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This Chance Planet
"This Chance Planet" by Elizabeth Bear is a near future science fiction story about a young Russian waitress with ambitions to become an engineer and her musician boyfriend, who wants her to gestate a liver for money so his band can tour. Plus, there's a dog.
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 22, 2014
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171 people want to read
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Elizabeth Bear
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
June 9, 2020
This is how women sometimes turn into witches. We come home from work one day too many to discover our partners curled up on the couch like leeches in a nice warm tank, and we decide it’s better to take up with a hut with chicken legs.
another fantastic tor short, and this one makes elizabeth bear 2 for 2, which i am taking as a sign from the universe to read something full-length from her. perhaps her new one, which also seems to be a sign directed at me: Karen Memory
thanks to miriam for the heads-up.
i liked this one slightly, only slightly less than The Horrid Glory of Its Wings, but it still kicks the ass of many of the other tor shorts, and many other books in general.
it takes place in a near-future moscow where a girl who is smart enough to know better is in a relationship with a slouchy black-haired leather clad wanna-be rock star. the allure of the slouchy wanna-be rock star is strong, and we've all been there, despite knowing with the parts of our brain that aren't confusing us with raw animal desire that they're not gonna contribute financially or exhibit any sort of loyalty, responsibility, or sobriety. and they're probably not going to make it big.
We were coming up on my stop. Soon, I would get off and walk to my job. Ilya would continue on to his “band” practice: with “Blak Boxx,” his “band.” Which was more or less an excuse to hang out with three of his closest frenemies drinking and playing the same five chords in ragged 4/4 time.
You know which five chords I mean, too: nothing more complicated than a D major.
Fortunately for “Blak Boxx,” most of rock and roll is built on the foundation of those five chords. Unfortunately for “Blak Boxx,” to play live music you still need to be able to change between them without looking at your hands.
but, damn they do look good in those tight black jeans.
and ilya looks good. so although petra knows better and can see that ilya is a waste of time, she puts up with his bullshit and also endures the roving hands of customers as she cocktail waitresses herself closer to her goal of saving enough money to take classes towards her engineering degree. she's not happy or complacent - she knows that what she has isn't necessarily what she wants, but it takes ilya's newest get rich quick scheme and meeting a dog on the metro to give her the push she needs to change her life.
ilya begins pressuring her to become an incubator - to use her body to grow stem cell organs for wealthy sickly folk who will pay handsomely for the service. she refuses, as a sensible lady would, but ilya is insistent:
“You don’t understand,” he said. “We need this money to pay for the tour. For the band.”
which is pretty ballsy, even for a freeloading musician. and he knows all the angles.
“Help me change our lives,” he whispered. “You know I’m doing everything I can. I just need you to believe in me.”
His breath shivered on the fine hairs behind my ear. He found my shoulders with his hands and massaged.
I was too tired to be angry, and anyway, he smelled good. I leaned back against his warm, hard belly. I let him smooth my hair and lead me to bed.
wow. the "I need you to believe in me" line. hard to stand your ground against that one without looking like a faithless bitch.
luckily, a dog intervenes. a wonderful, wonderful dog.
the story is great - it's funny and sad and true. there are so many great lines, mostly in its quiet moments- she has a real knack for dropping a phrase that is perfect and then casually moving on. the futuristic elements are frequently subtle, and she doesn't go out of her way to explain them. they are just added texture to the story, which could take place at any time, anywhere.
it's a nice tight little story, and the only awkward part is a little info-dump about dogs and evolution, but the info itself is well-chosen for the story.
i definitely need to read more from her.
read it for yourself here:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/10/th...
come to my blog!
March 19, 2015
"b is for Bear
So I used to be in a very long-term live-in domestic relationship. And my boyfriend lived with ME, in MY APARTMENT. He still had a house that he owned outright, and had an apartment in his office so he could stay there when he needed to work late, but he was with ME in MY APARTMENT (in which I paid the rent) 90% of the time. And for the most part, especially in the beginning, it was great. We each had our routines, and it was, for the most part, a very safe, comfortable relationship.
But as I learned, with safe and comfortable, its the small things that make the largest cracks.
