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Variations on an Apple
"For the fairest." Past, present, and future. Again.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
26 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 14, 2015
About the author
Yoon Ha Lee
188 books2,032 followersYoon Ha Lee is an American science fiction writer born on January 26, 1979 in Houston, Texas. His first published story, “The Hundredth Question,” appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1999; since then, over two dozen further stories have appeared. He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
February 7, 2016
This short story is little short on plot and long on ornate language and imagery, but I liked the crazy, unpredictable mix of Greek mythology and science fiction.
The prince of Troy (or Ilion/Ilium), Paris, is asked by three goddesses, Hera, Aphrodite and Athena, to give an apple to the fairest. In the original myth he gives it to Aphrodite, who promises him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, and his affair with Helen and the Trojan war are the result. In this short story, he gives it to someone else, or maybe to several different people in alternate realities. It's a bit chaotic and hard to follow. Ilion is the city of Troy, but is also a person -- sometimes female, sometimes male -- who is Paris' lover. The apple ... well:
Free online at Tor.com
The prince of Troy (or Ilion/Ilium), Paris, is asked by three goddesses, Hera, Aphrodite and Athena, to give an apple to the fairest. In the original myth he gives it to Aphrodite, who promises him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, and his affair with Helen and the Trojan war are the result. In this short story, he gives it to someone else, or maybe to several different people in alternate realities. It's a bit chaotic and hard to follow. Ilion is the city of Troy, but is also a person -- sometimes female, sometimes male -- who is Paris' lover. The apple ... well:
The apple was not precisely the color of gold. Rather, it looked like bottle glass worn smoothly clouded, and if you examined it closely you could see the honey-haze of insincere endearments inside-out and upside-down and anamorphically distorted shining on the wrong side of the skin, waiting for you to bite in and drink them in, juice of disasters dribbling down your chin. Paris didn’t have to take the bite to know how the apple tasted.At times the narrative seems firmly rooted in ancient Greece, but then sharp, futuristic images ― metal passages through the city with "pattern-mazes of snaking circuitry" and other "particle clouds of impossibilities" ― intercede and disorient the reader. This story probably isn't to everyone's taste, but if you enjoy fantastical and elaborate imagery and don't mind some ambiguity, I highly recommend it.
Free online at Tor.com
October 8, 2016
It was then that Hera produced the apple. Its brightness was such that everything around it looked dimmer, duller, drained of succulence. “What a prize,” she said softly, bitterly. “No one wants the damn thing, except being uncrowned by its light is even worse. Someone has to claim it.”
review to come.
read it for yourself here:
http://www.tor.com/2015/10/14/variati...
September 18, 2020
Variations on an Apple
only has 18 pages but may as well be 100 pages, such a short story but with a lot of information and I just want to read more about it. I loved everything surrounding this novella, I liked the way the author mixed folklore and Greek mythology with sci-fi, it was a really nice representation and the characters were amazing.
It was impressive how the authors wrote some poetics verses while describing llion tales. I wouldn't mind to read a poetry book by this author. At this point, I really liked all his sci-fi world building, he just kept adding new things and I haven't read in a while historical events.
Right now I just want to keep reading his little stories.
It was impressive how the authors wrote some poetics verses while describing llion tales. I wouldn't mind to read a poetry book by this author. At this point, I really liked all his sci-fi world building, he just kept adding new things and I haven't read in a while historical events.
Right now I just want to keep reading his little stories.
October 14, 2015
A mythopoetic sciencefictional take on the story of Discord's Apple. The emphasis here is on language, idea and imagery, not plot.
September 2, 2021
It seems as though the plot has been replaced for flowery writing and hints of Greek mythology. There were glimmers of substance in there somewhere, but you have to dig deep to get it.
I wanted more science fiction, more Greek mythology and an actual story. For most of this I had no idea what was going on.
I wanted more science fiction, more Greek mythology and an actual story. For most of this I had no idea what was going on.
June 24, 2020
Variations of an Apple was a retelling of the well-known story of Illiad. Here, we have Paris fully dedicated to Illion, his city, rather than betraying it for Helen. The writing was beautiful, though confusing at times. The whole setting was a bit vague too.
December 18, 2016
One of my wishes for speculative fiction is an alternate (hi)story of Troy from the beginning, when Paris had to choose which goddess was the fairest. At last there is Yoon Ha Lee's short story.
This story is too short for my taste, not much plot. Although it is far from bad: the idea of mixing ancient myth with science fiction is excellent. The execution of the idea is good too.
This story is too short for my taste, not much plot. Although it is far from bad: the idea of mixing ancient myth with science fiction is excellent. The execution of the idea is good too.
