When the Thorns Are the Tips of Trees by Jason Sanford

“When Thorns Are the Tips of Trees” is a 2008 science fiction short story by Jason Sanford. It is about a boy who is trying to deal with the local ramifications of a deadly, world-wide virus.

Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell:

In a grim future where most of humanity has been infected with a deadly virus, Miles Stanton and his father tend the thorn trees that embody the spirits of those killed by the phage. But that is just their day job, at night they take turns guarding their house against the “thorn die” – people in which the virus has been activated and who only come out at night. As a rampaging group of thorn die attack his town, Miles tries to deal with his feelings for a neighbor girl, his desire to touch family and friends, and his guilt for not visiting his dead friends enough.

Being more careful, I pushed my index finger onto another needle. A drop of blood ran into the needle, as cold rushed through my veins.

“Hello Miles,” Brad said, emerging from the fog of too much time alone. “Do I even want to know how long it’s been since your last visit?”

“Two months,” I said, feeling both guilty and relieved that Brad still seemed so fresh. Too often thorns’ memories and personalities stiffened and decayed if they were left alone for long periods of time.

My Two Cents:

• The good:

• Miles is a great character. I became totally immersed in his story, and enjoyed reading about his personality and how he tried to help others – no matter what their station in life.
• The phage was an awesome idea! From how it spread to what it did to its victims – I was absolutely fascinated by it.
• The writing in “When Thorns Are the Tips of Trees” is excellent. Combine that with a very cool story and you have two thumbs up from me!

• The bad:

• Not much really. There were a few typos in the version I read at Apex Magazine (but I guess it *is* their last issue, so you can’t fault them too much) but definitely nothing that detracts from this all-around great story.

Fact Sheet:
• Page Count: 10
• Word Count: 7,447
• “When Thorns Are the Tips of Trees” garnered the following awards:

• It won the 2008 Interzone Reader’s Poll.

Where you can find “When the Thorns Are the Tips of Trees”:

• This short story first appeared in the August 2008 (# 217) issue of Interzone.
• You can read a nice online version of “When Thorns Are the Tips of Trees” at the web site for Apex Magazine.
• You can also listen to an audio version of this story at StarShipSofa.

Some Interesting Links:

• Did you know that Jason Sanford is both an author and the co-founder of the literary journal storySouth? Yep. You can learn more about this science fiction author by checking out his web site.

Craving More Stories?
If you enjoyed this story then you might also like The Father-Thing, about a boy who suspects that his father has been replaced by an alien, by Philip K. Dick.

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