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A review by par3
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 115, April 2016 by Neil Clarke
5.0
5 Stars!.. This review is for the Hugo nominated novelette, “Touring with the Alien” by Carolyn Ives Gilman. Linked below… It’s about an intelligent alien species that lacks consciousness that we meet through a proxy or “translator.” They seek to learn about humans on a road-trip by bus accompanied by our MC, Avery… I loved this story very much! Very heartfelt and interesting and everything I look for in a short story. Enjoy!
Read: 3/7/23-3/8/23
Link: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/gilman_04_16/
Quotes:
- “People function unconsciously all the time. You’re not aware that you’re keeping your balance right now—you just do it automatically. You don’t have to be aware to walk, or breathe. In fact, the more skillful you are at something, the less aware you are...”
- “To play an instrument truly well, you had to lose all awareness of what you were doing, and rely entirely on the muscle memory in your fingers… You are so in the present, there is no room for self. No ego, no doubt, no introspection.”
- “What would be the point of achieving such supreme skill, if the price was never knowing it was you doing it?”
- “We pay a high metabolic price for consciousness; it’s why our lifespan is so short...”
- “Guessing is what your unconscious tells you. Knowing is a conscious thing. They’re only in conflict if your mind is fighting itself.”
- “The stillness felt good, but unfamiliar. Her life was made of motion. She had been driving for twenty years—driving away, driving beyond, always a new destination. Never back.”
- “They stood there for a moment, two people trapped in their own brains, and the only crack in the wall was empathy.”
- “There’s no death if there’s no self to be aware of it…
…No life either.”
Read: 3/7/23-3/8/23
Link: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/gilman_04_16/
Quotes:
- “People function unconsciously all the time. You’re not aware that you’re keeping your balance right now—you just do it automatically. You don’t have to be aware to walk, or breathe. In fact, the more skillful you are at something, the less aware you are...”
- “To play an instrument truly well, you had to lose all awareness of what you were doing, and rely entirely on the muscle memory in your fingers… You are so in the present, there is no room for self. No ego, no doubt, no introspection.”
- “What would be the point of achieving such supreme skill, if the price was never knowing it was you doing it?”
- “We pay a high metabolic price for consciousness; it’s why our lifespan is so short...”
- “Guessing is what your unconscious tells you. Knowing is a conscious thing. They’re only in conflict if your mind is fighting itself.”
- “The stillness felt good, but unfamiliar. Her life was made of motion. She had been driving for twenty years—driving away, driving beyond, always a new destination. Never back.”
- “They stood there for a moment, two people trapped in their own brains, and the only crack in the wall was empathy.”
- “There’s no death if there’s no self to be aware of it…
…No life either.”