EP105: Impossible Dreams
Published by SFEley on 10 May 2007 at 5:26 am.
72 Comments.
Filed under Hugo Awards, Podcasts, Rated G.
2007 Hugo Nominee!
By Tim Pratt.
Read by Matthew Wayne Selznick (of Brave Men Run and Writers Talking).
First appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, July 2006.
He went to the Sci-Fi shelf‚Äîand had another shock. I, Robot was there, but not the forgettable action movie with Will Smith‚Äîthis was older, and the credits said “written by Harlan Ellison.” But Ellison’s adaptation of the Isaac Asimov book had never been produced, though it had been published in book form. “Must be some bootleg student production,” he muttered, and he didn’t recognize the name of the production company. But‚Äîbut‚Äîit said “winner of the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.” That had to be a student director’s little joke, straight-facedly absurd box copy, as if this were a film from some alternate reality. Worth watching, certainly, though again, he couldn’t imagine how he’d never heard of this. Maybe it had been done by someone local. He took it to the counter and offered his credit card.
She looked at the card dubiously. “Visa? Sorry, we only take Weber and FosterCard.”
Rated G. Contains excessive movie trivia; some of it true.
Today’s Sponsor:
Referenced Sites:
Balticon 2007
Johan Nilsson on 10 May 2007 at 8:56 am: 1
Oh my God! What an AMAZING story! Definitely one of Escape Pod’s best, if not THE best. I just love it! I can’t find the words to give a longer review of what I thought was good. I think I have to sit here for a while in silence and contemplation before going on with my life. I’ll definitely will link to this show and talk about it in my own podcast which I’ll record today.
digit on 10 May 2007 at 10:56 am: 2
lovely, i cried a little.
he was resigned to his fate, knowing it was going to slip away and when he finds she made the leap for him your heart just jumps.
thank you so much, that story was exactly what i needed at that moment.
zagboodle on 10 May 2007 at 11:06 am: 3
This is without a doubt the best story to date - I love it! Although if I had written it, it would have been a story about a music lover who found a record shop from another universe where The Beatles never broke up, where the 1980s lineup of King Crimson made more than three albums, and where no one had ever heard of Britney Spears.
Alasdair on 10 May 2007 at 11:47 am: 4
Wow.
That hit me where I live. I grew up on the Isle of Man which is essentially a very small rock loosely populated with very small towns and one of the ways I dealt with that was by becoming the movie geek for the South of the island. Every week I’d go to the local cinema until it got to the point where the staff knew me by sight. Cinema took me away, showed me the world and that’s a love that’s stayed with me into adult life. The line in here about how movies take you away because sometimes you need to be taken away? I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve been able to forget my troubles for a while by sitting in a movie theatre and watching something magical happen on the screen whether it’s the shuttle launch sequence in ARMAGEDDON or every single frame of AMELIE. I’ve never been able to articulate how film makes me feel, why I love it as much as I do. Reading this was like reading the inside of my head. Even better I loved the fact that the ending wasn’t remotely unexpected but was so completely welcome. Every now and then, everyone gets a happy ending and it’s nice to see a story based around that.
This is an astonishing piece of work. The vast majority of last year’s Hugo stories left me utterly unimpressed but this…, well like I said several hundred words ago…WOW.
desdecardo on 10 May 2007 at 12:31 pm: 5
This was a wonderful story. Only one question, Why didn’t Allie bring his favorites when she left her world?
Sarah Alawami on 10 May 2007 at 6:32 pm: 6
Reason why she didn’t bring her favrates was because why probably would not play on his system. i loved the story and I have to agree with the others! Wow! I was thinking though that what if this were true? I mean what if there was a slightly different world besides our own and something like this could happen?
Brandt Pileggi on 10 May 2007 at 8:02 pm: 7
I don’t know what you’re all talking about. This story is TOTALLY implausible. Tom Sellek in Raiders of the Lost Ark and there was never another Indiana Jones movie?! Puh-shah!
David on 10 May 2007 at 11:51 pm: 8
Wow was this a good story. After last week’s, well, dud, this is an amazing sci-fi tale. The whole alternate universe of film was so painstakingly rendered you could actually believe that these fake movies existed. It makes me sad that I can’t go out and rent “Jason and the Argonauts”, and if a story can make me regret not seeing a movie that never existed, it gets an “A” in my book.
Matthew Wayne Selznick - Author, DIY Advocate » Blog Archive » New Podcasts on 11 May 2007 at 2:47 am: 9
[...] Also, Matt reads Tim Pratt’s 2007 Hugo-Nominated short story, “Impossible Dreams” for Escape Pod. [...]
onelowerlight on 11 May 2007 at 1:57 pm: 10
Great story! After I heard it I got up and went to visit an old roommate of mine who’s a screenwriter. I think he’ll really like this one.
About half way through the story, I thought that the twist would be that the girl was actually the main character from the other universe, born as a girl instead of a guy. That would have been really interesting (and maybe a bit weird). As it was, the ending was good, but I felt it was a little bit too predictable, or familiar, like it ended that way because stories like this are supposed to end this way. I didn’t think that it was bad because it had a happy ending, just that the particular happy ending seemed like a repetition of something I’ve heard in many stories before. Despite that, though, I thought the story was really good, and the concept really got my imagination working. And I have to say, just about any universe in which the Ender’s Game movie was made is bound to be a good universe!
Scott Janssens on 11 May 2007 at 3:14 pm: 11
Bradnt, Tom Selleck was originally cast as Indiana Jones but left the project when he landed Magnum PI. Harrison Ford was the fallback.
Charles on 11 May 2007 at 9:49 pm: 12
Where can I read the stories? I don’t want to listen to someone read.
SFEley on 11 May 2007 at 10:19 pm: 13
Hi Charles,
I’m afraid our podcast may not be a good fit for you, then, since that’s pretty much what we do. But you can find links to all of the 2007 Hugo Nominees online at:
http://www.nippon2007.us/hugo_nominees.php
Evil_Twin on 11 May 2007 at 11:39 pm: 14
Another excellent story with great heart. Poignant, romantic without being cheesy. Good stuff!
dscarron on 12 May 2007 at 3:23 am: 15
Such a rigourous logic done in such a way that it just made the story that much more intensely powerful. Wow.
howdoesth on 12 May 2007 at 8:56 am: 16
I have no idea why but the fact that the only thing identical between parallel universes was the nickel cracked me up every time it was mentioned.
chfuji on 12 May 2007 at 9:05 am: 17
My goodness, an entire story about something that I fantasize about almost every other day. I can’t even list how many times I’ve dreamed of seeing things like the later works of Bruce Lee; or “Spiderman” starring Johnny Depp. So many wonderful possibilities. The only thing I might have done different is that I would have gotten myself stuck in the other world. Great story, great read, one that reminds me of why I listen to this podcast in the first place.
Podcast of this year’s Hugo-nominated short stories at LifeParticles.com on 12 May 2007 at 12:12 pm: 18
[...] Link, MP3 Link, Podcast feed [...]
Vanamonde on 12 May 2007 at 3:38 pm: 19
A nicely crafted love story, great stuff and one I will keep on my memory card to listen again.
Gulliver on 12 May 2007 at 10:27 pm: 20
I loved this story, and as usual loved Steve’s witty sign-off referring to it… and I expect Steve was toying with us on an unusually subtle level by suggesting that Daikaiju does the soundtrack music for the Japanese monster movies in Allie’s universe — this of course is absurd because There Wouldn’t Be Any Japanese Monster Movies if the A-bomb was never used on Japan. Right?
macevangelist on 13 May 2007 at 3:47 pm: 21
Excellent, great story. I was laughing right at the very beginning because I switched off the TV to listen to it. And on TV was “To Have and Have Not”
Isaac on 13 May 2007 at 4:05 pm: 22
I really liked the main character’s transition from apparent self-centeredness to selflessness. His living room is a shrine to his own senses, and he is all but willing to steal to feed his own visual hunger. Then, all of a sudden, when he has a day to think about the fact that someone else might feel just like he does, his impulse is to give her all of his own favorites and his laptop. Very nice! And the payoff, as Steve hinted, is that instead of getting to see all new movies from the other universe, he gets to see all of his old movies from a brand new perspective — that of his new friend.
