Tag: hugo finalist

Review – Gideon the Ninth

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Lesbian necromancers IN SPACE!!! This is one of the descriptions of Gideon the Ninth, and it’s accurate if a little misleading. This is difficult book for me to describe, or even state if I enjoyed. I generally don’t like stories in which necromancy is a key factor, and I don’t like horror, which most stories about necromancy have as a factor. I’m not sure I can say that I enjoyed the book, but it’s a good one, once it gets started. For me, this was a slow start.

The book follows Gideon Nav, a young woman of the Ninth House (Keepers of the Locked Tomb) who hates her house and wants to escape; however, she is blocked by the head of the house, Reverend Daughter Harrowhark Nongesimus. During the current attempt, Harrow receives a summons from their Emperor, that she and her cavalier are to report to Canaan House to (try to) become a Lyctor. Since her cavalier has successfully left, Harrow convinces Gideon to pretend to be her cavalier and go with her.

Yes, the names are something else. Most of the last names have to do with the number of the house. And the events at Canaan House are intense. Without spoiling the plot, it’s hard to discuss what happens there, but a lot is going on, and things we are told in the beginning turn out to be either wrong or not quite what was first assumed.

This book was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards for its year, among others. It won the Locus Award for first novel and the William L. Crawford award for first fantasy novel. It is also the first book of The Locked Tomb series; the most recent of which was published last year and the last is to be published next year.

Muir, Tamsyn. Gideon the Ninth. New York, New York: Tordotcom Books, 2019. 141,992 words. 4 stars.

Review – The Spare Man

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The Spare Man is the last of the stand-alone novels that has been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel for 2023. For me, it is actually a reread, since I read it initially when it first came out; I enjoy Kowal’s work. This is a delightful novel, which I enjoyed rereading.

This is a murder mystery set on a cruise (space)ship during the main character’s honeymoon. Although I’ve never read or watched the Nick and Nora mysteries, the descriptions of them are similar, in type if not in the specifics, of that type of mystery.

Although I suspect Kowal is being incredibly optimistic in the acceptance of diversity (pronouns are expected to be announced on introductions, LGBTQ+ characters of all kinds abound, the one character who is less than accepting is called out as such), it is encouraging to see it play out in fiction. The main character is cisgender and in a heterosexual relationship, but she is severely, mostly invisibly, disabled. Her issues are important to the plot, but the only people who treat her as less because of them are called out on it.

I’ve never been any good at solving the mysteries of a mystery novel; I no longer even try. I read mysteries to enjoy the intricacy of the plot and the clues. For those of you who enjoy trying to solve the mystery, I can’t really say how “honest” the book is in it. I can say that it is complicated and twisty and I found the denouement satisfying.

Of the nominees that I have read to date (all of them but Nona the Ninth), this is my favorite to win. It has more “weight” than the two that I rated higher (The Kaiju Preservation Society and Legends & Lattes). I don’t expect it to win the award, but it’s a worthy entry.

Kowal, Mary Robinette. The Spare Man. New York, New York: Tor Books, 2022. 108,377 words. 4 stars.

Review – Nettle & Bone

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Nettle & Bone has been nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula awards for 2023; at the time of this writing, it did not win the Nebula but the Hugo is still in the future. “This isn’t the kind of fairytale where the princess marries a prince. It’s the one where she kills him.“

The author’s note at the end references “The Princess and the Pea,” but the fairy tale that most resonated with me while reading it was “The Seven Swans.” Marra is the youngest of three princesses and it is she who is the main, and viewpoint, character. The beginning of the book sets up the situation: eldest sister Damia marries Prince Vorling and dies in a fall, middle sister Kania marries Prince Vorling and has one living daughter and miscarries all the others. The action is set into effect during a vigil before the daughter’s funeral, when Marra realizes that her sister is being abused by Vorling. Marra decides that she must kill him to protect her sister.

Marra sets off on her quest to remove the godmother’s blessing that protects Vorling. Along the way, she accumulates people who decide to help her, a group of fairy tale helpers. Kingfisher doesn’t quite stick to the fairy tale template, although the story remains recognizably one, but throws in twists and surprises along the way. It’s a slow start–I don’t much care for apocalyptic stories, which this one appeared to be at the beginning–but I was thoroughly engrossed by the end.

This is a worthy nominee for both the Hugo and Nebula awards. Although it didn’t win the Nebula, I believe it is one of the two most likely to win the Hugo (I haven’t read Nona the Ninth yet). It has some grit and realism to it which is surprising for the genre, but makes it stick.

