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Inside Job
Professional debunker Rob, proprietor of the Jaundiced Eye magazine, considers himself incredibly lucky to have Kildy as his sole employee. Smart, dedicated, gorgeous, and, thanks to her last movie before she hung up on Hollywood, rich, she's a pleasure to oblige when she says Rob has to witness this channeler Ariaura's act--on her, not the Eye's, nickel--despite channelers being so last year. It's quite a show, all right, for in the midst of Ariaura's particular ancient wise guy's basso spiel, a gravelly baritone interrupts (both voices emanate from the channeler's female mouth) to berate the audience as "yaps" and the act as "claptrap." Why is Ariaura undermining herself? Or is she? After all, she angrily accuses Rob and Kildy of scheming to destroy her. Could the baritone belong to a genuine channeled spirit? Willis, one of sf's most spirited writers, rounds on the New Age; pays tribute to a great, skeptical journalist; and affectionately parodies pulp fiction at its best in this irresistible entertainment.
99 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
20 people are currently reading
1181 people want to read
About the author
Connie Willis
256 books4,678 followersConstance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She is one of the most honored science fiction writers of the 1980s and 1990s.
She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. She also has one daughter, Cordelia.
Willis is known for her accessible prose and likable characters. She has written several pieces involving time travel by history students and faculty of the future University of Oxford. These pieces include her Hugo Award-winning novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog and the short story "Fire Watch," found in the short story collection of the same name.
Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).
She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. She also has one daughter, Cordelia.
Willis is known for her accessible prose and likable characters. She has written several pieces involving time travel by history students and faculty of the future University of Oxford. These pieces include her Hugo Award-winning novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog and the short story "Fire Watch," found in the short story collection of the same name.
Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 260 reviews
June 26, 2024
➽ And the moral of this reread is: there's nothing quite like light and fluffy and funny and quirky Connie Willis novellas, if you ask me.
👋 Until next time and stuff.
[Pre-review nonsense]
Typical Connie Willis, I loved it:) This novella is a delightful, entertaining read. As in all Willis's books, I loved the writing, plot and characters. I only wish the book were longer!
👋 Until next time and stuff.
[Pre-review nonsense]
Typical Connie Willis, I loved it:) This novella is a delightful, entertaining read. As in all Willis's books, I loved the writing, plot and characters. I only wish the book were longer!
December 18, 2025
ایده اصلی داستان (main idea) بر پایه بررسی یه پارادوکسه: Paradox of Skepticism. ویلیس با طراحی و پرداختِ چهار تا کاراکتر که هر کدوم در یه طیف خاص از شکّاکیت (skepticism) نسبت به ماوراءالطبیعه هستن، دست روی نکتهی حساسی گذاشته: اینکه بدبینی مطلق و شکاکیتِ قِداستیافته، در ذات خودش، هیچ فرقی با خرافهپرستی نداره. هر دو به یک اندازه و حتی از مسیری مشابه، باعث نزدیکبینی بشر میشن و اجازه نمیدن حقیقتو، اونجوری که هست، ببینه.
این تمِ «نزدیکبینی» رُ حتی در نام مجلهای که شخصیت اصلی، راب، براش گزارش تهیه میکنه هم میشه دید: The Jaundiced Eye (چشم یرقانی). ویلیس اینجا با رِندی تمام از این ایدیومِ زبان انگلیسی استفاده کرده که هم در حالت مجازی «بدبینی» معنی میده و هم در حالت تحتاللفظی به بیماریای اشاره داره که دیدِ آدم رُ زرد و کدر میکنه.
جالب اینجاست که این نزدیکبینی فقط محدود به کارِ راب نیست و ویلیس نمودش رُ توی زندگی شخصیِ راب هم جایگذاری کرده؛ راب اونقدر غرق در منطق و فکتهاست که نمیتونه ایمان بیاره، یا اصلاً نمیتونه ببینه که خانم کیلدیِ زیبا و دوستداشتنی واقعاً عاشقش شده. راب مدام شعار کاری خودشو مثل یه ذکرِ تلخ، یه وِرد نهیلیستی، برای خودش و ما تکرار میکنه:
“If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”
«اگه زیادتر از اون خوبه که واقعی باشه، پس نیست.»
