| Title | : | Apex Magazine, Issue 99 August 2017 |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 119 |
| Publication | : | First published August 1, 2017 |
| Awards | : | Hugo Award Best Short Story for "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience" (2018), Nebula Award Best Short Story for "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience" (2017), Locus Award Best Short Story (2018), World Fantasy Award Short Story for “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience” (2018), Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience" (2018) |
This month we celebrate Indigenous American fantasists with guest editor Amy H. Sturgis.
Apex Magazine, Issue 99 August 2017 Reviews
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Note: This review is just for the award-winning story “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience.” The ever-vigilant GR librarians merged its review space into this anthology.
All the stars! Final review, first posted on
Fantasy Literature. This story is free online
here at Apex Magazine.
Accolades have been pouring down on this 2017 SF short story, which won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, and is also a Sturgeon Award nominee, a Locus Recommended Short Story, a Apex Magazine Reader’s Choice Winner. Additionally, Rebecca Roanhorse won the Hugo’s John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
On my first read of “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience”, several months ago, I thought it was a solid story but riding somewhat on the coattails of the popularity and currency of the cultural appropriation theme. However, its win of the Hugo Award prompted me to give it a reread, and the story actually hit me a lot harder the second time around.
Jesse is a Native American, working a virtual reality type of job that pushes him to sell his culture in dishonest ways that cheapen it. He acts mostly as the native guide for tourists’ “Vision Quest” virtual reality journeys. (At least it’s better than the demeaning “Squaw Fantasy” that the women employees are forced to engage in.) But a small hope comes into Jesse’s life when he meets a virtual tourist ― Jesse gives him the spirit name “White Wolf” ― who is truly interested in Jesse and his actual experiences. A little too interested, perhaps …
The theme of cultural appropriation is at the forefront here, impossible to miss, but the layers and subtleties in the story ― including the dual meaning of the story’s title and the symbolism of White Wolf’s name ― impressed me. The ending is a knife twist in the gut, and meta in a way that casts new light on the entire story. It meshes well with the unusual second person narration of the story, pulling you into Jesse’s experience. Highly recommended! -
https://www.apex-magazine.com/welcome... -
Rating is for 'Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience' by Rebecca Roanhorse, a Hugo and Nebula winner for 2017. Despite the sharp and on-point commentary of the co-opting of Native cultural symbolism and how white people chase a highly sanitized perception (based on both movies and New Age mysticism), I was somewhat underwhelmed with the actual story.
https://www.apex-magazine.com/welcome... -
This is the review for Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience TM, a 2018 Nebula/Hugo nominee for Best Short Story!
Total recall meets All about Eve? Who knew!
Jesse works as a guide who goes inside virtual stimulations with tourists to provide them authenticate Indian (Native American, not India's citizens to my dismay) Experience TM, varying from spiritual experience to the real deal. Things are a bit rocky at home and at work, but he is the best guy at what he does.
But then he meets White Wolf.
I'm a big fan of virtual simulation type stories, but this one doesn't go deep into that. One of the best things about the story is its ever-changing moods: Initially, you see a regular man and his colleagues, which give way to Sci-Fi, then to loneliness and friendship, and finally full on
Read it here ----->
https://www.apex-magazine.com/welcome... -
· Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience by Rebecca Roanhorse ·
(This 🥇 2017 Nebula Award winner for Best Short Story 🥇 is available for free
here.)
① Surprise, surprise! Everyone but me read this storywrongright! Or is itrightwrong? I forget.
② This short should have been called Welcome to Your Totally Deadly Second Person Narrative of Doom Experience (WtYTDSPNoDE)™.
③ The author obviously doesn’t know I trademarked™ the word trademark™ and the corresponding trademark™ symbol™ centuries ago.
④ Virtual reality meets tourism meets Native American heritage = most excellent premise but most excellent premise promptly turned into…
Yeah yeah yeah, I know, this is an allegedly gripping, brutal tale reportedly full of super deep thoughts about identity and reality and all thatcrapstuff, but it’s nothing that hasn’t been done two hundred million times before, Supposedly Super Clever Final Twist (SSCFT™) included.
