a species while also equipping us to do great harm to one another. The relationship that forms between Beth and the Meeker, as well as the Eye's continued repeating of the phrases "I know, but tell me again" and "yes" at the sight of Beth's unfolding pain goes miles in establishing the characteristics of both characters, and clearly calling the reader to consider the line between the benefits of knowing and the downfalls of being the all-knowing.
Kressel does a simply amazing job at unpacking and unspooling the possibilities of a future in which not only worlds, but entire universes, look nothing like what we imagine because they simply have ceased to exist. In just under 6,000 well crafted words we've been presented with a sense of both scope (temporally) and distance (physically) that makes the story seem so much longer - and so much bigger - than it actually is. The only caveat I have, and the only point I would have liked to have seen expanded on, is the ending! And as far as I'm concerned, and short story where the only thing you're left wanting is for it to be longer, is a win in my book.
While this short story, like many short stories, takes a moment to sink in to (I listened to Kate Baker read the piece as part of the Clarksworld podcast) but is so ultimately rewarding for the effort. The story of the Meeker, a multi-limbed being who pilots a ship called the The Bulb, through space along with his companion the All-Seeing Eye. The Eye is a kind of universe in and of itself, composed of thousands of stars and planets that have been eaten by the Eye throughout the millennia. Their eons-long journey of travelling the galaxy harvesting dead stars to be deposited into the Eye's "Great Corpus" eventually brings them into contact with a crystal carrying information that, when decoded by the Eye, produces a human lifeform named Beth. I won't continue the plot from there, as the story is so worth reading for itself, but safe to say that existence for both the Meeker and the Eye will never be the same.
One of the most powerful tools of the short story is it's ability, as a form, to function as a magnifying glass on various traits of society, perhaps even more closely and cruelly than can be done in longer fiction. Kressel's piece here is no exception! We're brought in to discussions of power (the Meeker is called that simply because his being meek allows the Eye to be stronger) as well as the currently very apt discussion of when discovery crosses a kind of ethical or humanistic boundary by causing pain to it's subjects. Here I'm thinking of various forms of medical research, weapons development, and technological advancements that on the one had answer so many questions we have as a species while also equipping us to do great harm to one another. The relationship that forms between Beth and the Meeker, as well as the Eye's continued repeating of the phrases "I know, but tell me again" and "yes" at the sight of Beth's unfolding pain goes miles in establishing the characteristics of both characters, and clearly calling the reader to consider the line between the benefits of knowing and the downfalls of being the all-knowing.
Kressel does a simply amazing job at unpacking and unspooling the possibilities of a future in which not only worlds, but entire universes, look nothing like what we imagine because they simply have ceased to exist. In just under 6,000 well crafted words we've been presented with a sense of both scope (temporally) and distance (physically) that makes the story seem so much longer - and so much bigger - than it actually is. The only caveat I have, and the only point I would have liked to have seen expanded on, is the ending! And as far as I'm concerned, and short story where the only thing you're left wanting is for it to be longer, is a win in my book.
kittyg's review
4.0
So I read this online (Clarkesworld) as it's a free short story and I read it as a part of the BooktubeSFF Awards Shortlist. I didn't really know what it was or what to expect going into it, but when I did get into it (which didn't take long) I found myself sucked into the slightly peculiar, yet very interesting, ideas of the creatures and lifestyles within this story.
In this short piece we focus on the Meeker, a fairly subservient being who serves the All-Seeing Eye, who is a pretty impressively massive 'brain' essentially. We follow the pair as they fly through Space collecting and harvesting stars and different cultures and absorbing them into the All-Seeing Eye's corpus.
What I took away from the story was that there's a lot of cool ideas and a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle references to problems within society today with certain people being power-hungry and certain ideals and mysteries being introduced. I found this to be a slightly confusing read at first, but it evolved and developed a fair amount considering just how short it was and the ideas it did make me consider were thought-provoking and intriguing.
Overall my overwhelming sense of this story is that it's really exciting because of the way it's written, which feels detached at first and slowly draws you in, and the ideas and messages it sends. I found myself getting more excited the further through I went and forming real thoughts about each of the abstract characters, and I couldn't always predict how it would unfold which I also appreciated. On the whole, without spoiling anything, I thought this was a very well written short story and for the length it does a good job with hooking you in and making you ponder - 4*s :) Recommended, a fab short fiction piece :D
In this short piece we focus on the Meeker, a fairly subservient being who serves the All-Seeing Eye, who is a pretty impressively massive 'brain' essentially. We follow the pair as they fly through Space collecting and harvesting stars and different cultures and absorbing them into the All-Seeing Eye's corpus.
What I took away from the story was that there's a lot of cool ideas and a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle references to problems within society today with certain people being power-hungry and certain ideals and mysteries being introduced. I found this to be a slightly confusing read at first, but it evolved and developed a fair amount considering just how short it was and the ideas it did make me consider were thought-provoking and intriguing.
Overall my overwhelming sense of this story is that it's really exciting because of the way it's written, which feels detached at first and slowly draws you in, and the ideas and messages it sends. I found myself getting more excited the further through I went and forming real thoughts about each of the abstract characters, and I couldn't always predict how it would unfold which I also appreciated. On the whole, without spoiling anything, I thought this was a very well written short story and for the length it does a good job with hooking you in and making you ponder - 4*s :) Recommended, a fab short fiction piece :D
paulweymouth's review
5.0
I really loved this Nebula nominated short story. I read short fiction for the "message" and this one had a lot of messages in it that I will take away.
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