“What do you need, and how might I help?” This polite question is the core theme of a series of novellas by Becky Chambers. And yes I know I just did a review of another Becky Chambers Hugo-nominated story, but with *gestures around wildly* everything that’s going on lately I figured we could all use
At last, the boring little rock that spun around the drab little sun was given a use: that of an anchor between the places people actually wanted to visit. The planet Gora is lifeless, airless, and widely considered to be completely useless…except that it happens to be right between five populated systems, conveniently located next
Next up for the Hugo Award finalists is Aliette de Bodard’s story of political intrigue, familial conflict, and reckless romance in a fantasy version of pre-colonial Vietnam. Imperial Princess Thanh was sent to the country of Ephteria when she was still a child. Being a royal hostage was one of the only things she was
Romantic girls like Beauty and the Beast; vanilla girls like Cinderella; goth girls like Snow White. Only dying girls like Sleeping Beauty. Alix E. Harrow is up for two Hugo awards this year, adding to a long list of nominations for her novels and short stories. In her Hugo-nominated novella this year, young Zinnia Grey
“We are but fevered stars. Here a little while, bright with promise, before we burn away.” – Obregi Book of Flowers Rebecca Roanhorse returns us to Meridian, the fantasy version of Pre-Columbian Americas in the second book of her “Between Earth and Sky” series. Book 1 ended with the slaughter of the entire ruling body
Souls are cheap. The trick is finding the right soul. Katrina Nguyen, a transgender teenager from a very unaccepting family, decides that her latest beating is one beating too many. She climbs out of her family’s apartment and boards a bus to Los Angeles, bringing along not much more than her laptop and her treasured
Magnetic and surreal, d’Errico’s arresting subjects, their piercing eyes and dynamic colors, are often juxtaposed with the cute, creepy, bizarre, and the otherworldly. I reviewed Camilla d’Errico’s hardback Rainbow Children back in 2016 (short version: I loved it) so I was delighted to see her new book Dappled Daydreams was just released by Dark Horse.
Three more novelettes, these ones by Caroline M. Yoachim, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and John Wiswell, and I can safely say that these are quite a bit darker in tone than the first three. We’ve got a dreamlike trip through time as seen by the eyes of an immortal painter (immortality in this case granted by
This is sort of a travel-edition of my usual reviews; I’m away from home for a few days and needed something suitable for reading on a plane. The first three Hugo-nominated novelettes fit the bill nicely. This year we have stories of an exclusive boutique clothing store run entirely by fairies, a tiny robot who’s