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Calypso's Guest: A Short Story
A bargain with the gods throws two men together in a timeless short story of adventure and unrequited love inspired by The Odyssey by Andrew Sean Greer, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Less . A man in exile, banished to a planet far from home and cursed with immortality, discovers that a ship has crash-landed near his settlement. After two hundred years, his heart’s desire has come true. A visitor has finally arrived on his lonely little speck in the stars. He’ll have companionship again. Someone he could love forever. As the weary traveler heals, the two men form a tender bond. But all they’ve come to share may not be enough to curb the visitor’s irrepressible wanderlust. Now the exile, who thought nothing in his endless life would ever change, must make a decision that will change everything.
1 pages, Audible Audio
Published August 22, 2023
149 people are currently reading
634 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Sean Greer
34 books3,112 followersAndrew Sean Greer (born 1970) is an American novelist and short story writer.
He is the bestselling author of The Story of a Marriage, which The New York Times has called an “inspired, lyrical novel,” and The Confessions of Max Tivoli, which was named one of the best books of 2004 by the San Francisco Chronicle and received a California Book Award.
The child of two scientists, Greer studied writing with Robert Coover and Edmund White at Brown University, where he was the commencement speaker at his own graduation, where his unrehearsed remarks, critiquing Brown's admissions policies, caused a semi-riot. After years in New York working as a chauffeur, theater tech, television extra and unsuccessful writer, he moved to Missoula, Montana, where he received his Master of Fine Arts from The University of Montana, from where he soon moved to Seattle and two years later to San Francisco where he now lives. He is currently a fellow at the New York Public Library Cullman Center. He is an identical twin.
While in San Francisco, he began to publish in magazines before releasing a collection of his stories, How It Was for Me. His stories have appeared in Esquire, The Paris Review, The New Yorker and other national publications, and have been anthologized most recently in The Book of Other People, and The PEN/ O. Henry Prize Stories 2009. His first novel, The Path of Minor Planets, was published in 2001.
He is the bestselling author of The Story of a Marriage, which The New York Times has called an “inspired, lyrical novel,” and The Confessions of Max Tivoli, which was named one of the best books of 2004 by the San Francisco Chronicle and received a California Book Award.
The child of two scientists, Greer studied writing with Robert Coover and Edmund White at Brown University, where he was the commencement speaker at his own graduation, where his unrehearsed remarks, critiquing Brown's admissions policies, caused a semi-riot. After years in New York working as a chauffeur, theater tech, television extra and unsuccessful writer, he moved to Missoula, Montana, where he received his Master of Fine Arts from The University of Montana, from where he soon moved to Seattle and two years later to San Francisco where he now lives. He is currently a fellow at the New York Public Library Cullman Center. He is an identical twin.
While in San Francisco, he began to publish in magazines before releasing a collection of his stories, How It Was for Me. His stories have appeared in Esquire, The Paris Review, The New Yorker and other national publications, and have been anthologized most recently in The Book of Other People, and The PEN/ O. Henry Prize Stories 2009. His first novel, The Path of Minor Planets, was published in 2001.
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February 4, 2025
‘A reprieve from solitude, at last. What are we to one another, if we cannot be this?”
What, me crying at the end of a Homer retelling? Couldn’t be…
Fine, you caught me, but Calypso’s Guest, a short tale by Pulitzer Prize winning author Andrew Sean Greer, has a soft, forlorn beauty that sent a ripple of emotion through me like a stone dropped in a calm, moonlit pond. It is subtle, small, yet oh so sweet as Greer takes the tale of Calypso and Odysseus from Homer’s Odyseey from the islands of ancient Greece into the solitude of the stars in this queer love tale. It manages to capture an essence of an epic in the space of a few short pages and reads with a quiet, bittersweet melancholy, a lovesick tale baked under bloated suns now softly adrift through the ‘wine-dark void of space’.
‘You must come to think of it as home’
This was a creative and rather whimsical work that manages to do a lot of really exciting world building in a short space. It is the story of Calypso, though instead of being banished by Zeus for her support of Atlas and the Titans, here it is a man sent into exile for having aided The Others—god-like creatures bent on destroying his people—and, after countless years of solitude, finds a man crash landed on his planet. It follows the familiar tale with a few fun deviations as their bond grows despite the new companions desire to return to his palace off in space. And I really enjoyed the story of the prison world, a place where there ‘were no predators except one’s nightmares.’
‘For he had come, my weary traveler, to his journey’s end. He had crash landed in my prison…’
The story excels at capturing a sense of loneliness but also love and contrasting the narrator’s numbed sense of existence when stretched out by immortality to the passionate and adventurous personality of the visitor. It is all delivered as if in a gorgeous minor key and even knowing where it was headed it still enchanted with surprises in it’s fresh, sci-fi wrappings.
‘ The moons looked in the window at us, a pair of mismatched eyes, and what did they see? A room littered with pillows and books and quietly blinking lights, lit by a single bronze lamp; a room made of much living, and in it, the ones who had lived it: a man in love, standing in the doorway with a dog on its leash. And another, seated at a table, planning his escape. ’
Admittedly, Calypso’s Guest is a bit slight, though there’s little more one could as for it anyways. It is a queer yearning to outshine the stars, yet a tale of inevitable separation, two hearts beating out a limitless distance in the endlessness of space. A quick read, but one that truly engulfs you for a few brief moments of small, bittersweet beauty.
4/5
‘What is a person except this heap of loss? Otherwise—what wasted breath.’
What, me crying at the end of a Homer retelling? Couldn’t be…
Fine, you caught me, but Calypso’s Guest, a short tale by Pulitzer Prize winning author Andrew Sean Greer, has a soft, forlorn beauty that sent a ripple of emotion through me like a stone dropped in a calm, moonlit pond. It is subtle, small, yet oh so sweet as Greer takes the tale of Calypso and Odysseus from Homer’s Odyseey from the islands of ancient Greece into the solitude of the stars in this queer love tale. It manages to capture an essence of an epic in the space of a few short pages and reads with a quiet, bittersweet melancholy, a lovesick tale baked under bloated suns now softly adrift through the ‘wine-dark void of space’.
‘You must come to think of it as home’
This was a creative and rather whimsical work that manages to do a lot of really exciting world building in a short space. It is the story of Calypso, though instead of being banished by Zeus for her support of Atlas and the Titans, here it is a man sent into exile for having aided The Others—god-like creatures bent on destroying his people—and, after countless years of solitude, finds a man crash landed on his planet. It follows the familiar tale with a few fun deviations as their bond grows despite the new companions desire to return to his palace off in space. And I really enjoyed the story of the prison world, a place where there ‘were no predators except one’s nightmares.’
‘For he had come, my weary traveler, to his journey’s end. He had crash landed in my prison…’
The story excels at capturing a sense of loneliness but also love and contrasting the narrator’s numbed sense of existence when stretched out by immortality to the passionate and adventurous personality of the visitor. It is all delivered as if in a gorgeous minor key and even knowing where it was headed it still enchanted with surprises in it’s fresh, sci-fi wrappings.
‘ The moons looked in the window at us, a pair of mismatched eyes, and what did they see? A room littered with pillows and books and quietly blinking lights, lit by a single bronze lamp; a room made of much living, and in it, the ones who had lived it: a man in love, standing in the doorway with a dog on its leash. And another, seated at a table, planning his escape. ’
Admittedly, Calypso’s Guest is a bit slight, though there’s little more one could as for it anyways. It is a queer yearning to outshine the stars, yet a tale of inevitable separation, two hearts beating out a limitless distance in the endlessness of space. A quick read, but one that truly engulfs you for a few brief moments of small, bittersweet beauty.
4/5
‘What is a person except this heap of loss? Otherwise—what wasted breath.’
February 4, 2024
4 " a melancholic interplanetary syncretic (b)romance" stars !!
A ribbon of Excellence read for 2023
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Amazon Original Stories for an ecopy. I am providing an honest review. This will be released 22 August, 2023.
Today was a perfect day. Mildly sunny, very breezy and oh so comfortable. I spent the day with my love. We marinated mushrooms, pickled onions and cucumbers, sundried tomatoes and eggplants and I made four types of jam. We worked quietly side by side and listened to Lana Del Rey, Sufjan Stevens, Nina Simone and Sarah Brightman. I would tickle his side and he would nuzzle my neck and I felt blessed and joyous.
While we lunched or had wine I read my sweetheart this story. We both teared up and were so very touched.
This is an elegant melding of soft science fiction, greek mythology, dys-utopian fiction and a yearnful romance. This would make an absolutely beautiful prequel. Hint hint Mr. Greer....there are two middle aged boys here that adored this story and want so very much more. There is some jam and veggies here for you if you do...
If it is possible...this lovely story made me fall a little deeper in love with my sweetheart.
With gratitude....
A ribbon of Excellence read for 2023
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Amazon Original Stories for an ecopy. I am providing an honest review. This will be released 22 August, 2023.
Today was a perfect day. Mildly sunny, very breezy and oh so comfortable. I spent the day with my love. We marinated mushrooms, pickled onions and cucumbers, sundried tomatoes and eggplants and I made four types of jam. We worked quietly side by side and listened to Lana Del Rey, Sufjan Stevens, Nina Simone and Sarah Brightman. I would tickle his side and he would nuzzle my neck and I felt blessed and joyous.
While we lunched or had wine I read my sweetheart this story. We both teared up and were so very touched.
This is an elegant melding of soft science fiction, greek mythology, dys-utopian fiction and a yearnful romance. This would make an absolutely beautiful prequel. Hint hint Mr. Greer....there are two middle aged boys here that adored this story and want so very much more. There is some jam and veggies here for you if you do...
If it is possible...this lovely story made me fall a little deeper in love with my sweetheart.
With gratitude....
November 29, 2023
In a Nutshell: A short story inspired by Homer's Odyssey, but set on a distant planet. Good enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you ever read a story that you liked enough, where the characters were appealing enough, where the setting was intriguing enough, where the prose was compelling enough, and yet, when it comes the time to review it, you don't have anything much to say?
Yeah well, that's going to be me for this review.
Inspired by Homer's Odyssey, this story talks of two strangers whose life paths collide due to an accident. The bond between them develops, but can it be strong enough to contain the wanderlust of one of them while the second is content to be at home?
Everything about this story is at the 'good enough' level, but somehow, nothing went beyond that scale. There were enough details to make me read it without distraction, but not enough that would make it last in my mind. Last para done, story forgotten. The abundance of conversations and lack of action might have had a small role to play in my disconnect. For a change, I even wished for the love track to be more detailed. After all, how often do we get to see (in fiction) romantic emotions bloom between two middle-aged men?
A one-time read for me, evoking tender yet bittersweet feelings. You might like it better if you are a fan of The Odyssey. I’ve not read it, and don’t even intend to, so I couldn’t judge this story on its performance as an inspired retelling.
3 stars.
This standalone story is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you ever read a story that you liked enough, where the characters were appealing enough, where the setting was intriguing enough, where the prose was compelling enough, and yet, when it comes the time to review it, you don't have anything much to say?
Yeah well, that's going to be me for this review.
Inspired by Homer's Odyssey, this story talks of two strangers whose life paths collide due to an accident. The bond between them develops, but can it be strong enough to contain the wanderlust of one of them while the second is content to be at home?
Everything about this story is at the 'good enough' level, but somehow, nothing went beyond that scale. There were enough details to make me read it without distraction, but not enough that would make it last in my mind. Last para done, story forgotten. The abundance of conversations and lack of action might have had a small role to play in my disconnect. For a change, I even wished for the love track to be more detailed. After all, how often do we get to see (in fiction) romantic emotions bloom between two middle-aged men?
A one-time read for me, evoking tender yet bittersweet feelings. You might like it better if you are a fan of The Odyssey. I’ve not read it, and don’t even intend to, so I couldn’t judge this story on its performance as an inspired retelling.
3 stars.
This standalone story is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
August 17, 2024
Other-worldly is the only way I can describe this book. Interesting, but not a favorite.
August 16, 2023
4★
He was the first man I had seen in two hundred years.”
I didn’t know the story of Odysseus and Calypso from Homer's The Odyssey, so I read and enjoyed this as a kind of fable. It reminded me of some of the bittersweet stories from the old Twilight Zone television series, when sometimes the future wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Our narrator has been exiled to a planet populated by all-knowing robots who are happy to plant and harvest crops and do whatever is necessary to provide him with a comfortable life. He has been given immortality so that his solitary exile will last forever. He has had no human contact in all that time.
But now, a ship has crashed at some distance from where he lives, and the robots have brought the injured, confused traveller back and patched him up. Our narrator is so happy to have the company that he instructs the robots to hide the broken space craft so his visitor won’t be able to repair it and leave.
“ ‘You should have died,’ I told him as I tucked the blankets around his shoulders. Those blue eyes shot up at me. ‘You would have, if you had landed anywhere else. Not that there’s a planet within years of here. Probably you would have floated forever. It was one in a million you hit our little speck.’
A worker corrected me: the probability was one in ten million. ‘So you see.’ ”
Note the reference to the worker (robot). They know everything, but they have been programmed not to allow the man to escape. As the traveller recovers, he seems to make himself at home for a while, and the two become close. But the visitor has a family at home.
“He was forever restless—it is in the nature of such men to be restless—and would not let his body go to fat; he spent hours running along the trails, or lifting bundles of wood, or throwing heavy stones, or leaping in ways that perplexed me. It was, surely, some military training from his home world.”
It’s a wonderful story of exile, frustration, and the love that can grow in the most unlikely places. I now know the original story from Homer, and I think Greer’s version is excellent. I still think it would make a great Twilight Zone episode or even a mini-series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the copy for review.
He was the first man I had seen in two hundred years.”
I didn’t know the story of Odysseus and Calypso from Homer's The Odyssey, so I read and enjoyed this as a kind of fable. It reminded me of some of the bittersweet stories from the old Twilight Zone television series, when sometimes the future wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Our narrator has been exiled to a planet populated by all-knowing robots who are happy to plant and harvest crops and do whatever is necessary to provide him with a comfortable life. He has been given immortality so that his solitary exile will last forever. He has had no human contact in all that time.
But now, a ship has crashed at some distance from where he lives, and the robots have brought the injured, confused traveller back and patched him up. Our narrator is so happy to have the company that he instructs the robots to hide the broken space craft so his visitor won’t be able to repair it and leave.
“ ‘You should have died,’ I told him as I tucked the blankets around his shoulders. Those blue eyes shot up at me. ‘You would have, if you had landed anywhere else. Not that there’s a planet within years of here. Probably you would have floated forever. It was one in a million you hit our little speck.’
A worker corrected me: the probability was one in ten million. ‘So you see.’ ”
Note the reference to the worker (robot). They know everything, but they have been programmed not to allow the man to escape. As the traveller recovers, he seems to make himself at home for a while, and the two become close. But the visitor has a family at home.
“He was forever restless—it is in the nature of such men to be restless—and would not let his body go to fat; he spent hours running along the trails, or lifting bundles of wood, or throwing heavy stones, or leaping in ways that perplexed me. It was, surely, some military training from his home world.”
It’s a wonderful story of exile, frustration, and the love that can grow in the most unlikely places. I now know the original story from Homer, and I think Greer’s version is excellent. I still think it would make a great Twilight Zone episode or even a mini-series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the copy for review.
August 16, 2023
Who knew a retelling of Homer's Odyssey would be so beautiful - sad but still beautiful. Of course making the setting in space instead of a Greek island was a bit different, as was having the Odysseus like character arrive in a spaceship instead of a boat. Nevertheless, the story and its ending were very true to the original.
I loved this author's book Less and would have read this story regardless of its content. However, I was happy to find this to be a short, sweet, but sad tale. The premise is that when you make a deal with the gods be careful what you wish for. I went back to read Calypso's original request and found a tiny change in it would have made a colossal difference.
Totally worth reading and now I must look out for more of this author's work.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I loved this author's book Less and would have read this story regardless of its content. However, I was happy to find this to be a short, sweet, but sad tale. The premise is that when you make a deal with the gods be careful what you wish for. I went back to read Calypso's original request and found a tiny change in it would have made a colossal difference.
Totally worth reading and now I must look out for more of this author's work.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
August 14, 2023
Calypso's Guest is a poignant and melancholy short story, a futuristic retelling of Homer's The Odyssey. It's been years since I've read the original, but I do believe that the narrator is meant to be the nymph Calypso, attempting to convince Odysseus (the visitor who has crash-landed on the narrator's planetary prison) to stay with him instead of returning home to the family he's left behind.
Greer's writing is beautiful and he does a wonderful job of conveying the loneliness and heartbreak that the narrator experiences after his loss of “Odysseus.” And, although this story is a short one, Greer also manages to paint a vivid picture of the circumstances that led to the deliberate marooning of our nameless narrator on a desolate planet. The world-building is excellent, and love the idea of the planet and its flora and fauna having been shaped and formed by mechanical beings.
While the story is lovely, it ends much as the original does – favorably for Odysseus but not so much for the abandoned Calypso. Still, this short read is atmospheric and well-written, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone eager for an innovative retelling of Homer's epic tale.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for providing me with an advance copy of this story to review.
Greer's writing is beautiful and he does a wonderful job of conveying the loneliness and heartbreak that the narrator experiences after his loss of “Odysseus.” And, although this story is a short one, Greer also manages to paint a vivid picture of the circumstances that led to the deliberate marooning of our nameless narrator on a desolate planet. The world-building is excellent, and love the idea of the planet and its flora and fauna having been shaped and formed by mechanical beings.
While the story is lovely, it ends much as the original does – favorably for Odysseus but not so much for the abandoned Calypso. Still, this short read is atmospheric and well-written, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone eager for an innovative retelling of Homer's epic tale.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for providing me with an advance copy of this story to review.
January 27, 2024
A poignant and touching short story. Somehow it reminded me of Piranesi.
It is a retelling of the Greek mythological tale of Odysseus and Calypso, in a futuristic intergalactic setting.
Through that it explores loneliness, solitude, and the longing for companionship. A story of someone in love for centuries, but with the object of affection absent. It is a melancholic tale of unrequited love, written in beautiful prose. It is a short yet enigmatic read.
3.5 stars
Thank you Steven for recommending the story!
It is a retelling of the Greek mythological tale of Odysseus and Calypso, in a futuristic intergalactic setting.
Through that it explores loneliness, solitude, and the longing for companionship. A story of someone in love for centuries, but with the object of affection absent. It is a melancholic tale of unrequited love, written in beautiful prose. It is a short yet enigmatic read.
3.5 stars
Thank you Steven for recommending the story!
March 27, 2024
Homer in space...........
Greer gives us his variation on a theme by Homer, part of the Odyssey in space.
First of all I have to do full disclosure, I come from and live on the islands that claim to be Ogygia so I'm very familiar with this part of the Odyssey, the pining Calypso and the restless Ulysses.
I enjoyed Greer's take, he got the pining and the restlessness down to a T and his embellishments where to the point.
An ARC gently provided by author/publisher via Netgalley.
Greer gives us his variation on a theme by Homer, part of the Odyssey in space.
First of all I have to do full disclosure, I come from and live on the islands that claim to be Ogygia so I'm very familiar with this part of the Odyssey, the pining Calypso and the restless Ulysses.
I enjoyed Greer's take, he got the pining and the restlessness down to a T and his embellishments where to the point.
An ARC gently provided by author/publisher via Netgalley.
August 31, 2023
Odysseus's sojourn with Calypso transposed intergalactically.
November 4, 2023
This was a lovely short story. There wasn't really much to it, but it was beautifully written and an elegant escape.
December 28, 2023
A short story based on Calypso's legend that we are told in the Odyssey. It is just that in this case, Sean Greer transports it to kind of a science-fiction reality, in a male-to-male romantic story. I most enjoyed the author's writing and the fact that he, despite the transposition of the legend to a new reality, doesn't change its context, that is, it is as faithful to the original as he could.
August 26, 2023
really short read which makes it hard to really give this a star rating, but Greer's prose is beautiful and poetic as always, which definitely makes this a worthy short story if you're looking for a quick 15 minute read.
January 30, 2024
this would’ve hit harder as a longer work, but… what can i say. i appreciate the use of a “wine-dark” epithet as much as the next guy
August 9, 2023
There have been so many retellings of the Odyssey over the years, so to make it stand out and stick with the reader is a huge challenge, and it’s one that Greer triumphs in!
In this sci-fi retelling of the story of Calypso and Odysseus so much is packed into just twenty pages, but the story never feels rushed or compromised to fit into the small size. The beautiful writing allows the reader to know and understand the thoughts and actions of (a genderbended) Calypso and from the first page you’re left hoping he gets his happily ever after.
While Greer makes huge changes to the world in which Calypso’s Guest is set, the story itself doesn’t stray far from the original Greek myth, so it’ll be a familiar tale for fellow greek mythology nerds- but rest assured it’s still well worth the read!
Thanks to NetGalley for the e-copy! This is an honest review. Calypso’s Guest: A Short Story will be released on August 22nd 2023!
In this sci-fi retelling of the story of Calypso and Odysseus so much is packed into just twenty pages, but the story never feels rushed or compromised to fit into the small size. The beautiful writing allows the reader to know and understand the thoughts and actions of (a genderbended) Calypso and from the first page you’re left hoping he gets his happily ever after.
While Greer makes huge changes to the world in which Calypso’s Guest is set, the story itself doesn’t stray far from the original Greek myth, so it’ll be a familiar tale for fellow greek mythology nerds- but rest assured it’s still well worth the read!
Thanks to NetGalley for the e-copy! This is an honest review. Calypso’s Guest: A Short Story will be released on August 22nd 2023!
December 16, 2023
A short story about longing and unrequited "something." I was touched by this story... and I felt it was, at the same time, not enough and didn't have further to go.
Overall, the takeaway was an ache about something that couldn't have been and a something that stoked a desire and urge.
Overall, the takeaway was an ache about something that couldn't have been and a something that stoked a desire and urge.
February 9, 2024
i’m sad :( if you love them let them go ya know. but i enjoyed the fantasy romance of this short story, i need to find more
May 18, 2024
Who's cutting onions? 😭😭😭
Jokes aside: the idea is so cool. Calypso's story but make it science-fiction. Very short story, but I enjoyed it a lot!
Jokes aside: the idea is so cool. Calypso's story but make it science-fiction. Very short story, but I enjoyed it a lot!
September 29, 2023
It's hard to rate and review a short story less than an hour long, but I liked this fine. The premise is interesting, and I would definitely be up for a novella-length expansion of it.
September 7, 2023
It’s interesting to see what a Pulitzer Prize winner does with a bit of Homer. Calypso’s Guest is a short story by award-winning, best-selling American author, Andrew Sean Greer. His protagonist is exiled on a planet that is remade by robots to look like his own, for his traitorous acts with The Others. Cursed with immortality, after some 200 years he has been granted a visitor, someone whose ship crashes into the planet and cannot be fixed. The exile revels in the company, but all the guest wants it to leave. He’s stuck there for seven years before he can build a ship and go back to his own planet, Ithaca, his patiently-waiting wife, Penelope, his son. You get the picture. Beautifully written.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.
March 7, 2024
This was exactly what I needed today. A wonderful sci-fi retelling of the myth of Calypso as an immortal man with only machines to keep him company on a strange planet. I enjoyed the moments the where clear references to the original myth but with a interplanetary twist. It’s was a nicely paced short read that leaves me wanting more. Would love to see Greer’s adaptation of the full Odyssey after this read.
January 18, 2025
”And what was your heart’s desire?”
“Well,” I said. “You are part of it.”
⋆⭒˚.⋆🪐 ⋆⭒˚.⋆
a beautiful short story i just happened to stumble across on kindle unlimited that actually spoke DEEPLY to the yearner in me!! what is it about sci fi that explores the deepest parts of the human experience while being so removed from reality like… i’m not okay.
”But I did not need him to make a man out of crystals from the sky; a man had already fallen into my arms.”
“Well,” I said. “You are part of it.”
⋆⭒˚.⋆🪐 ⋆⭒˚.⋆
a beautiful short story i just happened to stumble across on kindle unlimited that actually spoke DEEPLY to the yearner in me!! what is it about sci fi that explores the deepest parts of the human experience while being so removed from reality like… i’m not okay.
”But I did not need him to make a man out of crystals from the sky; a man had already fallen into my arms.”
September 17, 2023
This was a beautiful, queer, intergalactic retelling of the myth of Calypso and Odysseus. I loved the author’s unique play on it - that it was set in outer space, and the gods were still gods but aliens. The writing was lyrical. I’m gonna revisit this one many times.
January 31, 2025
5 stars
Beautifully written, emotional, (gay) retelling of the classic greek tale. Even though it was short, you were given every piece of information you need to really feel a connection to the characters.
Beautifully written, emotional, (gay) retelling of the classic greek tale. Even though it was short, you were given every piece of information you need to really feel a connection to the characters.
August 26, 2023
Great retelling
Calypso retold with science fiction elements.
A great job integrating the myth with the robots.
It was a sad tale about a lost love.
Calypso retold with science fiction elements.
A great job integrating the myth with the robots.
It was a sad tale about a lost love.
October 11, 2023
crying. andrew sean greer did it again.
October 22, 2023
heartbreaking. i’m shocked by the level of world building and heart this tiny novel was able to capture.
January 4, 2024
A fun blend of science fiction and Greek mythology. Short sweet and poetic :)
January 30, 2024
both beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time
September 12, 2024
Quietly beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews