Light From Uncommon Stars

[psocoptera]

Light From Uncommon Stars, Ryka Aoki. The last of the Hugo Novel nominees. I mostly enjoyed this - it's a bold move to put "selling your soul to the devil" and "space aliens building a stargate" in the same story, and I appreciate Aoki going for it - but I found the writing a bit clunky and repetitive. Content note for one of the main characters (a trans woman) experiencing a lot of really ugly real-world-realistic transphobia (and sexual assault) (and survival sex work).

I guess I get to rank novels now!

A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine here
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers here
Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki
A Master of Djinn, by P. Djèlí Clark here
Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir here
She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan here

which I think turns into

She Who Became the Sun
Desolation Called Peace
Master of Djinn
Galaxy and the Ground Within
Light from Uncommon Stars
Project Hail Mary

although I don't feel strongly about 3 vs 4 there.

Comments

Light From Uncommon Stars

[vardibidian]

I found _Light From Uncommon Stars_ a delightfully goofy mess of a book, and have been shocked to find it on shortlists for awards. I mean, I liked it! But I don't think of fun-but-structurally-screwy as the kind of thing that gets awarded. Honestly, I didn't expect that anyone would _read_ the thing, much less nominate it. It seemed kinda... niche.

-V.