psocoptera (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
psocoptera) wrote2014-06-11 01:45 pm
psocoptera) wrote2014-06-11 01:45 pm
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2014 Hugo Nominees: Novelettes
"The Lady Astronaut of Mars", Mary Robinette Kowal. The emotional/relationship aspect of this story is very strong and moving, but the SF aspect doesn't seem essential to it, you could have pretty much that same arc in a realistic or historical story. And what's with the Oz reference? Don't get me wrong, I liked this, and I wouldn't mind seeing it win the Hugo, but it's not my first choice.
"The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling", Ted Chiang. A classic Ted Chiang story, about an interesting new psychological technology and how people relate to it. I really like that sort of thing and this is no exception, but this isn't as strong as his best. It felt a little sprawling and repetitive, with things spelled out that didn't need to be, while paradoxically I felt like we needed a little bit more detail around the central misrecollection, like the voice of the story needed to be a little less objective and more personal, maybe. But I really like the observation that writing is a technology, and the generally non-alarmist perspective, and I think this is my #2 pick.
"The Waiting Stars", Aliette de Bodard. There have been a number of de Bodard stories that haven't worked for me, but this one really did. It won the Nebula, deservedly, and is just generally *good*, well-balanced between its parts, well-constructed, populated by well-realized characters who I cared about. My #1 vote this year.
“The Exchange Officers”, Brad Torgersen. What if you took everything that might be fun or inspiring or gripping in a space adventure story, and then wrote one without any of that? But I shouldn't put it that way, because that sounds like an interesting challenge, and this story isn't. Maybe I'll try headline format: "Man at no personal risk murders 12, sinks own ship, because Amurika."
“Opera Vita Aeterna”, Vox Day. So some people have argued that the nominated works should be judged "solely on their artistic merits" (like Scalzi, here). For me, if I'm taking a walking tour of the gardens of country estates, and I happen to step in something unfortunate, I can see the argument that I shouldn't let that ruin my enjoyment of an otherwise beautiful garden. But if I find out the owner thinks it's really funny to see people ruin their shoes, and deliberately feeds his dogs things that give them diarrhea and encourages them to run all over the paths, such that I have to worry about every step I take? Dogshit has become an integral part of that garden experience, and it is impossible to imagine strolling blithely through without asking myself every few feet if I smell something, even if in the end I don't actually end up encountering any. (And, as it happens, the bushes need pruning, the lawn is threadbare and growing weeds, and there are no flowers or vistas of interest.)
"The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling", Ted Chiang. A classic Ted Chiang story, about an interesting new psychological technology and how people relate to it. I really like that sort of thing and this is no exception, but this isn't as strong as his best. It felt a little sprawling and repetitive, with things spelled out that didn't need to be, while paradoxically I felt like we needed a little bit more detail around the central misrecollection, like the voice of the story needed to be a little less objective and more personal, maybe. But I really like the observation that writing is a technology, and the generally non-alarmist perspective, and I think this is my #2 pick.
"The Waiting Stars", Aliette de Bodard. There have been a number of de Bodard stories that haven't worked for me, but this one really did. It won the Nebula, deservedly, and is just generally *good*, well-balanced between its parts, well-constructed, populated by well-realized characters who I cared about. My #1 vote this year.
“The Exchange Officers”, Brad Torgersen. What if you took everything that might be fun or inspiring or gripping in a space adventure story, and then wrote one without any of that? But I shouldn't put it that way, because that sounds like an interesting challenge, and this story isn't. Maybe I'll try headline format: "Man at no personal risk murders 12, sinks own ship, because Amurika."
“Opera Vita Aeterna”, Vox Day. So some people have argued that the nominated works should be judged "solely on their artistic merits" (like Scalzi, here). For me, if I'm taking a walking tour of the gardens of country estates, and I happen to step in something unfortunate, I can see the argument that I shouldn't let that ruin my enjoyment of an otherwise beautiful garden. But if I find out the owner thinks it's really funny to see people ruin their shoes, and deliberately feeds his dogs things that give them diarrhea and encourages them to run all over the paths, such that I have to worry about every step I take? Dogshit has become an integral part of that garden experience, and it is impossible to imagine strolling blithely through without asking myself every few feet if I smell something, even if in the end I don't actually end up encountering any. (And, as it happens, the bushes need pruning, the lawn is threadbare and growing weeds, and there are no flowers or vistas of interest.)