Kludge's Hugo Picks
From
Scott Dorsey@21:1/5 to
All on Wed Sep 6 22:01:01 2023
XPost: rec.arts.sf.written
These are my personal picks and nobody else should get any blame for them. You may or may not agree with them and that's okay either way.
Best Novel
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* The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey)
This takes the Wells classic and tells it from a very different perspective, that of Moreau's creations and his family, resetting it into the 19th century Yucatan jungle. I really like the way the author, who clearly knows Mexico, took the story and riffed on it without losing the orignal thread. Many proofreading errors (attar of roses becomes otto of roses) that should be overlooked.
#3
* The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi (Tor Books)
An animal rights organization is looking to rescue animals, except that they turn out to be in a parallel universe and turn out to be very large.
#2
* Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree (Tor Books)
In an unusual update to the typical Dungeons and Dragons fantasy novel, an
Orc fighter retires and opens a coffeehouse with the aid of an enchanted
jewel and a lot of new friends. This book is silly, and I feel guilty about recommending something so flimsy for a Hugo at all, but it's innovative and uplifting and I just liked it. I enjoyed every bit of it.
#1
* Nona the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (Tordotcom)
Nona is a young girl who lives in a mostly-destroyed city in a mostly- destroyed world with a blue ball hanging in the sky that is never completely explained. Her family members have multiple people in the same body, which turns out to be because they are zombies. Sort of. This is a very cool book but I felt like I was missing too much of it by not having read the previous books or been familiar with the world. The author makes little attempt to explain the background which is both good and bad.
#4
* Nettle & Bone, by T. Kingfisher (Tor Books)
This is a fairy tale updated with more believable modern characters,
and a princess who is a real person. It's a good idea and I liked the book
but I think the idea has been used before enough that it's not really innovative. I recommend reading it but it's not #1 on my hugo list.
#5
* The Spare Man, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor Books)
This is a traditional mystery novel that just happens to be set on a
spaceship. The title being an homage to The Thin Man, you can expect a
lot of references to classic mysteries here. The main character is disabled (but the detective is not) and there is a whole lot of use of alternate pronouns and such politenesses, in a way which becomes almost intrusive. I don't think any of that detracts from the book but I don't think it really
adds anything to it either. It was a pleasant afternoon mystery read, but certainly not anything amazing and I don't think this is in the Hugo league
at all.
Best Novella
------------
* Even Though I Knew the End, by C.L. Polk (Tordotcom)
A detective story set in the 1930s, but one involving demons and angels. It starts out as a murder mystery but soon turns into something very different.
I enjoyed it, it was a different idea well-executed (although the author
would do well to get photography terminology a little bit better).
#2
* Into the Riverlands, by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)
This is the third part of the continuing saga of Chih, the wandering enby cleric who collects history and stories as he travels in an alternate Asia.
I enjoyed the first book in the series, Empress of Salt and Fortune, which deservedly won a Hugo in 2021, but I think this is more of the same. It's
a good story and it will go well in a collection with the previous stories,
but it was not as innovative as the first.
#3
* A Mirror Mended, by Alix E. Harrow (Tordotcom)
Zinnia Gray falls into a fairy tale, but then that fairy tail gets mashed
up with another and soon there is a trip through Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and a host of others, updated for the modern world. It was okay.
#4
* Ogres, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Solaris)
This book does not appear to actually be in print. There are kindle editions available but there are no actual paper editions (although someone is offering to sell a used paperback online for $78). As such, I do not think this is actually eligible for a Hugo and I have no way to read it.
* What Moves the Dead, by T. Kingfisher (Tor Nightfire)
If you mixed up Fall of the House of Usher along with Matango the Fungus of Terror in a big vat, this is what you'd get. It's witty and ingenious.
#1
* Where the Drowned Girls Go, by Seanan McGuire (Tordotcom)
Cora once walked through a door into an alternate universe where she was a mermaid, but now that she is back in the real world she is troubled about who she is. Sent to schools for kids who have been into alternate universes, she wants to forget going through the door but things don't turn out the way she thought. This is a fine young adult book, and it addresses on the side a number of adolescent issues. I would have loved this book when I was twelve and it deserves a Lodestar award, hands down. I would not vote for it for
the Hugos.
Best Novelette
* "The Difference Between Love and Time", by Catherynne M. Valente
(Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance, Solaris)
The space-time continuum is incarnated as a series of people and
sometimes as an iguana. And it/he/they has a message of love.
#3
* "A Dream of Electric Mothers", by Wole Talabi (Africa Risen: A New
Era of Speculative Fiction, Tordotcom)
The concept of a collective mind made up of the minds of the dead is not
new, but this Afrofuturist story takes it in a different direction than
other writers have in the past.
#5
* "If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the
Informal You", by John Chu (Uncanny Magazine, July-August 2022)
Is he a god? Is he a superhero? He is my friend.
#2
* "Murder By Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital
Darkness", by S.L. Huang (Clarkesworld, December 2022)
A story about AI in the current day, making change.
#1
* "The Space-Time Painter", by Hai Ya (Galaxy's Edge, April 2022)
This does not seem to be available anywhere and I cannot find it.
* "We Built This City", by Marie Vibbert (Clarkesworld, June 2022)
It's a story about a labor protest and it's a story about Venus and it's really a nicely put-together little thing.
#4
Best Short Story
----------------
* "D.I.Y.", by John Wiswell (Tor.com, August 2022)
In a time of drought with wizards controlling all magic, Noah finds a way
to create water using unlicensed magic and legal trouble ensues. It seems
a little heavy-handed but it's a good story well-told.
* "On the Razor's Edge", by Jiang Bo (Science Fiction World, January
2022)
This does not seem to be available anywhere online, probably is in the
Hugo packet?
* "Rabbit Test", by Samantha Mills (Uncanny Magazine,
November-December 2022)
This is a discussion of reproductive health care in a dystopian future,
in the present and in the past. It's didactic and a little heavy-handed perhaps, but the situation in the US being what it is that's probably not
a bad thing. This is very US-centric but stories have to be set somewhere.
* "Resurrection", by Ren Qing (Future Fiction/Science Fiction World,
December 2022)
This is in the Galaxy Awards 1 Anthology apparently but I cannot find it.
* "The White Cliff", by Lu Ban (Science Fiction World, May 2022)
Not available online
* "Zhurong on Mars", by Regina Kanyu Wang (Frontiers, September 2022)
Also not available online.
I hate to say it here but I am going for "No Award" on this one. None of
the ones that I could get access to were bad stories, but none of them were actually great.
Best Series
-----------
* Children of Time Series, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Pan
Macmillan/Orbit)
* The Founders Trilogy, by Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey)
* The Locked Tomb, by Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com)
* October Daye, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
* Rivers of London, by Ben Aaronovich (Orion)
* The Scholomance, by Naomi Novik (Del Rey)
I am inclined to list The Locked Tomb here, even though I have read only one novel in the set, in part because I liked the novel but couldn't put it high
up for a Hugo award, and in part because I think the novel didn't stand alone without the rest of the series and it would have deserved the novel award if it could have. So I think the series award is indicated for it.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
From
Scott Dorsey@21:1/5 to
All on Wed Jul 17 14:35:55 2024
XPost: rec.arts.sf.written
Best Novel
- The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (Harper Voyager,
Harper Voyager UK)
6. This is a fantasy taking place in the 13th century Islamic world and
it reads like something that Sir Richard Burton might have enjoyed even if not written. It's clearly well-researched and the characters are good ones but
it doesn't really seem to me like a world-changing novel. I liked it enough and I enjoyed reading it and it's almost certainly designed to turn into a series.
- The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom)
5. I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of this book, setting up a world
of conflicting religious cults, the ability to change the past, and mysterious doors that may or may not lead to another world if they could be opened. But then I got to the end of the book and half of my questions were never answered. This really feels to me like a setup for a longer series and as such I felt kind of disappointed. Great premise, great world, great worldbuilding but I don't think it stands alone.
- Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (Tordotcom, Orbit UK)
2. This is a galactic empire story that starts out in a space station containing the last remnant of the human race holding out against... no... wait, things turn out not to be what they looked like at first and now
there's a machine that can change the past and place us into parallel
presents. This could have been a Heinlein story for a while but then it
goes off into new directions Heinlein would never have considered. I like this, and I think it's worthy of a Hugo.
- Starter Villain by John Scalzi (Tor, Tor UK)
4. This is silly fluff but top grade silly fluff. It's about a man suddenly inheriting a seat on a SMERSH-like conspiracy of villains from his uncle, hyperintelligent cats, the hidden hand of evil controlling the world, and
it's done with a great sense of humour. I am not sure this will be remembered a decade from now but if it is it will be remembered fondly, I think.
- Translation State by Ann Leckie (Orbit US, Orbit UK)
1. The Sad Puppies complained about the lack of traditional space opera with galactic empires and they don't have that to complain about here. Three characters from two empires meet together in a search for an alien person
who disappeared two centuries ago. A beautiful look into diplomacy between empires of different species, this could have been written by Asimov (although it would have been a bit different had he done so). There is a running gag about gender pronouns which is likely calculated to piss off the Puppies but which is utterly hilarious. This book has characters I can believe in, a
story that gets more and more strange as it goes, and a sense of humor. It needs a Hugo.
- Witch King by Martha Wells (Tordotcom)
3. This is an epic fantasy with two different story lines at different
times with the same lead chracter, a demon prince whose family had an agreement with the Saredi civilization to host them, except that years ago the Saredi were wiped out by invaders called the Heiararchs and since then nothing has been the same. This is a solid and well-written fantasy story of new societies,
old societies, betrayal and unlikely allies. This isn't normally my kind of thing, but I couldn't put it down until it ended. Unfortunately it ended
with an ending specifically designed to start a series of books and I give it points off for that. Why does everyone need to start a series now? But it
was a good book that I think will last.
Best Novella
- Life Does Not Allow Us to Meet, He Xi / translated by
Alex Woodend (Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English
Science Fiction Writers)
NO - I found this excruciating to read. The writing was incredibly clumsy
and it spent too much time telling instead of describing. I can't help but think this is the fault of the translation because the translated version is not only not Hugo-worthy but not really publication-worthy. This is kind of
a shame because the idea it plays with about humans settling other planets might make some interesting points about what it means to be human. But overall this just seems a complete failure, sadly.
- Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)
2 - This is the fourth book in the Singing Hills cycle and although it is
an enjoyable book in itself, I think it is the least strong of the set and
it is dependant on a gimmick which I think spoils some of the effect. It
was a pleasant read but less deserving of a Hugo than the others in the set.
- The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older (Tordotcom)
3 - This is written in the form of a mystery on a colony around a gas giant
in a world where the earth has become uninhabitable. It's only in the form
of a mystery because you aren't given enough background to figure it out, and while most of the enjoyment in the story comes from working out that background it breaks any chance of it being a mystery. I liked this, but when I got to the end I was really pissed because I hadn't been given the clues needed until it was already solved.
- Rose/House by Arkady Martine (Subterranean)
NO. Actually, I would probably give this number one because it is a great, great story. It is a muystery with a detective, a reporter, and an AI-powered house, and it is a real mystery with an interesting ending. However, this
book does not appear to be available on paper or online.... hardcover editions are selling for over $300 on ebay, amazon, and alibris... it is only available in the Hugo packet to Hugo voters, and given that I am unwilling to vote for it.
- Seeds of Mercury, Wang Jinkang / translated by Alex
Woodend (Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English Science
Fiction Writers)
NO. This is a story of humans creating life and how the religion of that
life evolves. The concept is a great one, the actual writing is kind of dreadful. This may be the result of the translation but unfortunately this
is all I, as an English-speaker, have to go on.
- Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (Tor, Titan UK)
1 - This is a reversed retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story and
it's definitely light fluff, but I am a sucker for this kind of light
fluff and I enjoyed every minutes of it. Also I like toads.
Best Novelette
- I AM AI by Ai Jiang (Shortwave)
6. Ai is a human being in a world dominated by artificial intelligences, trying to survive without selling too many of her body parts. It's not a bad story, it's just a little heavy-handed and while I enjoyed it I don't think it is Hugo material.
- Introduction to 2181 Overture, Second Edition
translated by Emily Jen (Clarkesworld, February 2023)
5. A story in the form of the introduction to a documentary volume on the
mass time migration through cryosleep that took place in the 22nd century.
I'm not sure if this is Hugo material but it's well-written and done in a
form that was once popular in American SF but which has become almost nonexistent today. I think this story deserves some attention but I am not sure if it deserves a Hugo.
- Ivy, Angelica, Bay by C.L. Polk (Tor.com 8 December 2023)
3. A world with small magic, a child who isn't what she seems to be, and an evil corporation taking over real estate. This is a lovely and well-crafted fantasy story that could be in any city neighborhood with magic.
- On the Fox Roads by Nghi Vo (Tor.com 31 October 2023)
1. Asian bank robbers, roads that don't go through the land we know,
and a curious relationship. I really liked this story.
- One Mans Treasure by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, January-February
2023)
2. In a land with powerful magic, trash collection becomes hazardous.
Some make it more so. An interesting story with a new set of premises.
- The Year Without Sunshine by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine,
November-December 2023)
4. A neighborhood bonds together in a time of crisis. A good fantasy about good people in a bad situation. I liked the story even if I didn't think
it was all that realistic. I'd like to think people were this good, even
if I don't really.
Best Short Story
- Answerless Journey, Han Song / , translated by Alex
Woodend (Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English Science
Fiction Writers)
NO. This isn't really a story, it's a description of a situation in space, and I'm not quite sure what to make of it. Again, I suspect the translation is severely limiting what we see, but I think there's just something missing here.
- Better Living Through Algorithms by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld May 2023)
3. An application to make people's lives better works even after it is discontinued.
- How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub by P. Djeli Clark (Uncanny Magazine,
January-February 2023)
1. This is a very silly story set in a curious steampunk universe
where the ads in the back of comic books promote something larger than
sea monkeys. It is perfect.
- The Mausoleum's Children by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine,
May-June 2023)
4. The story of a mysterious project to revive dead ships and the
children being used for them. I enjoyed this a lot in part because it
left more questions than answers and made me want to know more about the universe it takes place in.
- The Sound of Children Screaming by Rachael K. Jones (Nightmare Magazine,
October 2023)
2. Children fleeing a school shooting go through a portal and come out into
a world that turns out to be more dangerous than the one they left.
- Tasting the Future Delicacy Three Times, / Baoshu
(Galaxy's Edge Vol. 13: Secret Room in the Black Domain)
NO. This isn't a bad story. It's a gimmick story but it's a pretty good gimmick story. I don't think it's worthy of a Hugo as translated although
for all I know there could have been translation issues there too. In any event, it doesn't matter since once again this seems to be available in
English only in the Hugo packet and not anywhere where mere mortals could
find it to read.
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)