ThatchSpace » Monday Morning “Impediment to Productivity” - 20070514 on 13 May 2007 at 4:07 pm: 23
[...] Escape Pod are an awesome podcast site that covers science fiction, at the moment they are running all(?) the Hugo nominees for best short story, the link below is to Episode 105, Tim Pratt’s wonderful story “Impossible Dreams”. It’s about a film-buff who discovers a video store from another dimension. I loved this and am clearing some space on the MP3 player for a few more. escapepod.org/2007/05/10/ep105-impossible-dreams/ [...]
mikebarklage.com » Blog Archive » More words for your ears on 13 May 2007 at 8:03 pm: 24
[...] is putting up audiobook versions of this year’s Hugo-nominated short stories, starting with “Impossible Dreams” by Tim Pratt. The story is about a film buff who stumbles onto a video store from a parallel [...]
Noah Duke on 13 May 2007 at 8:37 pm: 25
First of all, THANK YOU for bringing us the award nominees again! I loved this story. Even though the story is quite different, parts of it, especially the gradually closing window part made me flash back to one of my favorite books. It’s one that’s sometimes labeled sci-fi, but often not, but it’s definitely a great speculative fiction book. If you liked this story, check out Ken Grimwood’s Replay. You won’t be sorry!
Adam B on 14 May 2007 at 4:05 am: 26
I too think this was the best Escape Pod story yet.
Was Tom Sellek actually cast as Indiana Jones? I wonder. He probably made a screen test at least, but was he cast? As far as I heard Spielberg saw Empire Strikes Back and realised that Ford would be perfect for the role and called up George Lucas who agreed. Though of course, that could just be the “official version” as it were.
As far as AI is concerned, as I understand it Kubrick waited several decades to make his dream project just so visual effects technology would catch up with his vision of it ‚Äì that it would actually would be possible to make it the way he wanted it to look ‚Äì and I do believe he made a start on it but, unless I’m entirely misstaken, abandoned it for Eyes Wide Shut and gave AI to Spielberg who made the entire movie from scratch. Mind you, I may not have all the information on this or may even be missinformed or plain wrong.
There are some other alternate version that also may have been in that other universe that may, or may not, be interesting to see:
2001: a Space Odyssey where Kubrick DIDN’T discard the original soundtrack score and replaced it with classical music. I just can’t remember who composed that score which as discarded.
What if Michael J. Fox never changed his mind and said yes to Back to the Future so they made the entire movie with Eric Stoltz? Would there have been sequels then?
What if Stuart Townsend (I think it was him at least) had stayed on as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings and not been replaced by Viggo Mortensen? What would the movies have been as good as they are now?
Just wonderful things » Podcast of this year’s Hugo-nominated short stories on 14 May 2007 at 11:22 am: 27
[...] Link, MP3 Link, Podcast feed [...]
Luke on 14 May 2007 at 2:02 pm: 28
This story rivals Shoulders of Giants as my Favorite Escape pod story
I can truthfully say that this is my favorite Trans-dimensional video retailer romance.
Wiz on 14 May 2007 at 3:29 pm: 29
Awesome, awesome story. I liked how it remained internally consistent: different credit cards, money, technologies, etc., and didn’t cheat on that premise. At first I was thinking that it was going to be a neverending exercise in frustration: solving one incompatibility issue only to present another one, and it did start out that way, but I’m very happy with how it did turn out in the end.
It also made me think about the wonderful movies that we DO have that could easily have turned out differently. Imagine if Copolla had gotten fired from the Godfather, for example, which almost happened, or if the casting had been done differently, as the studio wanted….
Christiana Ellis on 14 May 2007 at 4:07 pm: 30
I want to chime in too to sing my praises for this story. Many of the things I loved about it have already been mentioned, but one thing that I haven’t seen discussed yet is the the way (for me), it kept defying expectations.
At first, I thought it would end much more like the Twilight Zone story, where he discovers the story, can’t play the movies, but the store never appears again, and it is left a mystery, but then I look, and there’s still half an hour left in the show! Two or three more times, I expected the story to end, but it just kept going and thank God it did, because the places it took me were wonderful and surprising. How fitting too, with the theme of the story, to set me up with one expectation of how the story will go, only to flip around and give me something better?
Wilson Fowlie on 14 May 2007 at 5:40 pm: 31
Dunno ’bout Tom Selleck, but apparently Harrison Ford was originally cast as Josh Baskin in ‘Big’. At least, according to “Uncle John’s Quick-Dissolving, Fast-Acting Bathroom Reader”. And if you can’t trust Uncle John, who CAN you trust?
Brandt Pileggi on 15 May 2007 at 10:05 pm: 32
I understand that Tom Sellek was originally cast as Indiana Jones. The implausible part is that the author tried to express that the series wouldn’t have taken off to be THE all time box office juggernaut, making trivial, silly movies, like Star Wars Magical Space Ninjas and E.T., look like kiddie porn. We’d still be basking in the radiant rapture of Sellek’s mustache.
naming on 15 May 2007 at 10:08 pm: 33
this story was great. what i got what was going on i thought it might lead to something like “man in the high castle”. particularly after he discovered that japan had never been nuked, i started expecting him to trip over some deep cultural rift at any moment.
naming on 15 May 2007 at 10:09 pm: 34
Tiffany from Australia on 15 May 2007 at 11:30 pm: 35
Awesome, awesome story! This has replaced all my previous favourites from Escape Pod. I am a bit of a film buff, I haven’t really seen any movies in recent times though. But now!! Now, after listening to this story, I want to stop everything and sit and watch all the movies mentioned in this story again, so I can imagine what they would be like with the alternative universes actors. And I love the fact Elli came to his universe, since after all, if he had gone to hers for the movies, he wouldn’t have had his whole audio visual thing happening, they would have been stuck watching everything on grainy old tv’s with dodgy speakers and their equivalent of cheap DVD players. But now, they will be able to watch all his movies in the best quality and Elli will also be able to eat a bit more often!
Jennifer on 16 May 2007 at 4:10 pm: 36
This is my favorite Escape Pod story as well.
Dan McGregor on 16 May 2007 at 5:15 pm: 37
Great story! Every now and then you read a story that feels like it has been “written to order” just for you. This was one of those.
Scott Newton on 16 May 2007 at 11:31 pm: 38
I can’t add much to what everybody else has said, but I can’t just sit here without saying something, anything… Get it–Say Anything? Anyway, add me to the list of guys who got choked up at the end, first when he lost the girl, then again when she found him. The alternate movie universe was all well and good, but what really hit home for me was that longing to find somebody who really “gets” you, only to lose her to a football player, alcohol abuse, etc., or, in this case, an alternate freaking universe!
Also, as excellent as the story is on its own, Selznick’s reading added another powerful layer to that story and brought the protagonist’s emotional turmoil into full relief. And that’s why I’m off to track down a copy of Brave Men Run!
Thanks for a great show, Mr. Eley!
Lee Cherolis on 17 May 2007 at 2:17 pm: 39
Yet another, “I loved this story!” from me as well. I loved the fact that he took the time to wonder about the food and diseases they might have in her world. I kept yelling at him in my head to explain the dual universe thing to her but then the payoff would not have been as great. Great reading as well. I’m going to go add Brave Men Run to my subscriptions on Podiobooks.