راب با همین جمله، هم اتفاقاتِ غیرمنتظره رُ نادیده میگیره و هم شانس خوشبختی خودشو.
از نظر سبک نگارش، ویلیس توی این داستان همون امضای همیشگیاش رُ داره: استفاده از کلمات ساده و روزمره برای توصیف موقعیتهای شگفتآور. همینطور جملات کوتاه و پشتسرهمِ سبک پاراتکسیس ( که چند وقتیه بهش پیله کردم یا به قول شما جوانان، آبسسد شدم بهش) بدون اینکه با «و» یا «اما» بهم وصل بشن، دقیقاً حسِ ذهنِ یه گزارشگر شکاک رُ منتقل میکنن که فقط داره فکتها رُ پشت هم ردیف میکنه.
تنها ایرادی که به داستان وارد میدونم، پایانبندیاش بود. به نظرم زیادی هالیوودی تموم شد و هرچند کاملاً قطعی و ارضاکننده بود، اما دوست داشتم مثل مابقیِ داستان، تفکربرانگیز باشه.
راستش باید به این نوولا ۳ ستاره میدادم اما از آندرتونِ رومنس داستان خیلی خوشم اومد و یاد نوآرهای هامفری بوگارت افتادم. یه ستاره تخفیف دادم. طفلی درسته جایزه هیگو سال ۲۰۰۶ برده ولی خیلی نیازمند اون یه ستاره من بود 🤥
این تمِ «نزدیکبینی» رُ حتی در نام مجلهای که شخصیت اصلی، راب، براش گزارش تهیه میکنه هم میشه دید: The Jaundiced Eye (چشم یرقانی). ویلیس اینجا با رِندی تمام از این ایدیومِ زبان انگلیسی استفاده کرده که هم در حالت مجازی «بدبینی» معنی میده و هم در حالت تحتاللفظی به بیماریای اشاره داره که دیدِ آدم رُ زرد و کدر میکنه.
جالب اینجاست که این نزدیکبینی فقط محدود به کارِ راب نیست و ویلیس نمودش رُ توی زندگی شخصیِ راب هم جایگذاری کرده؛ راب اونقدر غرق در منطق و فکتهاست که نمیتونه ایمان بیاره، یا اصلاً نمیتونه ببینه که خانم کیلدیِ زیبا و دوستداشتنی واقعاً عاشقش شده. راب مدام شعار کاری خودشو مثل یه ذکرِ تلخ، یه وِرد نهیلیستی، برای خودش و ما تکرار میکنه:
“If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”
«اگه زیادتر از اون خوبه که واقعی باشه، پس نیست.»
راب با همین جمله، هم اتفاقاتِ غیرمنتظره رُ نادیده میگیره و هم شانس خوشبختی خودشو.
از نظر سبک نگارش، ویلیس توی این داستان همون امضای همیشگیاش رُ داره: استفاده از کلمات ساده و روزمره برای توصیف موقعیتهای شگفتآور. همینطور جملات کوتاه و پشتسرهمِ سبک پاراتکسیس ( که چند وقتیه بهش پیله کردم یا به قول شما جوانان، آبسسد شدم بهش) بدون اینکه با «و» یا «اما» بهم وصل بشن، دقیقاً حسِ ذهنِ یه گزارشگر شکاک رُ منتقل میکنن که فقط داره فکتها رُ پشت هم ردیف میکنه.
تنها ایرادی که به داستان وارد میدونم، پایانبندیاش بود. به نظرم زیادی هالیوودی تموم شد و هرچند کاملاً قطعی و ارضاکننده بود، اما دوست داشتم مثل مابقیِ داستان، تفکربرانگیز باشه.
