26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss by Kij Johnson

“26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” is a 2008 science fiction short story by Kij Johnson. It is about a woman who tries to figure out how the monkeys in her magic show really disappear.

Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell:

For the last three years Aimee has owned a traveling magic monkey show. I know, it sounds like a little slice of therapeutic heaven doesn’t it? Well for Aimee is is – you see, she was pretty down on her luck when she first saw the show at the Utah State Fair and she just had to have it. So she bought if from the owner and has been traveling the country putting on magic shows ever since. There is one small problem though, she can’t seem to figure out how all the monkeys really vanish during her big act. She tries to make sense of what is happening, but she is learning that not everything in life can be explained easily – and maybe that isn’t such a bad thing.

Aimee has had the act for three years now. She was living in a month-by-month furnished apartment under a flight path for the Salt Lake City airport. She was hollow, as if something had chewed a hole in her body and the hole had grown infected.

There was a monkey act at the Utah State Fair. She felt a sudden and totally out-of-character urge to see it. Afterward, with no idea why, she walked up to the owner and said, “I have to buy this.”

He nodded. He sold it to her for a dollar, which he told her was the price he had paid four years before.

My Two Cents:

• The good:

• It had a very interesting story telling style – not one that I’ve really seen before. It was broken up into many small, easily digestible sections, with each focusing on just one idea. Kind of a cool concept.
• I enjoyed the two main (human) characters in “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss”. Both Aimee and Geof had a type of childhood ignorance and blissful acceptance of things that made me long for a simpler life.
• I loved the Utah State Fair part! Did you know I grew up in Utah, and even won the talent show at the state fair when I was a teenager? Yep, and to think that I could be in a monkey show right now… ahh.

• The bad:

• There really wasn’t very much science fiction in “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss”. It was another one of those soft Asimov’s stories that you wouldn’t really consider sci-fi if you had read it somewhere else.
• I would have liked the ending to explain more of the monkeys’ disappearances – but it didn’t. It wasn’t too bad, but it is frustrating when the main question of the entire story doesn’t really get answered to my satisfaction. Oh well, nothing like a good monkey mystery to make me ponder the meaning of life!

Fact Sheet:
• Page Count: 10
• Word Count: 4,032
• “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” garnered the following awards:

• It has been nominated for the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.
• It has also been nominated for the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Short Story.

Where you can find “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss”:

• This short story first appeared in the July 2008 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction.
• You can read a free online version of “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” at Asimov’s web site.

Some Interesting Links:

• Did you know that Kij Johnson once worked as an editor for Dark Horse Comics? Yep. You can learn more about this science fiction author by reading the bio on her web site.
• If you like Kij Johnson’s story telling style be sure to check out her novel Fudoki, which was nominated for the World Fantasy Award.

Craving More Stories?
If you enjoyed this story then you might also like The Faery Handbag, about a girl whose grandmother has a handbag with a whole village of fairies in it, by Kelly Link.

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