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Since his debut in Terry Carr’s legendary Ace Specials of the 1980s, Carter Scholz has occupied an enviable, if demanding, position on the cutting edge of modern speculative literature (vulgarly called SF). Proudly debuting in this volume, Gypsy is his first major work since his 2002 nuclear thriller Radiance . An interstellar adventure grounded in the hard science of accurate physics and biology, Gypsy soars far beyond the heliosphere of conventional science fiction. Jettisoning the easy warp-drives of fantasy and space opera, Scholz chronicles with chilling realism the epic voyage of a team of far-seeing scientists, who crowdsource a secret starship and abandon the doomed Earth for the Alpha Centauri system, our nearest stellar neighbor and last desperate chance. Heartbreak and hope collide in this moving and visionary tale. Plus ...
An epistolary story about a story, “The Nine Billion Names of God,” uses a classic SF text to deconstruct literary deconstruction itself, with hilarious results. In the wickedly droll “Bad Pennies,” a spy tasked with trashing a foreign economy testifies before a complacent Congress. Quietly furious, “The United States of Impunity” is an alarming look under the tent of today’s political sideshow. Adults only.
And Featuring : “Gear. Food. Rocks.”—our Outspoken Interview, in which a postmodern Renaissance man charts the synergies and dissonances of a career that embraces both literary and musical composition, reveals the hidden link between winemaking and deep space astronomy, and tells you how to steal his car.
An epistolary story about a story, “The Nine Billion Names of God,” uses a classic SF text to deconstruct literary deconstruction itself, with hilarious results. In the wickedly droll “Bad Pennies,” a spy tasked with trashing a foreign economy testifies before a complacent Congress. Quietly furious, “The United States of Impunity” is an alarming look under the tent of today’s political sideshow. Adults only.
And Featuring : “Gear. Food. Rocks.”—our Outspoken Interview, in which a postmodern Renaissance man charts the synergies and dissonances of a career that embraces both literary and musical composition, reveals the hidden link between winemaking and deep space astronomy, and tells you how to steal his car.
160 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
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About the author
Carter Scholz
55 books9 followersCarter Scholz (né Robert Carter Scholz) is a speculative fiction author and composer of music.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
November 20, 2016
Review of the title story only.
Earth has passed the tipping point. The environment is in ruins, states are collapsing, greedy oligarchs and businessmen are grabbing what resources they can for themselves and letting the planet's billions go to hell. One brilliant scientist forms a desperate, long-shot plan - to secretly divert resources into sending a ship to Alpha Centauri, in the hopes that there will be a planet there where humanity can start again. That ship is the 'Gypsy' and this is its story.
The opening of the piece is too "tell-y not show-y" as the author bluntly lays out this near-future scenario, but as it went on, it wholly won me over. It intercuts between letting the reader know how this plan slowly came to fruition, and 'current events' aboard the ship.
The story includes a plethora of scientific details and problem-solving which I believe would appeal to fans of Andy Weir's 'The Martian' - but this story is ever so much better, on so many different levels. It has real dramatic tension (and excellent writing.)
The 'Gypsy' was designed for a crew of twenty, who are all in drug-induced hibernation. Only in emergency situations is an expert specializing in the system that the emergency is in, awakened. So the story features a string of emergencies, each dealt with by a different character, whose personality and motivations we learn in their section.
As readers, even as we see the remarkable extremes of human ingenuity and hope, from the beginning, we have to say, "This is more than just a long shot. This might be truly impossible." I wondered how the author was going to deal with that. And at the end, I thought he pulled it off wonderfully.
Earth has passed the tipping point. The environment is in ruins, states are collapsing, greedy oligarchs and businessmen are grabbing what resources they can for themselves and letting the planet's billions go to hell. One brilliant scientist forms a desperate, long-shot plan - to secretly divert resources into sending a ship to Alpha Centauri, in the hopes that there will be a planet there where humanity can start again. That ship is the 'Gypsy' and this is its story.
The opening of the piece is too "tell-y not show-y" as the author bluntly lays out this near-future scenario, but as it went on, it wholly won me over. It intercuts between letting the reader know how this plan slowly came to fruition, and 'current events' aboard the ship.
The story includes a plethora of scientific details and problem-solving which I believe would appeal to fans of Andy Weir's 'The Martian' - but this story is ever so much better, on so many different levels. It has real dramatic tension (and excellent writing.)
The 'Gypsy' was designed for a crew of twenty, who are all in drug-induced hibernation. Only in emergency situations is an expert specializing in the system that the emergency is in, awakened. So the story features a string of emergencies, each dealt with by a different character, whose personality and motivations we learn in their section.
As readers, even as we see the remarkable extremes of human ingenuity and hope, from the beginning, we have to say, "This is more than just a long shot. This might be truly impossible." I wondered how the author was going to deal with that. And at the end, I thought he pulled it off wonderfully.
June 12, 2021
Review of the title novella only:
SPOILER WARNING
Gypsy by Carter Scholz: a long novella about an earth in ruins from greedy plutocrats (etc), and the brave rebels who built the first starship, to escape the mess. Except the starship barely works. [SPOILER WARNING!] The crew mostly die off en route. The ship suffers multiple failures, and fails to land at the New Promised Land. BUT... The surviving crewmember gets a radio message from Earth that they got through the crisis OK. Too bad about your wasted trip! Unless it's a head-fake....
OK, this is a snarky (but accurate) summary-- it's a gripping but bleak story, with a sort-of happy ending stuck on.
After thinking about the story premises for a bit, they're implausible, I think. The Earth's environment is holding up OK (so far), although rapidly-industrializing nations (China, Indonesia) definitely have growing pains. But Scholz's premises works just fine for fiction, although it's a tired dystopian one, imo. YMMV.
The starship project's genesis is implausible, too: basically, all of the components are stolen from greedy plutocrats and grasping militaries.... Again, this is fine for fiction, but fails the "giggle test" after you read it.
So this tale will appeal more to environmental & techno-pessimists, rather than optimists who think we can work through the growing pains. Caveat lector. Story reprinted in both the Dozois and Clarke Year's Best anthologies, Nos. 33 and 1.
SPOILER WARNING
Gypsy by Carter Scholz: a long novella about an earth in ruins from greedy plutocrats (etc), and the brave rebels who built the first starship, to escape the mess. Except the starship barely works. [SPOILER WARNING!] The crew mostly die off en route. The ship suffers multiple failures, and fails to land at the New Promised Land. BUT... The surviving crewmember gets a radio message from Earth that they got through the crisis OK. Too bad about your wasted trip! Unless it's a head-fake....
OK, this is a snarky (but accurate) summary-- it's a gripping but bleak story, with a sort-of happy ending stuck on.
After thinking about the story premises for a bit, they're implausible, I think. The Earth's environment is holding up OK (so far), although rapidly-industrializing nations (China, Indonesia) definitely have growing pains. But Scholz's premises works just fine for fiction, although it's a tired dystopian one, imo. YMMV.
The starship project's genesis is implausible, too: basically, all of the components are stolen from greedy plutocrats and grasping militaries.... Again, this is fine for fiction, but fails the "giggle test" after you read it.
So this tale will appeal more to environmental & techno-pessimists, rather than optimists who think we can work through the growing pains. Caveat lector. Story reprinted in both the Dozois and Clarke Year's Best anthologies, Nos. 33 and 1.
September 24, 2017
(...)
In the end, it doesn’t matter much, as Gypsy is singular enough. Its dystopic premise isn’t new, but as far as possible projections for the near future goes, it’s definitely convincing. The middle class is dying and climate is changing. That’s not rocket science. Gypsy is a lot less optimistic than KSR’s latest book, and Scholz is outright grim. Those looking for just a fun science driven story: this is not The Martian.
To say much more would spoil the experience, but structurally Gypsy is a very interesting novella. There’s not a lot of characters, and not a lot of pages, but the way Scholz handles both character and story development is masterly. One would not expect its narrative choices to deliver the emotions it does. At times, Gypsy‘s atmosphere reminded me of Duncan Jones’ 2009 movie Moon.
(...)
Full review on Weighing A Pig
In the end, it doesn’t matter much, as Gypsy is singular enough. Its dystopic premise isn’t new, but as far as possible projections for the near future goes, it’s definitely convincing. The middle class is dying and climate is changing. That’s not rocket science. Gypsy is a lot less optimistic than KSR’s latest book, and Scholz is outright grim. Those looking for just a fun science driven story: this is not The Martian.
To say much more would spoil the experience, but structurally Gypsy is a very interesting novella. There’s not a lot of characters, and not a lot of pages, but the way Scholz handles both character and story development is masterly. One would not expect its narrative choices to deliver the emotions it does. At times, Gypsy‘s atmosphere reminded me of Duncan Jones’ 2009 movie Moon.
(...)
Full review on Weighing A Pig
February 2, 2020
4.5/5
It’s probably one of the bleakest sci-fi novellas I’ve ever read. As Earth becomes unbearable and unlivable a group of scientists plans an illegal escape into space. They hope to start life anew on a planet in the Alpha Centauri system. To survive the 72-year journey, the crew undergoes hibernation. When an emergency arises the ship’s systems awake individuals best equipped to solve the problem. Each emergency is documented so that the next awakened traveler can understand the current situation.
I won’t get into any more details. The strength of the novella comes from inspecting the decision-making process of each awakened traveler and their motivations to embark on this perilous journey. None of them knows if they’ll succeed. They’re entirely alone in a spaceship floating through cold, unwelcoming space.
It’s a depressing story that rejects the promises of technology, humanity, and of hope. And yet I found it beautiful and intellectually stimulating.
Aside from the title novella, the collection contains a pair of short stories, an essay, and an interview with Scholz. For its size (160 pages), it packs a lot of punch.
It’s probably one of the bleakest sci-fi novellas I’ve ever read. As Earth becomes unbearable and unlivable a group of scientists plans an illegal escape into space. They hope to start life anew on a planet in the Alpha Centauri system. To survive the 72-year journey, the crew undergoes hibernation. When an emergency arises the ship’s systems awake individuals best equipped to solve the problem. Each emergency is documented so that the next awakened traveler can understand the current situation.
I won’t get into any more details. The strength of the novella comes from inspecting the decision-making process of each awakened traveler and their motivations to embark on this perilous journey. None of them knows if they’ll succeed. They’re entirely alone in a spaceship floating through cold, unwelcoming space.
It’s a depressing story that rejects the promises of technology, humanity, and of hope. And yet I found it beautiful and intellectually stimulating.
Aside from the title novella, the collection contains a pair of short stories, an essay, and an interview with Scholz. For its size (160 pages), it packs a lot of punch.
October 8, 2016
Space travel through entire galaxies, let alone systems, is something really easy and accessible in popular Sci-Fi. That's not the case with Gypsy.
It shows how hard (near impossible), unpredictable, cold, solitary and dangerous it is.
The premise is that Earth around 2040 is on a catastrophic situation, elevated by the author to the maximum possible (it does look extremely exaggerated to make the plot go, but whatever).
Enter Roger Fry, genius scientist. He assembles a team, builds a ship and plans to launch it to Alpha Centauri to start again. It's not even certain there's an inhabitable planet there, but they don't have a choice.
Roger isn't on the ship (Gypsy, the name is explained later), but he is everywhere on it at the same time. How and why something or someone was there, on surprising levels, some bordering on sheer creepiness.
Now here comes the fascinate aspect of the story: Estimated time travel to reach the destination is around 80 years. The crew will hibernate until it reaches Alpha Centauri, but of course, space travel isn't like Star Wars or Star Trek and things continuously go wrong and have to be fixed or adapted.
When this happens, one member of the crew of sixteen is wakened and has to fix/adapt whatever needs to be done. Sometimes it's not even their main specialization, but they have to do the best they can for the sake of everyone else.
Then they write a log of what they did (by hand, in case computers fail) and if something happens again, someone else has to take the reins.
That's because they don't have food/water to stay awake for longer periods and can only be put to hibernation one more time, if someone has to wake up for the second time, it's only when they are about to reach their final destination.
The great thing is not only the challenges, but how new ones keep appearing. Contrary to what most commonly happens, human error is the main cause of them, not technology failing.