Kingfisher, T. Nettle & Bone. New York, New York: Tor Books, 2022. 84,002 words. 4 stars.

Review – The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

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The Daugher of Doctor Moreau is a retelling of the H. G. Wells’s classic science fiction novel, The Island of Doctor Moreau. It has been nominated for the Hugo award for Best Novel for 2023. I’ve never read the original story, and this one isn’t one I’ll be rereading. It took me a bit to understand why I disliked this story so much.

I don’t like horror.

I didn’t realize at first that this is a horror novel, as is the original from what I know of it, and that is enough for me to dislike it. It’s well-written, and the descriptions of the surroundings are lush and inviting. I couldn’t warm up to the characters, but that may be because I never warmed up to the book. There is a love triangle and, if you like horror, it’s probably a decent book. But.

This is one of the nominees for the Hugo Best Novel award. I don’t think it’s a likely winner, and I personally hope it doesn’t win; I don’t want to see more horror in later years.

Moreno-Garcia, Silvia. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. New York, New York: Del Rey Books, 2022. 102,844 words. 3 stars.

Review – Legends & Lattes

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Legends & Lattes is described as a “high fantasy with low stakes.” I would describe it as a coffee shop AU set in a D&D world. It has been nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel of 2023.

Viv is an orc adventurer who has a dream: to quit fighting and open her own coffee shop. She, and her party, had fought a monster called a Scalvert Queen; the only part of the treasure she wanted was the stone from its head; she left the rest of the treasure (quite a rich haul) to her party. She then took the scalvert stone, which is supposed to attract good luck, and the research to find the best place to use it, and quits to open her coffee shop.

This, incidentally, is all set up in the prologue. The rest of the book follows her quest to open, run, and keep running the coffee shop, which is eventually named Legends & Lattes. The “low stakes” of the description is that this isn’t a story about sword fights and battle magics; it’s a story about owning a small business. “Low stakes” to everyone but the small business owner. Throughout the story, Viv meets a diverse cast of characters, most of whom want her to succeed.

The villains of the book are those who are trying to prevent Viv from succeeding in her dream: the organized crime group who wants protection money, the former party member who feels he should have been given a piece of the action, and the complete lack of knowledge of coffee.

This is a delightful book that I enjoyed reading and, although I would call it a little slight to be “worthy” of both the Hugo and the Nebula awards, I’d not be unhappy if it won either. (It hasn’t won the Nebula; the Hugo is still in the future.)

Baldree, Travis. Legends & Lattes. New York, New York: Tor Books, 2022. 61,349 words. 5 stars.

Review – The Kaiju Preservation Society

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The Kaiju Preservation Society is a stand-alone science fiction novel that is a Hugo finalist for 2023. This is not the “serious” novel in that list; Scalzi himself describes it as a “pop song” of a novel. Which it is, a delightful one, that has some serious things to say about capitalism and a look at how the COVID-19 pandemic had many of us feeling while we were under lockdown. The novel is set in 2020 into 2021.

The novel is science fiction in the loosest of terms: it uses science to “explain” how the biosystem on the alternate Earth they are on works, and the science is genuine, but I suspect that an actual biologist would disagree with the explanations given. It doesn’t actually matter; the science is there to explain how a kaiju, or Godzilla-like creature, would exist. The fun of the story is not the science, it’s the situation and the people.

As is typical for a Scalzi novel, the cast of characters is diverse: The characters come from all different backgrounds, multiple genders (yes, at least one is non-binary), and probably sexual orientation. As is not uncommon with a Scalzi novel, sex isn’t a high priority of the story, and I don’t remember any pairings being mentioned, so sexual orientation isn’t important. The main character, Jamie Gray, is probably male, but I don’t actually remember it ever being specifically mentioned; this is another common Scalzi feature. The villain of the story is at the apex of privilege: a rich, cis het WASP male dudebro, and every bit as unpleasant as that sounds.

This was likely nominated for the Hugo since it is a lot of fun and very much a pandemic novel; it isn’t a work of “artistic merit”. It has also been nominated for the Dragon Award for best SF novel and won the Locus Award for best SF novel. However, in looking over the nominees, most of the ones I’ve already read fit into this category, and most of the others likely do as well. This isn’t my top choice, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it won, and it wouldn’t bother me one bit. I highly recommend it.

Scalzi, John. The Kaiju Preservation Society. New York, New York: Tor Books, 2022. 79,821 words. 5 stars.

Announcing the Hugo Awards of 2018

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The Hugo Awards for 2018 were announced Sunday night! And history has been made!

The fiction awards are as follows:

Best Novel: The Stone Sky, by N.K. Jemisin. This is the one that made history. N.K. Jemisin as won the Best Novel award three years in a row, for her The Broken Earth series. I will admit that this isn’t my favorite novel of the nominees, but it is the “weightiest” and the most significant. It’s a terrific win, and I’m pleased it did so.

Best Novella: All Systems Red by Martha Wells. This is my favorite of the novella nominees in a strong slate. A terrific main character in a terrific story; I keep telling everyone how great this story is.

Best Novelette: “The Secret Life of Bots” by Suzanne Palmer. This was number two on my list, and I’m quite content that it won.

Best Short Story: “Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™,” by Rebecca Roanhorse. Again, not my favorite, but a good selection from a good slate.

Finally, since I’ve spent all this time reading and reviewing the entries this year, I’ve bought a supporting membership for next year. (I’d love to go to Dublin, but I just don’t see that happening.)

Hugo Awards To Be Announced

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On August 19, 2018, the Hugo Awards will be announced at Worldcon 76 in San Jose, California.  The finalists are listed below; the links go to my reviews of the work.  There’s some really good reading here; please enjoy!

Best Novel

Of the six novels, my favorite is Provenance, followed by New York 2140 and Six Wakes.  Judging by the last two years and the year’s Nebula awards, I suspect that The Stone Sky will be the winner.  Ultimately, they’re all good, solid reads.

For the next three categories, I reviewed all of the candidates for both the Hugo and Nebula finalists in one entry.  So, you can get even more reading if you so desire.

Best Novella

  • All Systems Red, by Martha Wells.
  • “And Then There Were (N-One),” by Sarah Pinsker.
  • Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor.
  • The Black Tides of Heaven, by JY Yang.
  • Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire.
  • River of Teeth, by Sarah Gailey.

Again, some really good reading here.  MURDERBOT!  (Excuse me.)  My favorite is All Systems Red; in fact, I can’t wait until Rogue Protocol, the third in the series comes out next week.  After that, I recommend “And Then There Were (N-One)” and River of Teeth.  I’m really hoping I’ve picked the winner in this one; it’s delightful.

Best Novelette

  • “Children of Thorns, Children of Water,” by Aliette de Bodard.
  • “Extracurricular Activities,” by Yoon Ha Lee.
  • “The Secret Life of Bots,” by Suzanne Palmer.
  • “A Series of Steaks,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad.
  • “Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time,” by K.M. Szpara.
  • “Wind Will Rove,” by Sarah Pinsker.

My favorite of this group is “Wind Will Rove.”  I made my husband read it, which mostly I don’t bother with.  I also enjoyed “The Secret Life of Bots” and “A Series of Steaks”.  The other three didn’t appeal to me, but they’re well-written.

Best Short Story

  • Carnival Nine,” by Caroline M. Yoachim.
  • “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand,” by Fran Wilde.
  • “Fandom for Robots,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad.
  • “The Martian Obelisk,” by Linda Nagata.
  • “Sun, Moon, Dust” by Ursula Vernon.
  • “Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™,” by Rebecca Roanhorse.

My favorite of these is “Fandom for Robots,” with “The Martian Obelisk” and “Sun, Moon, Dust” following.

In short, there is a lot of good reading in the lead-up to the Hugo Awards this month.  While you’re at the beach, or wherever you go vacationing, take some with you.  And enjoy!

I’ll repeat this post the day before the awards and follow the day after with a list of the winners.

My Thoughts on the Hugo and Nebula Short Stories for 2017

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The following eight stories are the finalists for the Hugo and/or Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 2017, with my thoughts on each.

Science fiction/fantasy has changed a great deal since the days when I first started reading.  (I should hope so; that was over 45 years ago.)  The number of men and women has reversed, and the experiences are no longer solely those of WASP American (sometimes British) men.  It’s wonderful to know that the stories will be of a wider range, even if it does mean that there’s a good chance that they may not appeal to me.  At least they will appeal to more people ultimately.

Ultimately, that’s good news in the stories below.  I’m not a fan of horror, so there’s one of these that doesn’t appeal at all; several others wouldn’t be on my recommendation list, but all of them are worth reading.  And it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if you disagree with me on which are the best; that’s what the comments section is for.  (Good manners, however, are a must.)

