Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Spectra (1998), Reprint, Paperback
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. Short Stories. HTML:Winner of six Nebula and five Hugo awards, Connie Willis is one of the most acclaimed and imaginative authors of our time. Her startling and powerful works have redefined the boundaries of contemporary science fiction. Here in one volume are twelve of her greatest stories, including double award-winner "Fire Watch," set in the universe of Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, in which a time-traveling student learns one of history's hardest lessons. In "A Letter from the Clearys," a routine message from distant friends shatters the fragile world of a beleaguered family. In "The Sidon in the Mirror," a mutant with the unconscious urge to become other people finds himself becoming both killer and victim. Disturbing, revealing, and provocative, this remarkable collection of short fiction brings together some of the best work of an incomparable writer whose ability to amaze, confound, and enlighten never fails.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member amf0001
I love the Dooms Day Book, I thought it was a remarkable achievement. This book is touted as being in the same universe, so I started it eagerly. It is an anthology with several longish stories, and time travel appears in them, but it's no where near as good as Dooms Day and I did not finish it. I
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read the first 2 and then just put it down. It never came to life for me. But read Dooms Day book, t hat's a gem. Show Less
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
I really didn't like this book. The stories are dated, most of them quite dark. There are two or three stories I really enjoyed.
Fire Watch - One of the strongest stories in the book - well executed, although the main character, Bartholomew was rather annoying. I liked the way the story
Service for the Burial of the Dead - I didn't like this one. It was plodding and slow.
Lost and Found - I found this story to be grating. Again, boring characters, slow pacing.
All My Darling Daughters - This story was just creepy.
The Father of the Bride - very short story about aging and remembering.
A Letter From the Clearys - I really enjoyed this one, it is a clever story about survival, denial, and how the story is in the eye of the beholder.
And Come For Miles Around - boring story about an equally boring housewife on a trip to view the eclipse.
The Sidon in the Mirror - I really wanted this one to go somewhere. It didn't.
Daisy, in the Sun - This one had a sort of 'Twilight Zone' Feel to it. I liked it, but it didn't hold my attention.
Mail-Order Clone - this has all the wit of a Connie Willis story, but without the likable characters.
Samaritan - The humanity of apes are questioned in this story. It was well written.
Blued Moon - I really wanted to like this one. But, the situation that the story was set in was so utterly unbelievable, and her whole premise of the story (a blue moon sets a series of coincidences) is so completely wrong. A blue is the second moon in a month, not an actual blue moon! Whether intentional or not, it was very annoying.
Fire Watch - One of the strongest stories in the book - well executed, although the main character, Bartholomew was rather annoying. I liked the way the story
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ended.Service for the Burial of the Dead - I didn't like this one. It was plodding and slow.
Lost and Found - I found this story to be grating. Again, boring characters, slow pacing.
All My Darling Daughters - This story was just creepy.
The Father of the Bride - very short story about aging and remembering.
A Letter From the Clearys - I really enjoyed this one, it is a clever story about survival, denial, and how the story is in the eye of the beholder.
And Come For Miles Around - boring story about an equally boring housewife on a trip to view the eclipse.
The Sidon in the Mirror - I really wanted this one to go somewhere. It didn't.
Daisy, in the Sun - This one had a sort of 'Twilight Zone' Feel to it. I liked it, but it didn't hold my attention.
Mail-Order Clone - this has all the wit of a Connie Willis story, but without the likable characters.
Samaritan - The humanity of apes are questioned in this story. It was well written.
Blued Moon - I really wanted to like this one. But, the situation that the story was set in was so utterly unbelievable, and her whole premise of the story (a blue moon sets a series of coincidences) is so completely wrong. A blue is the second moon in a month, not an actual blue moon! Whether intentional or not, it was very annoying.
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LibraryThing member Jaie22
The title story, Fire Watch, is set in the world of the time-traveling Oxfordians. It will be interesting to see if the character pops up in All Clear, but then again I'm not sure we know his name.
The rest of the book is not nearly as well done as this story, although some of the stories were good.
The rest of the book is not nearly as well done as this story, although some of the stories were good.
LibraryThing member picardyrose
Not a big fan of short stories, though I'd love to get my hands on 'The Winds of Marble Arch.'
LibraryThing member RGKronschnabel
Several good stories. One about the Blitz in London and St. Paul's Chathedral give the name to the book.
LibraryThing member bell7
This collection of a dozen short stories is from the earlier part of Connie Willis's career. Most of the stories included were published between 1979 and 1984. Even though all are technically science fiction, they show quite a range for a young author, with their variety of points of view and
I knew very little of what I should expect going into this short story collection. I only knew that the title story had some characters related to the time traveling books that I'd already read, and that St. Paul's Cathedral figured prominently. In fact, St. Paul's was why I read this book now - coming back from my trip to London and seeing St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey made me want to read as much fiction and nonfiction about London and England as possible. I'd rather expected most of the stories to be interrelated, but that was not at all the case. As in many short story collections, I liked some and hated others. "All My Darling Daughters" disgusted me and I nearly put down the collection for good there. But I'm glad I continued, because the last story, "Blued Moon," was light and funny and left a smile on my face. Most of the other stories were somewhere in between, making this a decent collection and worth a browse for those interested in '80s science fiction.
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theme.I knew very little of what I should expect going into this short story collection. I only knew that the title story had some characters related to the time traveling books that I'd already read, and that St. Paul's Cathedral figured prominently. In fact, St. Paul's was why I read this book now - coming back from my trip to London and seeing St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey made me want to read as much fiction and nonfiction about London and England as possible. I'd rather expected most of the stories to be interrelated, but that was not at all the case. As in many short story collections, I liked some and hated others. "All My Darling Daughters" disgusted me and I nearly put down the collection for good there. But I'm glad I continued, because the last story, "Blued Moon," was light and funny and left a smile on my face. Most of the other stories were somewhere in between, making this a decent collection and worth a browse for those interested in '80s science fiction.
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LibraryThing member esquetee
Reread the first story, finished on October 21st, 2010. I wanted to revisit this story as a precursor to rereading the time travel series from Connie Willis since she just put out two new books in this vein. Next up: Doomsday Book, whose story actually happened before the story in Firewatch.
LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Overall Review and Recommendation: Fire Watch is a collection of Willis's short stories, most of them with a science fiction slant to them, but with sub-genres that cover the sci-fi gamut, from the titular story that involves the time-travelling Oxford history department from her other books, to
As a note, I read the Kindle version of this book, and it was pretty poorly copy-edited. I suspect the errors came from mistakes in scanning: "lea" for "tea", missed appostophes and other punctuation, and other similar problems. Not enough to make things unintelligible, but still distracting. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Individual Stories:
- "Fire Watch" is the longest, and in my opinion the best, story of the bunch. It involves a Oxford history student who has trained to go back to biblical times and travel with St. Paul, but is instead sent back to St. Paul's Cathedral during the London Blitz, where he joins the team of volunteers that keeps the church from burning during bombing raids. Willis is great about evoking the feeling of London during the Blitz, and it's a lovely story about history, and permanence, and the importance of acts both big and small.
- "Service for the Burial of the Dead" is about a manipulative young man, and his jilted lover who continues to be susceptible to his charms, even after he's ostensibly dead.
- "Lost and Found" is a story of a small church, some miraculous discoveries, and a literal approach to the quote "The Son of Man is come to save that which is lost." I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the Christian view of the end of the world, but I certainly do appreciate a story that can turn the stereotypical ideas of the Second Coming on their ear. This story reminded me of Carrie Vaughn's Discord's Apple, with the artifacts from myth and history collecting in an unlikely place.
- "All My Darling Daughters" is a story of a troublemaker at a boarding school who gets an innocent new roommate, and a disturbing new fad that is sweeping the campus. The voice and tone of this story are different from every other one in the collection, and for all that several other stories involve the end of the world, this one was by far the most dark and disturbing in its implications.
- "The Father of the Bride" is a very short piece that looks at what everyone else in Sleeping Beauty's castle must have been feeling after they woke up from their 100 years of sleep.
- "A Letter from the Clearys" involves a girl who finds a letter from some friends at the post office, but does not get the expected reaction when she brings it home to her parents. This story didn't quite work for me; it was well-written, but what I think was supposed to be the big reveal did not particularly surprise me.
- "And Come from Miles Around" features a young family that has travelled to a remote town in Montana to view a solar eclipse, only to discover that they're not the only ones with the same idea. I liked this one, partly because I read it just about the time that everyone was making a big deal about the recent solar eclipse, and partly because it's a nice example of Willis's skill at subtle storytelling: lots of effective showing, without ever outright telling.
- "The Sidon in the Mirror" involves a newcomer to a mining town, who has a score to settle and the secret ability (or curse) of mimicry. I appreciated the Western flavor to this story, but I was never quite clear on how the copying worked, which hampered my enjoyment somewhat.
- "Daisy, in the Sun" is another story about the end of the world, and how life and growing up still go on despite it all. Not my favorite, it was too fragmented and strange for me really to get a decent hold on it.
- "Mail-Order Clone" is a quick and humorous piece about a man who places an order for a clone, but doesn't get quite what he was expecting.
- "Samaritan" is a story about an orangutan who is taught sign language, and who has decided he wants to be baptized, and the controversy that descends on the pastor who must make the decision about whether or not to do it. Interesting food for thought here, even for those who are not religious.
- "Blued Moon" is a comedy of errors involving the unintended consequences of a company's new waste treatment plan, and its effects on the atmosphere and the laws of probability. On its own merits, this was probably my second-favorite story; it's very clever and witty and well-structured. However, its light, almost farcical tone made it an odd fit with the other stories in this collection, which were mostly darker and more serious fare.
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stories that are dystopian or apocalyptic, that involve space travel, ghosts, and strange visitors. It's an old collection, with stories that are older still: most of them were originally published in the late 70s and early 80s. However, they're hardly showing their age, which is not always the case with older science fiction; the only obvious clue to the fact that they are 30-odd years old was the fact that the communists are still considered to be the bad guys. Overall, the stories were interesting and enjoyable to read, and there were a few standouts, although most of them didn't leave me with a particularly strong impression one way or the other. It's not a bad read, and the title story in particular is worth checking out, but it's not on a level with the novels of Willis's that I've read.As a note, I read the Kindle version of this book, and it was pretty poorly copy-edited. I suspect the errors came from mistakes in scanning: "lea" for "tea", missed appostophes and other punctuation, and other similar problems. Not enough to make things unintelligible, but still distracting. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Individual Stories:
- "Fire Watch" is the longest, and in my opinion the best, story of the bunch. It involves a Oxford history student who has trained to go back to biblical times and travel with St. Paul, but is instead sent back to St. Paul's Cathedral during the London Blitz, where he joins the team of volunteers that keeps the church from burning during bombing raids. Willis is great about evoking the feeling of London during the Blitz, and it's a lovely story about history, and permanence, and the importance of acts both big and small.
- "Service for the Burial of the Dead" is about a manipulative young man, and his jilted lover who continues to be susceptible to his charms, even after he's ostensibly dead.
- "Lost and Found" is a story of a small church, some miraculous discoveries, and a literal approach to the quote "The Son of Man is come to save that which is lost." I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the Christian view of the end of the world, but I certainly do appreciate a story that can turn the stereotypical ideas of the Second Coming on their ear. This story reminded me of Carrie Vaughn's Discord's Apple, with the artifacts from myth and history collecting in an unlikely place.
- "All My Darling Daughters" is a story of a troublemaker at a boarding school who gets an innocent new roommate, and a disturbing new fad that is sweeping the campus. The voice and tone of this story are different from every other one in the collection, and for all that several other stories involve the end of the world, this one was by far the most dark and disturbing in its implications.
- "The Father of the Bride" is a very short piece that looks at what everyone else in Sleeping Beauty's castle must have been feeling after they woke up from their 100 years of sleep.
- "A Letter from the Clearys" involves a girl who finds a letter from some friends at the post office, but does not get the expected reaction when she brings it home to her parents. This story didn't quite work for me; it was well-written, but what I think was supposed to be the big reveal did not particularly surprise me.
- "And Come from Miles Around" features a young family that has travelled to a remote town in Montana to view a solar eclipse, only to discover that they're not the only ones with the same idea. I liked this one, partly because I read it just about the time that everyone was making a big deal about the recent solar eclipse, and partly because it's a nice example of Willis's skill at subtle storytelling: lots of effective showing, without ever outright telling.
- "The Sidon in the Mirror" involves a newcomer to a mining town, who has a score to settle and the secret ability (or curse) of mimicry. I appreciated the Western flavor to this story, but I was never quite clear on how the copying worked, which hampered my enjoyment somewhat.
- "Daisy, in the Sun" is another story about the end of the world, and how life and growing up still go on despite it all. Not my favorite, it was too fragmented and strange for me really to get a decent hold on it.
- "Mail-Order Clone" is a quick and humorous piece about a man who places an order for a clone, but doesn't get quite what he was expecting.
- "Samaritan" is a story about an orangutan who is taught sign language, and who has decided he wants to be baptized, and the controversy that descends on the pastor who must make the decision about whether or not to do it. Interesting food for thought here, even for those who are not religious.
- "Blued Moon" is a comedy of errors involving the unintended consequences of a company's new waste treatment plan, and its effects on the atmosphere and the laws of probability. On its own merits, this was probably my second-favorite story; it's very clever and witty and well-structured. However, its light, almost farcical tone made it an odd fit with the other stories in this collection, which were mostly darker and more serious fare.
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LibraryThing member knownever
Dated. The explanatory blurb before each story distracts from the story's positive qualities by making Willis seem too narrow minded to imagine expansive anything let alone expansive futures. She is good at the mind blowing twist though, especially in stories like "A Letter from the Clearys."
LibraryThing member Phrim
It's been a while since I've read a book of short stories. I found these to be entertaining, but not particularly thought-provoking or remarkable. The author does appear to like twists at the end, but I didn't find any of them to be brilliant or anything.
LibraryThing member hailelib
A collection of short stories, most of which were from the early eighties, by Connie Willis. These were quick reads and I did enjoy them for the most part. They covered ideas from time-travel to ghosts and some had religious overtones. There was only one that I really disliked (All My Darling
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Daughters) but if I hadn't already read and liked To Say Nothing of the Dog I might have put her other books at the bottom of my list of authors to read more of soon. Probably not the place to start with Willis. Show Less
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
An excellent anthology of short stories from one of my very favorite authors. Some of them I'd read before, some were new to me, but all of them were excellent.
Contents:
* "Fire Watch"
* "All My Darling Daughters"
* "The Sidon in the Mirror"
* "Samaritan"
* "Service for the Burial of the Dead"
* "Mail
* "Daisy, in the Sun"
* "A Letter from the Clearys"
* "And Come from Miles Around"
* "Blued Moon"
* "Lost and Found"
* "The Father of the Bride"
Contents:
* "Fire Watch"
* "All My Darling Daughters"
* "The Sidon in the Mirror"
* "Samaritan"
* "Service for the Burial of the Dead"
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Order Clone"* "Daisy, in the Sun"
* "A Letter from the Clearys"
* "And Come from Miles Around"
* "Blued Moon"
* "Lost and Found"
* "The Father of the Bride"
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LibraryThing member AndreeaDaia
Reading notes:
*** This is a lovely short story, beautifully written, though it has very little SF: the character does travel through time, but there is not explanation given for this process.
*** It is a tribute to historians and their love for the past as well as a plea to look beyond statistics.
There is a lesson in each book:
*** Humanity shouldn't miss from any book.
What is the "time travel"/"change is time"/"discussion of time" used for?
As a simple mean for furthering the plot and/or putting the characters in an interesting situation.
*** This is a lovely short story, beautifully written, though it has very little SF: the character does travel through time, but there is not explanation given for this process.
*** It is a tribute to historians and their love for the past as well as a plea to look beyond statistics.
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Because behind each number there are long-forgotten or never-known heroes or even regular people... but behind all stats there are *always* people...There is a lesson in each book:
*** Humanity shouldn't miss from any book.
What is the "time travel"/"change is time"/"discussion of time" used for?
As a simple mean for furthering the plot and/or putting the characters in an interesting situation.
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LibraryThing member Jean_Sexton
I remember reading "Fire Watch" when it first came out in a magazine I took. I remember the power within the story. It still has the same power. The rest of the stories were new to me. From "Samaritan" written in 1978 to "All My Darling Daughters" written in 1985, the stories all bore the hallmarks
A couple of the stories were deeply disturbing. That doesn't mean I didn't like them, but the story made me itchy inside my skin. Most were serious, but a couple were downright funny. "Mail Order Clone" made me laugh out loud; "Blued Moon" felt like it would make a lovely madcap comedy movie.
I'm a fan of Connie Willis, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I loved the collection. If you like science fiction short stories, I think you'd like it, too. In some ways the writing reminds me of Ray Bradbury -- the skill with which the scene is set comes to mind. The style isn't as lyrical, but is perfect for the stories told.
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of the author: a clarity of view, beautifully used language, and well-told stories that make the reader think.A couple of the stories were deeply disturbing. That doesn't mean I didn't like them, but the story made me itchy inside my skin. Most were serious, but a couple were downright funny. "Mail Order Clone" made me laugh out loud; "Blued Moon" felt like it would make a lovely madcap comedy movie.
I'm a fan of Connie Willis, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I loved the collection. If you like science fiction short stories, I think you'd like it, too. In some ways the writing reminds me of Ray Bradbury -- the skill with which the scene is set comes to mind. The style isn't as lyrical, but is perfect for the stories told.
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LibraryThing member mrgan
The first and the last story in this collection are very good, but there's a lot of uneven stuff In the middle.
LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
Fire Watch - favorite line, "The past is beyond saving" (p 35).
Service for the Burial of the Dead - imagine attending your own funeral. This is a dark story and probably one of my favorites.
Lost and Found - line I liked, "What else had he missed because he wasn't looking for it?" (p 76).
All My
The Father of the Bride - the other side of a fairy tale.
A Letter from the Clearys - read this one two or three times!
And Come from Miles Around - everyone gathers for the eclipse of the century.
The Sidon in the Mirror - a creepy tale about copying someone to the point of being twins.
Daisy, in the Sun - a family copes of post-nuclear war.
Mail-Order Clone - you know the saying, "if you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything"? Well, this is the blind leading the blind.
Samaritan - can you baptize an orangutan? The church treats him like a human so why not?
Blued Moon - a comedy of error after error about coincidences.
Service for the Burial of the Dead - imagine attending your own funeral. This is a dark story and probably one of my favorites.
Lost and Found - line I liked, "What else had he missed because he wasn't looking for it?" (p 76).
All My
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Darling Daughters - probably the most disturbing short story in the entire book.The Father of the Bride - the other side of a fairy tale.
A Letter from the Clearys - read this one two or three times!
And Come from Miles Around - everyone gathers for the eclipse of the century.
The Sidon in the Mirror - a creepy tale about copying someone to the point of being twins.
Daisy, in the Sun - a family copes of post-nuclear war.
Mail-Order Clone - you know the saying, "if you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything"? Well, this is the blind leading the blind.
Samaritan - can you baptize an orangutan? The church treats him like a human so why not?
Blued Moon - a comedy of error after error about coincidences.
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LibraryThing member covertprestige
My one complaint about this book was that I wanted all of the stories to be novels.
LibraryThing member jigarpatel
Some good ideas in Fire Watch, Samaritan and Blued Moon. But otherwise not particularly memorable.
LibraryThing member LibraryCin
2.5 stars
This is a book of short stories. I am not usually a big short story fan. I find that if I lose focus for even a short time, I can never really get back into the story because it’s too short. I’ve missed too much. So, as usual, I didn’t follow more than half the stories. A few were
Oh (and this isn’t saying much for the stories themselves), something I did like was that she had a short (2-3 paragraph) introduction to each story. I liked many of those better than the stories! They did build up a bit of “atmosphere”, so to speak, for the stories.
This is a book of short stories. I am not usually a big short story fan. I find that if I lose focus for even a short time, I can never really get back into the story because it’s too short. I’ve missed too much. So, as usual, I didn’t follow more than half the stories. A few were
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ok, but overall, I wasn’t a fan. Oh (and this isn’t saying much for the stories themselves), something I did like was that she had a short (2-3 paragraph) introduction to each story. I liked many of those better than the stories! They did build up a bit of “atmosphere”, so to speak, for the stories.
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1985 (Collection)
1982 (Fire Watch)
1982 (Service for the Burial of the Dead)
1982 (Lost and Found)
1985 (All My darling Daughters)
1982 (The Father of the Bride)
1982 (A Letter from the Clearys)
1979 (And Come From Miles Around)
1983 (The Sidon in the Mirror)
1979 (Daisy, in the Sun)
1982 (Mail Order Clone)
1978 (Samaritan)
1984 (Blued Moon)
Physical description
288 p.; 6.8 inches
ISBN
0553260456 / 9780553260458
Other editions
Fire Watch by Connie Willis (Hardcover)