In the Forests of the Night

METAtropolis #1.1

by Jay Lake, Michael Hogan (Narrator)

“In the Forests of the Night” is from the Hugo and Audie Award-nominated METAtropolis, an intelligent and stunning creation of five cutting-edge science-fiction writers, performed by an amazing cast of elite narrators and stars from TV’s Battlestar Galactica. METAtropolis takes place in a future where cities have transformed or died, and technologists, eco-survivalists, and civilization itself vie for continued existence. Written by World Fantasy Award nominee Jay Lake and narrated by Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica’s “Saul Tigh”), this story introduces Cascadia, the setting for the eponymous and equally imaginative second volume, METAtropolis: Cascadia.

Genres: Audiobook, Science Fiction, Short Stories

Audiobook

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Jay Lake lived in Portland, Oregon, where he worked on multiple writing and editing projects. His 2007 book Mainspring received a starred review in Booklist. His short fiction appeared regularly in literary and genre markets worldwide. Jay won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, Endeavour Award, and was a multiple nominee for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.

Reviews

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the world building and the idea of Cascadia (a forest city in what used to be Oregon) were really great. I didn’t get the story though.

[Donna Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

After 30 minutes, I couldn’t take any more. Boring. DNF.

[Alysia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The synopsis of this book sounded like the perfect audiobook for me. I was hooked on the variety of authors, the concept of all of them writing a whole new whole and that there was a cast narrating it. This is good for finding new writers and new readers. Nothing but a win win situation right? Well it was...kinda.
The five authors all centered their work around a new dystopian future set in the Detroit area. I think the best way to tell you about this audiobook is to break it down one by one.

In the Forest of Night by Jay Lake
(read by Michael Hogan)
This story was short and I didn't really get it. I thought it should have set more of the tone and give more history of the community than it did. There is a new "strange" visitor to the community who has a Jesus quality to him but nothing is concluded in why he is there and who he really is. This was the biggest disappointment for me. I almost didn't finish this audiobook because of the slowness of the story. I think the vagueness of the forest location in the Seattle area didn't really help me either.

Stochastic-City by Tobias Buckell
(read by Scott Brick)
This where the audiobook picks up. After the first nondescript community this one is set in the new urban future of Detroit with the story centering around a bouncer. Unlike the first story this one moves a bit faster and has great dialog here and there. The new Detroit seems to be a bit more violent and the city is going green so much so they are outlawing cars which is forcing the population onto bikes and mass transit. This world kinda reminds me of Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower. I liked this one much better than the first one.

The Red in the Sky is Our Blood by Elizabeth Bear
(read by Kandyse McClure)
I loved this story. Finally a strong female black character. YEAH! Thank God there are other people in the future that look like me. I loved the tone and the overall storyline of a mother and what she goes through to protect her child. Excellent story! This story also helps bring a few elements from the first book into play as well as it folds nicely from the second story.

Utere Nihil Non Extra Quiritationem Suis by John Scalzi
(read by Stefan Rudnicki)
John is funny and he adds a ton of humor to this story. OMG! Could you image finding out the only job you are qualified to do is hauling pig crap? I was rolling!! Excellent job John and Stefan. Stefan really read this story and made you live it with him. I still have the image of farms growing inside large office building. Brilliant idea.

To Hie from Far Cilenia by Karl Schroeder
(read by Stefan Rudnicki)
I was so hope to love this story. I really was. After two knocked out of the park stories this one was a complete miss for me. I can't even tell you what it's about because it left me 100% confused. A woman looking for her son in an alternate universe where other people live and you can jump in and out of it but there is another one in that one too. Whatever! Sorry but..no.
So there you have it. There were some great stories sandwiched between nothing special. I am curious about the others in the series. But... I might wait for those.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series kind of reminds you of a cross between Daemon and Ayn Rand novels. Very lightly on Ayn Rand novels because this in no way compares to her philosophy and insight but it does kind of point to the looters and how government is bringing about an end to the person. The tech reminds me of Daemon but you have to read the complete series of METAtroplis to see it come together. I will warn you that the first short story with Tiger Tiger, not a typo, will throw you off. But pull forward and keep going, its very short.

[Jessi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure why Scalzi thought this would be a good first story - if I had read it first I wouldn't have continued with the universe. It was just a boring information dump and I struggled to care/pay attention.

[Cory Hawksbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that it took place in the area of the world where I have lived for the last 30 years as I knew of and have been to many of the locales mentioned in the story. Better than it always being future Detroit.

[Nicole Pio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve listened this story quite a few times and I love how it sounds like an epic poem or post-modern mythological story. It’s great primer for the other stories in the Metatropolis collection.

[Marcus Goncalves · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I've tried yet again, but this genre is really not the kind of reading I enjoy; that's why I selected this short story on my Kindle. No reflection on the author or plot.

[rick. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is poetry in Lake's prose. He renders what would in other hands be climaxes as exhalations; while elevating atmosphere into scripture. The short story is plagued by info-dumps, which is a particular peeve of mine, but manages to soothe them into the narrative.

[S.N. McKibben · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story did not reveal to me the purpose of its point though I know it had one. While I grope for its message, it alludes me. I might not be getting the whole story because of the complexity of the language and thought process of the author. I might have to listen to it again but in reality it is a story that must be read and not listened to. It's concepts aren't that difficult to understand but the wording is too precise, too lofty to be taken lightly. In other words, it reads like a medical dictionary to me. I needed more time to soak in the words.

If I could read sentence by sentence and ponder the meaning I think I would have been able to grasp more. I probably would have read and re-read sentences to conceptually understand the story as a whole. Each character is rich in their own background. Description of each one leaves little for imagination and yet much to think about. This is not to say I didn't enjoy the short but, I would advise any who are curious about it to expect to devote a bit of concentration to it. It's a dark, heavy political story and it's written as such. I'm going to read it simply to grasp the concept and to gain more of a vocabulary.

[Chelsea Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in the short story book METAtropolis. I loved this story. Lake's imagery is beautiful. I want to live in his lovely green-anarchist city of Cascadiopolis. I loved the questions raised regarding politics, capitalism, and human nature. There are so many subtle revelations made in this wonderful story, so subtle that many may overlook them. There are undertones of eastern thought and reincarnation. In a nutshell, a very artfully written story. This story is full of tough words and technical jargon, so I had to keep my smartphone next to me to look things up. If you don't have the patience or curiosity for this type of reading/ learning experience, this story is not for you. It certainly was for me, however. I wish it was a full novel. I could spend days in the misty forests of Cascadiopolis under moonlight, toiling amid the ferns, daydreaming under the fir trees and rhododendrons.

[Tim Jin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more science fiction stories base on the title, METAtropolis, but it's more like 5 random stories of a future city in San Francisco. I just didn't understand where Jay Lake and his collaborators were going to with their different stories. It just lost my interest quickly. It was a waste of time of reading something else.

Thanks Audible for the freebie, but I understand why Christmas came in July (promotion) this year. Unless they have another promotion for this title, I would skip this one.

[Steve Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

This compendium of short stories was good. Although, I didn't think that I was going to complete the book because I just couldn't get through the first story! But somehow slogged through the confusing mine of seemingly unrelated characters and storylines. Still not sure what happened in the end or why?! However, the remaining stories were very entertaining and engaging. While they showed glimmers of hope the outlook for the humans on earth in total was pretty bleak.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quick and easy. It contains some concepts that are pretty out there, but not sci-fi. For example, it assumes a city somewhere in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, that is camouflaged into a mountain. The plot relates to the searching out and destruction of that city by tied and true methods.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was entertaining enough, however this is one of those books that leaves you wondering if you just didn't "get it" or if it as indeed thar snobish. It was well written and easy to follow along but anticlimactic and essentially a let down when I had expected more from what seemed to be coming.

[Waltor]

wow, I want Col Tigh to read me bedtime stories every night.

[M Griffin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generally I like Jay's writing, and on a sentence-by-sentence level this is good, but on a story level this was never engaging.

[Floyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

As groundbreaking and exciting a world as Gibson's Neuromancer. The stories vary in tone and scope but all are interesting, entertaining, and engaging.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This and the others in the MEAtropolis series are a cracking read/listen.

[Leslie Cagle · Rating 1 out of 5]

snore.