January 11, 2019
Rep: male bi mc, nonbinary li
oh my god this is amazing
oh my god this is amazing
March 25, 2016
It was then that Hera produced the apple. Its brightness was such that everything around it looked dimmer, duller, drained of succulence. “What a prize,” she said softly, bitterly. “No one wants the damn thing, except being uncrowned by its light is even worse. Someone has to claim it.”
“Choose by random number generator?” Paris said, because someone had to.
“As if anything is truly random in the stories we write for ourselves,” Athena said.
What if Paris was a different kind of fool? This author has set him down here in a high tech troy shimmering in alternate story lines and new paths. Some things never change though: Even the gods cannot escape Fate.
I totally, completely loved this. It reminded me a lot of The Museum and the Music Box in that it is, once again, more the brush strokes around the story than the story itself. As you can see from other reviews, your mileage may vary. I myself will be bumping Conservation of Shadows up a bit on my TBR list.
Free online from Tor: http://www.tor.com/2015/10/14/variati...
“Choose by random number generator?” Paris said, because someone had to.
“As if anything is truly random in the stories we write for ourselves,” Athena said.
What if Paris was a different kind of fool? This author has set him down here in a high tech troy shimmering in alternate story lines and new paths. Some things never change though: Even the gods cannot escape Fate.
I totally, completely loved this. It reminded me a lot of The Museum and the Music Box in that it is, once again, more the brush strokes around the story than the story itself. As you can see from other reviews, your mileage may vary. I myself will be bumping Conservation of Shadows up a bit on my TBR list.
Free online from Tor: http://www.tor.com/2015/10/14/variati...
October 12, 2020
Variations on an apple is a re-telling of a Greek mythology story. It has beautiful writing but I was confused throughout. I think it takes place in various alternate realities but I couldn't exactly follow it. It has science-fiction elements mixed in it as well which I wanted to like but I just couldn't.
There was no plot, one things jumps from another and sometimes I liked it sometimes I didn't.
2.5 stars
There was no plot, one things jumps from another and sometimes I liked it sometimes I didn't.
2.5 stars
April 24, 2020
what the fuck was that
(I think I liked it a bit)
(I think I liked it a bit)
May 15, 2021
4/5
if you're not familiar with the story you should probably google "Judgment of Paris".
I loved everything about this story, from the boustrophedon to the negative space. It is not a version of the war I have ever read before. The Alexandrian poets would have approved.
if you're not familiar with the story you should probably google "Judgment of Paris".
I loved everything about this story, from the boustrophedon to the negative space. It is not a version of the war I have ever read before. The Alexandrian poets would have approved.
Read
May 24, 2016Okay that was boring as hell.
I like the story of the Apple of Discord because it was so Greeky that's why when I saw this retelling in Tor, I immediately read it.
Let me just say that although I commend the author for doing something different with the story, I find the Variations on an Apple very boring. It wasn't able to capture me either because it was too wordy or the way of the author's writing doesn't suit me. Take your pick.
April 27, 2020
What if you were in love with a city?
The Iliad, retold in Yoon Ha Lee's signature math-fantasy style. Dizzying, wonderfully queer, and suffused with a quieter sadness than one would expect from a story about war, it talks about fate, and the unstoppable potential of human discord. It's an even more remarkable experience if one is familiar with either Ninefox Gambit or Lee's game Winterstrike, as some parts of it felt like glancing at those through a distorting glass. Also, of course cities have no concerns for something as human as gender.
The Iliad, retold in Yoon Ha Lee's signature math-fantasy style. Dizzying, wonderfully queer, and suffused with a quieter sadness than one would expect from a story about war, it talks about fate, and the unstoppable potential of human discord. It's an even more remarkable experience if one is familiar with either Ninefox Gambit or Lee's game Winterstrike, as some parts of it felt like glancing at those through a distorting glass. Also, of course cities have no concerns for something as human as gender.
Read
September 24, 2021It smelled of diesel hearts and drudgery and overcrowded colonies; of battery acid gone bad and bromides and foundered courtships. Intoxicating, yes, but in the way of verses etched unwanted upon the spirit’s cracked windows.
The imagery and descriptions in this are gorgeous.
The imagery and descriptions in this are gorgeous.
Shelved as 'finished-short-stories'
August 28, 2020the premise was so interesting - i think unique among mythology retellings to have that scifi/maths setting/focus? this was definitely more of a short thought experiment/concept exploration and it was a perfect length for what it set out to achieve but i would be intrigued in a longer Novel tbh... please...?
anyway, so yeah, not very plot driven but the writing style and concept were wonderful
anyway, so yeah, not very plot driven but the writing style and concept were wonderful
April 16, 2018
it was...interesting. sometimes the prose took my breath away with how beautiful it was, but sometimes it also lost me. i think it was a great retelling of the illiad. i loved the ending.
It wasn’t so much that Paris was a mathematician. Rather, it was that Ilion was a creation of curvatures and angles and differential seductions, and he was the city’s lover.
“They must want something concrete out of all this.”
“Glory,” Ilion said. “Vengeance, spite, security, the sheer unadulterated expression of aggression. None of these, I will note, is concrete.”
“I should have chosen you,” Paris said. In that moment he fell in love the way you fell into a singularity, a moment spun into forever lingering.
It wasn’t so much that Paris was a mathematician. Rather, it was that Ilion was a creation of curvatures and angles and differential seductions, and he was the city’s lover.
“They must want something concrete out of all this.”
“Glory,” Ilion said. “Vengeance, spite, security, the sheer unadulterated expression of aggression. None of these, I will note, is concrete.”
“I should have chosen you,” Paris said. In that moment he fell in love the way you fell into a singularity, a moment spun into forever lingering.
October 11, 2016
An absolutely wonderful "variation" on a Greek myth, that was tremendously entertaining and thoughtful. This quick read is well worth the short time it takes to complete. And its free!
http://www.tor.com/2015/10/14/variati...
Enjoy!
http://www.tor.com/2015/10/14/variati...
Enjoy!
Read
May 20, 2018This text contains many words. The order in which they appear may or may not be deliberate. Given that no meaning can be extracted from the vast majority of sentences they form, it is difficult to be certain.
December 31, 2017
Interesting take on the Troy siege and Paris.
July 17, 2022
This was beautiful writing, but it did not work for me as a short. If I didn’t have a decent understanding of mythology I would have been completely lost the entire time, because the author takes for granted that everyone knows not only the Iliad but even variations on stories. I would love to see this as a full length.
January 13, 2024
Queer sci fi short surrounding Greek Mythology & the Apple of Discord. Super short, mind bendy, varied timelines. Really loved reading about Ilion and gender bending.
I think someone who knows Greek mythology and symbolism would get a lot out of this short. Not me having to google what each goddess, Athena, Aphrodite and Hera, signified 😅
Definitely not a romance.
I think someone who knows Greek mythology and symbolism would get a lot out of this short. Not me having to google what each goddess, Athena, Aphrodite and Hera, signified 😅
Definitely not a romance.
May 15, 2024
2.5 stars
I liked the discussions of gender fluidity, but apart from that kinda a pointless short story
I liked the discussions of gender fluidity, but apart from that kinda a pointless short story
December 13, 2021
As always with Yoon Ha Lee's work, I am endlessly impressed by his ideas and creativity but left feeling somewhat lukewarm about their execution.
February 26, 2020
Another Tor freebie. I don't totally understand what this story is, but it's written so well I don't really care.
https://www.tor.com/2015/10/14/variat...
https://www.tor.com/2015/10/14/variat...
March 15, 2016
This is one of the most beautiful short stories I've ever read. I could absolutely taste the prose and the world.
March 30, 2019
Yikes. What a story. For 19 pages this story packs an immense wallop.
You need to know the basics of the story of Paris and the apple from Greek mythology to fully appreciate how Lee is messing with the original story. If you don’t know the mythology... I can’t comment on whether this would make sense, because that story has been part of my cultural baggage (what feels like) my entire life.
Anyway, this is a version of Paris and the apple and the Trojan War that has that unique Yoon Ha Lee flavour with quantum entanglement and variations on history and other such esoteric, not-ancient Greek things. It’s beautifully written and loves the original while cutting it up, rearranging the pieces into a computer-generated mosaic, and displaying it as guerilla urban art.
I loved it wholeheartedly.
You need to know the basics of the story of Paris and the apple from Greek mythology to fully appreciate how Lee is messing with the original story. If you don’t know the mythology... I can’t comment on whether this would make sense, because that story has been part of my cultural baggage (what feels like) my entire life.
Anyway, this is a version of Paris and the apple and the Trojan War that has that unique Yoon Ha Lee flavour with quantum entanglement and variations on history and other such esoteric, not-ancient Greek things. It’s beautifully written and loves the original while cutting it up, rearranging the pieces into a computer-generated mosaic, and displaying it as guerilla urban art.
I loved it wholeheartedly.
July 18, 2020
okay. the story doesn't have much plot. the prose is gorgeous. if you're not that familiar with or only slightly familiar with mythology (like me) then the story itself might confuse you. it was a beautiful story nonetheless.
bi mc and nonbinary li
bi mc and nonbinary li
May 6, 2018
3.75
good shit, dude! especially that ending. i think i read this too quickly and not closely enough though, hopefully i'll go back to it sometime.
good shit, dude! especially that ending. i think i read this too quickly and not closely enough though, hopefully i'll go back to it sometime.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews