Nebula Nominated Story "I Remember the Future" Now Available on the Web – For Free!

[mabfan]

So here's the special Nebula week surprise....

As I mentioned in my Nebula Awards interview, I was reluctant to post the short story "I Remember the Future" for free on the web. Here's a little of what I said:

I know some people were disappointed that I didn’t release “I Remember the Future” for free on the web, but the irony is that I was actually the first writer to suggest releasing award nominees onto the web. Back in 1996, when my first story got nominated for the Hugo, I contacted the Worldcon committee and arranged for the nominated stories in my category to be hosted on my own website....

And as it stands, I did make “I Remember the Future” available for free to all members of SFWA, who are the only folks eligible to vote in the Nebulas. Last year, many of the Hugo nominees were made available for free, but only to Worldcon members. It’s no different here. The story was free to read for those people who are eligible to vote for or against it....

However, Apex Publications, which published my story collection, was very persuasive in the end.

So those of you who have been interested in reading the story can now find it on the Apex Blog!

I Remember the Future by Michael A. Burstein

I do hope that people who read the story and enjoy it might consider getting a copy of the book, though...

Comments

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

Damn, that story makes me cry every time I read it.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I'd never read it before. It's been one of those "keep meaning to get around to it" things that decorate the floor of your life.

Michael: how do you want me to purchase that book? Is there a particular means that helps you the most?

I'd prefer an Internet method, so I can't postpone it and let it slip again.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I blush.

Thank you.

There are many ways to purchase the book, depending on if you want a hardcover, trade paperback, or an ebook version. But the best way is to go to the following link and select the version you want from there:
http://www.apexbookstore.com/products/i-remember-the-future-the-award-nominated-stories-of-michael-a-burstein

That way, you can get it directly from the publisher.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

It is a stunning piece of work. And while it looks simple, I think the elegance and "appropriateness to time" of the quoted fiction was utterly brilliant. As I read the first two, I was sure you were quoting some other writer. The "voice" was different, and matched the era. By the third, I realized what was really going on.

I'm too young to tear up at the thought of a science fiction redemption from death, but I did anyway. Not appropriate for work. :-)

I'm going to be very glad to own a copy, and to read the rest of the work. Order is placed.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

The book arrived last week. I am enjoying it quite a lot, but have not finished it yet.

The first story made me absolutely cry, for personal reasons.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I'm moved that the first story moved you.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I found out, two days after she passed, that she was older than my father and I thought, and had been in Bergen-Belsen. First I heard of it.

Memories, indeed.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I'm not sure who you're referring to...

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I should apologize for my narcissism. Powerful emotions.

My mother passed away, after long illness, when I was 23. It was Thursday, early in the morning. The funeral was scheduled for Sunday, so that some distant relatives could come in.

I drove from Boston to NY in the middle of the night Thursday morning, crying all the way. When I got there, my Dad was a bit of a wreck. I spent the day handling things for us. Same for Friday. You know: suits to the cleaners, meals, contacting the relatives, making arrangements, reorganizing his schedule and mine.

Saturday, my Aunt insisted on coming over. She had been married to my mother's brother - all three of them were born and raised in Hungary, and now the brother/sister pair were gone. She was normally quite genteel and restrained, so her insistence was unusual.

She and my mother had always had a strange relationship: at times it was very close, but often it was quite strained. Visits and phone calls with her would often turn into a burst of voluble Hungarian - which neither my father nor I understood a word of.

My aunt came over: after we served some small thing, she came to her point. My mother had, in her words, lied to my father about fundamental facts: she was much older than she had claimed, and had emigrated to the US after having been in Bergen-Belsen. Because of this falsehood, for years my aunt and uncle ALSO were forced to keep many secrets, rather than break into my father's relationship with my mother. She'd promised her husband to keep the story going, but now that my mother was dead, she needed to get this off her chest.

It was quite a shock, on top of too many shocks. But, basically, my mother was the anti-hero to your story. It seems that, whatever her original reasons (about which I can only speculate, albeit an informed speculation) she wanted her memories to end with her, and in fact, to deny them while she was alive.

Your story, because of its text on the importance of continuity of memory and my own situation, was especially powerful.

I apologize for my inarticulate first note. I hope I've explained it better.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

"I hope I've explained it better."

You have, and it's a fascinating story. Thank you.

[highway-west.livejournal.com]

I like it a lot!!!

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Thanks!