I remember one night, my boyfriend went out with friends for dinner and drinks, and I stayed at home since I had to be at work the next morning at 5 am. I ordered a delicious cheesesteak and fries for dinner, ate half of it, and saved the rest for lunch the next day. My boyfriend came home an hour before I needed to wake up for work, and stomped in like a bull in a china shop, and inadvertently woke me up as he stumbled into bed and immediately fell asleep. When I woke up for work an hour later, I went into the kitchen to find the remnants of my half a cheesesteak and fries I was saving, plus some leftover lasagna I had been saving for dinner that night. There were still about two servings that had been left out, and wasted, and my kitchen was a total disaster. And on top of everything, my boyfriend couldn't understand for the life of him why I was upset.
Like I said, small things. Large cracks. And I think it was this experience that made me connect with this story as much as I did. This Elizabeth Bear story takes place in kind of a futuristic Russia and involves a hard-working cocktail waitress, Petra, and her musician live-in boyfriend, Ilya. And a dog.
From the get-go I sympathized with Petra and knew that she was a meal-ticket for Ilya. The story starts with Ilya trying to convince Petra to get involved in a scientific program to grow organs for rich people so that she could make some easy money to fund his band's tour. So basically, he wants her to grow a liver in her gut, and get paid for it. Of course Ilya couldn't because his getting fat would interfere with his sex-symbol status, and the loss in pay that Petra would encounter due to her growing belly (dumpy cocktail waitresses do not make good tips) is the lesser of two evils. Petra has also been saving up for school so she can get her engineering degree, and has been forking over the money for all their rent and living expenses, because Ilya cannot be bothered to make money when he is off making such AMAZING fucking music. And I sympathized with Petra because she dealt with some of the same problems I would wake up to a five am.
The elevator to our flat was out of order again. I finally pulled those shoes off and walked up five flights of gritty piss-smelling stairs barefoot, swearing to myself with every step that if Ilya was passed out drunk on the couch, I was carrying every pair of skinny black jeans and his beloved harness boots out into the courtyard and setting it all on fire. And then I was going to dance around the blaze barefoot, shaking my tangled hair like a maenad. Like a witch.
This is how women sometimes turn into witches. We come home from work one day too many to discover our partners curled up on the couch like leeches in a nice warm tank, and we decide it’s better to take up with a hut with chicken legs.
A good chicken-legged hut will never disappoint you.
However, on this particular night, she arrives home to a hot cooked meal, a cold drink, and a foot massage. But I am not fooled. Some guys know how to butter us up.
Petra notices a mangy wolf-like dog riding the same train with her in the mornings. Eventually, they form a bond, and when Petra leaves the dog to get off her stop at work, the dog growls at her, takes her hand, and leads her into the city, eventually running into Ilya with his tongue down another woman's throat.
This story does have a hint of sci-fi with the whole futuristic, organ-growing, genetic engineering background, but ultimately this is a story about a very realistically portrayed relationship between a hardworking woman and a slug. And even the most solid of us sometimes get caught in ruts. And even though you know you're stuck with a lying, cheating asshole, the reality of the situation still totally sucks.
Sure, he irritated me. That’s what partners do for each other, isn’t it? But I had thought we were a team. I had thought...
I had thought he would get his act together one of these days, I guess, and finally start to pull his own weight. I had thought I was saving him.
The new truth has further bonded Petra with this dog, and somehow she feels comforted by the beast, as if she has someone to share the burden with. Its quite a beautifully written relationship, and its what elevated this story to a four star for me. The dog reminds me of my old dog Sophie who was a stray I took in when I was younger. She was a collie/husky mix and had that mangy wolf look just like the dog in this story. And Sophie was my best friend when I had her. I would tell her anything and I was the only human she trusted. Maybe that's why I loved this story so much. I connected so much to the MC and I related to her relationship with the stray dog, and loved reading about these two lonely souls forming this beautiful bond.
This short little story is just packed so full of truth and emotion, and unspoken feelings. And that's Elizabeth Bear for you. This one was really a hit for me. I won't go any further into the plot because I want to save some magic for those who haven't yet read it. The ending was really well done, and left kind of on a thread, so that it is closed but still slightly unresolved. I have found this type of ending before with Bear's work, and have always loved the way she makes me cling onto her characters long after the last word is written. I loved the atmosphere and the setting of this one, the subtle nuance of another futuristic world, and just a hint of the supernatural, but her characters. Her characters bring me home.
4.5 stars.
Read this short online for FREE here:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/10/th...
May 17, 2022
“They seek tenderness,” said the grandmother. “They have always been in Moscow. They are like every other Russian. Trying to get by. Trying to get a little fat again before the winter comes.”
