Astoundings
Jul. 13th, 2020 10:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psocopteraI don't like to not finish books but I have made it to 15% of the way into The Ruin of Kings and I am not enjoying it and I feel like every new thing that happens is just making me like it less, so I think I'm bailing. The time-and-POV jumping was jarring, the names are such Bad Fantasy Names, and the whole plot just seems... annoying. I think she's trying to do a Patrick Rothfuss kind of thing but it's not working for me even as much as those did. If anyone has read it and would recommend sticking with it, though, I'd be interested to hear that, especially if you think it does something that is the sort of thing I am known to like.
Otherwise let's go rank the Astoundings!
So, starting with the bottom, Jenn Lyons obviously loses since I couldn't even finish her book. Tasha Suri next, Empire of Sand was pretty meh. I would be okay seeing any of the other four of them win. I nominated Tesh and Sen. I would most like to see Sen win - I would love to see more exciting-new-short-fiction authors nominated than first-novel authors, and Sen has burst onto the scene with a bunch of quality stories ("Ten Excerpts...", "Advice for Your First Time...", "We Sang You As Ours"). And I liked what she put in the packet, too, the Banyan Tree one was cute (and I really want a cumin seed creme brulee, oh my god). And the Leviathan one, damn. (Are all whaling stories Moby Dick fanfic? Discuss.) Anyways, Sen. That leaves Kuang, Hawke, and Tesh. Kuang was on the ballot last year and didn't do very well, but she was my first-place choice and I think is still my second-place choice this year. I definitely enjoyed Tesh's Silver in the Wood but am maybe more excited about Hawke's City of Lies, at this point in time? I think I would like to nominate Tesh again next year (at which point I should also have read the sequel, Drowned Country, and will have a more developed opinion). So, thus:
1 - Nibedita Sen (2nd year of eligibility)
2 - R.F. Kuang (2nd year of eligibility)
3 - Sam Hawke (2nd year of eligibility)
4 - Emily Tesh (1st year of eligibility)
5 - Tasha Suri (2nd year of eligibility)
6 - Jenn Lyons (1st year of eligibility)
ETA: I forgot to do a prediction. I think Sen takes it, actually - everyone will have read Ten Excerpts from the short story ballot, so even people who didn't want to read five extra novels may well drop her a vote in this category too.
Otherwise let's go rank the Astoundings!
So, starting with the bottom, Jenn Lyons obviously loses since I couldn't even finish her book. Tasha Suri next, Empire of Sand was pretty meh. I would be okay seeing any of the other four of them win. I nominated Tesh and Sen. I would most like to see Sen win - I would love to see more exciting-new-short-fiction authors nominated than first-novel authors, and Sen has burst onto the scene with a bunch of quality stories ("Ten Excerpts...", "Advice for Your First Time...", "We Sang You As Ours"). And I liked what she put in the packet, too, the Banyan Tree one was cute (and I really want a cumin seed creme brulee, oh my god). And the Leviathan one, damn. (Are all whaling stories Moby Dick fanfic? Discuss.) Anyways, Sen. That leaves Kuang, Hawke, and Tesh. Kuang was on the ballot last year and didn't do very well, but she was my first-place choice and I think is still my second-place choice this year. I definitely enjoyed Tesh's Silver in the Wood but am maybe more excited about Hawke's City of Lies, at this point in time? I think I would like to nominate Tesh again next year (at which point I should also have read the sequel, Drowned Country, and will have a more developed opinion). So, thus:
1 - Nibedita Sen (2nd year of eligibility)
2 - R.F. Kuang (2nd year of eligibility)
3 - Sam Hawke (2nd year of eligibility)
4 - Emily Tesh (1st year of eligibility)
5 - Tasha Suri (2nd year of eligibility)
6 - Jenn Lyons (1st year of eligibility)
ETA: I forgot to do a prediction. I think Sen takes it, actually - everyone will have read Ten Excerpts from the short story ballot, so even people who didn't want to read five extra novels may well drop her a vote in this category too.