Spook on 18 May 2007 at 3:42 am: 40
Excellent story all around! I must say I giggled a bit hearing the woes of the protagonist desperately trying to rent a movie with plastic, cash, a pile of nickels… Then the problems with actually trying to play it back.
Stupid paralel universes can’t even be standards-compliant, tsk! What a pain!
kaufman on 18 May 2007 at 10:55 am: 41
Echoing all others that this is the best EscapePod story yet. I, too, was hoping that Allie’s backpack included not just the returned laptop, but also the DVD player from her ‘verse, with all of the DVDs, as well. It would be a shame if they didn’t at least TRY to find out what happens when they plug it in.
In a different vein - makes you wonder how many times this happens on a regular basis, but where the underlying knowledge goes unrecognized. For instance - what if a sports buff had entered the video shop, saw that they didn’t have the one new release he was expecting, and left again? Or, likewise, if our movie-lover had encountered a sports card shop from another universe?
I’m pretty sure that the dry cleaners down the street from my house is only in this universe until I pull up in my car. I’m NEVER going to get my shirts back.
Loz on 21 May 2007 at 7:35 am: 42
Having only just listened to this story I see I’m late to the party when it comes to people who enjoyed this story.
As a shy geek myself I really enjoyed the fact that the main character gave Allie his computer and DVDs expecting never to see her again, never even thinking that one of them would stay in the other’s universe, never expecting she would leave her world to join his and not really expecting or understanding that she actually finds him cute…
Barbara on 21 May 2007 at 10:27 pm: 43
My favorite Escape Pod story yet–and greatly because of the reading. I hope Steve hires that guy again! He was one of the best you’ve had.
Julio from NY on 23 May 2007 at 1:53 pm: 44
Being a huge fan of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone, I was very enthused by the beginning of this tale and how it was very like a TZ episode from another universe. This was definitely one of my favorite tales from Escape Pod yet. And like Steve, I got the pleasure of sharing “The Princess Bride” with my soon to be wife for her first time. It too is a fond memory of mine
rob on 23 May 2007 at 5:51 pm: 45
AWESOME! i’m a sucker for happy endings. this story was really well written and i’m excited to hear some other stories that are nominated for the short story award. thank you!
Ethernight on 24 May 2007 at 6:10 am: 46
I am surprised to see all of the rave reviews. I did enjoy the story, but it struck me as one of the more pedestrian episodes. More of a feel-good love story, than mind blowing, high caliber writing.
shrug
Chris Q. on 24 May 2007 at 2:10 pm: 47
Great story! In my EP top 3 since I started listening last year.
Yoann P. on 25 May 2007 at 10:06 am: 48
W o W. Someone just recommended to me that I start listening to Escape Pod and that I would like it, and this is the First Story that I listen to. I am flabbergasted. I know they won’t all be as good as this one, but that is a so good way to make me start listening to this podcast…
Now, is there a way to download ALL the past episodes at once so I can listen to them on my ipod when going to work?
Martin Rundkvist on 26 May 2007 at 3:55 pm: 49
It’s a good story with a love interest, I liked it. But there’s really nothing new in it.
The interdimensional shop dates back at least to Fritz Leiber, and the alternative universe with alternative Hollywood was in a good story in F&SF in the 90s. Only there, an ageing director was shown a film he had planned but never made in his own timeline.
M1K3¬•’s Blog ¬ª Blog Archive » EscapePod.. aural sf pr0n on 28 May 2007 at 4:07 am: 50
[...] to Rachel for putting me onto Escape Pod. She mentioned she’d grabbed Impossible Dreams after it was posted on BoingBoing, and that it was [...]
podakayne on 29 May 2007 at 1:32 pm: 51
dear steve,
i’m a very long time listener(i have my personalized cd from your very first batch)…in fact, i just went thru the an entire library of “epods” from ep.27 to the present…so many, many gems…but i especially loved this story.
i remember the exact twilight zone ep. referenced in the story and had a somewhat simular experience in my childhood (it was a toy shop-i was young and no doubt just couldn’t remember where it was located (maybe?)…none the less it still haunts me from time to time..the experience i mean).
anywho here is a wonderful sci-fi love story you can put in your pipe to smoke…you keep finding them and i’ll keep listening.
p.s. i promise you, it’s true
Matthew Wilson on 29 May 2007 at 4:34 pm: 52
Wow! As a movie buff, this really hit home. If nothing else, it makes me want to rush out and rent The Amazing Ambersons!
Joshua Greenberg on 29 May 2007 at 7:08 pm: 53
This is actually my second heard podcast, and i’ll admit I cried a little. but then again, do they have bicycle powered generators in her dimension? i would have bought one on credit, plus the alternate dimension DVD player and movies. but that would’ve ruined the moment of course.
Cobycommander on 4 Jun 2007 at 11:16 pm: 54
I’ve only been listening to Escape pod for a few weeks. I really enjoyed this story, but feel compelled for totally geeky reasons to point out that Daikaiju would probably not do soundtracks for Japanese monster movies in Ally’s universe, because there would not be so many japanese monster movies, because we never dropped the bomb on Japan. Hence, no latter day resentment resulting in 60 foot radioactive lizards attacking Tokyo.
Derek on 6 Jun 2007 at 9:44 am: 55
I’ll go ahead and add needlessly to the comments for this episode. This is probably the best story Escape Pod has purchased. It’s a simple geeky love-story, completely understandable, and just the rest about of sci-fi odd.
Good work, Mr. Eley
SFFreader » Blog Archive » Audio Hugo Nominees on 6 Jun 2007 at 3:53 pm: 56
[...] of this year’s Hugo nominees. Available right now are these nominees for Best Short Story: Impossible Dreams by Tim Pratt The House Beyond Your Sky by Benjamin Rosenbaum Eight Episodes by Robert Reed Kin by Bruce [...]
Dave (aka Nev the Deranged) on 8 Jun 2007 at 9:34 pm: 57
Holy Crapsticks. Without having read any of the other comments yet, I love this story. I am not usually a sucker for this kind of romantic reality bending, but Pete kept shrugging off my geek-stereotype expectations and acting like a human being instead of a caricature. And Ally’s description fit perfectly with one of my favorite alternative models, which lent a bit of voyeuristic thrill to the whole narrative for me. First rate storytelling here, my friends.
Thanks to Steve, Matthew, and most of all Tim Pratt for this gem.
Hakan on 9 Jun 2007 at 9:58 am: 58
Awesome, this story was really good. This was the last Hugo nominated story I listened to. The rest appears to be all flat, and to put it bluntly, not well written compared to this one. I hope it gets the award. Kudos to Timm Pratt.
Matt’s delivery was incredible. Thanks Steve!
Samanda on 11 Jun 2007 at 4:43 pm: 59
Not terrible, not saying I could do better … but a little predictable.
Go Listen: 2007 Hugo Award Nominees · All the Billion Other Moments on 12 Jun 2007 at 8:18 pm: 60
[...] 2007 Hugo Award Nominees Escape Pod has a number of this years short story nominees available: Impossible Dreams by Tim Pratt, The House Beyond Your Sky by Benjamin Rosembaum, Eight Episodes by Robert Reed, and [...]
Robert Mark Bram on 15 Jun 2007 at 10:32 pm: 61
One of the best love stories I have ever heard, full stop. It left me feeling so satisfied.. thank you!
The angriest rice cooker in the world » Blog Archive » Podcasts+Science Fiction=Awesome on 16 Jun 2007 at 3:20 am: 62
[...] Go read it or listen to it. It’s just delightful. That it coincedentally shares a name with one of my favorite Iron [...]
PopePat on 16 Jun 2007 at 3:16 pm: 63
Simply put: that was sweet. Every story should have such verisimilitude in the characterization of love — whether love for film & other enjoyments, or love for other people. Tim, you have love down pat!
Robert Mark Bram on 17 Jun 2007 at 3:06 am: 64
I just had to write more about this one - on my blog.
The story is a fantasy genre love tale about two lonely souls meeting each other in a Video Store that shouldn’t be there.
Why did I like it? The protagonists are ordinary people in an urban 80’s to 00’s world. There is nothing special about them, they are lonely, they are struggling, they are trying to do the best they can. I empathised strongly with the characters because of this. The story wasn’t sappy or romantic; it portrayed a burgeoning attraction that made my heart beat faster, hoping it would have the chance to grow into something more. The resolution of the story was satisfying: it painted the final details of the characters perfectly, their actions succinctly matching the images I had built up in my head for each of them.
It was simply beautiful: think of the most soulful love song you have ever heard, and you will be playing that song in your head as you think about this story later..
Scott O. on 11 Jul 2007 at 11:10 am: 65
This is late, but I’m way behind and I just got to it. Here’s my take:
WOW…Best…Ever…Story…So Far.
Congrats Steve, This one was golden.
blog:x » Blog Archive » return of the jedi by david lynch on 15 Jul 2007 at 6:08 pm: 66
[...] love films? You like Science Fiction? Or even both? — You have to read/listen to Impossible Dreams by Tim Pratt. It is one of the Hugo Nominees of this year in the category Short [...]
Impossible Dreams : .: Above The Aether :. on 22 Jul 2007 at 9:49 pm: 67
[...] May 10th episode of Escape Pod, an original science fiction podcast, was called Impossible Dreams and it was really quite good. It reminded me of watching old episodes of the classic Twilight Zone [...]
Anon on 31 Jul 2007 at 6:02 pm: 68
Wow, that was amazingly good. It really hit home too. I’m something of a movie nerd (although not nearly as much as the main characters) and I even predicted some of the alternate movies in the story, like Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones. (I just KNEW they were going to use that!) I totally guessed the Citizen Cane ending too.
It reminds me a lot of some of my relationships with girls too. Especially when I’ve tried to have long distance relationships with girls who shared some of my unique interests in movies, music, etc. There’s something about a long distance (or internet) relationship that’s eerily similar to the parallel-universe relationship in the story. I’m guessing I’m not the only nerd here who’s had that sort of experience.
Anyhow, it was really well read, and definitely deserves its Hugo nomination!
Screenspace » Blog Archive » In my classrooms: Podcasting with Stephen Eley of Escape Pod on 22 Sep 2007 at 3:41 pm: 69
[...] -Impossible Dreams (EP105): Both my husband and I loved this one and we talked about it for a couple of days. The story did not start out as much for me, but I was in love by the end—especially the reason she gave. The writer obviously knows a lot about movies and this alternative history and universe jumping worked beautifully with the movie knowledge. It made me want to go see some of the great films. [...]
Norm on 31 Mar 2008 at 11:23 am: 70
Loved it, I’m sure some in my writers workshop, Critters, would complain it’s not sci-fi. It did have more of a fantasy twilight zone feel, but with a modern twist and a bit of a tongue in cheek attitude. Original spin on an old plot, truly enjoyable. Accessible language, unlike House beyond the sky. More stories like this, please, Steve!
If You’re Just Joining Us » Blog Archive » Interview with Author Tim Pratt on 30 Apr 2008 at 8:40 am: 71
[...] Tim’s story “Impossible Dreams” at Escape Pod. [...]
If You’re Just Joining Us » Blog Archive » Interview with Author Tim Pratt (If You’re Just Joining Us) on 30 Apr 2008 at 8:51 am: 72
[...] Tim’s story “Impossible Dreams” at Escape Pod. [...]