I think of the eight, my favorite is “Fandom for Robots”, but there are several that I will be happy to see win awards.  Lovely selection.

Carnival Nine by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, May 11, 2017).  Both

The allegory in this fantasy was a little heavy-handed for my taste.  Still, a sweet and haunting story.

Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde (Uncanny September/October 2017).  Both

Creepy!  I like the stories I read to be a little clearer as to what’s going on.  Clearly, many others disagreed since it’s on both the Hugo and Nebula lists.  Brrr.

Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny September/October 2017).  Both

Delightful, and lovely to read about a robot fanficcer.  Also, this is the second story I’ve read recently about a robot enjoying entertainment viewing.  (The first is All Systems Red by Martha Wells.)

The Last Novelist (or A Dead Lizard in the Yard) by Matthew Kressel (Tor.com, March 15, 2017).  Nebula

A lovely, quiet look at death, love, storytelling, and doing things by hand.

The Martian Obelisk by Linda Nagata (Tor.com, July 19, 2017).  Hugo

Set in a world devastated by many small disasters, this story offers a reminder of the horror of hope.

Sun, Moon, Dust by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017).  Hugo

Nice.  A quiet subversion about the standard story of a farmer being given a magic sword and leaving their farm to use it.  Allpa is given the sword SunMoonDust by his dying grandmother, but the only battle he has to fight is against the earth to get his harvest.

Utopia, LOL?, Jamie Wahls (Strange Horizons, June 5, 2017).  Nebula

A fascinating story about a person from the future trying to guide an old man from the past who was cryogenically frozen while dying of cancer with the help of the AI who runs their virtual universe.  The end has a lovely twist.  Wonderful.

Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience TM by Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex August 2017).  Both

On the border between fantasy and science fiction, this story is a painful look at cultural appropriation.  Well done.

 

My Thoughts on the Hugo and Nebula Novelettes for 2017

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The following are the nine finalists for the Hugo and/or Nebula Award for Best Novelette of 2017.  A novelette is defined as a work of fiction between 7,500 and 17,500 words.  The works are from a variety of authors of different genders and different backgrounds, and the works themselves are diverse, from horror through to hard science fiction.  A delightful batch of reading.

My favorite of the below group, and probably my favorite finalist overall for this year, is “Wind Will Rove”.  Reading it wound me up, in all the best of ways.

I hope you do your own reading and find a story that winds you up in all the best of ways.  Enjoy!

Children of Thorns, Children of Water by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny, July-August 2017).  Hugo

A fantasy set in an alternate war-town Paris, about love and loyalty.

Dirty Old Town by Richard Bowes (Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction May/June 2017).  Nebula

A character study, with the surrounding family, set in what I believe is a magical realism world.  Interesting.

Extracurricular Activities by Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com, February 15, 2017).  Hugo

A caper story with a competent former assassin, language issues, cultural issues, and a determined sexual partner.  Fun.

A Human Stain by Kelly Robson (Tor.com, January 4, 2017).  Nebula

Horror.  Not my type of story at all.

The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld, September 2017).  Hugo

Artificial intelligence, and robots, is apparently on everyone’s mind these days.  There are a number of stories in this year’s finalists that address the issues of bots with more or less independent action.  This little bot, old and outdated, uses outdated logic to cause trouble.  That the trouble has other consequences is important.  I’m loving these bot stories!

A Series of Steaks by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld January 2017).  Both

More of a science fiction caper story than anything else, this is a fun look at the world of 3D printing forgeries.  The Asian (China) setting, which would usually turn me off, was incidental to the fun.  Helena and Lily are a lovely couple and the final twist is lovely.

Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny May/June 2017).  Both

A vampire story with a twist, this is a fascinating examination of identity, choice and consent.  Disturbing.

Weaponized Math by Jonathan P. Brazee (The Expanding Universe, Vol. 3).  Nebula

Grace is a sniper from the future.  The story shows a day in her life, protecting her fellow Marines from enemies, and watching far too many day.  Not my usual cup of tea, but the story is well done.

Wind Will Rove by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s September/October 2017).  Both

As I said, this is my favorite.  A science fiction story, set in a generation ship, after the cultural databases were wiped, and the travelers have been recreating what they had.  It’s an examination of art, education, history, and copy errors, and the love necessary for all of it.  Dear to my heart and well-written.