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Rogue Farm
Joe and Maddie are a married couple making do in a post-apocalyptic future. But when a bio-technological monstrosity known as a farm squats on their land, Joe and Maddie must confront not only it, but also their own hopes and dreams.
Originally issued in print as part of the short story collection: Wireless. New York : Ace Books, 2009.
1 sound disc (45 min.)
Originally issued in print as part of the short story collection: Wireless. New York : Ace Books, 2009.
1 sound disc (45 min.)
1 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2009
83 people want to read
About the author
Charles Stross
177 books5,800 followersCharles David George "Charlie" Stross is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His works range from science fiction and Lovecraftian horror to fantasy.
Stross is sometimes regarded as being part of a new generation of British science fiction writers who specialise in hard science fiction and space opera. His contemporaries include Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod, Liz Williams and Richard Morgan.
SF Encyclopedia: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/...
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...
Tor: http://us.macmillan.com/author/charle...
Stross is sometimes regarded as being part of a new generation of British science fiction writers who specialise in hard science fiction and space opera. His contemporaries include Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod, Liz Williams and Richard Morgan.
SF Encyclopedia: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/...
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...
Tor: http://us.macmillan.com/author/charle...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 14, 2018
This is one of my favorite Stross shorts. It's pretty near perfect. A standalone set in deepest Cumbria circa 2060, a burnt-out software engineer and a deeply-disturbed ex-soldier are just getting by selling "Hand-raised, not Vat-grown"® beef, when a rogue farm squats nearby. "Even though it was only a young adolescent, it was already the size of an antique heavy tank... It smelled of yeast and gasoline..."
"I'm a nine-legged semiautomatic groove-machine!" crooned the farm in a warm contralto. "I'm on my way to Jupiter on a mission for love!"
Unfortunately, its 'mission for love' will involve firing a whole *grove* of stage-trees, which will burn out Joe, Maddie and a hundred hectares around them. Something Must be Done...
This is British rural humour updated for the mid-21st century. Even though "Rogue Farm" is Stross Light, it's still dense with invention, and polished to a mellow glow, with nods to Niven, Pratchett and Varley. And with lovely throwaways, like Bob the family dog:
" 'At farm been buggering around the pond?"
"Growl exclaim fuck-fuck yup!"
So, join us for a pint at the "Pig & Pizzle" in outer Outer Cheswick. Great stuff, absolutely not to be missed. I will say, the ending is jarring, intentionally so.
Rogue Farm was adapted to anime video for Scottish TV in 2005, https://vimeo.com/8628186
My review is for the print edition, which I've read many times. Here's where to find a copy:
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cg...
"I'm a nine-legged semiautomatic groove-machine!" crooned the farm in a warm contralto. "I'm on my way to Jupiter on a mission for love!"
Unfortunately, its 'mission for love' will involve firing a whole *grove* of stage-trees, which will burn out Joe, Maddie and a hundred hectares around them. Something Must be Done...
This is British rural humour updated for the mid-21st century. Even though "Rogue Farm" is Stross Light, it's still dense with invention, and polished to a mellow glow, with nods to Niven, Pratchett and Varley. And with lovely throwaways, like Bob the family dog:
" 'At farm been buggering around the pond?"
"Growl exclaim fuck-fuck yup!"
So, join us for a pint at the "Pig & Pizzle" in outer Outer Cheswick. Great stuff, absolutely not to be missed. I will say, the ending is jarring, intentionally so.
Rogue Farm was adapted to anime video for Scottish TV in 2005, https://vimeo.com/8628186
My review is for the print edition, which I've read many times. Here's where to find a copy:
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cg...
May 20, 2019
3.5 stars. Whoosh ... I don't, hmmm ... what was that?! I think this was supposed to be kind of funny. Or perhaps even very funny. Very odd. It's a super quick read, so I'd encourage you to go for it and see what you can make of it for yourself. Maybe drink a pint or two first :)
June 30, 2014
Wow! Genius!
I admit, I didn't listen to the Audiobook version here, where I decided to post my review, though I do plan to.
I read this in Year's Best SF 9, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer.
Rogue Farm is a stand-alone short story, set in Scotland, during the mid-21st century, about an old-fashioned farming couple, Joe and Maddie, and their dog, Bob, who have to defend their farm from a rogue farm.
A rogue farm you say? Yes. A rogue farm. You will want to read it on your own to understand, because to tell more would spoil half the fun for you.
It's full of inventive ideas, memorable images, a laundry list full of surprisingly understandable technobabble, and a cast of warm and fuzzy characters you immediately connect with.
It should help to know, I laughed my damn butt off several times throughout ~ most of which, had to do with their dog!