“Not just Russians,” I said. “If you take away the few who have everything, the whole world is full of all the rest of us, who are just trying to get a little fat before the winter comes.”
“That may be so.” She smiled. “But the dog knows the Metro better than almost all of them.”
Loved this - Elizabeth Bear is really good in the long form, but she's even better when she's writing shorts. It's a relatively subdued story of a woman helped to a realisation by some inter-species female solidarity, but I bet I remember it better than half the other books I read this year.
Free from Tor! https://www.tor.com/2014/10/22/this-c...
“Not just Russians,” I said. “If you take away the few who have everything, the whole world is full of all the rest of us, who are just trying to get a little fat before the winter comes.”
“That may be so.” She smiled. “But the dog knows the Metro better than almost all of them.”
Loved this - Elizabeth Bear is really good in the long form, but she's even better when she's writing shorts. It's a relatively subdued story of a woman helped to a realisation by some inter-species female solidarity, but I bet I remember it better than half the other books I read this year.
Free from Tor! https://www.tor.com/2014/10/22/this-c...
November 7, 2014
This is what happens when I set my expectations HIGH!
I loved Elizabeth Bear’s short story The Horrid Glory of its Wings. So when I saw her name attached to a new short on Tor.com I was elated and instantly marked it on my to-read list.
I was underwhelmed. I don’t know if it is my personal expectations OR the fact that I just read two major wins in a row, and I don’t really care. This short was just not as good. I found some of the elements presented very intriguing, however the execution just didn’t come to fruition for me. It read a whole lot more like a chapter in a full novel than an entire standalone short story.
It wasn’t a bad little story about a girl named Petra and her musician lover, Ilya. There is the intriguing element of a dog-wolf who rides the train with them, by far my favourite character, but more I won’t say.
I found the “premise” a wee bit predictable, probably because I’ve dated MORE than my fair share of musicians.
Alas, I can’t argue with free…. It can be found here
I loved Elizabeth Bear’s short story The Horrid Glory of its Wings. So when I saw her name attached to a new short on Tor.com I was elated and instantly marked it on my to-read list.
I was underwhelmed. I don’t know if it is my personal expectations OR the fact that I just read two major wins in a row, and I don’t really care. This short was just not as good. I found some of the elements presented very intriguing, however the execution just didn’t come to fruition for me. It read a whole lot more like a chapter in a full novel than an entire standalone short story.
It wasn’t a bad little story about a girl named Petra and her musician lover, Ilya. There is the intriguing element of a dog-wolf who rides the train with them, by far my favourite character, but more I won’t say.
I found the “premise” a wee bit predictable, probably because I’ve dated MORE than my fair share of musicians.
Alas, I can’t argue with free…. It can be found here
December 30, 2016
Nice little story set in Moscow (though apart from the character's names and Metro stations, nothing more is revealed about the city), in the near future (a possible one, with so little fuel left that only rich people afford it), with a strong feeling of reality.
April 29, 2020
This was awfully realistic. The writing was superb, with an odd at first narrative, if I'm to be honest. The connection with the dog was priceless and I really liked her decision concerning the dog in the end.
December 23, 2022
Another first-rate Eliz. Bear short from Tor. And the price is right! Story link: https://www.tor.com/2014/10/22/this-c...
A don't-miss for Bear fans, I should reread it.
Eh on re-read, 12/23/22. Not in the mood for it.
A don't-miss for Bear fans, I should reread it.
Eh on re-read, 12/23/22. Not in the mood for it.
October 19, 2019
Or maybe it was just one bitch taking care of another. Do you know your mate is no good?
Moral of the story (I think): If you ever have to decide between a man and a dog, choose the dog. Until the next friends!
Amo Tor.com es la pagina perfecta. Adios!
Moral of the story (I think): If you ever have to decide between a man and a dog, choose the dog. Until the next friends!
Amo Tor.com es la pagina perfecta. Adios!
December 28, 2022
Another great Tor short story. I particularly liked the dog! 5 ⭐!
dnf
June 12, 2015eh, got halfway through and clicked out of it... couldn't get into the story
March 19, 2022
This Chance Planet by author Elizabeth Bear is a near future science fiction story you can read for free on the Tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2014/10/22/this-c...
Petra Ivanova, is a young Russian waitress with ambitions to become an engineer. Her musician boyfriend, who wants her to gestate a liver for money so his band can tour. Plus, there’s a dog.
The elevator to our flat was out of order again. I finally pulled those shoes off and walked up five flights of gritty piss-smelling stairs barefoot, swearing to myself with every step that if Ilya was passed out drunk on the couch, I was carrying every pair of skinny black jeans and his beloved harness boots out into the courtyard and setting it all on fire. And then I was going to dance around the blaze barefoot, shaking my tangled hair like a maenad. Like a witch.
This is how women sometimes turn into witches. We come home from work one day too many to discover our partners curled up on the couch like leeches in a nice warm tank, and we decide it’s better to take up with a hut with chicken legs.
A good chicken-legged hut will never disappoint you.
I love Elizabeth Bear and this was a wonderful little read. Petra’s internal dialogue was very entertaining. Glad she got wise in the end.
Themes: Moscow after the carbon crunch, cocktail waitress, poor, deadbeat boyfriend, organ farming, the stray dog on the metro.
4 Stars
Petra Ivanova, is a young Russian waitress with ambitions to become an engineer. Her musician boyfriend, who wants her to gestate a liver for money so his band can tour. Plus, there’s a dog.
The elevator to our flat was out of order again. I finally pulled those shoes off and walked up five flights of gritty piss-smelling stairs barefoot, swearing to myself with every step that if Ilya was passed out drunk on the couch, I was carrying every pair of skinny black jeans and his beloved harness boots out into the courtyard and setting it all on fire. And then I was going to dance around the blaze barefoot, shaking my tangled hair like a maenad. Like a witch.
This is how women sometimes turn into witches. We come home from work one day too many to discover our partners curled up on the couch like leeches in a nice warm tank, and we decide it’s better to take up with a hut with chicken legs.
A good chicken-legged hut will never disappoint you.
I love Elizabeth Bear and this was a wonderful little read. Petra’s internal dialogue was very entertaining. Glad she got wise in the end.
Themes: Moscow after the carbon crunch, cocktail waitress, poor, deadbeat boyfriend, organ farming, the stray dog on the metro.
4 Stars
December 26, 2015
Gahh! I really loved this!!
Usually tor-shorts feel like fragments, advertisements for longer works (and that's okay - sometimes I go on to read the longer works!). But not this one. This was full, and complete, and satisfying. (See how I worked that sort-of-food analogy in there? It's because the people in the story never have quite enough food. How clever am I? Also, I read this while I ate dinner.)
The passage that hooked me:
My favorite part:
I once dated a guy (not the hot rockstar guy) who never wanted to answer a question with a straight answer. Anything you asked him, he'd say, in his particular inflection, "What do you think?" Classic way to avoid telling the truth, I finally figured out.
Petra is in a dead-end relationship with a hot rockstar guy in black leather (why yes, I DO have one of those in my past!), Ilya. Ilya always has some get-rich quick scheme (hey, my Mr What-do-you-think had a bunch of those too!), and he always has a reason why HE doesn't have to over-extend himself. Petra just needs to save money to go back to school and finish her engineering degree, and she works hard as a waitress. But Petra can't help loving him. Until finally reality, on four legs with a long furry tail, leaps up and smacks her upside the head.
So, you know, I was never a waitress, but I love dogs, I'm an engineer, and I've dated one or two Ilyas in the past ... I could SO identify with Petra and her ovcharka mutt on the Metro.
And I saw a photo essay once about stray dogs riding the Moscow subway (wish I could find it again so I could link it here) so I knew exactly what to picture when the dog was described.
Usually tor-shorts feel like fragments, advertisements for longer works (and that's okay - sometimes I go on to read the longer works!). But not this one. This was full, and complete, and satisfying. (See how I worked that sort-of-food analogy in there? It's because the people in the story never have quite enough food. How clever am I? Also, I read this while I ate dinner.)
The passage that hooked me:
This is how women sometimes turn into witches. We come home from work one day too many to discover our partners curled up on the couch like leeches in a nice warm tank, and we decide it’s better to take up with a hut with chicken legs.
My favorite part:
I said, “You never just tell me the truth. You could just tell me the truth.”
“Bah,” he said, pressing too hard. “Truth is unscientific. The very idea of Truth is unscientific.”
“You’re a cynic.” I almost said nihilist, which probably would have been true also, but that word had too much history behind it to just sling around at random.
“If we accept Truth,” he intoned, “then we believe we know answers. And if we believe we know answers, we stop asking questions. And if we stop asking questions, then all we’re doing is operating on blind faith. And that’s the end of science.”
