So Quick Bright Things Come to Confusion

by Caren Gussoff Sumption

When exo-geologist James Blackthorne volunteers to survey a newly-discovered planet, he falls for Aveliin, an indigenous Zil receiving an experimental drug designed to align the species' sleep cycles with human ones. But, "the course of true love never did run smooth." Especially when it "was different in blood."



So Quick Bright Things Come to Confusion is a deep space, post-colonial love story deeply indebted to the hubris of hegemony, still-permeating power of Freud's concept of ego, and, of course, the great manners comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Genres: Science Fiction

116 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 6, 2022

Reviews

[Jessica Rosen]

I loved this strange little book. An experimental sci-fi romance with a delicious twist at the end. A really interesting meditation on what it means to build a relationship with someone who you can truly never know, yet loving them all the same.

*spoilers below*

I thought it was fascinating how this took place on the planet of the alien, and how Gussoff Simption contrasts the technological advancements of humanity with the beautiful adaptation to the harsh environment of the Zill. There is a looming idea that the company they work for is Conquer, that the chip monitors all of James's thoughts, and that he discovers platinum, the most rare and valuable metal in the universe on Zil. However it's not discussed, it's dangled like a terrifying shadow over this mostly light hearted work. I loved the day by day slow passing of time, the defamiliarization of everything we take for granted about how society works. It was fun to question everything from money to solitaire to golf. It was the strangest never ending slumber party. I loved the collective culture of the Zil, and I thought it was so clever that by the end of the book I was reading and translating full sentences in Zilll. You truly become closer with Aveliin and learn to speak in her tongue throughout the book.

I found James's projection of gender onto Aveliin also super interesting. James is a deeply flawed character, I saw a comment that this book is sexist, and I really think that misses the point that James is not meant to be the simple hero in this work. He's complicated and selfish in many ways, yet he deeply cares for Aveliin. And she cares for him, so much she takes him up on his daydream of wanting to have kids, and eats him as per the Zil reproductive cycle goes. Fabulous!

[Sumit]

A deeply imaginative and daring work - rather than the conventional sci-fi/speculative fiction book which tend to explore largely human stories in modified worlds, the author here considers what relationships might look like between species that share neither language nor physiology. The closest related story I can think of is Octavia Butler's "Bloodchild," but this work goes far deeper in its exploration of how the relationship transpires, how the different histories of the two characters affects their interactions, and how cultural/species misunderstanding leads to humor, affection, and drama.

[Nora Suntken]

I hated this! Genuinely an unlikeable read from the very first page. The main character was an imperialist misogynist which, by itself would be fine if there was any interesting commentary to along with that fact, but, as it was, this just made the story miserable to read. The world felt unfinished and lackluster, and I truly felt I barely knew the characters by the end. Once again, James sucked and Aveliin wasn’t interesting enough by the end to even care about her. Best part of the whole book was her eating him.

[Jonathan Alcott]

A fun, fast-paced romp through an emotionally-based sci-fi love story. It touches on a lot of fascinating concepts, while still remaining laser-focused on the interpersonal relationship that forms the basis of the book. It's fun and interesting, overall satisfying, but not quite substantive enough as anthropological sci-fi to really sink your teeth into.

[Melinda Mitchell]

This was a delightful read, beautifully written, with an ending twist that had me both laughing and crying at its beauty. This is a quick read for one cozy evening in, with incredible worldbuilding and characters that draw you in.

[Lauren]

I’ll read anything Caren Gussoff Sumption writes. This novella is an excellent, close-in view of a character I didn’t want to root for, but still felt compelled by. Well done.

[Emily]

The ending of this will definitely stick with me.

[Linda Raedisch]

This is the kind of science fiction I love: where not much happens, but everything happens. There's nothing in the way of plot-slowing action, just James' and Aveliin's (I might have misspelled this, but I passed my copy on to a friend, so I don't have it to refer to) relationship unfolding. At first, I took James' last name, Blackthorne, as a Shogun reference and possible spoiler. If it is in fact a Shogun reference, then it's more of a . . . but that would be telling! I took one star off because I felt that a hundred more pages or so would have more thoroughly expressed the world, especially the languagey bits, which were a bit confusing at times. I have no doubt that the author has spent a lot of time in the world she built--and possibly speaks fluent Zill (sp?)!--and I would have liked to see more of that passed along to the reader. All in all, yes, do read it. You will spent a lot of time thinking about it afterwards