What do you think?
Rate this book
Graff #1
An Easy Job
Graff's official role is muscle for the Visigoth--but his personal mission is internally cataloguing all of his experiences to relay to the other beings from his home planet when they cross paths. His professional life rarely clashes with his identity, but when he realizes his newest mission is to take down one of his kind, everything becomes a bit less simple.
30 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 9, 2021
23 people are currently reading
259 people want to read
About the author
Carrie Vaughn
280 books4,540 followersCarrie Vaughn is the author more than twenty novels and over a hundred short stories. She's best known for her New York Times bestselling series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty who hosts a talk radio advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged. In 2018, she won the Philip K. Dick Award for Bannerless, a post-apocalyptic murder mystery. She's published over 20 novels and 100 short stories, two of which have been finalists for the Hugo Award. She's a contributor to the Wild Cards series of shared world superhero books edited by George R. R. Martin and a graduate of the Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop.
An Air Force brat, she survived her nomadic childhood and managed to put down roots in Boulder, Colorado, where she collects hobbies.
Visit her at www.carrievaughn.com
For writing advice and essays, check out her Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/carrievaughn
An Air Force brat, she survived her nomadic childhood and managed to put down roots in Boulder, Colorado, where she collects hobbies.
Visit her at www.carrievaughn.com
For writing advice and essays, check out her Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/carrievaughn
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
June 12, 2021
His glance moves around the space, looking for something else he can use as a weapon. A box he can hit me over the head with. A knife he can put to my throat. His complexion has gone ashy. These memories we’re generating right now are awful.
Adrenaline is tapering, and that goes into the file too, along with the feeling of staving off exhaustion. I say, “You can kill me, or try to kill me, and you’ll have that memory forever. So will anyone who gets your download. You can never go home again. Except we can’t never go home again. And then you’ll have to explain.”
“You can’t kill me for the same reason.”
“I don’t want to kill you.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
this is a prequel story to another free tor short: Sinew and Steel and What They Told. i'd read that one when it was posted last year, and felt pretty medium about it, but rereading it today in refresher-preparation for reading this one, i enjoyed it more than i had and ended up giving it a whole 'nother star.
and this story rocks.
it may be that reading the murderbot books has given me more of an appreciation for this kind of story/character: someone not-quite-human passing for human, hiding their agendas and figuring ways out of seemingly impossible dilemmas.
graff is, in many ways, the antithesis of murderbot, being an extremely empathetic creature, but the strategic moves he makes; weighing his loyalties and ethical code against his fear of discovery, are very reminiscent of what m-bot does, and the action sequences—running through the tunnels evading pursuit alongside a reluctant accomplice, blocking the feeds and comms along the way—it made the little murderbot-shaped piece of my heart flare up.
i'm thoroughly glad that i reread and re-evaluated Sinew and Steel and What They Told, and this second story hooked me in a big way, so i guess i'm ready for more of this character, and if she starts writing murderbot-sized novellas about him, i will snatch them up without hesitation.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2021/06/09/an-eas...
come to my blog!
June 21, 2021
Another Carrie Vaughn short story from Tor.Com, found HERE for free.
This short story is a prequel to Sinew and Steel and What They Told, which I four-star enjoyed, so I thought I would follow up with this one, recently released.
This story has the same setting as the 'Sinew', Graff's role on the Visigoth is better explained, and this time we get the action rather than the aftermath. The world-building is expanded a bit, the setting is fleshed out and we learn a bit more context.
It is clever and there is constant action, constant advancement in the story line.
These short stories could be read in either order, but probably go 'Sinew' first.
4 stars.
This short story is a prequel to Sinew and Steel and What They Told, which I four-star enjoyed, so I thought I would follow up with this one, recently released.
This story has the same setting as the 'Sinew', Graff's role on the Visigoth is better explained, and this time we get the action rather than the aftermath. The world-building is expanded a bit, the setting is fleshed out and we learn a bit more context.
It is clever and there is constant action, constant advancement in the story line.
These short stories could be read in either order, but probably go 'Sinew' first.
4 stars.
February 28, 2022
This is a 30-page prequel to Sinew and Steel and What They Told, published afterwards. Graff‘s easy job is to spy on some smugglers. He is a pirate hunter. And he is always lying. Even to those humans that mean something to him.
The job quickly take a complicated turn. Not so easy after all. Things get a little too exciting. I liked this story.
Can be read for free at Tor.com
Sinew and Steel and What They Told can be read for free here at Tor.com
The job quickly take a complicated turn. Not so easy after all. Things get a little too exciting. I liked this story.
