SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Link: https://www.tor.com/2019/01/23/his-fo...

We'll be reading this novelette throughout February. Post comments and use spoiler tags when necessary.

I have never read anything from this author before so I am looking forward to it, especially since the premise looks fun.

Will read this tomorrow

Ah, I just see that this is part of a tor.com collection. I will push it up on my list.

Silvana wrote: "Will read this tomorrow"

I was too busy at work so I'll start Saturday.

Interesting. Would I find it so if it was set in a culture more familiar to me? What if it were set in 'Arabia?' And what makes so many readers sure that the 'love' of the young man for a jinni is not platonic?

Consider, if you will, Victor Hugo's poetic take, as found on Project Gutenberg:

(view spoiler)[THE DJINNS.
("Murs, ville et port.")

{XXVIII., Aug. 28, 1828.}
Town, tower,
Shore, deep,
Where lower
Cliff's steep;
Waves gray,
Where play
Winds gay,
All sleep.

Hark! a sound,
Far and slight,
Breathes around
On the night
High and higher,
Nigh and nigher,
Like a fire,
Roaring, bright.

Now, on 'tis sweeping
With rattling beat,
Like dwarf imp leaping
In gallop fleet
He flies, he prances,
In frolic fancies,
On wave-crest dances
With pattering feet.

Hark, the rising swell,
With each new burst!
Like the tolling bell
Of a convent curst;
Like the billowy roar
On a storm-lashed shore,—
Now hushed, but once more
Maddening to its worst.

O God! the deadly sound
Of the Djinn's fearful cry!
Quick, 'neath the spiral round
Of the deep staircase fly!
See, see our lamplight fade!
And of the balustrade
Mounts, mounts the circling shade
Up to the ceiling high!

'Tis the Djinns' wild streaming swarm
Whistling in their tempest flight;
Snap the tall yews 'neath the storm,
Like a pine flame crackling bright.
Swift though heavy, lo! their crowd
Through the heavens rushing loud
Like a livid thunder-cloud
With its bolt of fiery might!

Ho! they are on us, close without!
Shut tight the shelter where we lie!
With hideous din the monster rout,
Dragon and vampire, fill the sky!
The loosened rafter overhead
Trembles and bends like quivering reed;
Shakes the old door with shuddering dread,
As from its rusty hinge 'twould fly!
Wild cries of hell! voices that howl and shriek!
The horrid troop before the tempest tossed—
O Heaven!—descends my lowly roof to seek:

Bends the strong wall beneath the furious host.
Totters the house as though, like dry leaf shorn
From autumn bough and on the mad blast borne,
Up from its deep foundations it were torn
To join the stormy whirl. Ah! all is lost!

O Prophet! if thy hand but now
Save from these hellish things,
A pilgrim at thy shrine I'll bow,
Laden with pious offerings.
Bid their hot breath its fiery rain
Stream on the faithful's door in vain;
Vainly upon my blackened pane
Grate the fierce claws of their dark wings!

They have passed!—and their wild legion
Cease to thunder at my door;
Fleeting through night's rayless region,
Hither they return no more.
Clanking chains and sounds of woe
Fill the forests as they go;
And the tall oaks cower low,
Bent their flaming light before.

On! on! the storm of wings
Bears far the fiery fear,
Till scarce the breeze now brings
Dim murmurings to the ear;
Like locusts' humming hail,
Or thrash of tiny flail
Plied by the fitful gale
On some old roof-tree sere.

Fainter now are borne
Feeble mutterings still;
As when Arab horn
Swells its magic peal,
Shoreward o'er the deep
Fairy voices sweep,
And the infant's sleep
Golden visions fill.

Each deadly Djinn,
Dark child of fright,
Of death and sin,
Speeds in wild flight.
Hark, the dull moan,
Like the deep tone
Of Ocean's groan,
Afar, by night!

More and more
Fades it slow,
As on shore
Ripples flow,—
As the plaint
Far and faint
Of a saint
Murmured low.

Hark! hist!
Around,
I list!
The bounds
Of space
All trace
Efface
Of sound.

JOHN L. O'SULLIVAN. [translator] (hide spoiler)]

(not really a spoiler, just long)

Uh, got swamped with work. haven't read this yet.

It is now a finalist for the Nebula award.

I reread this a few days ago. I enjoy it. I have nothing profound to say. 🙂

I liked it too. I also don't have any profound this to say aside that I love the setting and the take on djinn-master relationship.

It is linked to another story in the same world, but featuring Binu's mother. http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/th...

OK, I have some stuff to say because I look up things. I read the Wikipedia article on tawaifs which were mentioned in the story.
It's at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawaif. Apparently, they are a geisha equivalent in India. The article also includes other geisha equivalents.

More significant to the story, and something I actually knew about beforehand is (view spoiler)[The abuse of devadasis. This is still happening. See this article from a feminist site at https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadva... (hide spoiler)]

The spoiler above is an important feminist issue in India.

I did like the story and the central relationship between the protagonist and the jinni.

Good information. I pretty much understood all that from the way the author presented it, but external confirmation is good too.

Thank you, Shomeret. I did not know devadasis still exists. 450,000! Sounds like more horrible version than in the story. I am glad somebody is doing something about it.

Thanks for the info, Shomeret!

This was my second time reading this story, and although I liked it, I don't have much to add.

Silvana, thanks for the link to the story about Binu's mother - if anything, I think I liked that story better than Binu's story. I also found another story set in the same world: This Sullied Earth Our Home is about Johuree and Shehzad, before Binu comes to the circus. I think the more I read in this universe, the more I enjoy it.

Oh, I'm looking forward to the extra stories in this world: thanks for the links, yall! :-)

Yes, thank you for those links. I am always glad when we get even more than expected from short works.

Also, I just finished all the shorts from the Nebula finalist list and noticed that more South Asian authors are getting recognition. Encouraging development!

Silvana wrote: "...I just finished all the shorts from the Nebula finalist list and noticed that more South Asian authors are getting recognition...."

Excellent indeed!

More BR threads for more stories? :-D

Joelle wrote: "Silvana wrote: "...I just finished all the shorts from the Nebula finalist list and noticed that more South Asian authors are getting recognition...."

Excellent indeed!

More BR threads for more s..."

I think Mareike just made a call to arms for the Nebula stories, so there will be some threads in the future.

I am still checking out the Locus list. So many stories to pick so I will have to crosscheck with the reviews. So far the Rocketstack reviews surprisingly fit my taste 🤔