some things I read for the Hugo ballot
Jul. 12th, 2016 08:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psocopteraFolding Beijing, Hao Jingfang trans. Ken Liu, novelette. I thought this was awesome - vivid and substantive - and I'm not willing to not vote for it on account of the assholes having nominated it.
Space Raptor Butt Invasion, Chuck Tingle, short story. Speaking of assholes. (ba-dum.) I read a fair bit of m/m pwp, and this did not strike me as particularly great for that genre. I don't mean to knock the genius of "Slammed In The Butt By My Hugo Award Nomination" or "Pounded By The Pound: Turned Gay By The Socioeconomic Implications Of Britain Leaving The European Union" or "Living Inside My Own Butt For Eight Years, Starting A Business And Turning A Profit Through Common Sense Reinvestment And Strategic Targeted Marketing" but... enh.
Perfect State, Brandon Sanderson, novella. Interesting-enough MLP: Friendship Is Optimal-esque scenario, but I was bothered by Sanderson's uncritical use of a reproductive coercion storyline to further the plot. (Like, really? brains in jars, living otherwise-idealized lives, but they still have to *what*? I feel like maybe this is a place where a woman author might have noticed how deeply icky and violating that is, while a dude author like Sanderson just thought it was funny?) Also Melhi is Molly, yeah?
Slow Bullets, Alastair Reynolds, novella. A bunch of interesting elements here but somehow it didn't quite hang together for me.
Sandman Overture, Neil Gaiman + artists, graphic. Duuuuude. We'd had this on the bookshelf for awhile and I finally read it and you know how sometimes you're just like, man, authors should not try to revisit their works, stop poking it, it was good but you're making it worse? Not the case here. Gaiman & his team still have the juice, what a fucking capstone.
Space Raptor Butt Invasion, Chuck Tingle, short story. Speaking of assholes. (ba-dum.) I read a fair bit of m/m pwp, and this did not strike me as particularly great for that genre. I don't mean to knock the genius of "Slammed In The Butt By My Hugo Award Nomination" or "Pounded By The Pound: Turned Gay By The Socioeconomic Implications Of Britain Leaving The European Union" or "Living Inside My Own Butt For Eight Years, Starting A Business And Turning A Profit Through Common Sense Reinvestment And Strategic Targeted Marketing" but... enh.
Perfect State, Brandon Sanderson, novella. Interesting-enough MLP: Friendship Is Optimal-esque scenario, but I was bothered by Sanderson's uncritical use of a reproductive coercion storyline to further the plot. (Like, really? brains in jars, living otherwise-idealized lives, but they still have to *what*? I feel like maybe this is a place where a woman author might have noticed how deeply icky and violating that is, while a dude author like Sanderson just thought it was funny?) Also Melhi is Molly, yeah?
Slow Bullets, Alastair Reynolds, novella. A bunch of interesting elements here but somehow it didn't quite hang together for me.
Sandman Overture, Neil Gaiman + artists, graphic. Duuuuude. We'd had this on the bookshelf for awhile and I finally read it and you know how sometimes you're just like, man, authors should not try to revisit their works, stop poking it, it was good but you're making it worse? Not the case here. Gaiman & his team still have the juice, what a fucking capstone.
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