Can be read for free at Tor.com
Sinew and Steel and What They Told can be read for free here at Tor.com
June 2, 2022
An Easy Job by Carrie Vaughn - 4/5★
This is a prequel to Sinew and Steel and What They Told, which I also enjoyed.
A space pilot must locate a smuggler from a space station, but soon finds out that the smuggler is the same 'race' as him, so the job becomes the opposite of easy.
I would love to read some more of Graff and the Visigoth.
The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2021 Edition and can also be read on Tor.com.
This is a prequel to Sinew and Steel and What They Told, which I also enjoyed.
A space pilot must locate a smuggler from a space station, but soon finds out that the smuggler is the same 'race' as him, so the job becomes the opposite of easy.
I would love to read some more of Graff and the Visigoth.
The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2021 Edition and can also be read on Tor.com.
December 14, 2025
Back in deep space and all the better for it. Reading whilst pumped full of insomnia meds is certainly a trippy immersive experience. The line between book world and real world blurs like you can't believe. But I digress.
You know what, the smuggling story, the Visigoth and all that hullabaloo is secondary to the really good stuff - Neural-Organic Artificial Memory Database Human Storage Devices. Did I get that right? Anyway, I could picture a really good Pitch Meeting and just hear the Ryan's in Ryanverse pitching this as a series:
Producer Guy: "Okay so tell me more about this Experiencers thing what's that about?"
Screenwriter dude: "well it's fancy neural tech that lets you know absolutely everything about people with smells and feelings, perceptions, the whole spectrum sir. And then 2 Experiencers meet and they are on opposite sides of an ideology and they have to make sacrifices and one Experiencer wins but it's all round happy feelings."
Producer Guy: "Interesting, I'm gonna put that in the trailer"
Screenwriter dude: "Don't put that in the trailer"
Producer Guy: "It's gonna look great in the trailer.So tell me more about this system how do they get it?"
Screenwriter dude: Pass
Producer Guy: is it hard to acclimatize to it? When do they get it?
Screenwriter dude: hmmm 🤔 pass
Producer Guy: so what's big download? Is there a scene where they deposit all the sense memory?
Screenwriter dude: listen sir I'm gonna need you to get all the way of my back about this really cool thing that I wrote but won't elaborate on.
Producer Guy: okay lemme get off of that thing.
Screenwriter Dude: oh thank you so much, so anyway
Sigh ...IYKYK. Lemme just binge-watch more Pitch Meetings.
Cover Cause I'm a Bird: Love it
Re-readability: Don't mind if do
GR Rating: 3⭐
CAWPILE: 6
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2027
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories by 2027
You know what, the smuggling story, the Visigoth and all that hullabaloo is secondary to the really good stuff - Neural-Organic Artificial Memory Database Human Storage Devices. Did I get that right? Anyway, I could picture a really good Pitch Meeting and just hear the Ryan's in Ryanverse pitching this as a series:
Producer Guy: "Okay so tell me more about this Experiencers thing what's that about?"
Screenwriter dude: "well it's fancy neural tech that lets you know absolutely everything about people with smells and feelings, perceptions, the whole spectrum sir. And then 2 Experiencers meet and they are on opposite sides of an ideology and they have to make sacrifices and one Experiencer wins but it's all round happy feelings."
Producer Guy: "Interesting, I'm gonna put that in the trailer"
Screenwriter dude: "Don't put that in the trailer"
Producer Guy: "It's gonna look great in the trailer.So tell me more about this system how do they get it?"
Screenwriter dude: Pass
Producer Guy: is it hard to acclimatize to it? When do they get it?
Screenwriter dude: hmmm 🤔 pass
Producer Guy: so what's big download? Is there a scene where they deposit all the sense memory?
Screenwriter dude: listen sir I'm gonna need you to get all the way of my back about this really cool thing that I wrote but won't elaborate on.
Producer Guy: okay lemme get off of that thing.
Screenwriter Dude: oh thank you so much, so anyway
Sigh ...IYKYK. Lemme just binge-watch more Pitch Meetings.
Cover Cause I'm a Bird: Love it
Re-readability: Don't mind if do
GR Rating: 3⭐
CAWPILE: 6
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2027
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories by 2027
May 4, 2023
i had lots of fun reading this!
the aspect that stuck out to me the most was the fact that our main character is from a species that is endangered, it seems, that doesn't really stay at home, that relies on seeing its kind far from home, and then touches said person of their kind to exchange data and memories with them. our main character even says that the essence of their entire species is to remember. i thought that was really creative and unique.
what i also really enjoyed was the writing and the fact that it was written in first person. i really enjoyed getting inside our main character's head, he is very interesting to read from the perspective of. i found myself relating to him quite a bit and he grew on me very quickly. the writing was also very quick and flowy, which of course is a big plus.
the story itself was great as well. i found the fact that our main character has to kill another of his kind very interesting and intriguing, espechially when, like i said, people of this species encounter each other very rarely. i couldn't make a guess on what could happen next. it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat.
i was quite pleased with this first installment of this trilogy and i am excited to continue!
the aspect that stuck out to me the most was the fact that our main character is from a species that is endangered, it seems, that doesn't really stay at home, that relies on seeing its kind far from home, and then touches said person of their kind to exchange data and memories with them. our main character even says that the essence of their entire species is to remember. i thought that was really creative and unique.
what i also really enjoyed was the writing and the fact that it was written in first person. i really enjoyed getting inside our main character's head, he is very interesting to read from the perspective of. i found myself relating to him quite a bit and he grew on me very quickly. the writing was also very quick and flowy, which of course is a big plus.
the story itself was great as well. i found the fact that our main character has to kill another of his kind very interesting and intriguing, espechially when, like i said, people of this species encounter each other very rarely. i couldn't make a guess on what could happen next. it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat.
i was quite pleased with this first installment of this trilogy and i am excited to continue!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2022
This was good, but not as good as the first one. For one thing, what Graf's crewmates know about him does not seem to be known in this one - does this one come before the previous story?
But it was still fun and well worth the short time it took to read it.
But it was still fun and well worth the short time it took to read it.
September 27, 2025
Very light (a little underdeveloped maybe) short sf piece about a kind of interesting guy. In space.
If GR would give us half stars, I'd give this a 3.5 because, though it was enjoyable, it didn't feel like there was much to it. Thinking about it a bit, I wonder if the style the author chose to write it in left too much of it's dramatic potential unrealized.
Still, there seem to be 5 stories with this character, and I liked it enough to try a few more of them.
If GR would give us half stars, I'd give this a 3.5 because, though it was enjoyable, it didn't feel like there was much to it. Thinking about it a bit, I wonder if the style the author chose to write it in left too much of it's dramatic potential unrealized.
Still, there seem to be 5 stories with this character, and I liked it enough to try a few more of them.
February 9, 2022
Oh no I love Graff so much, which is terrible because now I want more stories about him and the rest of the crew of the Visigoth. Not cool. Not cool at all.
Currently reading
April 25, 2022Story link: https://www.tor.com/2021/06/09/an-eas...
August 11, 2021
An Easy Job (Việc dễ dàng): Vai trò chính thức của Graff là người hùng hành động cho tàu Visigoth - nhưng anh còn một sứ mệnh cá nhân khác nằm trong vòng bí mật. Công việc hiếm khi đe dọa đến danh tính thật của Graff, cho đến khi anh nhận nhiệm vụ mới nhất và đụng độ một đồng hương.
So với trải nghiệm mang tính cá nhân trong "Sinew and Steel and What They Told", "An Easy Job" có thiên hướng của một tác phẩm hành động khoa học viễn tưởng với các phân cảnh rượt đuổi hấp dẫn. Mình thích mối quan hệ hợp-tác-đầy-thù-địch tương đối mới mẻ của hai nhân vật. Thích sự khác biệt rõ ràng giữa họ về trải nghiệm sống: một người trẻ tuổi nhiều lý tưởng nhưng dễ bị kích động (hay còn gọi là "trẩu" :)) - một người từng trải hơn, bình tâm và bao dung, liều lĩnh có tính toán.
Có cảm giác như Carrie Vaughn đang xây dựng một tuyển tập truyện cho vũ trụ này, với "Sinew and Steel" là phần giới thiệu nhân vật, rồi đến lượt "An Easy Job" mở rộng phạm vi để hé lộ một phần thế giới. Có lẽ, trong các phần sau, nhân vật Ransom sẽ có nhiều đất diễn hơn hoặc tác giả sẽ một lần nữa quay ngược thời gian về thời hai người còn trong học viện.
Giống như "Câu chuyện của gân và thép", "Việc dễ dàng" cũng là một tiêu đề thú vị.
"Đây là một việc dễ dàng."
Tôi nhướn mày. "Dễ? Hay đơn giản?” Tôi thích nghĩ rằng không có gì là dễ dàng. Đơn giản thì có thể, nhưng dễ dàng thì không. Bất cứ thứ gì đáng làm đều cần ta phải tận tâm tận lực.
“Đừng có bắt đầu. Nó là một việc đơn giản, được chưa?"
Phải, nếu việc dễ dàng thì đã chả cần đến chúng tôi.
So với trải nghiệm mang tính cá nhân trong "Sinew and Steel and What They Told", "An Easy Job" có thiên hướng của một tác phẩm hành động khoa học viễn tưởng với các phân cảnh rượt đuổi hấp dẫn. Mình thích mối quan hệ hợp-tác-đầy-thù-địch tương đối mới mẻ của hai nhân vật. Thích sự khác biệt rõ ràng giữa họ về trải nghiệm sống: một người trẻ tuổi nhiều lý tưởng nhưng dễ bị kích động (hay còn gọi là "trẩu" :)) - một người từng trải hơn, bình tâm và bao dung, liều lĩnh có tính toán.
Có cảm giác như Carrie Vaughn đang xây dựng một tuyển tập truyện cho vũ trụ này, với "Sinew and Steel" là phần giới thiệu nhân vật, rồi đến lượt "An Easy Job" mở rộng phạm vi để hé lộ một phần thế giới. Có lẽ, trong các phần sau, nhân vật Ransom sẽ có nhiều đất diễn hơn hoặc tác giả sẽ một lần nữa quay ngược thời gian về thời hai người còn trong học viện.
Giống như "Câu chuyện của gân và thép", "Việc dễ dàng" cũng là một tiêu đề thú vị.
"Đây là một việc dễ dàng."
Tôi nhướn mày. "Dễ? Hay đơn giản?” Tôi thích nghĩ rằng không có gì là dễ dàng. Đơn giản thì có thể, nhưng dễ dàng thì không. Bất cứ thứ gì đáng làm đều cần ta phải tận tâm tận lực.
“Đừng có bắt đầu. Nó là một việc đơn giản, được chưa?"
Phải, nếu việc dễ dàng thì đã chả cần đến chúng tôi.
June 11, 2021
I'd like to read more about this world and the crew of the pirate hunting ship, the Visigoth. Very fun!
February 9, 2024
I loved this! I can't wait to read the next one
link: https://reactormag.com/an-easy-job-ca...
link: https://reactormag.com/an-easy-job-ca...
February 15, 2024
Read from here (I am always going to call it mentally the tor.com site, reactormag is not really clicking with me...).
I was aware of the author as an author of urban fantasy, which is not really genre of choice (I read a few but I think I overdosed fast), and had missed all her books including the sf/fantasy ones, and it seems she has a lot of sf/fantasy stories. This was listed as number 1 in a series and I dutifully started with it, but reading some more, it seems to be a prequel. And it feels somewhat like a prequel, filling in characters which the reader has already met - difficult to judge on its own. But I liked it a lot (even if, yeah hitting the same note, it felt like a prequel), and I like this universe, very concrete sf universe, nice pacing. I am reading the next stories (eventually... ) and maybe check her (non urban fantasy) novels...
I was aware of the author as an author of urban fantasy, which is not really genre of choice (I read a few but I think I overdosed fast), and had missed all her books including the sf/fantasy ones, and it seems she has a lot of sf/fantasy stories. This was listed as number 1 in a series and I dutifully started with it, but reading some more, it seems to be a prequel. And it feels somewhat like a prequel, filling in characters which the reader has already met - difficult to judge on its own. But I liked it a lot (even if, yeah hitting the same note, it felt like a prequel), and I like this universe, very concrete sf universe, nice pacing. I am reading the next stories (eventually... ) and maybe check her (non urban fantasy) novels...
July 11, 2021
An Easy Job
by Carrie Vaughn
An Easy Job is a new adventure in a space. The Visigoth civilization sends out its people to share experience and report it back to their world. The prime reason was to send that information back. Graff has spent many years out in the universe he has collected a lot of information. He now is involved with an investigative firm. But all he has learned is brought into question when he meets another Visigoth android. This book looks into our personal views of right and wrong. It questions our sexuality, convictions, and broad concepts of right and wrong. It is the power of outside observation of our culture, sent into the future. This is a great short story that brings back perspective into our own life.
by Carrie Vaughn
An Easy Job is a new adventure in a space. The Visigoth civilization sends out its people to share experience and report it back to their world. The prime reason was to send that information back. Graff has spent many years out in the universe he has collected a lot of information. He now is involved with an investigative firm. But all he has learned is brought into question when he meets another Visigoth android. This book looks into our personal views of right and wrong. It questions our sexuality, convictions, and broad concepts of right and wrong. It is the power of outside observation of our culture, sent into the future. This is a great short story that brings back perspective into our own life.
August 28, 2021
Oh, so this is a prequel to the short story Sinew and Steel and What They Told, which I read last year and loved so much. If you're not familiar with the universe, the main character or the story, fear not. You can either start with this one, since it's the prequel, or just read by released order. Either way, I think it doesn't matter much.
I really liked this new story and, like last time, I really wanna know more about Graff and his people. It would be really cool if Carrie released a novella on this universe talking more about this character. It's one of those stories that really deserve to be expanded to a bigger narrative approach. And if not, I'm really looking forward to read another short story on this awesome universe.
I really liked this new story and, like last time, I really wanna know more about Graff and his people. It would be really cool if Carrie released a novella on this universe talking more about this character. It's one of those stories that really deserve to be expanded to a bigger narrative approach. And if not, I'm really looking forward to read another short story on this awesome universe.
December 27, 2022
An Easy Job (Graff #01) by author Carrie Vaughna is a short story you can read for free on the Tor.com site https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
Graff's official role is muscle for the Visigoth - but his personal mission is internally cataloguing all of his experiences to relay to the other beings from his home planet when they cross paths. His professional life rarely clashes with his identity, but when he realizes his newest mission is to take down one of his kind, everything becomes a bit less simple.
This one was great. I do love me some space opera, And there is a part two as well, yay!
4 Stars
Graff's official role is muscle for the Visigoth - but his personal mission is internally cataloguing all of his experiences to relay to the other beings from his home planet when they cross paths. His professional life rarely clashes with his identity, but when he realizes his newest mission is to take down one of his kind, everything becomes a bit less simple.
This one was great. I do love me some space opera, And there is a part two as well, yay!
4 Stars
March 4, 2022
Author Carrie Vaughn brings us back to her Graff universe. The universe where there are humanoid androids running around collecting data in order to keep the knowledge of the universe itself alive. Graff is on assignment from his ship the Visigoth and while he's on station he runs into another of his kind. Perce, who has been running with Pirates in order to help a planet out near the rim worlds. This is a very interesting series that Carrie has created and it'll again interesting to see what she writes next in this series. I highly recommend this novella for all science fiction fans.
October 13, 2025
Graff is a pirate hunter who is given the easy task of spying on a smuggler. The easy job turns out not to be so easy when he discovers that the smuggler is the same species as him. It’s a 30 page science fiction short story that opens the ‘Graff’ series and is free on Tor.com . It didn’t quite work for me, but I liked it enough to know I will visit some of the others in the series sometime soon. It’s definitely worth the time it takes to read it
June 15, 2021
Easy =/= Simple
Graff's going in,subtly, slyly. He just needs to contact a pirates' flunky, check him out and over to get a line to & on their operation so his pirate-hunting crew can follow them to their lair. But when he actually finds the flunky, everything changes. Some "easy" jobs … aren't.…
Graff's going in,subtly, slyly. He just needs to contact a pirates' flunky, check him out and over to get a line to & on their operation so his pirate-hunting crew can follow them to their lair. But when he actually finds the flunky, everything changes. Some "easy" jobs … aren't.…
September 4, 2024
"We go out and live lives and record everything. Not just the what and where. We have the endocrine systems to make it all mean something. What it feels like. That’s the important bit."
Oh man, I really really loved this. I love that this is a series of short stories, because I was definitely left wanting more in the best way with this one.
December 2, 2024
I actually love the concept of this unnamed specie and their ability to exchange all their experiences to one another. How they all know what "home" is - their planet and each other. How they choose each other - connection, community, love - no matter what.
I wish human beings had those same processors and cultural rules that stem from them. The world would be liberated from oppression!
I wish human beings had those same processors and cultural rules that stem from them. The world would be liberated from oppression!
June 24, 2021
Vaughn's short fiction is as good as always, and usually leaves me wanting more. This could easily become a full novel, with its interesting world and characters. It's a pretty short story, only 30 pages, but full and rich with potential.
September 5, 2021
That was awesome. I really connected to Graff. It was amazing character development for a short story. The plot was quickly paced and the ending was very satisfying. I would love to read more set in this universe.
March 7, 2022
I liked this one even more than Sinew and Steel and What They Told
June 10, 2021
Fun short story. Makes you want to know more about these characters! Hope there will be more in the future.
June 11, 2021
Short stories are a tease
I don’t like short stories even when they are as good as this. I need a whole novel length to live in. Short stories are like window shopping.
I don’t like short stories even when they are as good as this. I need a whole novel length to live in. Short stories are like window shopping.
June 19, 2021
What should have been an easy job takes a turn.
July 29, 2021
Great followup/prequel to the other short story, Steel and Sinew. I enjoyed how she fleshed out the setting and the character. I'd love to read more in this setting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews