The Stars Seem so Far Away by Margrét Helgadóttir

The Stars Seem so Far Away Reviews

• 
  Joanne Hall

  This slender collection of linked short stories is set in a far-future Arctic, where the few humans who haven’t fled to the stars are forced to retreat from the heat of the sun, deeper and deeper into the polar regions, refugees fleeing war, plague and famine. The fourteen stories follow five main characters in their journeys across this hostile tundra; Nora the pirate girl, separated siblings Aida and Zaki, Bjorg who would kill to protect her seed bank, and the mysterious, charismatic Simik. How these five damaged travellers come together and set out on an entirely new adventure forms the core of the book.
  
  The writing is sparse and elegant, like the lands it inhabits, stripped back to the bare rock but not lacking in beauty for all that, and the characters, although wounded by the harsh world they live in, are unbroken and empathetic. Even those that have killed have an innate sense of decency which is held up in sharp contrast to the cannibals, murderers and pirates that roam the northern wastes. They are sparks of hope in a dying world, and the conclusion to their story – to all their stories – is an indication towards a brighter future. Which is almost a shame – I’d love to see more stories or even a full-length novel set in this intriguing future world.
  
  An excellent introduction to a startling new voice in SF. Well worth reading.
• 
  Steven Poore

  If The Stars Seem So Far Away comes across as quite fragmented, that's because the book started out as a series of (initially) unconnected short stories. But that fragmentation actually ends up being a key theme - the characters themselves are fragmented, the Earth is in pieces, and humanity is scattered across the stars. Zaki, Nora, Bjorg and the rest of the book's small cast are left behind, damaged and incomplete, and their individual journeys across the dying Earth reflect that - there are few place names, geographic leaps between chapters, isolation more often than not. Margret Helgadottir resists the temptation to allow her characters to solves great problems, find easy answers, and thus lay out her world to the reader; instead her characters are often mystified by what they find and by what goes on around them, indicating that technology, history and knowledge are all ephemeral.
  Another distinctive and different voice from Fox Spirit Books - well worth your time.
• 
  Wendy S. Delmater

  Margrét Helgadóttir is a Norwegian-Icelandic writer and editor who burst onto the scene in 2012.
  
  I’m very pleased she asked us to review The Stars Seem So Far Away, since it handles the acidification of the oceans and famines and droughts of a changed climate from the viewpoint of where those who can flee the wars, famines, plagues and destruction will go: north. For a book with such a grim backdrop and horrific chaos, it’s surprisingly positive and hopeful. The human touch is lovingly supplied by showing things in the points of view of surviving children, a lonely outpost with a single female protector, a woman who scavenges the ships of the dead, a retired astronaut, and other hardy or lucky folks who all funnel into a satisfying conclusion that wraps back into the title and theme.
  
  This is a post apocalyptic book that can either be viewed as a set of standalone, themed short stories (some were published as shorts) or named chapters in a novel. It clocks in at just under 40K words, so it’s a novella. Read it yourself and see if it’s not one of the more worthy offerings at that length.
• 
  Mieneke

  Margrét Helgadóttir’s The Stars Seem So Far Away is a slim little volume, that packs quite a punch. A collection of interlinked short stories, this book tells the tales of five survivors of the Earth’s collapse. Humanity has slowly but surely exhausted the Earth’s resources and global warming has caused much of the world to become uninhabitable. Humanity has retreated to the North, though I assume that there will also be people who have gone to the opposite pole, but our focus is on the North. This isn’t surprising since Helgadóttir is of Scandinavian descent and in fact isn’t a native English speaker, hailing from Norway and currently residing in Denmark.
  
  Writers like Helgadóttir always make me a little jealous. As a non-native speaker myself, I envy the way they manage to express themselves in a language that is not their mother tongue. Helgadóttir’s writing is evocative without being flowery and renders her world in a beautiful clarity. Her use of language is wonderful, adding simple phrases or names from the various cultures that have been amalgamated in the North, without making it seem forced. She also refrains from adding too many “made-up” words to denote the future setting, instead adapting existing words to a new meaning. For example, she refers to the guard animals that are Bjørg’s companions as isbo’s, a name that — once we learn that they are lab-raised, and perhaps genetically modified, polar bears — can be recognised as a derivation of the Norwegian word for polar bear isbjørn.
  
  While this is a collection of interlinked short stories there are clear threads discernible in them. There are the storylines dealing with the refugees Aida, Zaki, and Nora, who each in their own way have to survive displaced in the North. They show a diversity of experiences even within a single family and I found each of their voices compelling. The experience of the original inhabitants of the North who find their territories overrun with refugees and thus their traditional way of life changed for good is represented in Simik’s story line. The last thread is that of Bjørg, whose nature remains mysterious, but whose mission in life is protecting the seed vault first protected by her father and whose mission parameters have become garbled in transmission. All these characters feature separately and together in different combinations and it is in these meetings that the story gains its power.
  
  While all of the main characters are fascinating, my favourites were Aida and Bjørg. Aida’s journey from protected and cherished daughter to a young woman willing and able to take care of herself without losing her faith and trust in humanity was wonderful. The hurt and reconciliation between Aida and Zaki in the latter parts of the book was quite touching. Bjørg’s learning to admit feelings and love, plus rediscovering her connection to humanity instead of her bear constructs, after having survived on her lonely island alone for so long, is echoed in Nora’s having to relearning to live in society and trust other human beings. Bjørg’s spiky character combined with the mystery surrounding her nature served as one of the most compelling elements of The Stars Seem So Far Away.
  
  The Stars Seem So Far Away is a remarkable debut. Helgadøttir proves she is a very talented writer; telling a tale of humanity in extremis, but ending it on a note of restoration and hope. If you enjoy post-apocalyptic science fiction then you should definitely check out The Stars Seem So Far Away.
  
  This book was provided for review by the
  author.
• 
  Kate

  This collection is made up of independent stories, scattered in time, which slowly become linked. The characters are all introduced in the middle of their own stories, their own settings, and continue to be independent even as they meet the others and slowly come together.
  
  There are people who only exist in the memories of the characters, but seem as real as the characters themselves. There are hints of other stories, places, moments; things that we're not certain about and things we'd like to see more of. Is it the same boat? Is the church a prophecy? What's the difference between a fox and a child? Where's the island with the lighthouse? What did happen to the plane? What happens after the stories are finished?
  
  The place and climate is as much a character as the people within it. There's a frozen world, cracked and shattered, made up of howling winds and bitter cold, frozen wastelands and trackless deserts, fierce mountains and endless seas. It's brilliantly and hauntingly brought to life, and every character inhabits a different aspect of it, which moulds them as much as their circumstances do.
  
  The language is beautiful; it's obvious that Helgadóttir isn't a native English speaker, but it's not through any flaws. Instead, it tints the stories with a lyrical edge, bringing out the otherworld aspect of the dying society that is trying to survive in a harsh new land.
  
  Any of these stories could be read on their own, but they make up a haunting tale when taken as a whole. This is a beautiful collection that demands a re-read.
• 
  Jacqueline Simonds

  The Stars Seems So Far Away is a remarkable book in many ways. Because it’s a series of linked short stories, you get a pointillist view of this post-apocalyptic world. The seas have acidified to the point where there is no more life in them. There aren’t any more animals—only those cooked up in laboratories. No one can exist in the middle of the planet. What’s left of the human population is living on what we think of as the extreme polar areas—which rarely see snow. Most people have fled to the stars, or have died in the wars that follow the collapse of the environment, or expired from plagues.
  
  Helgadóttir’s stories follow four children in their separate paths to survival. This might seem grim, at first glance. And yet, these four struggle to continue on, and learn to strive. But at a cost so tremendous that they must reinvent themselves. In the meantime, they form bonds that take them from despair to the very heights of what is left of their civilization.
  
  Helgadóttir is an author to watch, and I look forward to her next books!
• 
  Shana DuBois

  I had my eye on this book long before it was published because the premise sounded very intriguing. I was not disappointed as this was a truly enjoyable read with a cast of characters I could have kept reading about. I loved each of the characters, their connection to the world and how all the story lines weaved together throughout the course of the book.
  
  For me, there was a very distinct essence to the prose that I loved. It wasn't too flowery and seemed to reflect the state of their world. Beautifully nuanced in all the right ways.
• 
  Amelia

  This is both a novel and a collection of interwoven stories that come together over time. It's relatively short (say 4-5 hours of reading) but quite interesting and well written.
  
  The setting is a futuristic post apocalyptic (drought, wars, plague, climate change) earth, but mostly set in parts you wouldn't know very well. There's a nice range of characters with various issues and backgrounds that come together over time as a mostly cohesive story.
  
  This is the first work I've read by Margrét Helgadóttir and I'm looking forward to reading more.
• 
  Jo Thomas

  Quick review of The Stars Seem So Far Away A good, strong debut with an interesting setting - I look forward to more words from Margrét
• 
  Alf

  Beautifully written. Great characters. Moving stories. I loved it.
  
  The only bad thing is I already moved north from Spain to the UK. And now I have the urge to move northwards again :)
• 
  imyril

  A delightfully hopeful post-apocalypse for all its haunting tone.
  
  Full review to follow.
  
  I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Anne Michaud

  What a unique and special look into a distant world.
  
  Loved it:))
• 
  Jeanette Greaves

  A book that reminds me of some of Joanna Russ's earlier work. This is a series of interlinked short stories about young people making their way in a world that has been catastrophically changed by global warming.
• 
  David Sarsfield

  This collection of at-a-glance disparate stories ends up as a well-knitted tapestry of human experience belonging to a varied and nuanced world. There are tales of personal struggle, perseverance, love, longing and hope set against a rather bleak, dystopian future. Throughout 'The Stars Seem So Far Away', I was struck by how contrasting certain aspects were and yet managed to come across in a realistic way. For example, the stories are set in the future, but the imagery has more of an ancient, mythical feel; the structure of society is of necessity socially darwinian in nature and yet there are many examples of human cooperation.
  Given the extensive cast of characters involved, Helgadottir does a great job of giving each a very unique voice in her world. She has obviously invested a lot of time profiling their histories, which heavily impact how each role is played out as the overall plot progresses.
  But I suppose the thing that impressed me most about about 'The Stars...' was the language. I am lead to believe that English is not Helgadottir's first language, which makes this feat all the more astonishing. Quite simply, the language is beautiful and woven in a very natural way. It is the one element that unites the entire 'feel' of the collection and gives it its uniqueness.
  As a fan of dystopian fiction, I felt the collection lacked a certain edginess and grit and was a little too clean-cut, but overall I was mightily impressed.
• 
  Octavia Cade

  An inter-connected collection of short stories set in the future Arctic, after climate change and plague have turned it into a sort of post-apocalyptic environment. Interesting premise, though some of the world-building prompted more questions than it answered.
• 
  Caly ☯ Crazy Book Lady

  one word... Weird...