I once dated a guy (not the hot rockstar guy) who never wanted to answer a question with a straight answer. Anything you asked him, he'd say, in his particular inflection, "What do you think?" Classic way to avoid telling the truth, I finally figured out.
Petra is in a dead-end relationship with a hot rockstar guy in black leather (why yes, I DO have one of those in my past!), Ilya. Ilya always has some get-rich quick scheme (hey, my Mr What-do-you-think had a bunch of those too!), and he always has a reason why HE doesn't have to over-extend himself. Petra just needs to save money to go back to school and finish her engineering degree, and she works hard as a waitress. But Petra can't help loving him. Until finally reality, on four legs with a long furry tail, leaps up and smacks her upside the head.
So, you know, I was never a waitress, but I love dogs, I'm an engineer, and I've dated one or two Ilyas in the past ... I could SO identify with Petra and her ovcharka mutt on the Metro.
And I saw a photo essay once about stray dogs riding the Moscow subway (wish I could find it again so I could link it here) so I knew exactly what to picture when the dog was described.
March 31, 2016
I took a breath. She looked at me, waiting for me to finish. I said, “Some scientists say evolution is a struggle between female and male in the same species. Males want to make as many babies as they can, anywhere, any time. Females want to make sure the babies they raise are as strong and smart as possible. From the best males.”
“Do you believe that?”
I laughed. “It sounds like something a guy who thinks he’s something special would come up with, doesn’t it? A justification.”
“They’re as God made them.” She raised her brows at me, wrinkling her forehead under her scarf. Looking for an argument. And anybody sensible knows better than to argue with grandmothers. “The dogs are as God made them, too. To be our helpers.”
I will be thinking this one over for a while. A woman does what she needs to do. Worth a read.
(Edited to add: I am going to reread this after I read some Baba Yaga myths. I happened on a summary of some of the more common ones the day after I read this and there is a whole layer of stuff here I was oblivious to when I read the story. This may well deserve another star.)
“Do you believe that?”
I laughed. “It sounds like something a guy who thinks he’s something special would come up with, doesn’t it? A justification.”
“They’re as God made them.” She raised her brows at me, wrinkling her forehead under her scarf. Looking for an argument. And anybody sensible knows better than to argue with grandmothers. “The dogs are as God made them, too. To be our helpers.”
I will be thinking this one over for a while. A woman does what she needs to do. Worth a read.
(Edited to add: I am going to reread this after I read some Baba Yaga myths. I happened on a summary of some of the more common ones the day after I read this and there is a whole layer of stuff here I was oblivious to when I read the story. This may well deserve another star.)
Read
January 18, 20183.5 stars
Re-read/listened to StarShipSofa podcast episode #511.
Re-read/listened to StarShipSofa podcast episode #511.
July 27, 2015
Not much SF, but touching—plus it has a dog.
December 17, 2015
Aside from a slightly awkward infodump about canine evolution, this is a nice little story about near-future Moscow, deadbeat musicians, how women become witches...and an amazing dog.
December 19, 2016
Certainly having one of those days that I feel like going to live in a little hut with chicken legs as well.
I loved all of the references to other folk stories.
I loved all of the references to other folk stories.
January 18, 2015
Not one of Bear's best stories, but still a touching tale of woman and beast.
August 26, 2018
Another incredible short story by Elizabeth Bear. This one has many layers to the story of a struggling cocktail waitress in near-future Moscow, where organic material is scarce. There are so many elements to this story that I enjoyed, and I know I will need to reread this to let it all sink in.
Some of my favorite elements in the story:
Subways and the stray dogs that ride them. Apparently this is a real thing in Moscow.
Baba Yaga and her chicken-legged hut.
Some of my favorite elements in the story:
Subways and the stray dogs that ride them. Apparently this is a real thing in Moscow.
Baba Yaga and her chicken-legged hut.
August 2, 2017
WOW. I can't remember the last time I've enjoyed a short story so much. The main character in this story is fantastically written--it was like reading my own reactions to the things she encounters. I loved the Russian setting and the wise babushka on the train and the shaggy dog. Just a lovely, rich story.
October 14, 2018
This little story was so full of life and detail; I really enjoyed it a lot. Bear builds her worlds and characters very well; they felt real, with well-defined relationships and motives. This is one of her few stories that I think is perfectly contained; I didn't feel like I needed more like I do with a lot of her work. Lovely read.
