Calypso's Guest - Andrew Sean Greer - ★★★

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AUTHOR: Andrew Sean Greer
GENRE: Sci-fi Short Story.
RATING: 3 stars.

In a Nutshell: A short story inspired by Homer's Odyssey, but set on a distant planet. Good enough.


Have you ever read a story that you liked enough, where the characters were appealing enough, where the setting was intriguing enough, where the prose was compelling enough, and yet, when it comes the time to review it, you don't have anything much to say?

Yeah well, that's going to be me for this review.

Inspired by Homer's Odyssey, this story talks of two strangers whose life paths collide due to an accident. The bond between them develops, but can it be strong enough to contain the wanderlust of one of them while the second is content to be at home?

Everything about this story is at the 'good enough' level, but somehow, nothing went beyond that scale. There were enough details to make me read it without distraction, but not enough that would make it last in my mind. Last para done, story forgotten. The abundance of conversations and lack of action might have had a small role to play in my disconnect. For a change, I even wished for the love track to be more detailed. After all, how often do we get to see (in fiction) romantic emotions bloom between two middle-aged men?

A one-time read for me, evoking tender yet bittersweet feelings. You might like it better if you are a fan of The Odyssey. I’ve not read it, and don’t even intend to, so I couldn’t judge this story on its performance as an inspired retelling.

This standalone story is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.

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