راستش باید به این نوولا ۳ ستاره میدادم اما از آندرتونِ رومنس داستان خیلی خوشم اومد و یاد نوآرهای هامفری بوگارت افتادم. یه ستاره تخفیف دادم. طفلی درسته جایزه هیگو سال ۲۰۰۶ برده ولی خیلی نیازمند اون یه ستاره من بود 🤥
May 23, 2015
Hilarious little novella based around a paradox:
Can the existence of a disembodied spirit prove that a 'channeler' claiming to communicate with spirits is a fraud?
Our protagonist, Rob, is a freelance journalist and professional skeptic. His assistant, Kildy, is a gorgeous and wealthy Hollywood type moonlighting in the field. Rob has a crush on Kildy, but fears she's far out of his league.
It's Kildy who's picked out the latest target for an exposé: The New Age charlatan Ariaura, who channels the spirit 'Isus' and sells her adoring audience overpriced swag.
But when Ariaura, mid-lecture, starts spouting shocking and off-script announcements that seems like they could only have come from the mind of the notorious atheist and skeptic H.L. Mencken (deceased), Rob has to worry - is Kildy setting him up?
As expected from Connie Willis, extra-fun.
Can the existence of a disembodied spirit prove that a 'channeler' claiming to communicate with spirits is a fraud?
Our protagonist, Rob, is a freelance journalist and professional skeptic. His assistant, Kildy, is a gorgeous and wealthy Hollywood type moonlighting in the field. Rob has a crush on Kildy, but fears she's far out of his league.
It's Kildy who's picked out the latest target for an exposé: The New Age charlatan Ariaura, who channels the spirit 'Isus' and sells her adoring audience overpriced swag.
But when Ariaura, mid-lecture, starts spouting shocking and off-script announcements that seems like they could only have come from the mind of the notorious atheist and skeptic H.L. Mencken (deceased), Rob has to worry - is Kildy setting him up?
As expected from Connie Willis, extra-fun.
November 24, 2015
3.5
Inside Job is a humorous story of a sceptic journalist Rob, who is in the business of debunking, his wonderful assistant Kilby and their strange and new experience with the spirit world.
His lovely employee Kildy left the glamorous life of a film star to work with him. He hasn't got any idea why. She is 'too good to be true' and he keeps waiting for that inevitable day when she'll get bored and leave. Kildy is lovely.
Kildy has found a new target for them to debunk - a woman who claims she channels an entity called Isus. In the middle of her performance the medium Ariaura starts something completely new. A new personality appears and Rob doesn't know what is going on any more.
Cute, fun and lovely overall.
Inside Job is a humorous story of a sceptic journalist Rob, who is in the business of debunking, his wonderful assistant Kilby and their strange and new experience with the spirit world.
His lovely employee Kildy left the glamorous life of a film star to work with him. He hasn't got any idea why. She is 'too good to be true' and he keeps waiting for that inevitable day when she'll get bored and leave. Kildy is lovely.
Kildy has found a new target for them to debunk - a woman who claims she channels an entity called Isus. In the middle of her performance the medium Ariaura starts something completely new. A new personality appears and Rob doesn't know what is going on any more.
Cute, fun and lovely overall.
April 23, 2019
A psychic de-bunker, his beautiful assistant, and a very unusual skeptic - H.L. Mencken all combine to debunk Hollywood scam artists pretending to channel mystical spirits.
But for those of you who want to contact great grandpa and find out where he buried the diamonds - then send money now!
Enjoy!
But for those of you who want to contact great grandpa and find out where he buried the diamonds - then send money now!
Enjoy!
