In Another Country/Vintage Season (Tor Double)

by Robert Silverberg and C.L. Moore

Book Overview

VINTAGE SEASON - It's the most beautiful Spring the great metropolis has seen in modern memory. The sun-drenched air seems full of hope, of promise for a better tomorrow. But across the river, in the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812501934
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.26 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A vintage story

Vintage season is one of those stories that stays with you for a long time. I read it 30 years ago and never forgot it. After 2 years of searching for the story (I could remember the story, but not the title) I finally located it and read it again. That was 10 years ago. I just purchased this book and read the novella again. Without giving everything away, the novella begins one fine May in the 20th century. Oliver Wilson is renting his old, shabby Victorian house to three strangers for a month. They've paid a good sum to rent the house, but someone wants to buy it for even more. Oliver is egged on by his fiance Sue who wants to unload the old house so Oliver and she will have enough money to buy a nice house in another part of town -- and get a new refrigerator. Oliver is puzzled by his guests who are exquisitely well dressed, well spoken and attractive. Why are they here? Why is coming here in May so important? It's true this has been the finest May in centuries - the sky so blue, the flowers so beautiful, the scent of budding life so sensual. Oliver hangs around his house half heartedly trying to get his tenants to leave so he can sell the house. Sue reminds him of the money they need, but Oliver is fascinated by his tenants, particularly Kleph who is bored with her companions but interested in Oliver in a casual way. Kleph drops hints that she and her companions are not the usual type of tourists. Oliver is torn between loyalty to his fiance and his attraction to Kleph. Why is the last week of May so important to them? When Kleph's companions upbraid her in front of Oliver for being indiscrete and talking too much to an outsider, Kleph merely shrugs and says "You know it doesn't matter; it makes no difference anyhow." The meanings of this comment is lost on Oliver who is by now totally infatuated by Kleph. A few days after the travelers depart, Oliver finally realizes the tragic consequences of their visit, but it is to late to do anything about it.