Granted, the Native American setting and underlying cultural appropriation theme were interesting and fresh and stuff, but it doesn’t change the fact that impressed by this story, I was not. Because I read itwrongright, obviously. Or is it because I read itrightwrong? I forget.
-
'18 Hugo nom for Short Stories.
This was a surprising stand-out for me. I was at first disgusted by the tourism bit, but as things progressed, I realized it was building up into something quite nasty. When the twist came, I was kicked in the gut.
Delicious.
The best part is the fact that PoV IS giving us an Authentic Indian Experience while never quite seeing it for himself.
Two thumbs way up! :) -
Review for: Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™ by Rebecca Roanhorse
Completely excellent story. This has me really excited to read Roanhorse's upcoming novel,
Trail of Lightning.
This short story is avaible to read for free here:
https://www.apex-magazine.com/welcome... -
***Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™ by Rebecca Roanhorse***
Reminiscent of Philip K. Dick's
We can remember it for you wholesale, this is a story about identity and perception of reality.
Winner of the 2017 Nebula Award and 2018 Hugo Award for Best Short Story
It was okay. But I was not wowed. My vote would have gone to Caroline M. Yoachim's
Carnival Nine instead.
You can read it
here.
____________________________
2018 Hugo Awards Finalists
Best Novel
•
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (Tor)
•
New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
•
Provenance by Ann Leckie (Orbit)
•
Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
•
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (Orbit)
•
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
Best Novella
•
All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
•
And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny, March/April 2017)
•
Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
•
The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
•
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
•
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)
Best Novelette
•
Children of Thorns, Children of Water by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny, July-August 2017)
•
Extracurricular Activities by Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com, February 15, 2017)
•
The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld, September 2017)
•
A Series of Steaks by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld, January 2017)
•
Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
•
Wind Will Rove by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s, September/October 2017)
Best Short Story
•
Carnival Nine by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, May 2017)
•
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde (Uncanny, September 2017)
•
Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny, September/October 2017)
•
The Martian Obelisk by Linda Nagata (Tor.com, July 19, 2017)
•
Sun, Moon, Dust by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017) by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
•
Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™ by Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex, August 2017)
Best Related Work
•
Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate by Zoe Quinn (PublicAffairs)
•
Iain M. Banks (Modern Masters of Science Fiction) by Paul Kincaid (University of Illinois Press)
•
A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison by Nat Segaloff (NESFA Press)
•
Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler edited by Alexandra Pierce and Mimi Mondal (Twelfth Planet Press)
•
No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
•
Sleeping with Monsters: Readings and Reactions in Science Fiction and Fantasy by Liz Bourke (Aqueduct Press)
Best Graphic Story
•
Black Bolt, Volume 1: Hard Time written by Saladin Ahmed, illustrated by Christian Ward, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Marvel)
•
Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, illustrated by Valentine De Landro and Taki Soma, colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Image Comics)
•
Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood written by Marjorie M. Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
•
My Favorite Thing is Monsters written and illustrated by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
•
Paper Girls, Volume 3 written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Cliff Chiang, colored by Matthew Wilson, lettered by Jared Fletcher (Image Comics)
•
Saga, Volume 7 written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
Best Series
• The Books of the Raksura, by
Martha Wells (Night Shade)
• The Divine Cities, by
Robert Jackson Bennett (Broadway)
• InCryptid, by
Seanan McGuire (DAW)
• The Memoirs of Lady Trent, by
Marie Brennan (Tor US / Titan UK)
• The Stormlight Archive, by
Brandon Sanderson (Tor US / Gollancz UK)
• World of the Five Gods, by
Lois McMaster Bujold (Harper Voyager / Spectrum Literary Agency)
___________________2017 Nebula Award Nominees
Best Novel
•
Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly (Tor)
•
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss (Saga)
•
Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory (Knopf; riverrun)
•
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
•
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (Orbit US)
•
Jade City by Fonda Lee (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
•
Autonomous by Annalee Newitz (Tor; Orbit UK 2018)
Best Novella
•
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)
•
Passing Strange by Ellen Klages (Tor.com Publishing)
•
And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3-4/17)
•
Barry’s Deal by Lawrence M. Schoen (NobleFusion Press)
•
All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
•
The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
Best Novelette
•
Dirty Old Town by Richard Bowes (Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction 5-6/17)
•
Weaponized Math by Jonathan P. Brazee (The Expanding Universe, Vol. 3)
•
Wind Will Rove by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s 9-10/17)
•
A Series of Steaks by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld 1/17)
•
A Human Stain by Kelly Robson (Tor.com 1/4/17)
•
Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny 5-6/17)
Best Short Story
•
Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny 9-10/17)
•
Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™ by Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex 8/17)
•
Utopia, LOL? by Jamie Wahls (Strange Horizons 6/5/17)
•
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde (Uncanny 9-10/17)
•
The Last Novelist (or A Dead Lizard in the Yard) by Matthew Kressel (Tor.com 3/15/17)
•
Carnival Nine by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 5/11/17)
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy
•
Exo by Fonda Lee (Scholastic Press)
•
Weave a Circle Round by Kari Maaren (Tor)
•
The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller (HarperTeen)
•
Want by Cindy Pon (Simon Pulse) -
3.75*
Very thought-provoking short story. I did have a problem with the use of the second person, but the author’s narrative still won me over with the way she wraps it all up, echoing history.
