The Cambist and Lord Iron

The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics is a 2007 novelette by Daniel Abraham. It was originally published in the anthology Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories, and subsequently republished in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: 21st Annual Collection (2008), in Fantasy: The Best of the Year (2008), in The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Two (2008), and in Lightspeed (2013); as well, an audio version was made available via PodCastle in 2009.

Synopsis

Olaf Neddelsohn is a cambist who leads a quiet life until he comes to the attention of Lord Iron, a brutal and decadent aristocrat who sets him impossible challenges.

Reception

Cambist was nominated for the 2008 Hugo Award for Best Novelette[1] and the 2008 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story.[2]

Black Gate called it "amazing" and "a fable of economics",[3] and the SF Site described it as "splendid" and "delightful",[4] while Strange Horizons considered it "brilliantly intellectual", but stated that it "could be straight historical fiction for all the use it makes of its vaguely fantastic setting."[5] Steven Levitt noted that, despite agreeing with Olaf's response to Lord Iron's first challenge, he was unable to apply standard economic reasoning to the second and third challenges.[6]

References
  1. 2008 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved April 28, 2016
  2. 2008 World Fantasy Award Winners & Nominees Archived 2010-12-01 at the Wayback Machine, at WorldFantasy.org; retrieved 28 April, 2016
  3. Is Fantasy Inherently Not Political?, by Derek Kunsken, at Black Gate; published January 11, 2014; retrieved April 28, 2016
  4. The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: Twenty-First Annual Collection, book review by Mario Guslandi, at the SF Site; published 2009; retrieved April 28, 2016
  5. Year's Bests edited by Jonathan Strahan, and David Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer Archived 2016-08-06 at the Wayback Machine, book review by Karen Burnham; at Strange Horizons; published 22 August 2008; retrieved April 28, 2016
  6. Economic Fairy Tales, by Steven Levitt, at the Freakonomics blog; published December 15, 2008; retrieved April 28, 2016
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