July 13, 2025
Inside Job is a novella about a professional skeptic/debunker faced with the idea that one of the frauds he's investigating is channeling the spirit of one of the greatest skeptic/debunkers of history, H.L. Mencken. The more unbelievable part of the story is that he's being romantically pursued by a beautiful, young, rich former film star named Kildy who works for him, but Willis is such a master of the romantic comedy genre romp that it all holds together and teaches you some fascinating historical bits along the way as well. It's a fun and funny and fascinating quick read. The story first appeared in the January 2005 issue of Asimov's SF magazine (which had a nice Michael Whelan cover which, curiously, was recycled from an older DAW paperback fantasy anthology) and then was published by Subterranean in hardback with a nifty J.K. Potter wraparound cover. It won the Hugo Award for the best of the year.
November 25, 2017
-Tocando temas poco trillados.-
Género. Novela corta.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Infiltrado (publicación original: Inside Job, 2005) conoceremos a Rob, que está al frente de la revista El ojo cínico, revista especializada en desenmascarar a psíquicos fraudulentos y denunciar sus comportamientos, delictivos incluso en algunos casos. La joven y bella Kildy trabaja para él desde hace ocho meses, una actriz retirada en el apogeo de su corta carrera y cuya familia está en los puestos más importantes de la industria del cine. Cuando Kildy anima a Rob para que vayan juntos a una exhibición de la supuesta canalizadora Ariaura Kelly, descubrirá un tipo muy peculiar de fenómeno.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Novela corta.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Infiltrado (publicación original: Inside Job, 2005) conoceremos a Rob, que está al frente de la revista El ojo cínico, revista especializada en desenmascarar a psíquicos fraudulentos y denunciar sus comportamientos, delictivos incluso en algunos casos. La joven y bella Kildy trabaja para él desde hace ocho meses, una actriz retirada en el apogeo de su corta carrera y cuya familia está en los puestos más importantes de la industria del cine. Cuando Kildy anima a Rob para que vayan juntos a una exhibición de la supuesta canalizadora Ariaura Kelly, descubrirá un tipo muy peculiar de fenómeno.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
January 4, 2011
4.0 stars. Having been underwhelmed by some of Connie Willis' short fiction, I was surprised at how much I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of a paranormal debunker who comes across a very unusual case. Smart, funny and very well plotted. Recommended!!!
Winner: Hugo Award for Best Novella
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Novella.
Winner: Hugo Award for Best Novella
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Novella.
January 6, 2025
Titulo: Infiltrado
Autor: Connie Willis
Motivo de lectura: #RetoPremios2024
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Fisico / Electronico: Electronico
Mi edicion: -
Puntuacion: 1.5/5
Un libro que realmente es absurdo, nunca le encontre sentido a la historia.
Una lastima, porque el mundo espiritual/psiquico es algo que puede explotarse, pero la autora se queda a medias tintas.
Autor: Connie Willis
Motivo de lectura: #RetoPremios2024
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Fisico / Electronico: Electronico
Mi edicion: -
Puntuacion: 1.5/5
Un libro que realmente es absurdo, nunca le encontre sentido a la historia.
Una lastima, porque el mundo espiritual/psiquico es algo que puede explotarse, pero la autora se queda a medias tintas.
March 26, 2012
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
I have a goal of eventually reading all of the major SFF award winners, including novels, novellas, novelettes, and short stories, so that’s why I picked up Connie Willis’s Inside Job when I saw that it was available on audio. Inside Job won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 2006. Just a couple of months ago, by the way, Connie Willis received the SFWA Grand Master Award (January 2012).
Inside Job is a story about Rob, a professional debunker of pseudoscience, and his new partner Kildy Ross, a beautiful and famous actress. They attend séances and visit faith healers, psychics, and palm readers, always figuring out how these hucksters are cheating the gullible and publishing their findings in their magazine, The Jaundiced Eye.
Mostly it’s the same thing over and over: an earpiece, hidden wires, a confederate in the right place. Their latest case, however, is the toughest one ever. When they attend a seminar by the new psychic in town, Ariaura Keller, she begins channeling the spirit of H.L. Mencken, the famous skeptic who reported on the Scopes Trial and famously said, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.”