Hugo Awards 2018 Short Story Nominee -
Review of Rebecca Roanhorse's Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™
Winner of the 2017 Nebula Award and 2018 Hugo Award for Best Short Story
Quite a mind bender. Difficult to comment without giving something away. About representation of Native Americans in SFF, about self-image, loss of self...
The second person narrative briefly confused me, but I got into it easily enough. Horrible ending, trippy indeed. Not sure what would be worse—this beeing his reality or his experience. If it‘s his experience, he at least has the chance to go back to a possibly better life, fingers crossed.
I added her upcoming novel
Trail of Lightning to my TBR.
From her blog:
The Hugo! The Campbell! The OMG!
https://rebeccaroanhorse.com/2018/04/...
And Rebecca Roanhorse podcasts,
https://rebeccaroanhorse.com/2018/06/...
1. with Native journalist and SFF writer Rob Callahan to talk all things Native SFF on KFAI Minneapolis/St. Paul.
http://www.kfai.org/wednesday-1pm-res...
2. talking about one of her favorite books, Erika Wurth’s Buckskin Cocaine.
https://bookriot.com/listen/finn-murp...
3. on Publisher’s Weekly Radio talking Trail of Lightning:
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/p...
5,800 Words, ~13 pages
https://www.apex-magazine.com/welcome... -
This rating is only for Rebecca Roanhorse’s short story “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience.”
I’m not someone who reads short stories a lot, but this is worth a read. Interesting usage of second person POV. -
Lots of layers, tidbits and punches thrown at every direction in a twilight zonesque story. A very clever and complex story; Rebecca Roanhorse describes loss of identity, cultural appropriation, change yourself to cater to the environment desires, and losing everything to colonialism and those apparently bleak predators.
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Jesse trabaja en una empresa que ofrece experiencias en la realidad virtual, entre las tribus indias del antiguo oeste. El relato tiene elementos de 'Westworld' y 'Black Mirror' y se burla un poco de nuestra ansia de 'vivir experiencias auténticas'. Una lectura agradable y divertida, está online en versión original.
3,5 * -
5 stars to Rebecca Roanhorse's WELCOME TO YOUR AUTHENTIC INDIAN EXPERIENCE.
Still trying to wrap my mind around it. Definitely reading it again soon. Shades of Westworld and Jurassic Park. The ending knocked me for a total loop. If you have a few minutes, definitely check this one out. -
{this review is not for the whole issue}
Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience is my first story with an Indian POV. Nothing new with the plot and conclusion but the perspective is quite unique and kind of made me sad. -
Enjoyable and short collection of stories with one theme in common, the characters are Indigenous people. I thought all of the stories were good (there are only 4 of them). I also enjoyed the essay and the two interviews: One with one of the authors and one with the cover artist. Proper review to follow if time permits...