Sometimes someone fix one thing but causes something to blow up later. Then someone else has to fix it. Or sometimes they don't really are on their right state of mind.
The characters come from various nationalities and have their own backstory, all there on the ship and connected through each other because of the invisible, but omnipresent presence of Roger Fry, someone who could really have a book of his own.
The only downside is when the author decides to tackle some political views. Initially, it was fascinating because it appeared the crew, coming from all the world, would all have its own differences.
But unfortunately, they are all there to reinforce a specific view, and the one they consider the "opposite" is displayed in a totally cartoonish and even untruthful way that it ran the risk of breaking the story, simply because they looked to be simply facets of the author on specific subjects. A shame.
There were arguments I totally agreed with and others I totally disagreed, and even those I agree with left me wondering why it needed to be displayed in such a "in-your-damn-face" manner.
Despite that, and if you don't really mind that part, the story is really, really good. And the ending really packed quite a punch on me.
It's short - a novella of about 160 pages. I heard the book alone comes with two more short stories, an essay and an interview, which I believe could be amusing but also more personal ranting.
I read this through the The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novellas, by Paula Guran, which I gained as an ARC through NetGalley, so I thankfully only got what it mattered: the story.
And it's a really good one and totally recommended.
It shows how hard (near impossible), unpredictable, cold, solitary and dangerous it is.
The premise is that Earth around 2040 is on a catastrophic situation, elevated by the author to the maximum possible (it does look extremely exaggerated to make the plot go, but whatever).
Enter Roger Fry, genius scientist. He assembles a team, builds a ship and plans to launch it to Alpha Centauri to start again. It's not even certain there's an inhabitable planet there, but they don't have a choice.
Roger isn't on the ship (Gypsy, the name is explained later), but he is everywhere on it at the same time. How and why something or someone was there, on surprising levels, some bordering on sheer creepiness.
Now here comes the fascinate aspect of the story: Estimated time travel to reach the destination is around 80 years. The crew will hibernate until it reaches Alpha Centauri, but of course, space travel isn't like Star Wars or Star Trek and things continuously go wrong and have to be fixed or adapted.
When this happens, one member of the crew of sixteen is wakened and has to fix/adapt whatever needs to be done. Sometimes it's not even their main specialization, but they have to do the best they can for the sake of everyone else.
Then they write a log of what they did (by hand, in case computers fail) and if something happens again, someone else has to take the reins.
That's because they don't have food/water to stay awake for longer periods and can only be put to hibernation one more time, if someone has to wake up for the second time, it's only when they are about to reach their final destination.
The great thing is not only the challenges, but how new ones keep appearing. Contrary to what most commonly happens, human error is the main cause of them, not technology failing.
Sometimes someone fix one thing but causes something to blow up later. Then someone else has to fix it. Or sometimes they don't really are on their right state of mind.
The characters come from various nationalities and have their own backstory, all there on the ship and connected through each other because of the invisible, but omnipresent presence of Roger Fry, someone who could really have a book of his own.
The only downside is when the author decides to tackle some political views. Initially, it was fascinating because it appeared the crew, coming from all the world, would all have its own differences.
But unfortunately, they are all there to reinforce a specific view, and the one they consider the "opposite" is displayed in a totally cartoonish and even untruthful way that it ran the risk of breaking the story, simply because they looked to be simply facets of the author on specific subjects. A shame.
There were arguments I totally agreed with and others I totally disagreed, and even those I agree with left me wondering why it needed to be displayed in such a "in-your-damn-face" manner.
Despite that, and if you don't really mind that part, the story is really, really good. And the ending really packed quite a punch on me.
It's short - a novella of about 160 pages. I heard the book alone comes with two more short stories, an essay and an interview, which I believe could be amusing but also more personal ranting.
I read this through the The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novellas, by Paula Guran, which I gained as an ARC through NetGalley, so I thankfully only got what it mattered: the story.
And it's a really good one and totally recommended.
June 3, 2023
A mix of speculative fiction and nonfiction, and all the pieces contain a strong socially responsible perspective.