Rob and Kildy are determined to discover how Ariaura is channeling Mencken. But, more puzzling, why would a psychic who makes money tricking her audience be regaling them with monologues by H.L. Mencken? The resulting investigation is exciting, suspenseful, full of delicious logical quandaries, and often very funny.
Eventually the reader wonders if there’s such a thing as being too skeptical. At some point, you have to have faith in something or someone. What kind of relationship would you have with your loved ones, for example, if you kept demanding irrevocable proof when they said they loved you?
Inside Job was a quick read and a fun and educational story with likable characters and a delightfully silly plot. I listened to Audible Frontiers’ version which was narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris, who I liked very much. The audio version is 2½ hours long and costs about $7 at Audible.com. Or you can read the full text of Inside Job for free at Asimov’s.
I have a goal of eventually reading all of the major SFF award winners, including novels, novellas, novelettes, and short stories, so that’s why I picked up Connie Willis’s Inside Job when I saw that it was available on audio. Inside Job won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 2006. Just a couple of months ago, by the way, Connie Willis received the SFWA Grand Master Award (January 2012).
Inside Job is a story about Rob, a professional debunker of pseudoscience, and his new partner Kildy Ross, a beautiful and famous actress. They attend séances and visit faith healers, psychics, and palm readers, always figuring out how these hucksters are cheating the gullible and publishing their findings in their magazine, The Jaundiced Eye.
Mostly it’s the same thing over and over: an earpiece, hidden wires, a confederate in the right place. Their latest case, however, is the toughest one ever. When they attend a seminar by the new psychic in town, Ariaura Keller, she begins channeling the spirit of H.L. Mencken, the famous skeptic who reported on the Scopes Trial and famously said, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.”
Rob and Kildy are determined to discover how Ariaura is channeling Mencken. But, more puzzling, why would a psychic who makes money tricking her audience be regaling them with monologues by H.L. Mencken? The resulting investigation is exciting, suspenseful, full of delicious logical quandaries, and often very funny.
Eventually the reader wonders if there’s such a thing as being too skeptical. At some point, you have to have faith in something or someone. What kind of relationship would you have with your loved ones, for example, if you kept demanding irrevocable proof when they said they loved you?
Inside Job was a quick read and a fun and educational story with likable characters and a delightfully silly plot. I listened to Audible Frontiers’ version which was narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris, who I liked very much. The audio version is 2½ hours long and costs about $7 at Audible.com. Or you can read the full text of Inside Job for free at Asimov’s.
May 19, 2017
Too cold, too distant. The writing was OK, but at no point did I care about any of the characters. The story is about charlatans and gurus, mediums of all sorts who perform cheap theatrical tricks, make gullible people believe, and extract good money from their victims for the privilege to be conned. The protagonist makes his living debunking such conmen, and most of the story is a preaching by the author about the harm the unethical quacks inflict on everyone and the need to take them down. There is also tons of info about Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956), the influential American journalist and satirist who routinely made fun of the fraudsters of his time. I didn’t know the name of Mencken before I read this book. I never wanted to know. I still don’t, but the author shoved his quotes and opinions down my throat.
I didn’t like this novella at all.
I didn’t like this novella at all.
March 14, 2015
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Connie Willis is incapable of writing bad stuff. She has a great concept (professional skeptics debunking charlatans), twists (three very good ones, including a very satisfying end twist), and characters right out of a good film noir. Easy to fall into, easy to enjoy, and easy to give 5 stars.
April 2, 2012
INSIDE JOB won the Hugo for best novella in 2006--didn't even know that was an award. I knew they awarded for short-stories, but not for novella. I wonder how many high quality science-fiction novellas are published every year? Anyway, I enjoyed this breezy, over in a heartbeat book from Connie Willis. I have liked Willis in the past [DOOMSDAY BOOK, TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG] and recently hated her BLACKOUT. I was really let down by BLACKOUT as time-travel and WW2 and Willis seemed a perfect fit. What a shame--I just didn't like that book at all. I haven't even bothered with part two despite the time travel/WW2 angle [two things I love]. I just don't want to feel let down...again.
INSIDE JOB, being a novella, is way less ambitious than some of her more epic, time travel and historical novels. This reads more like a light comedy that involves spiritualists, skeptics, romance and trying to prove channeling is a fraud. Fun, light reading--I actually read this over a couple of lunch breaks at work.
INSIDE JOB, being a novella, is way less ambitious than some of her more epic, time travel and historical novels. This reads more like a light comedy that involves spiritualists, skeptics, romance and trying to prove channeling is a fraud. Fun, light reading--I actually read this over a couple of lunch breaks at work.
August 28, 2015
Purchased as part of a Humble Bundle a while back.
So in this fantastical tale, a professional "skeptic" who exposes charlatans claiming to talk to spirits and channel supernatural beings, is confronted with one who appears to be channeling the deceased atheist H. L. Mencken, who himself railed against charlatans, creationism, God, the Bible, and was champion of the "truth".
While well-written and suspenseful, the worldview bias is crystal clear.
So in this fantastical tale, a professional "skeptic" who exposes charlatans claiming to talk to spirits and channel supernatural beings, is confronted with one who appears to be channeling the deceased atheist H. L. Mencken, who himself railed against charlatans, creationism, God, the Bible, and was champion of the "truth".
While well-written and suspenseful, the worldview bias is crystal clear.
October 5, 2021
This is one of the best novella's that I've read and if you are anywhere near as sick as I am about all the BS disinformation we have been bombard with for the past decade, read this amazing fantasy. It's funny and wonderful and makes we want to read more about
December 5, 2021
Connie Willis has a gift for the unusual situation. In this great novella she plays with the idea of a spiritualist who is channeling the ultimate debunker, H. L. Mencken. The result is a fastmoving, very fun, romp through the world of spiritualists and their critics. A quick and totally enjoyable read.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
August 15, 2012
It seems I either give a four star or two star rating with Connie Wills' books. This fell into the latter category.
A potential buyer should be aware that this is a novella only 99 pages long and the publisher’s price tag is hefty for such a slim volume.
A writer for a magazine that exposes fraudulent psychics thinks he’s being duped by the person who led him to the story. The psychic then starts channeling H.L. Mencken. That’s essentially all there is to it outside of the filler. You don’t have to be a H.L. Mencken fan to enjoy it but I assure you it will help. It’s not really science fiction or screwball comedy funny. And unlike her better stories, there’s no twist to the ending.
There are quite a few other works by the author that Subterranean Press could have picked from that would have been a better choice. If you are looking to read this, my advice is find the copy of Asimov’s that it originally appeared in or try your local library and don’t spend money on this overpriced book.
A potential buyer should be aware that this is a novella only 99 pages long and the publisher’s price tag is hefty for such a slim volume.
A writer for a magazine that exposes fraudulent psychics thinks he’s being duped by the person who led him to the story. The psychic then starts channeling H.L. Mencken. That’s essentially all there is to it outside of the filler. You don’t have to be a H.L. Mencken fan to enjoy it but I assure you it will help. It’s not really science fiction or screwball comedy funny. And unlike her better stories, there’s no twist to the ending.
There are quite a few other works by the author that Subterranean Press could have picked from that would have been a better choice. If you are looking to read this, my advice is find the copy of Asimov’s that it originally appeared in or try your local library and don’t spend money on this overpriced book.
August 12, 2009
The sons of bitches are gaining on us!
connie willis! i love you, connie willis. i love everything you write. i love that you are so intelligent and funny and sharp all the damn time, and i love how you can make all these strange and amazing historical events/figures come to life, and i love that you mention my favorite authors all the time - LIKE JAMES M. CAIN AHHHH "baby in the icebox" reference!! - and i love that your main characters are always people i wish i could know in real life.
but i am giving this novella 3 stars, because i wish there had been more of it; there was so much room for more, more, more. now that i've finished the novella i just feel sad and slightly restless. maybe this is a problem between me and the novella form, not me and you. or maybe i am just being greedy. in any case, i still love you. maybe i'll go read this book again right now.
connie willis! i love you, connie willis. i love everything you write. i love that you are so intelligent and funny and sharp all the damn time, and i love how you can make all these strange and amazing historical events/figures come to life, and i love that you mention my favorite authors all the time - LIKE JAMES M. CAIN AHHHH "baby in the icebox" reference!! - and i love that your main characters are always people i wish i could know in real life.
but i am giving this novella 3 stars, because i wish there had been more of it; there was so much room for more, more, more. now that i've finished the novella i just feel sad and slightly restless. maybe this is a problem between me and the novella form, not me and you. or maybe i am just being greedy. in any case, i still love you. maybe i'll go read this book again right now.
May 7, 2012
Another Connie Willis gem. Don't let the length fool you - this pithy little book is chock full of Willis's trademark rich, entanglingly layered, often humorous, occasionally surprising prose. It's a comedy of manners, the manners being a skewering of Hollywood's obession with psychic healing and mediums, the comedy a debunking journalist and his insider actress assistant who discover that a medium may be channeling the ghost of all time greatest debunker of all, H.L. Mencken. And there is a really sweet love story as well. If that sounds confusing, then you're in Connie Willis territory, and don't expect to get each and every question answered. You won't care - the ride to the end is well worth a few loose ends.
February 14, 2011
3.5 stars.
Quick premise summary: A fraudulent medium may or may not have channeled H. L. Mencken, the great skeptic with more famous quotes than Mark Twain (possibly). This causes serious issues for skeptical newspaper owners who both want to believe Mencken has returned...and who couldn't possibly believe in the charlatan who's acting as his channeler.
Quick premise summary: A fraudulent medium may or may not have channeled H. L. Mencken, the great skeptic with more famous quotes than Mark Twain (possibly). This causes serious issues for skeptical newspaper owners who both want to believe Mencken has returned...and who couldn't possibly believe in the charlatan who's acting as his channeler.
November 13, 2015
Quick and cute, with an interesting central conundrum and Willis's typical sharp eye for descriptive detail. (Atypically for Willis, people have cell phones and use them; I appreciate a screwball comedy not centered on preventable communication mix-ups.)
July 17, 2014
She uses H. L. Mencken as a character. In a story about psychics. Of course I was charmed.
July 27, 2016
Una breve y deliciosa obra sobre escepticismo, amor y cómo a veces se puede dudar demasiado. No explicaré si el fantasma es de verdad o no. Son sólo 93 páginas para que lo descubráis.
Read
November 16, 2019Pure, effortless enjoyment
Even if you don't know H.L. Mencken from your left elbow, it doesn't matter. Which tells you how good Connie Willis really is.
Even if you don't know H.L. Mencken from your left elbow, it doesn't matter. Which tells you how good Connie Willis really is.
May 17, 2018
This is a book of novella length at about 100 pages. It centers around a medium who appears to be channeling H.L. Mencken and a debunker of fake psychics. It was a light and mildly entertaining read but a week after finishing it I had to go look up what it was about. If you have a couple of hours to kill and nothing else to read this is worth looking at.
June 4, 2022
PopSugar 22 - Prompt 46 - Double Life
This is a very quick little story about debunking a medium - who turns out, unbeknownst to herself, to be channeling an actual spirt. Too bad for her the spirit she got turned out to be HL Mencken, noted skeptic.
Fun read.
This is a very quick little story about debunking a medium - who turns out, unbeknownst to herself, to be channeling an actual spirt. Too bad for her the spirit she got turned out to be HL Mencken, noted skeptic.
Fun read.
November 29, 2019
What UP, Willis novella I have never read! I was super stoked. Can't do it justice without spoilers, so I ain't gonna try.
February 10, 2021
Was expecting a plot twist that never happened! Disappointing end. It seems the author went wherever the story took and found that there wasn’t much room left in the climax to turn course, towards science.
Debunker resurfaces from Astral plane to prove Astral plane doesn’t exist?! What started as science fiction spiraled into Stephen King style cheap horror fiction! Losing respect on Hugo awards 😕
Engaging read though (Or I’m gaining patience!)
Debunker resurfaces from Astral plane to prove Astral plane doesn’t exist?! What started as science fiction spiraled into Stephen King style cheap horror fiction! Losing respect on Hugo awards 😕
Engaging read though (Or I’m gaining patience!)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2015
It's good to find another Willis that I liked, since her recent time travel books went beyond being not-good and all the way into annoying. OK< this is from 2005, but it was new to me.
Like the time travel books, this one shows off Willis's research. I wonder if she gets an idea, researches the heck out of it, and then finds a story in it somewhere -- or does it in another sequence.
The story's JUST the right length for the tale it has to tell. I took it along when I went out for a solo dinner, and read the last two pages outside the restaurant. And service was average speed. It's a quick read.
How do all the authors who write a male-female investigator team always seem to be writing the same characters with the same interaction, namely light and witty? Are they copying Nick & Nora Charles, or someone earlier?
Anyway, the puzzle/paradox unfolds nicely, at a steady pace; we learn a bit about the wonderful author character, whose name you can get from others' reviews.
And we are given enough foreshadowing - or maybe I'm just used to Willis - that we don't really expect it to be all tied up in a bow at the end, with someone explaining what just happened. You can decide for yourself.
Like the time travel books, this one shows off Willis's research. I wonder if she gets an idea, researches the heck out of it, and then finds a story in it somewhere -- or does it in another sequence.
The story's JUST the right length for the tale it has to tell. I took it along when I went out for a solo dinner, and read the last two pages outside the restaurant. And service was average speed. It's a quick read.
How do all the authors who write a male-female investigator team always seem to be writing the same characters with the same interaction, namely light and witty? Are they copying Nick & Nora Charles, or someone earlier?
Anyway, the puzzle/paradox unfolds nicely, at a steady pace; we learn a bit about the wonderful author character, whose name you can get from others' reviews.
And we are given enough foreshadowing - or maybe I'm just used to Willis - that we don't really expect it to be all tied up in a bow at the end, with someone explaining what just happened. You can decide for yourself.
Read
July 13, 2009Rob is a professional skeptic. He makes a living debunking psychics, channelers, mediums and other frauds. One day, his employee, Kildy Ross, urges him to go see Auriaura Keller, who channels a spirit named "Isus", but she won't tell him what's so different about this woman. They go, and, what a surprise! In the midst of the usual New Age b.s. from this so-called spirit, a second voice interrupts, calling the proceedings "hokum" and Keller a "snakecharming preacher". What the heck is going on?
As they attended in their own names, and being known in their profession, Keller appears at the office and blames Rob for what has happened. In the midst of her ranting, she again begins to talk about "quacks and crooks". But it's her reference to a trial in Dayton, and "boobus Americanus" that causes Rob to realize she's spouting H.L. Mencken. Why would she fake channeling the skeptic's skeptic? And is Kildy in on it? Is she "a beautiful, calculating woman who seduces the hero into helping her with a scam"? Or is it real? And if it's real, what a can of worms!
A very engaging, clever and amusing novella.
As they attended in their own names, and being known in their profession, Keller appears at the office and blames Rob for what has happened. In the midst of her ranting, she again begins to talk about "quacks and crooks". But it's her reference to a trial in Dayton, and "boobus Americanus" that causes Rob to realize she's spouting H.L. Mencken. Why would she fake channeling the skeptic's skeptic? And is Kildy in on it? Is she "a beautiful, calculating woman who seduces the hero into helping her with a scam"? Or is it real? And if it's real, what a can of worms!
A very engaging, clever and amusing novella.
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