The Long Game

The Far Reaches Collection

By: Ann Leckie

Narrated by: P. J. Morgan

Length: 48 mins

Publisher's summary

An inquisitive life-form finds there’s more to existence than they ever dreamed in an imaginative short story by New York Times bestselling and Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Ann Leckie.

On a far-off colony, humans tower over the local species who grow the plants they need. Narr keeps the workers in line—someone has to. But when Narr learns just how short-lived their species is, the little alien embarks on a big mission: to find out why their people die and how to stop it. Stubborn and hopeful, Narr has a plan for the locals, for humans, and for the future.

Ann Leckie’s The Long Game is part of The Far Reaches, a collection of science-fiction stories that stretch the imagination and open the heart. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

©2023 Ann Leckie. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Enjoyable story

Cool concept, satisfying and optimistic ending. The story is well written and well performed, and the short length makes it an easy listen. Highly recommend!

The weakest of the bunch

THE LONG GAME by Ann Leckie is the last of the entries in The Far Reaches collection. I wish I could say that I saved the best for last. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. In my opinion, THE LONG GAME was the weakest of the bunch.

I never quite got the point of this short story. The narrator is an alien, an insect-like being. It appears this Narr is unique in that only they can see the larger picture regarding organizing the workers and finding a more efficient way of working. We learn little about the humans colonizing Narr's planet. While this could be problematic, like any colonization of one species, Narr seems to like the humans.

The one issue Narr has is when they discover the idea of death. It is a foreign concept, and Narr spends the rest of the short story trying to figure out what it means and how to prolong the inevitable for as long as possible. And that's all I could figure out.

I recently had a discussion with my family that I read to escape. I don't look for motifs, themes, allegories, and such. I feel that THE LONG GAME is one of those short stories that is nothing but allegory. If it is, I only see it as a story about an alien who discovers the concept of death with a sneaking suspicion that it is about that on the surface only.

As one of my favorite authors likes to remind her readers, no one can write a novel from an alien's point of view because we are not aliens. Anything written from that point of view will sound human because that is the only experience we have. Such is the case with Narr. He doesn't sound like an alien. He sounds like a child who is capable of describing his growing awareness.

THE LONG GAME was disappointing only because I left it for last. Among six very different stories, I believe it was the weakest one. Not only did it not touch on space or space exploration, it is the only one told from an alien point of view, which is an impossible feat. Add to that the impression that there is greater depth to this story than I could ascertain from it, and the whole thing is a study of missed opportunities.

Interesting but…

Overall I would rate this as an interesting selection. I had a hard time figuring out what was happening at first. I feel like this would’ve been better as a full book where character development and world building could’ve taken place. It also felt like kind of an abrupt end. There was closure, but I didn’t really feel satisfied.

My favorite stand alone short story ever

I don't normally like stand alone short stories, only those that are in a larger world. The Expanse short story is the reason I bought all The Far Reaches collection. So far everyone is then has been excellent and so far, this is the best of an excellent collection.
I don't review many audiobooks anymore. I listen to 4+ hours most days, while driving, walking the dog, doing work outside, etc, so worrying reviews for everything I read would be a lot. This story deserves a little of my time though.
It's from an intelligent but simple alien's perspective. I never fully understood their world, nor do we know how things ultimately turns out for them. Normally that would bother me, but in this case it's perfect. The main character grows and has big plans for his/her (neither fits, but "it" seems belittling here) species. This was enough of a taste for this author's writing to make me look them up and try a full novel or series by her. The narrator doesn't seem to have the depth of voices some do, but she does a good job on this story. To be fair, there aren't that many different voices to do, so she might have more depth than can be seen here.
All in all, I felt the need to write a long review for a 40 minute story. Excellence throughout.

Great little story

Fun and interesting story. I like how you can picture all the little creatures and think about what if...

Nice short story - more?

More of this story please - it can’t be just this little peek into this world. I want to know more.

Short Tale of an Alien Life Form

This was the story of an alien life form that has more in common with us than humans think. It lives a very short life and wants to live longer. Narration was rote, and monotone. In the end, the alien came to a very human conclusion. Just ok.

cultural duration

The Long Game (The Far Reaches, #4)
by Ann Leckie
Looking at the long game, the plans that can only happen over vast amount of time for the benefit of people. This book really looks at our perception of earth, and people. The people in the book are a short lived alien species, they are struggling on their planet. The one leader who was born find that she can not affect change in her short life. She bets even her life to learn not only how to live longer but how to help her people live longer. She finds the secrets of her past and how she can extend her life to begin the change for the benefit of all.

Ambitious alien slugs

And the people who exploit them;). Really interesting take on being alien and yet not so alien. This is a perfect size short story that gets something really big across, like Asimov’s Nightfall

Life Is Short

A very intriguing short story on the finality of existence told from the perspective of an alien life form. It really made me stretch the limits of my imagination. I love it when well written sci-fi does that! I highly recommend this short story to all sci-fi fans!