April 17, 2022
I don't often rate or review books, except to help the algorithm boost stuff I think deserves more attention. This is one such case. 'Gypsy' is one of the most criminally overlooked stories I have ever read in my life. Maybe the afterglow will fade, but for now I'll comfortably say it's my #1 favourite novella. Think a shorter, darker version of Kim Stanley-Robinson's 'Aurora'. Prescient and sublime.
February 4, 2016
I'm going to spend most of this review on the main story here, Gypsy. As soon as I read the jacket of this one I knew I wasn't going to like it. To quote:
Let me tell you what's wrong with that bit. First of all, I defy you to go find a book of classic science fiction works that take place entirely within the heliosphere. Hint: None. Star Trek. Star Wars. Dune. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Ringworld. Old Man's War. All of them take place in interplanetary space. Next, the "easy warp-drives" and other such SF mumbo jumbo constitute what is known in writing circles as a "plot device," which is something used to move the characters and plot into a situation where something interesting can happen. It's not cheating unless you're writing a technical manual.
A little more on the second one. Mr. Scholz seems to proceed from the mistaken notion that detailed physics make for a good story. No. Well-developed characters and interesting plots make for a good story. The physics provide some details that help flesh the world out and provide the occasional interesting tidbit, but make no mistake - if the whole of Star Trek was Mr. Scott telling us about how the ship works in detail it wouldn't have been a very good show. And that's what we have here. A series of incomplete character sketches. For characters we meet only once and whom we never see interact with each other. It's a repetitious story. Character wakes up. Something is wrong. Checks logs. Gives background of how they got on the ship. Fixes the thing as best they can. Laments their situation. Goes back into hibernation. Rinse and repeat.
Perhaps having recently come off of reading Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson made this book seem repetitive, but again I've read this story before and I've read it better. Like Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson. The story and characters evolve in that book. They do not here. We simply get a picture in time and nothing of much consequence happens. I'm very glad the physics were there and all the maths were done, but it doesn't add up to a story.
Now, with respect to the "plus" sections of the book: These just convince me that Scholz is a self-absorbed prick, and maybe even a little stuck in the past. I don't buy this whole resubmitting an Arthur C. Clarke story and the ensuing exchange as "art", or if it's intended as a joke, particularly funny. As for the interview, it's always difficult to believe someone who bemoans the way things are and talks about how they used to be better. No, they aren't the way you remember them. They've changed. You haven't. Allow for that in the world.
I'm not going to talk about the political stories. I don't particularly enjoy politics and I don't read to be angered - I read for entertainment. I'm also not qualified to give an informed opinion.
So... can I go back to my "fantasy and space-opera" with their "easy warp-drives" now? You know, that genre of "speculative fiction literature (vulgarly called SF)"? (All quotes from the jacket) Apparently, I like vulgarity.
...Gypsy goes far beyond the heliosphere of conventional science fiction. Jettisoning the easy warp-drives of fantasy and space opera, Scholz chronicles with chilling realism the epic voyage...
Let me tell you what's wrong with that bit. First of all, I defy you to go find a book of classic science fiction works that take place entirely within the heliosphere. Hint: None. Star Trek. Star Wars. Dune. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Ringworld. Old Man's War. All of them take place in interplanetary space. Next, the "easy warp-drives" and other such SF mumbo jumbo constitute what is known in writing circles as a "plot device," which is something used to move the characters and plot into a situation where something interesting can happen. It's not cheating unless you're writing a technical manual.
A little more on the second one. Mr. Scholz seems to proceed from the mistaken notion that detailed physics make for a good story. No. Well-developed characters and interesting plots make for a good story. The physics provide some details that help flesh the world out and provide the occasional interesting tidbit, but make no mistake - if the whole of Star Trek was Mr. Scott telling us about how the ship works in detail it wouldn't have been a very good show. And that's what we have here. A series of incomplete character sketches. For characters we meet only once and whom we never see interact with each other. It's a repetitious story. Character wakes up. Something is wrong. Checks logs. Gives background of how they got on the ship. Fixes the thing as best they can. Laments their situation. Goes back into hibernation. Rinse and repeat.
Perhaps having recently come off of reading Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson made this book seem repetitive, but again I've read this story before and I've read it better. Like Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson. The story and characters evolve in that book. They do not here. We simply get a picture in time and nothing of much consequence happens. I'm very glad the physics were there and all the maths were done, but it doesn't add up to a story.
Now, with respect to the "plus" sections of the book: These just convince me that Scholz is a self-absorbed prick, and maybe even a little stuck in the past. I don't buy this whole resubmitting an Arthur C. Clarke story and the ensuing exchange as "art", or if it's intended as a joke, particularly funny. As for the interview, it's always difficult to believe someone who bemoans the way things are and talks about how they used to be better. No, they aren't the way you remember them. They've changed. You haven't. Allow for that in the world.
I'm not going to talk about the political stories. I don't particularly enjoy politics and I don't read to be angered - I read for entertainment. I'm also not qualified to give an informed opinion.
So... can I go back to my "fantasy and space-opera" with their "easy warp-drives" now? You know, that genre of "speculative fiction literature (vulgarly called SF)"? (All quotes from the jacket) Apparently, I like vulgarity.
July 19, 2018
The supplemental stories are fine, the interview is fun, and the essay would maybe be the second or third best piece in an average issue of Jacobin. The title novella is extraordinary, though, a richly unsentimental text that serves as a necessary rebuttal to Kim Stanley Robinson's comparatively Pollyanna-ish Aurora.
July 19, 2016
In Fantasy & Science Fiction the interviewer asks Scholz, What would you want a reader to take away from “Gypsy?” In his reply:
"Earth is our place, the place we evolved from and for — for better or worse, till death do us part."
This brilliant story touched me because it portrays our destruction of the world that sustains us and a courageous attempt to transcend it. I resonate with the beauty and horror expressed in the characters' memories of the home planet and their heroic efforts to overcome the failures on their journey. I feel the poignancy of all that is lost as we seem to move inexorably to our demise. I see the truth of the impermanence of all things; I just didn't think I would be a witness to this ending. I feel the same sweet nostalgia and heartache listening to Leonard Cohen's song "You got me singing":
You got me singing
Even though the world is gone
You got me thinking
I'd like to carry on
"Earth is our place, the place we evolved from and for — for better or worse, till death do us part."
This brilliant story touched me because it portrays our destruction of the world that sustains us and a courageous attempt to transcend it. I resonate with the beauty and horror expressed in the characters' memories of the home planet and their heroic efforts to overcome the failures on their journey. I feel the poignancy of all that is lost as we seem to move inexorably to our demise. I see the truth of the impermanence of all things; I just didn't think I would be a witness to this ending. I feel the same sweet nostalgia and heartache listening to Leonard Cohen's song "You got me singing":
You got me singing
Even though the world is gone
You got me thinking
I'd like to carry on
August 27, 2020
This special collection from the Outspoken Authors series has one novella, two short stories, one essay, and an interview with the author.
The novella "Gypsy" is a hard SF tale about the journey of a starship to Alpha Centauri, escaping the politics and capitalistic greed of Earth. It's mostly well done with its structure leaping to various important years in the journey as the crewmembers are awakened. However, once I realized that I started rolling my eyes a bit, as . But that's only a personal quirk, and it's one of the more interesting such space journeys.
The other two stories were quite amusing, though "Bad Pennies" just made me sad about how on the nose its satire was. Scholz's essay was good, but like some of the essays throughout this series, felt like it was preaching to the choir of its probable audience.
The novella "Gypsy" is a hard SF tale about the journey of a starship to Alpha Centauri, escaping the politics and capitalistic greed of Earth. It's mostly well done with its structure leaping to various important years in the journey as the crewmembers are awakened. However, once I realized that I started rolling my eyes a bit, as . But that's only a personal quirk, and it's one of the more interesting such space journeys.
The other two stories were quite amusing, though "Bad Pennies" just made me sad about how on the nose its satire was. Scholz's essay was good, but like some of the essays throughout this series, felt like it was preaching to the choir of its probable audience.
June 8, 2025
Gypsy is a hard Sci Fi book, which reads like actual astronomers converse with astronauts. The story basically is searching for a suitable planet to colonize as earth is no longer apt to the living condition. Finding new home in expensive galaxy and the chance to survive in other planet is low.
Quite surprise that the chapter, The United state of impunity is interesting although isn’t related to Sci Fi at all. It is about Unite state has is unfairly to redistribute the resources of wealth to citizens.
6 out of 10.
Quite surprise that the chapter, The United state of impunity is interesting although isn’t related to Sci Fi at all. It is about Unite state has is unfairly to redistribute the resources of wealth to citizens.
6 out of 10.
February 3, 2016
Gypsy is one of the latest additions to PM Press's remarkable Outspoken Authors series. As with previous volumes in the series, Gypsy contains several collected works a single author. This collection features selections from the works of eclectic writer Carter Sholtz, including the novella Gypsy, two bitingly funny satirical short stories, an essay on the ease with which the US and its corporations violate national and international law, and an interview conducted with Sholtz by Terry Bisson.
The novella Gypsy takes place in an unsettlingly familiar dystopic future - climate change, corporate greed, resource depletion, war and the collapse of civil society. It's gotten bad enough that an underground network of dissidents have managed, in secret, to cobble together a space ship that will be able - if everything goes right - to transport a small number of people to the Alpha Centauri system in the hopes of finding a livable planet. It's a desperate shot in the dark.... but letting the situation on earth continue without some attempt to create another place for humans to survive seems unthinkable.
This is not a happy story. It is unrealistic to expect that that everything would go right in such an endeavour, and this is, given the opening situation, a very realistic, hard sf story. But it is also a powerful story, and a thought-provoking one.
In addition to the novella, the other pieces in the collection are well worth reading. I particularly enjoyed "Bad Pennies," a wicked satire on the American penchant for meddling in other countries' business and for doing business at whatever cost.
The novella Gypsy takes place in an unsettlingly familiar dystopic future - climate change, corporate greed, resource depletion, war and the collapse of civil society. It's gotten bad enough that an underground network of dissidents have managed, in secret, to cobble together a space ship that will be able - if everything goes right - to transport a small number of people to the Alpha Centauri system in the hopes of finding a livable planet. It's a desperate shot in the dark.... but letting the situation on earth continue without some attempt to create another place for humans to survive seems unthinkable.
This is not a happy story. It is unrealistic to expect that that everything would go right in such an endeavour, and this is, given the opening situation, a very realistic, hard sf story. But it is also a powerful story, and a thought-provoking one.
In addition to the novella, the other pieces in the collection are well worth reading. I particularly enjoyed "Bad Pennies," a wicked satire on the American penchant for meddling in other countries' business and for doing business at whatever cost.
July 27, 2024
How come I never heard of Carter Scholz before?
July 13, 2020
We start with a classic hard-sf longshot space exploration narrative, told in chunks by various characters who have one small part in the great undertaking. Very little hand waving, lots of details, lots and lots of death.
Sergei was my favorite. Ah, Sergei. Good example of using dramatic irony as the lunkhead dies without a log entry and all the chapters after are just "The fuck happened to Sergei?" and the reader is left with that knowledge and no way to convey it to the suffering characters.
Paired with a very Borges-feeling short story, also a bit of a downer ending but funny, and a non-fiction essay that'll just make you grit your teeth because it shows how terrible things were before they got worse.
The interview in this one wasn't as enjoyable as others, as the subject clearly takes delight in finding an answer that doesn't invite discussion. Also I found the questions too often to be ... I dunno... shutting the reader out.
Still, this was my first of the Outspoken Authors series where I didn't know anything about the author in question going in and I'm glad I bought it on whim. I am continually delighted with this series.
Sergei was my favorite. Ah, Sergei. Good example of using dramatic irony as the lunkhead dies without a log entry and all the chapters after are just "The fuck happened to Sergei?" and the reader is left with that knowledge and no way to convey it to the suffering characters.
Paired with a very Borges-feeling short story, also a bit of a downer ending but funny, and a non-fiction essay that'll just make you grit your teeth because it shows how terrible things were before they got worse.
The interview in this one wasn't as enjoyable as others, as the subject clearly takes delight in finding an answer that doesn't invite discussion. Also I found the questions too often to be ... I dunno... shutting the reader out.
Still, this was my first of the Outspoken Authors series where I didn't know anything about the author in question going in and I'm glad I bought it on whim. I am continually delighted with this series.
