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humanignorance's review
4.0
4 stars. A gripping read about a cultural clash handled with appropriate thought and depth. The cultural tradition at the heart of the premise was somewhat hard to believe, though, and almost viscerally discomfiting.
sevireads's review
5.0
“We don’t want to drag our past behind us. It’s too heavy for us to bear.”
Exquisite execution of a brilliant idea - it's so hard for me to pick a single outstanding moment when the entire work is of such high quality. The main plot and “The Song of No.” are masterfully interwoven and make for a delightful reading experience. Thus, Exile's End its rightful spot at the top of my "Best Tor.com short stories" list right alongside [b:The Lay of Lilyfinger|57845106|The Lay of Lilyfinger|G.V. Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620318037l/57845106._SY75_.jpg|90619176].
Exquisite execution of a brilliant idea - it's so hard for me to pick a single outstanding moment when the entire work is of such high quality. The main plot and “The Song of No.” are masterfully interwoven and make for a delightful reading experience. Thus, Exile's End its rightful spot at the top of my "Best Tor.com short stories" list right alongside [b:The Lay of Lilyfinger|57845106|The Lay of Lilyfinger|G.V. Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620318037l/57845106._SY75_.jpg|90619176].
alkaiadyne's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
par3's review
5.0
5 Stars! I loved this (novella/novelette?) so much! The Manhu culture is so interesting… It is available for free on Tor’s website. I’ll link it below… This was my first by this author and now I’m very excited to read more. Just ordered Arkfall to read next.
Read: 3/4/23
Link: https://www.tor.com/2020/08/12/exiles-end-carolyn-ives-gilman/
Quotes:
- “To us, Home was a place. To her, it is her people.”
- “The made-up portion of his mind had crowded out the curiosity.”
- “It’s not worth her suffering. Pride can’t justify that.”
- “How do you lose your name? When people stop telling your story. Why must we tell our story? Because others start telling it for us.”
- “Be our imagined angels. Be what we can’t be. Reject us, love us, teach us, exalt us… We are so tired of being told who to be.”
- “It’s not guilt… It’s pride, to prove that we’re better than our ancestors—as if we inherited their planet but not what they had to do to get it.”
- “Would you leave one person suffering in prison for the sake of redeeming a few others? This is not a balance sheet. You can’t weigh souls on a scale and say four make one not matter.”
- “Your people made her up… You can remake her.”
- “What ruler can measure the past?”
- “I am sorry to cause you pain. But that is the only way for us to be free of our pain. It has been building for generations. It is our parents’ pain, our grandparents’, clear back to Even Glancing. We carry it around with us, always. We must do this to free not just her, but ourselves.”
- “But, this is not an ordinary object. At some point, great art ceases to be bound to the culture that produced it. It transcends ethnicity and identity and becomes part of the patrimony of the human race. It belongs to all of us because of its universal message, the way it makes us better… Yes, it has a ghost. The ghost speaks to all of us, not in words but in our instinct toward beauty and goodness. We are better for having seen it. If it burns, something pure will pass from the world.”
- “That would be fine, except that the right answer is almost never ‘no.’ The right answer is ‘maybe.’”
- “What about our pain?.. Your people never cared about that... This isn’t about you at all. It’s about us. Our chance to reclaim who we are.”
- “If they can sleep on the mountain, I can sleep in the car.”
- “It’s hard to give it all up. But anything worth doing is hard.”
- “We don’t want to be like you people of Sarona, you Hoarders. We don’t want to drag our past behind us. It’s too heavy for us to bear.”
- “What good is the past? The past is everything lost. The past is never again. The past doesn’t feed anyone. Only the future does that.”
Read: 3/4/23
Link: https://www.tor.com/2020/08/12/exiles-end-carolyn-ives-gilman/
Quotes:
- “To us, Home was a place. To her, it is her people.”
- “The made-up portion of his mind had crowded out the curiosity.”
- “It’s not worth her suffering. Pride can’t justify that.”
- “How do you lose your name? When people stop telling your story. Why must we tell our story? Because others start telling it for us.”
- “Be our imagined angels. Be what we can’t be. Reject us, love us, teach us, exalt us… We are so tired of being told who to be.”
- “It’s not guilt… It’s pride, to prove that we’re better than our ancestors—as if we inherited their planet but not what they had to do to get it.”
- “Would you leave one person suffering in prison for the sake of redeeming a few others? This is not a balance sheet. You can’t weigh souls on a scale and say four make one not matter.”
- “Your people made her up… You can remake her.”
- “What ruler can measure the past?”
- “I am sorry to cause you pain. But that is the only way for us to be free of our pain. It has been building for generations. It is our parents’ pain, our grandparents’, clear back to Even Glancing. We carry it around with us, always. We must do this to free not just her, but ourselves.”
- “But, this is not an ordinary object. At some point, great art ceases to be bound to the culture that produced it. It transcends ethnicity and identity and becomes part of the patrimony of the human race. It belongs to all of us because of its universal message, the way it makes us better… Yes, it has a ghost. The ghost speaks to all of us, not in words but in our instinct toward beauty and goodness. We are better for having seen it. If it burns, something pure will pass from the world.”
- “That would be fine, except that the right answer is almost never ‘no.’ The right answer is ‘maybe.’”
- “What about our pain?.. Your people never cared about that... This isn’t about you at all. It’s about us. Our chance to reclaim who we are.”
- “If they can sleep on the mountain, I can sleep in the car.”
- “It’s hard to give it all up. But anything worth doing is hard.”
- “We don’t want to be like you people of Sarona, you Hoarders. We don’t want to drag our past behind us. It’s too heavy for us to bear.”
- “What good is the past? The past is everything lost. The past is never again. The past doesn’t feed anyone. Only the future does that.”
jselliot's review
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This review by readingunderthecovers covers my thoughts perfectly:
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/49591dd6-cba4-4306-8962-5342bf2a21d8
Minor formatting issues. Words run together throughout this short story.
quynh23's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
chaifanatic18's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
spacephilosopher's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0