4 Stars
Read on kindle -
(in case this is merged into a story collection) Review for "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience" by Rebecca Roanhorse
a sad, frustrating story about appropriation that made me better understand why Roanhorse appropriates other tribes instead of her own to write her trilogy ("No one knows anything about Pueblo Indians" the MC's boss tells him, everyone wants the 'authentic' Navajo spiritual Kevin Costner Indian) Having read the 1st two books of the trilogy first, I nearly assumed this short story was apologetics for her choices there. But since she published this first, it appears she was more consciously calculating. Which makes this story sadder. -
I've gotten dumb and complacent. As a teen, I would have eaten this up and begged for more. So heavy, so deep, what real anyway?
Now? Just give me clarity. I don't have time or the imagination to interpret things.
Not bad, but not for me. 3 stars.
Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience is the short story this review is for. GRLN strikes again. -
Like a creepy, mind bending Black Mirror episode, this story is eerily relevant.
-
Read online - not flash fiction but short enough. Anyway, moving & enlightening story. I will look for more by the author (Roanhorse. I did not read the whole magazine.)
Discussing in the SF group here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... -
It is really good. And I hated every minute of it. Leaves me lost and with a horrible feeling in my belly. This lady sure can write.
-
I don't really keep up with or track award nominees or winners, but one of the groups I'm in decided to discuss this story, so I read it. Or rather, I listened to LeVar Burton read it to me. (Which was wonderful. He is a treasure.) And I liked it quite a lot - the themes of theft of identity and cultural appropriation, what it means to be "authentic", modernization and corporatization, what defines an "experience", cultural stereotypes... all of these things worked to create a really layered and nuanced story. The ending was great, final enough to take at face value, but also open enough to interpretation and wonder.
Really a great story. -
I'm generally not a cover-to-cover reader of Apex Magazine, instead reading whatever sounds good when their content shows up online for free, but I recently subscribed to it,. It turned out to be the perfect time to do so. #99 was the first issue I got, and it's one that's definitely worth reading cover-to-cover. Guest-edited by
Amy H. Sturgis, it's got non-fiction by Daniel Heath Justice and Daniel José Older and four wonderful short stories by indigenous women. The highlights, however, are
"Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience" by Rebecca Roanhorse, an absolutely gutting near-ish future sci-fi story about Native identity and the harm caused by cultural appropriation, and
"Skinny Charlie's Orbiting Teepee" by Pamela Rentz, which tackles some similar themes with a lighter, more humorous touch in a very different sci-fi setting. -
Indian here in the story is more in the context of Red Indians/American Indians/Native American Indians, and definitely not the kind I presumed it to be, related to India. That part bothered me until midway, since I kept looking for the Indian (the kind I know about!) elements to pop, which is when I had to make peace with what it actually was about.
That aside, it is an interesting story, a nice walk-in and out about a virtual reality Indian Experience, a person trying so hard to be that Indian, only to provide that authentic experience to his tourists (to boost his sales, to make a living out of it, and be at it so his girlfriend wouldn't leave him - too cliché, I know). The story is about one such tourist experience and how everything goes from there. -
“Tourists don’t come to Sedona Sweats to live out a [expletive] battle, especially if the white guy loses. They come to find themselves.”
An engaging tale about a young man who facilitates immersive native American experiences for non-native Americans: “pretendians.” What could go wrong? Plenty. Well-conceived and written.
“Tourists aren’t all bad. They’re just needy.”
(2018 Hugo finalist) -
An Hugo award winner that really merits the award. It’s straight, simple, and yet at the same time very powerful. It’s about a Native American who works for a virtual reality organization whose customers want to have the “Indian” experience. It’s a story with a message and that message stays with you long after the story finishes.
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Destul de bine scrisă, dar mult prea asemănătoare cu o proză de PKD!
Probabil undeva la 2.5-3 stele. -
The second person perspective was effective at putting YOU in the experience of cultural appropriation and what that realm means. I’ve never seen the POV used so effectively before.
-
4.5
A very good short story that I thoroughly enjoyed. I think it might warrant a reread at some point. -
A great short story that reminds me a lot of "La noche boca arriba" by Julio Cortázar.
Anyway, the sci-fi element is minimal so I don't think it is Hugo-winning material.