I have read and loved Charles Stross' first two Laundry Files novels, The Atrocity Archives and The Jennifer Morgue, and own/plan on reading the third in the series, The Fuller Memorandum, soon.
FYI, this story is not connected to the Laundry Files in any shape or form.
I believe it is groundbreaking SF. Seriously!
Rogue Farm is not only one of the two best short stories I've read this year, it is also the best work by Stross I've read to date.
My highest recommendation!!!!!
*For those wondering where all these pics come from? Incredibly, it was developed into an animated film and nominated BEST ANIMATION for the Scottish BAFTA Awards 2004.
I admit, I didn't listen to the Audiobook version here, where I decided to post my review, though I do plan to.
I read this in Year's Best SF 9, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer.
Rogue Farm is a stand-alone short story, set in Scotland, during the mid-21st century, about an old-fashioned farming couple, Joe and Maddie, and their dog, Bob, who have to defend their farm from a rogue farm.
A rogue farm you say? Yes. A rogue farm. You will want to read it on your own to understand, because to tell more would spoil half the fun for you.
It's full of inventive ideas, memorable images, a laundry list full of surprisingly understandable technobabble, and a cast of warm and fuzzy characters you immediately connect with.
It should help to know, I laughed my damn butt off several times throughout ~ most of which, had to do with their dog!
I have read and loved Charles Stross' first two Laundry Files novels, The Atrocity Archives and The Jennifer Morgue, and own/plan on reading the third in the series, The Fuller Memorandum, soon.
FYI, this story is not connected to the Laundry Files in any shape or form.
I believe it is groundbreaking SF. Seriously!
Rogue Farm is not only one of the two best short stories I've read this year, it is also the best work by Stross I've read to date.
My highest recommendation!!!!!
*For those wondering where all these pics come from? Incredibly, it was developed into an animated film and nominated BEST ANIMATION for the Scottish BAFTA Awards 2004.
December 16, 2023
It was ok. A little weird, but where I normally like weird, this was trying too hard. Read as part of a year long read through The Very Best of the Best: 35 years of the best Science Fiction, Ed. Gardner Dozois.
January 12, 2023
I felt this story tried too hard to push the biotech boundaries. In many ways, it’s the SF equivalent of Clive Barker with its body modification horror, in this case a collective turned into a “farm” rather than Barker’s walking cities. In both stories, the horror seems to be from the reader’s perspective, as the characters involved don’t seem as horrified by this turn of events. Stross gets to use his background in pharmacology here, and I appreciate the Bruce Sterling-esque shaper ethos, but there’s a lot of undisguised infodump and a plot that I predicted about a third of the way into the story.
September 15, 2019
🎩Fattoria con mutante - Charles Stross
Rogue farm, “Fattoria con mutante”, è la storia di un contadino, sua moglie, e un’invadente fattoria senziente… una collettiva personalità mutante, composta da individui collegati in una singola entità biologica. La fattoria sta vagabondando sulla sua terra. Il contadino, un semplice zuccone, vuole sbarazzarsene. Sua moglie non ne è tanto sicura. Ironia, umorismo, e un che di sottile orrore rendono questo racconto fra i migliori di Stross.
Rogue farm, “Fattoria con mutante”, è la storia di un contadino, sua moglie, e un’invadente fattoria senziente… una collettiva personalità mutante, composta da individui collegati in una singola entità biologica. La fattoria sta vagabondando sulla sua terra. Il contadino, un semplice zuccone, vuole sbarazzarsene. Sua moglie non ne è tanto sicura. Ironia, umorismo, e un che di sottile orrore rendono questo racconto fra i migliori di Stross.
June 27, 2019
A hilarious, hard sci fi short that explores ideas about hacking biology to create new unexpected life forms. Set in the 2nd half of 21st century, after a population crash. Ending was a bit of a surprise.
May 20, 2018
Weird and confusing. Had to watch the animated short for it to make sense.
November 27, 2019
"Im' a nine-legged semiautomatic groove machine! I'm on my way to Jupiter on a mission for love! Won't you buy my brains?" Yes. Yes I will.
June 14, 2021
An old tale, a quiet family farm is threatened by the high-tech replacement. But why does it have to .com with so many legs? And those eye-stalks, ugh.
March 23, 2017
Picked this up from the library on audio. It's short and amazing! A little hard sci-fi thrown in to a completely absurd future of biological tampering. This was the first thing I've ever read by Stross and it definitely has me wanting more.
March 7, 2015
I love Charles Stross. He makes science fiction comprehensible for me. This one is a short story and an audio CD. I listened to it on my commute in roundtrip. Charles paints very vivid scenes with his words. Some make me squinch up in my seat as I listen to his descriptions, most make me grin. He writes how I can imagine the world becoming.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews