Books by Nino Cipri
“Ava and Jules are two people who work at a Scandinavian box store – it’s not IKEA, but it’s also not not IKEA – and they’re having a terrible time. Also, they just broke up with each other, and they’re trying to coexist at work when everything is sore and raw. Then a grandmother disappears into a wormhole in one of the showrooms – which the store has a routine for. Since Ava and Jules are the last ones to be employed by the company, it’s their job to go into the wormhole…there’s a multiverse. There are vicious blonde Scandinavian clones who are out for your blood. There’s swashbuckling. There’s basically everything you would want in a novel… all in 134 pages. It’s perfect.” Read more...
“This story came out quite a while ago, and it was one of the first I saw that was really successful at interactive storytelling. It’s acknowledging the way that storytelling has changed – because of the internet, because of social media, because of the way people consume the written word now. Cipri was at the forefront of examining new narrative structures. My entire life I have loved narrative structure as a way to really impart the impact of a story – from the time I read It by Stephen King, and saw just how broadly you could work with narrative structure. I’m fascinated by people who can come up with a story in a framework that feels completely different, and yet relevant; instantly understandable, but not easily reproducible. It’s a quiz. We’ve all played these quizzes… And it tells you a story with every solution that you have to choose from. With every answer, you’re choosing one of these dead girls’ horrible stories, which you learn they have risen above – they’ve turned into an origin story for something far better.” Read more...
R.S.A. Garcia, Short Story Writer
Interviews where books by Nino Cipri were recommended
The Best Sci-Fi Short Stories, recommended by R.S.A. Garcia
Short stories are at the heart of a thriving science fiction community, where readers, writers and editors move between roles and raise each other up. R.S.A. Garcia, winner of the 2024 Nebula prize for Best Short Story, talks us through her five highlights: short takes on big themes, with community at their heart.
The Best Short Sci Fi Books, recommended by Karin Tidbeck
Short sci fi deliver stories with more punch – it’s ‘concentrated fruit juice for the brain’, says author Karin Tidbeck. They talk us through their five top choices, taking in first encounters, space operas and multiverses along the way – all in perfectly crafted short novels.
