“What is it that makes a true hero?” The Hugo award ceremony isn’t until October 21st, so I’m going to take a quick break to read something I bought months ago. Luna McNamara’s debut novel retells the myth of Eros and Psyche, with some very important differences. “Your child will conquer a monster feared by
They’ve always been there, your Masters the ogres. The start of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Hugo-nominated novella has all the makings of a Robin Hood-style adventure. The beloved but mischievous son of the village headman befriends the merry band of outlaws who live in the woods (away from the control of the wealthy Landlords) and who dream
After twenty-two years of adventuring, Viv had reached her limit of blood and mud and bullshit. An orc’s life was strength and violence and a sudden, sharp end – but she’d be damned if she’d let hers finish that way. It was time for something new. Once upon a time, in the long-ago era known
It’s an interesting situation with this year’s fiction nominations. We’ve already seen that one of the nominated novelettes isn’t available in English. It turns out that four of the nominated short stories are also only available in Chinese. I haven’t been able to find a reason why these either weren’t released in English or weren’t
God had entrusted her father with the labor of perfecting creation and delivering us all from sin, and thus the doctor had created the hybrids. Dr. Moreau was therefore a prophet, a holy man. Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Hugo-nominated book takes a new look at H.G. Wells’s classic. The island setting has now been moved to a
The last three Hugo-nominated novelettes for 2023 are something of a mixed bag. You’ve got a real-life problem that’s almost guaranteed to get worse, a future technology that highlights the very best that humanity has to offer to its descendants, and one more that I can’t actually describe because no one knows how to find
“I need you to find the White City Vampire…” It was supposed to be a quick job. All Helen Brandt had to do was examine the crime scene, maybe take some photos (after performing an augury and casting a spell to make the blood traces visible during the moon’s Chaldean hour. You know, the usual).
“So one of them is lying.” “Just one? To quote a great detective, ‘Everyone has a secret, and everyone lies.” Traveling incognito isn’t easy when you’re a famous inventor (also victim of an infamous accident), and your brand-new husband is a famous detective (retired). It’s taken a lot of money and pull, but Tesla and
I’m actually ahead of the game this year as far as the Hugo-nominated novelettes. By which I mean I’ve read one of them already (it’s the Catherynne Valente one, which I’m sure is no surprise). For the first three Best Novelette nominees, we have stories which all include the theme of needing to be seen,