Sublimation Angels by Jason Sanford

“Sublimation Angels” is a 2009 science fiction novella by Jason Sanford. It is about a set of special twins on a frozen world where manipulated humans, overbearing AIs and mysterious energy aliens live in a tenuous harmony.

Another Pail of Air Please

After last week’s review of Fritz Leiber’s “A Pail of Air” I was anxious to read Jason Sanford’s award winning story, which he openly admits was inspired by “A Pail of Air”. It turned out to be an extremely gratifying read, as most of his stories usually are. And I’m not just saying that because Jason sometimes reads my blog – this story really does contain some unique and awe inspiring concepts! Bravo, Jason, on a story well done – it is easy to see why it was nominated for a couple of prestigious awards.

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell

Chicka is the twin brother of “The Chosen One.” Yeah, it’s rough being related to someone so special. After the enigmatic Aural aliens chose Omare, Chicka’s quality of life has gone steadily downhill. While Omare got to study all the best subjects in all the best schools, Chicka was forced to repair space suits. Things got even worse when Omare planted blasphemous questions in Chicka’s mind and married a girl from a lower “caste.” As things get even worse for the twins, the situation finally comes to a head when the Artificial Intelligence leader of the human expedition takes actions that force the twins to make desperate choices. The question is: can a rag-tag group of lowly kids really challenge an elite bodyguard unit of a powerful AI? Hmm, maybe – if they had some help.

My Two Cents…

• Wow – the characters in this story were amazing! Not only Omare and Chicka, but all the low kids, the AIs and even the moms were truly believable and totally fascinating to read about.
• While “Sublimation Angels” isn’t set in exactly the same place as “A Pail of Air”, it is close enough to keep the same eerie tone set by that story. Nicely done.
• Not only was the story line great, but the back story was just as cool! I am not sure how some writers come up with their amazing ideas, but the whole 600 year history of the human expedition to the Aural’s planet was incredibly intriguing.

Interesting Tidbits About This Story:

• Page Count: 29
• Word Count: 19,689
• Did you know that “Sublimation Angels” was nominated for both the 2009 Nebula Award and the 2009 Interzone Readers’ Poll? Yep. You can learn more at Jason’s web site.

Where You Can Find Sublimation Angels:

• This story was originally published in the September / October 2009 issue of Interzone.
• You can download a free PDF or RTF version of Sublimation Angels at Jason Sanford’s web site.

Craving More Stories?

If you enjoyed “Sublimation Angels” then you might also like The Ships Like Clouds, Risen by Their Rain about a weather forecaster who discovers an amazing secret about her mud-packed world, also by Jason Sanford.

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