December 23, 2018
sadly i can't say anything about the content of the story; i didn't manage to read past two first paragraphs, because i'm too goddamn annoyed about a pro author (with a pro editor) of an ostensibly russian themed story not bothering with most basic research enough to get two out of two russian names right. petra who? ramonovich what? what the hell, you should be ashamed.
October 15, 2024
This one had so much personality and promise. Then it took a really contrived turn and just…ended. I don’t need full closure in my short stories, but I shouldn’t feel like I’ve wasted my time when I finish them. And unfortunately, that’s how I felt here.
July 1, 2018
There need to be more stories about a woman and her dog (we're not all cat ladies).
December 25, 2018
You should read this story: the dog saves her, and survives.
Read it here, for free.
Read it here, for free.
Read
March 26, 2022Kuca je super! Taman da je usvojite.
November 9, 2023
Hmmm...
December 4, 2014
An intrinsic look at how a near future environmental change has affected the planet, the culture, and its animals. It seems the world has experienced widespread global warming and harvesting genetic material to help in health and fertility has become more widespread. It takes place in a science fiction world but hold to fairy tale aspects as narrated by Petra. I found it brave of her to sever herself from a destructive and parasitic relationship (in more ways than one).
*Spoilers start here* The ending left me a bit puzzled though as I don't know if it means she chose to do donor organ gestation, or has "sold" her own stem cells? In today's society a woman is often shamed or shunned if they do such a thing as abortion or egg harvesting for that possible, latter aspect. But symbolically, this unwanted relationship and its consequences could be turned into something good. By allowing Petra to go back to school, to keep the mother dog (who seems almost like her witch familiar), and to help her leave a man who only takes rather than contributes to their welfare. Had her boyfriend, Ilya, shown a fatherly nature to her predicament rather than seeing it as pure monetary fodder Petra would have likely chosen differently. In a sense, Petra has the means to make her way in a ravaged world. A chance now to find a real home. Whether that's a magical chicken-footed hut is still up for debate.
*Spoilers start here* The ending left me a bit puzzled though as I don't know if it means she chose to do donor organ gestation, or has "sold" her own stem cells? In today's society a woman is often shamed or shunned if they do such a thing as abortion or egg harvesting for that possible, latter aspect. But symbolically, this unwanted relationship and its consequences could be turned into something good. By allowing Petra to go back to school, to keep the mother dog (who seems almost like her witch familiar), and to help her leave a man who only takes rather than contributes to their welfare. Had her boyfriend, Ilya, shown a fatherly nature to her predicament rather than seeing it as pure monetary fodder Petra would have likely chosen differently. In a sense, Petra has the means to make her way in a ravaged world. A chance now to find a real home. Whether that's a magical chicken-footed hut is still up for debate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2015
This is another TOR.com story. They post some really good stuff over there.
Ilya is trying to convince Petra to harvest a liver for money. He's in a band and while she slaves away as a cocktail waitress, he pretty much sits on his ass playing his guitar--which he's not even that great at doing.
A chance encounter with a dog on a train makes Petra curious. So curious that she shares food with the dog and even reads up about the animals. And when the dog leads her to a horrible discovery, Petra decides she's been trusting the wrong person.
I really enjoyed this near-future story set in Russia during a time when genetic material seems to be sought after. The way the story developed was enthralling, and I liked Petra's voice. As well as the mythology she mentions, and her appreciation for a homeless dog who desperately needs a home.
Oh, and I thought it was clever how she ends up sharing some of her genetic material without her deadbeat boyfriend getting what he wants. And that she intends to use the money to better her education. Ha!
You can read it here: http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/10/th...#
Ilya is trying to convince Petra to harvest a liver for money. He's in a band and while she slaves away as a cocktail waitress, he pretty much sits on his ass playing his guitar--which he's not even that great at doing.
A chance encounter with a dog on a train makes Petra curious. So curious that she shares food with the dog and even reads up about the animals. And when the dog leads her to a horrible discovery, Petra decides she's been trusting the wrong person.
I really enjoyed this near-future story set in Russia during a time when genetic material seems to be sought after. The way the story developed was enthralling, and I liked Petra's voice. As well as the mythology she mentions, and her appreciation for a homeless dog who desperately needs a home.
Oh, and I thought it was clever how she ends up sharing some of her genetic material without her deadbeat boyfriend getting what he wants. And that she intends to use the money to better her education. Ha!
You can read it here: http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/10/th...#
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews