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Ansible 15717

(The Ansible Stories #1.3)

Stant Litore (Goodreads Author)

4.33 · Rating details · 24 ratings · 6 reviews

"Imagine a forest ten times that intense, an entire ecosystem of miniature forests growing inside the hollow bole of a tree the size of a spaceport. Then imagine that the tree of such prodigious vitality is not even a tree, but only a kind of flowering weed with an exterior harder than bark, harder than granite. Imagine a single nocturnal blossom that would fill the Al-Mas "Imagine a forest ten times that intense, an entire ecosystem of miniature forests growing inside the hollow bole of a tree the size of a spaceport. Then imagine that the tree of such prodigious vitality is not even a tree, but only a kind of flowering weed with an exterior harder than bark, harder than granite. Imagine a single nocturnal blossom that would fill the Al-Masjid al-Haram from one wall to the other, that each night spews into the air millions of airborne spores that burn with light like violet sparks; all it would take is the feather-soft touch of just one against the back of your hand, and you would be dead before you could even gasp.

"This is a world of beauty and strange poisons. An entire species of botanists could not fully catalogue it."

The Starmind Project leaves a cryptic note for the woman who will lead the Ansible 15717 team, inviting her to a planet that makes the Amazon rain forests, now long gone, seem only a pale imitation. One of humanity’s foremost botanists, she is reluctant to leave an earth that has only just begun to flower again, but the lure of that alien paradise and the discoveries to be made there is too strong to deny.

And what she finds there, in those distant forests, will shake her to the heart.

PRAISE FOR THE ANSIBLE STORIES:

"From an Alien-style eerie dread to a desolate existential longing, the Ansible series skitters along a spectrum of science fiction promise that will in turn thrill, terrify, and spook you. I have never wanted to stay home more." - Melissa Olson, author of Dead Spots

"Litore's elegant prose seeps into the soul, stoking our fears of dark labyrinths and the loss of self, of having our direst warnings passed off as madness in a cruel and ignorant world. A chilling and masterful tale." - Allison M. Dickson, author of Strings

"Stant Litore truly weaves a spellbinding story that leaves the reader feeling vulnerable. It is impossible not to become drawn into the world that Stant created..." - Heather Maloney, examiner.com ...more

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Kindle Edition, 29 pages

Published November 10th 2014 by Westmarch Publishing

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Dec 09, 2014 Hakan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-edition, sci-fi

O.k., it's official, I am a supporter of Stant over at Patreon. His prose deserves nothing less.

Not only does he explore what life could feel like for a plant-like lifeform, he also writes intriguing prose about a life where Islam is portrayed in a positive way. Given how hard I found it to discover good storytelling which does not portray Muslims as towel-heads at worst, and scientific ignoramuses at best, the Ansible series are a very welcome breath of fresh air.

The rest of the story you have ...more

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Feb 04, 2017 Sadie Forsythe rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle-probably-lendable

I came across this in a list of 'positive portrayals of Islam in sci-fi" and having read very few such portrayals, I jumped on it. (It didn't hurt that the first 3 shorts were free at the time).

I thought this was really beautifully written. I didn't like it quite as much as the first one and didn't think it stood on its own as well, but it was still lovely and emotive. Plus, I liked how it tied in with the first story. I really felt the joy, anger, confusion and fear, followed by sad acceptance ...more

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May 18, 2017 Al Burke rated it it was amazing

Wow! What a terrific short story. If HP Lovecraft had read Anisble 15717, he would have thought "I wish I'd written this!" Cosmic horror at it's finest.

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Dec 19, 2014 Jenna rated it it was amazing

As ever, Stant Litore's prose is a delight to read. Ansible 15717 (the character flung across space (and maybe time)), instead of being an Ansible seemingly assigned to a random world, is a woman courted by Starmind, targetted for a world they know at least something about. It's disturbing to consider that Ansible 15715 and 15716 might've been purposefully selected for the worlds to which they were sent, now that I think about it...

In that sense, it is a relief - one unsought, one I didn't even As ever, Stant Litore's prose is a delight to read. Ansible 15717 (the character flung across space (and maybe time)), instead of being an Ansible seemingly assigned to a random world, is a woman courted by Starmind, targetted for a world they know at least something about. It's disturbing to consider that Ansible 15715 and 15716 might've been purposefully selected for the worlds to which they were sent, now that I think about it...

In that sense, it is a relief - one unsought, one I didn't even realize I might have wanted - to have a narrator with a slightly higher level of control than the first two Ansibles. She is a woman deeply tied to her botany, well equipped (as well as one can be) to become part of a plant-based species and world.

Litore finds and walks that sweet spot between science-fiction and fantasy, perhaps reminding me of one reason those two genres are situated together so often. The inhabitants of this new planet, his description of them and their world, painted lush pictures in my mind while I read. If I were any good at art, this review would be peppered with delicate drawings of humanoid-like (but not quite) plants, lush jungle settings, colorful and dangerous flora of all sorts.

This is a story that builds itself in the mind's eye and gently enfolds you in its leafy embrace.

Between flashbacks and her experiences on this new world, there is a wonderful balance of the delicate and the willful, strength and weakness, pain and love. She never becomes immune to her humanity, even while embracing her new alien life and body.

All the aspects of this particular work that might be pulled out and highlighted as progressive/inclusive/intersectional (or, if you don't enjoy that sort of thing, "PC") are melded seamlessly into the story. Is it a big deal that the narrator is, as one reviewer on Amazon summarized, an "agnostic lesbian Muslim scientist"? In ways, it is. There is a lot of meat to consider here about representation and much deeper societal issues - But in the course of telling the story, Litore makes them simply part of the story - it never comes across that he's inserted these things with an agenda, they are never over-emphasized.

The true beauty of this diversity lies in the fact that it makes the Ansible's story the story of another human being - whole and perfect, even in her flaws. Every aspect is part of the weave of the fabric, not an embellishment or an afterthought applique - they belong there from the beginning. This, for me, is an ideal way of storytelling, of integrating all the beautiful variety of humanity.

In short; Ansible 15717 is another solidly written short story and brings a new world of beauty and terror to the Ansible Stories. Stant Litore has set the bar high for himself, his work, and he's continued to deliver. If you've ever enjoyed any of his work, I highly recommend this (and all of the Ansible stories, if you haven't read any of them specifically). If you've never read anything by Stant Litore, the Ansible Stories are a great way to start.

Note: I received this as an advanced review copy from the author. (Obviously I'm way behind on that.)
...more

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Nov 10, 2016 GREGG CORDELL rated it it was amazing

.Good read

This is a little bit different of book than I normally read but it is a good book. You have to pay attention to what is going on in the series and if you do that I think that you will enjoy it very much. It all comes together at the end . Nice work. I really enjoyed reading it.

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Dec 23, 2014 James rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-fire, stant-litore

So far this is the best story in the series.

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About Stant Litore

Stant Litore

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Stant Litore is the author of Ansible, The Running of the Tyrannosaurs, The Zombie Bible, and Dante’s Heart. Besides science fiction and fantasy, he has written the writers’ toolkits Write Worlds Your Readers Won’t Forget and Write Characters Your Readers Won’t Forget, as well as Lives of Unstoppable Hope and Lives of Unforgetting, and has been featured in Jeff Vandermeer’s Wonderbook: An Illustra ...more