December 29, 2018
I was drawn to this book by the title story. It is still great, but the other writings on this collection were insignificant.
Gypsy is a story of a dream in a world where the chances for dreaming are decreasing. A dream of a billionaire is to send a vessel with a spark of humanity to another star. However, mere sending a rocket is not enough, the journey is long and full of possibilities for failure.
Gypsy might be classified as 'hard SF' as it feels meticulously researched. Nevertheless, it does not shirk from the human aspect of such stories and the brief scenes with various group members bring life to the journey.
It is a powerful story, perhaps worth five stars in itself, but with the lack-luster other additions not worth reviewing and not very diplomatic back-cover text, the overall rating will be 3.
Gypsy is a story of a dream in a world where the chances for dreaming are decreasing. A dream of a billionaire is to send a vessel with a spark of humanity to another star. However, mere sending a rocket is not enough, the journey is long and full of possibilities for failure.
Gypsy might be classified as 'hard SF' as it feels meticulously researched. Nevertheless, it does not shirk from the human aspect of such stories and the brief scenes with various group members bring life to the journey.
It is a powerful story, perhaps worth five stars in itself, but with the lack-luster other additions not worth reviewing and not very diplomatic back-cover text, the overall rating will be 3.
May 10, 2024
This Outspoken Authors series is terrific. This short book by Carter Scholtz contains several very different pieces. The title story, Gypsy, is hard science fiction about an attempt to reach Alpha Centauri, with the astronauts asleep, and they are only awoken when they reach the destination or something goes wrong. It's an affecting story, very moving, and in the vein of Kim Stanley Robinson's Aurora. He packs a bunch into a short novella. The book also contains the story The Nine Billion Names of God, and an essay and interview. Highly recommended. I need to get up to Pegasus Books to pick up some more from this series.
July 20, 2023
Very well written, very pessimistic (with a slight happy addition at the end). A significant theme of this story is needless loss, and the venomous ache it leaves behind was not lost on me as a reader. I’m a bit bummed after having read this, but it was a great story with a lot to say about greed, and the logical conclusions of capitalist philosophies (albeit nothing groundbreaking, but there are some good lines that hit the nail on the head of what is wrong with our current-day society).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2017
I found Gypsy in a collection of short stories and picked this up for more. Unfortunately, there aren't any more scifi stories in here. There's an avant garde correspondence with a fictional editor arguing over a submission of a previously published work by a different author and essays about US politics. All good and fine, but not what I was expecting...
July 13, 2019
The story is told from multiple viewpoints and the backstory is revealed bit by bit. I enjoyed that narrative technique immensely. Taking a cold hard look at the nature of space and space travel is a favorite subgenre of mine. Combining the two elements was pure gold for me.
May 18, 2025
A wonderful book, loved the juxtaposition of hard science fiction and exquisite prose, a wonderful voice throughout. Would have been 5 stars if the author didn't let us all down with such a convenient and rushed ending.
December 8, 2021
Oof. That first story was rough. Like The Cold Equations for the 21st century.
March 17, 2022
A huuuuuuuuge novella that was easy to read but delivered nothing but formulaic dreariness.
Didn’t like it.
Didn’t like it.
March 29, 2022
I have only read the story Gypsy, not the book, but it was excellent if very sad at the end.
March 23, 2024
Not optimistic, no, but soberly, somberly beautiful. Scholz is one of the best-hidden treasures in SF.
June 5, 2024
Güzel bir "Sert" bilimkurgu öyküsü.
Şu ana kadar yazarın başka Türkçe'ye çevrilmiş kitabı olmaması üzücü.
Şu ana kadar yazarın başka Türkçe'ye çevrilmiş kitabı olmaması üzücü.
July 12, 2024
Gypsy is a really really special short story. There’s a ton of passages that just make you pause for a second. The depiction of suspended animation that goes wrong is really memorable too
March 25, 2025
Gypsy is a cool 1 hour read about the first spaceship carrying humans to another solar system.
October 23, 2025
Only read Gypsy
April 29, 2023
Really liked the idea and it was a good read. Just found it a bit depressing. Which is not really my particular aim for the pastime of reading.
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