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2023 Locus winners
Jun. 25th, 2023 11:11 amHere, or behind the cut. ( Read more... )
2023 Shirley Jackson nominees
Jun. 25th, 2023 12:01 amHere, or behind the cut. (Am I going to Readercon this year? Like, with my meat body? Maybe?)
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( Read more... )
just Chengdu it already
Jun. 24th, 2023 10:14 pmTen days after the "one more week" estimate Chengdu is now saying "end of June" for finalists. I just want to know how much reading I'm doing! And get in library queues in hopes of getting stuff before voting closes! I get that something is going on that has made this year unusually complicated, and I want to be patient with that in the interests of supporting this neat globalization experiment, but, uh, insofar as it is an experiment, it's hard to feel like it's entirely succeeding. Like, whatever the problems have been - all the technical problems in the nominations phase, and now whatever is going on trying to compile and contact finalists - it kind of seems like it's been more difficult than they were prepared for. (And what happens if *voting* goes this poorly? Worldcon is a hard deadline...)
2023 Ignyte finalists
May. 24th, 2023 09:10 pmHey, while we're waiting for "early June" for the Hugo finalists, how about some Ignyte finalists? Here or behind the cut. ( Read more... )
2023 Nebula awards!
May. 14th, 2023 11:03 pmWatching these live, woo! ... god, I always forget how long they run. I basically do not ever care about the emcees' and presenters' thoughts about anything, or their little jokes, I just want to hear the acceptance speeches!
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( Read more... )
Legends & Lattes
May. 10th, 2023 08:24 pmLegends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes, Travis Baldree, 2022 novel. Orc warrior decides to retire and open a coffee shop, slowly assembles quest party of various other people with something to contribute, the real treasure was the friends we made along the way. Extremely cozy, to the extent that it didn't entirely work for me - I'm still not sure how things worked out at the end except that the plot demanded they just had to, so they did - but enjoyable, and a fast read. And the cover is perfect, like, picture a Xanth cover from the 80s, only it's cute f/f D&D monster ladies. Apparently it was Kindle Direct self-published and then Seanan McGuire recced it on Twitter, having noticed it because of the cover, and Tor picked it up, so, like, I don't know if Baldree commissioned the cover from Carson Lowmiller or what, but damn, talk about a good investment. I hope Lowmiller and the cover win some industry recognition (and more work for Lowmiller, if that's something wanted).
Also I have now read all six of the Nebula nominees for best novel! I'm not a Nebula voter, but here's how I would rank them: ( Read more... )
Also I have now read all six of the Nebula nominees for best novel! I'm not a Nebula voter, but here's how I would rank them: ( Read more... )
Infinity Award
Apr. 29th, 2023 04:10 pmHa - apparently SFWA has continued to feel so bad about having failed to name Butler a Damon Knight Grandmaster that they've now invented an entirely new parallel award for people who inconveniently died before they could get Grandmastered. See file770 writeup here. I'll be very interested to see who else they prioritize in the backfilling effort.
ETA: apparently this year's Grandmaster was also announced back in November, which I somehow never hear about! Robin McKinley! Feels extremely plausible in the ongoing "catching up of the women" project - she's 70, and formative/foundational for a lot of younger writers, and I think has some kind of chronic illness (ME/CFS maybe?) that probably adds some extra "how is she even doing in this pandemic" worry. And is of course terrific and I've re-read some of her books a bunch of times. Very pleasing choice.
ETA: apparently this year's Grandmaster was also announced back in November, which I somehow never hear about! Robin McKinley! Feels extremely plausible in the ongoing "catching up of the women" project - she's 70, and formative/foundational for a lot of younger writers, and I think has some kind of chronic illness (ME/CFS maybe?) that probably adds some extra "how is she even doing in this pandemic" worry. And is of course terrific and I've re-read some of her books a bunch of times. Very pleasing choice.
2022 Pro Artists
Apr. 26th, 2023 11:28 pmEverybody on the spreadsheet is good but I'm nominating Alyssa Winans, Geneva Bowers, Kuri Huang, Paul Lewin, and Sija Hong and calling it a day.
2022 Short Stories
Apr. 26th, 2023 10:46 pmHere's my short story shortlist, which is basically everything I marked as "really liked" or "particularly recommended" plus a few others I wanted to consider.
Picking five of these was harder than the novelettes, since these are all already standouts in the short stories-I-would-recommend pool, and then it's like... am I having recency bias? Am I having the opposite bias, for the stuff I read early on that I've now thought about more times/for longer? I might still ditch the Rather and pick up that Gardner story, hmmm.
On the Sunlit Side of Venus, Benjamin Parzybok, Apex. More sole survivors, coincidentally.
The Cheesemaker and the Undying King, Lina Rather, Lightspeed. Where "cheesemaker" is medieval for "microbiologist", more or less. I really liked this one.
The CRISPR Cookbook: A Guide to Biohacking Your Own Abortion in a Post-Roe World, MKRNYILGLD, Lightspeed. Some very angry near-future worldbuilding around some very sharp science talk. Damn. Particularly recommended.
In the Beginning of Me, I Was a Bird, Maria Dong, Lightspeed. Transmigrations. Reminded me of This Is How You Lose the Time War, particularly recommended.
The Goldfish Man, Maureen McHugh, Uncanny. Set in the pandemic. Homelessness, and art, and aliens.
The Transfiguration of the Gardener Irene by the Dead Planet Hipea, Ann LeBlanc, Clarkesworld. The last survivor of a fungal colony organism. I really liked this one.
Company Town, Aimee Ogden, Clarkesworld. Labor relations, and bonus portal fantasy. I really liked this one.
Two Spacesuits, Leonard Richardson, Clarkesworld. Memes and alien possession. I really liked this one.
D.I.Y, John Wiswell, Tor.com. This one absolutely reeks of ballot. A fine little story about not getting into magic school, and monopolies, and collective action. I don't know that I personally am nominating it, but I fully expect to be seeing it.
Clay, Isabel J. Kim, Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Golems, mass production, individuality.
The Crow Husband, Sarah McGill, Strange Horizons. Offbeat and lovely, about different kinds of relationships, and wanting them or not. Le Guin-esque.
You, Me, Her, You, Her, I, Isabel J. Kim, Strange Horizons. Art and memory and temping.
Hush, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Tor.com. A mom trying to help a kid get home in the middle of xenophobic riots.
The Future History of Your Body, Davian Aw, Daily Science Fiction. Flash piece about anthropology and deep time.
Simons, Far and Near, Ana Gardner, Cast of Wonders. Young people picked to go ahead of ships evacuating Earth and prepare.
Picking five of these was harder than the novelettes, since these are all already standouts in the short stories-I-would-recommend pool, and then it's like... am I having recency bias? Am I having the opposite bias, for the stuff I read early on that I've now thought about more times/for longer? I might still ditch the Rather and pick up that Gardner story, hmmm.
On the Sunlit Side of Venus, Benjamin Parzybok, Apex. More sole survivors, coincidentally.
The Cheesemaker and the Undying King, Lina Rather, Lightspeed. Where "cheesemaker" is medieval for "microbiologist", more or less. I really liked this one.
The CRISPR Cookbook: A Guide to Biohacking Your Own Abortion in a Post-Roe World, MKRNYILGLD, Lightspeed. Some very angry near-future worldbuilding around some very sharp science talk. Damn. Particularly recommended.
In the Beginning of Me, I Was a Bird, Maria Dong, Lightspeed. Transmigrations. Reminded me of This Is How You Lose the Time War, particularly recommended.
The Goldfish Man, Maureen McHugh, Uncanny. Set in the pandemic. Homelessness, and art, and aliens.
The Transfiguration of the Gardener Irene by the Dead Planet Hipea, Ann LeBlanc, Clarkesworld. The last survivor of a fungal colony organism. I really liked this one.
Company Town, Aimee Ogden, Clarkesworld. Labor relations, and bonus portal fantasy. I really liked this one.
Two Spacesuits, Leonard Richardson, Clarkesworld. Memes and alien possession. I really liked this one.
D.I.Y, John Wiswell, Tor.com. This one absolutely reeks of ballot. A fine little story about not getting into magic school, and monopolies, and collective action. I don't know that I personally am nominating it, but I fully expect to be seeing it.
Clay, Isabel J. Kim, Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Golems, mass production, individuality.
The Crow Husband, Sarah McGill, Strange Horizons. Offbeat and lovely, about different kinds of relationships, and wanting them or not. Le Guin-esque.
You, Me, Her, You, Her, I, Isabel J. Kim, Strange Horizons. Art and memory and temping.
Hush, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Tor.com. A mom trying to help a kid get home in the middle of xenophobic riots.
The Future History of Your Body, Davian Aw, Daily Science Fiction. Flash piece about anthropology and deep time.
Simons, Far and Near, Ana Gardner, Cast of Wonders. Young people picked to go ahead of ships evacuating Earth and prepare.
2022 Novelettes
Apr. 26th, 2023 10:30 pmOk, here's everything I have tagged as a novelette, of which I have bolded the five of the 18 that I plan to nominate.
To Embody a Wildfire Starting, Iona Datt Sharma, Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Dragon shapeshifters and the aftermath of a revolution. This one is really good. NOVELETTE
Forte, Samuel Chapman, Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Fencers from opposing schools, a romance. NOVELETTE.
The Difference Between Love and Time, Catherynne M. Valente, Tor.com. Reprint from a 2022 anthology. NOVELETTE. This is Valente doing her gonzo thing, which often makes my eyes roll but then gets me in the end - if you liked Space Opera you'll probably like this. Wouldn't be surprised to see this one on the ballot.
Quandary Aminu vs The Butterfly Man, Rich Larson, Tor.com. NOVELETTE. And here's Larson doing his cyberpunk thing. If you've been reading my recs for awhile you probably already know whether you like Larson's cyberpunk thing.
Wanting Things, Cal Ritterhoff, Clarkesworld. I found parts of this annoying but parts were funny. NOVELETTE
Dream Factory, Greg Egan, Clarkesworld. Always interesting to see what Egan is up to. Pet ownership and the ethics of hacking your cat. NOVELETTE
We Built This City, Marie Vibbert, Clarkesworld. Labor relations on a floating Venusian cloud city. Nebula nominee. NOVELETTE.
Carapace, David Goodman, Clarkesworld. MilSF about a suit trying to carry out its pilot's mission. NOVELETTE.
The Sadness Box, Suzanne Palmer, Clarkesworld. A difficult parent, and a particularly bleak war. NOVELETTE.
Sweetbaby, Thomas Ha, Clarkesworld. Cycles of abuse and the will to get someone out of them. NOVELETTE.
Murder by Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Darkness, S.L. Huang, Clarkesworld. Cat Pictures Please but the AI is just GPT-4, ish. Nebula nominee. NOVELETTE.
If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You, John Chu, Uncanny. A warm and ultimately hopeful superhero story, more or less what if Superman was real in our racist world today. Nebula nominee. NOVELETTE.
Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold, S.B. Divya, Uncanny. A well-done fairytale retelling. Nebula nominee. NOVELETTE.
The Prince of Salt and the Ocean's Bargain, Natalia Theodoridou, Uncanny. An odd little fairy tale. Nebula nominee. NOVELETTE.
Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home, C.L> Clark, Uncanny. A sailor and a lighthouse keeper. F/F. NOVELETTE.
The Noon Witch Goes to Sound Planet, Kristina Ten, Lightspeed. A teen girl trying to reject her magical heritage at Coachella. NOVELETTE.
Solidity, Greg Egan, Asimov's. Damn, this one is good. NOVELETTE.
Falling Off the Edge of the World, Suzanne Palmer, Asimov's. Sole survivors of a starship catastrophe. NOVELETTE.
To Embody a Wildfire Starting, Iona Datt Sharma, Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Dragon shapeshifters and the aftermath of a revolution. This one is really good. NOVELETTE
Forte, Samuel Chapman, Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Fencers from opposing schools, a romance. NOVELETTE.
The Difference Between Love and Time, Catherynne M. Valente, Tor.com. Reprint from a 2022 anthology. NOVELETTE. This is Valente doing her gonzo thing, which often makes my eyes roll but then gets me in the end - if you liked Space Opera you'll probably like this. Wouldn't be surprised to see this one on the ballot.
Quandary Aminu vs The Butterfly Man, Rich Larson, Tor.com. NOVELETTE. And here's Larson doing his cyberpunk thing. If you've been reading my recs for awhile you probably already know whether you like Larson's cyberpunk thing.
Wanting Things, Cal Ritterhoff, Clarkesworld. I found parts of this annoying but parts were funny. NOVELETTE
Dream Factory, Greg Egan, Clarkesworld. Always interesting to see what Egan is up to. Pet ownership and the ethics of hacking your cat. NOVELETTE
We Built This City, Marie Vibbert, Clarkesworld. Labor relations on a floating Venusian cloud city. Nebula nominee. NOVELETTE.
Carapace, David Goodman, Clarkesworld. MilSF about a suit trying to carry out its pilot's mission. NOVELETTE.
The Sadness Box, Suzanne Palmer, Clarkesworld. A difficult parent, and a particularly bleak war. NOVELETTE.
Sweetbaby, Thomas Ha, Clarkesworld. Cycles of abuse and the will to get someone out of them. NOVELETTE.
Murder by Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Darkness, S.L. Huang, Clarkesworld. Cat Pictures Please but the AI is just GPT-4, ish. Nebula nominee. NOVELETTE.
If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You, John Chu, Uncanny. A warm and ultimately hopeful superhero story, more or less what if Superman was real in our racist world today. Nebula nominee. NOVELETTE.
Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold, S.B. Divya, Uncanny. A well-done fairytale retelling. Nebula nominee. NOVELETTE.
The Prince of Salt and the Ocean's Bargain, Natalia Theodoridou, Uncanny. An odd little fairy tale. Nebula nominee. NOVELETTE.
Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home, C.L> Clark, Uncanny. A sailor and a lighthouse keeper. F/F. NOVELETTE.
The Noon Witch Goes to Sound Planet, Kristina Ten, Lightspeed. A teen girl trying to reject her magical heritage at Coachella. NOVELETTE.
Solidity, Greg Egan, Asimov's. Damn, this one is good. NOVELETTE.
Falling Off the Edge of the World, Suzanne Palmer, Asimov's. Sole survivors of a starship catastrophe. NOVELETTE.
2023 Nebula nominees!
Mar. 9th, 2023 10:05 pmThis happened two days ago why did I not hear about it.
Here, or below the cut with my commentary.
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Here, or below the cut with my commentary.
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working on my Hugo nominations
Mar. 1st, 2023 03:23 pmHugo nominations have apparently opened, although I haven't received any email, and my request for a code has not yet produced anything. But, hey, probably a good time to pull together where I am so far. ( Read more... )
The comments here would be a fine place for people to suggest other works that you think I should make a real effort to read before nominations close, although I'm still theoretically reading one to three more magazines and that will be most of my remaining reading time...
The comments here would be a fine place for people to suggest other works that you think I should make a real effort to read before nominations close, although I'm still theoretically reading one to three more magazines and that will be most of my remaining reading time...
