How am I supposed to review this? This was lovely and beautiful. 5 ⭐

I was attracted to this short story by the gorgeous cover art, and delighted when the story measured up to its cover. It is odd, wistful, and sad. Especially sad. But memorable, and well done. My thanks to the author, illustrator, and Tor for making this available online.

3.5 stars

hauntingly sad and beautiful.

Eerie and sadAnother wonderful pieces from Glen Hirshberg. Evokes the old and new Russias and the schism between folklore and reality. Highly recommended.

A wintry tale about people who remember the fall of Communism but are disillusioned with what came after: "Warsaw was just another anywhere now, even its formidable ghosts roped off, penned in their carefully preserved ghetto habitats, exactly as threatening and sad as snow leopards at a zoo." The comparison prefiguring the story's infestation of ragged, mute and largely ignored bears in "poor, confused, mafia-infested, Starbucks-infected, Putinized, brutalized, baffled, beautiful St. Petersburg...

Hirshberg has seemingly a limitless imagination... i wish there was more about the bear ceremony, more of the shamans, more of the old world, but this story was still pretty amazing... hoping to visit Russia someday, and experience the enigmas, the counterposition of new and old...

I don't really get the point of the story. There were men becoming bears who killed themselves in the end... and that's it.I wouldn't say this was a bad story, I liked reading it, knowing more of Thomas, of his past, all the things he had done. He had his part in history and his memories were enjoyable. I just can't understand the whole bear thing... That's it.

Freedom is Space for the Spirit is an odd one. It is weirdly nostalgic, atmospheric and manages to draw the reader right into the scene it is trying to set. It is also somewhat ambigious with its message, and the things you will take away from it will likely differ from those of other readers.I love that. Being german myself, a lot of things here connected with me very well. A few aspects hit close to home that way. But I've never been to Russia, and still the story managed to give me a feel

Review first posted on Fantasy Literature: In this melancholy and wistful fantasy set in modern-day Russia, Thomas, a German man in his forties, receives a strange telegram from Vasily, a Russian friend from his youthful days, when they lived through the exciting, crazy days of the Soviet Union breakup. Vasily’s telegram extends an enigmatic but insistent invitation to come visit and see what’s “happening now,” so Thomas reluctantly leaves his pregnant wife and travels to Russia.When he arrives

This story is really short – my ebook shows a little over 50 pages – and this is also its biggest problem. The protagonist, Thomas, is a middle-aged German man who receives an invitation from his old friend Vasily to go to St. Petersburg. When he gets there, Thomas starts looking for him, but he soon realises that the city has changed in ways he could have never imagined: bears without mouths roam the streets, and the citizen walk around them as if nothing is amiss.The story then follows Thomas

Beautifully written. A story about growing old and forgetting, about the death of hope for the future.

So this gorgeousness (what a cover art!!!!) was the first post I saw on my tumblr dashboard today.... and I was just struck. Immediatelly I proceeded to Goodreads where I found out this is a 30-page novella that is FREE to read online. So I went ahead and read it.And it was weird. Intense. Atmospheric. A story which starts as a nostalgic cry of a middle-aged man who misses the intensity and craziness of his youth quickly turns into a short mystery/magical realism piece just filled with the heavi...

Over the last couple of years Glen Hirshberg has become one of my favorite authors. This fantasy is as acquainted with loss, grief, and change as any of his horror stories. As with most of Hirshberg's work, setting is important and the reader is taken on a journey through a St. Petersburg, Russia where mouthless bears roam free. The protagonist, Thomas, is summoned to Russia by Vasily, an old friend. Upon arrival, Thomas finds he has no clue where to find Vasily, or why he was summoned to begin

And Thomas realized she was right. Not that he’d ever seen this happen before, or ever would again, but there was no question: that, right there, was how a mouthless bear roared. And now, it was doing it harder, positively bellowing its…whatever it was—frustration? Hunger? Desperation? Loneliness?—in absolute silence. Ah! Just look at that gorgeous cover! I very much get attracted to it because of it & yes the tale right? I just loved it, no doubt! The story plot was related with the cove

A chilly, melancholy novelette about a few different kinds of magic. The magic of memory, the magic of revisiting old haunts, and about actual old magic.

Weird, but kind of haunting. This was unlike anything I've read in while. Not sure whether I liked it or not, but I'm sure the atmosphere evoked in this will linger for a while.Also, what a beautiful cover!

Whimsical but confusing...Whimsical and weird but I got lost for what was happening a lot - The writing I lovely and really sets the scene.

First, allow me to comment on the cover. It's what made me purchase this novella, that and I recently read Good Girls by Glen Hirshberg which I thoroughly enjoyed. Kudos to Greg Ruth who really captured the essence of the author's work with his art.Freedom is Space for the Spirit is far from horror, more fantasy than anything, but it is definitely one of my favorite reads so far this year.After receiving a telegram, calling him back to Russia, Thomas returns to the place of his youth, a place of...

The bald man stopped laughing, kept smiling. But this was a smile Thomas recognized. Every Russian he’d ever met had a version of it. “New Russia. Old Russia. The price is the same for both. I’m sorry. I hope you find your friends.”review to comeread it for yourself here:http://www.tor.com/2016/04/06/freedom...