EP105: Impossible Dreams
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.
All stories by Tim Pratt.
All stories read by Stephen Eley.
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.
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Balticon 2007
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
Wow! As a movie buff, this really hit home. If nothing else, it makes me want to rush out and rent The Amazing Ambersons!
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.
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.
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
[...] 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 [...]
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.
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!
Not terrible, not saying I could do better … but a little predictable.
[...] 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 [...]
One of the best love stories I have ever heard, full stop. It left me feeling so satisfied.. thank you!
[...] Go read it or listen to it. It’s just delightful. That it coincedentally shares a name with one of my favorite Iron [...]
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!
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..
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.
[...] 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 [...]
[...] 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 [...]
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!
[...] -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. [...]
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!
[...] Tim’s story “Impossible Dreams” at Escape Pod. [...]
[...] Tim’s story “Impossible Dreams” at Escape Pod. [...]
Great alternative history story, up there with the likes of Harry Turtledove. It’s always great to hear the little details of how alternate Earths evolved, what the people, customs and now even the entertainment they enjoy are like.
I think that this story was very well written. I like how the two different universes are so similar yet all of the little differences make them so different.
This story is a great example of a two para-universes that come together. I like how the portal between the two worlds keeps on getting smaller and smaller. It is a great alternative history story and it makes you think what it would be like if there were worlds like that.
This story is a great example of a story about two para-universes that come together. I like how the portal between the two worlds keeps on getting smaller and smaller. It is a great alternative history story and it makes you think what it would be like if there were worlds like that.
A story like this really does make you think that the possibility of other worlds or parallel universes isn’t so far fetched. I liked how this was a more modern day sci-fi story because it makes the story feel more real.
I Liked the way the story was written and ended. The only thing I wanted to happen that didn’t was Allie bringing his favorite movies with her (especially Enders Game)
Impossible dreams was very well written. I liked the ending, but i think it would have been a better ending if he went to ally’s world and we got to learn a little about th eother differences there.
I am not sure how Ally would go about her new life, with all of the differences she will have to figure out. BUT since the story was written rather like a movie (with a fairly predictable ending, and a relationship developing in a few days), I may be reading too far into things.
Regardless, I enjoyed the story, actually for the simpleness of the outcome. Ally said that “some movies reassure us that life makes sense, and some movies remind us that life doesn’t make any sense at all” – the story did both.
I believe that “Impossible Dreams” was a very well-written piece. The author did a great job of writing about the two very distinct or “parallel” universes that each character is living in. Even though it was great for some of the readers, I didn’t really enjoy the romance part of the story at the end. I don’t relate love to science fiction stories.
I liked this story but as I listened to it I was afraid that it would end without letting the main character see any of the movies or get to know the girl. I was happy at the end when both these things happened even though he only got to see one movie, I feel like if he had not gone through this experience he would be stuck all of his life not in real life but in his “life” in his collection of movies.
I really enjoyed that this story had a happy ending. There was no irony in it, and I was very glad that he could share with her the fact they lived in parallel universes. I am also glad that there was no open ending that left you guessing. This story was very thorough.
i thought it was a pretty good book that actually had a good ending to it, he got you so caught up in the story that you just wanted there to be a happy ending with them ending up together. I also enjoyed how he let their love for movies allow them to both be open to the reality that they were in parallel universes.
I liked this story, it had a good twist to it, and i liked how the stored clerk learned about the crazy happening. It had an unusual ending compared comparing to most stories running a similar path, but i felt it worked well.
I liked the idea of this story and it kind of made you think about the possibility of other dimensions. However I did not like the corny ending to the story and thought that there should be more scientific evidence behind the dimension appearing and why its appearences were shorter every day.
i thought the story was great very mysterious. i liked the idea about the alternate universe and how everything is opposite and how the two world collide just by a movie store. this short story is a must read.
excellent story, I like how the author didn’t overlook anything about the differences between the two universes (unless it was important in the story). there was no “well what about this”
Impossible Dreams reminded me of an episode of the Twilight series; where a man was sentenced to Mars and falls in love with a robot. I guess its the thought that you can find love, even in a parallel-universe. I’m glad it had a happy ending, even though it was predictable….the end
The story was awesome. When I got what had happen to the parallel-universe, Japan had never been nuked, I wonder what else happened did other things since that moment all change. It was great no less.
When I got what had happen to the parallel-universe, Japan had never been nuked, I wonder what else happened did other things since that moment all change. It was great no less.
I liked the story, thought it was well written and I appreciated the connection to the Twilight Zone. However, I thought that the time it took to convince the two main characters that they were in an inter-universal breach of quantum laws was far to short (he watched a single Twilight Zone episode, she looked outside..).
[...] Amersons? Thought not. Because they don’t exist. Except in Tim Pratt’s wonderful story, “Impossible Dreams,” they do. The story features a film buff who stumbles upon a video and DVD shop with films [...]
Sorry, but didn’t care for this at all. Nothing but dry, repetitive recitations of names and titles lifted from movie-geek trivia books, with a banal “romance” tacked on for no reason, other than a pointless “feel good” ending. Everything is spelled-out in droning step-by-step, like a manual. Needs serious editing. And more purpose than just celebrating movie geekdom. Seriously, if this is a “wow,” I fear for the future of sci-fi/fantasy/whatever-the-heck genre this fits into.
I enjoyed this story, as it showed a new world through an interesting light, the movies. Movie fans love to speculate on what might have been, and this story gives life to that inspiration. Lastly, it shows how love of movies can lead to a love for people, as the guy comes for the movies, but gets the girl in the end.
dont really care that was gay
[...] a nice, date movie type of introduction to the kinds of stories that are done on Escape pod, try Permanent Link- EP105- Impossible Dreams. Published 23 June 08 05:33 by PhilWh Filed under: Life in [...]
[...] is as sweet as penny candy. Too sweet for me. When it comes to magic shop stories, I prefer “Impossible Dreams,” by Tim [...]
That was quite interesting for starters. It came off as something playful yet it still has sense to keep you going on.
[...] I found on Escape Pod Origin Story Is about the life of a superhero as told by his older brother. Impossible Dreams This Hugo Award winning story is about a movie lover who finds a very interesting video [...]