2017 Hugo nominees: best novelette
Jul. 8th, 2017 02:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nonelvisSeveral of these are available for free online, so I’ve provided links where I can.
“Alien Stripper Boned From Behind By the T-Rex,” Stix Hiscock
I don’t care whether Stix Hiscock is a Puppy pseud or an unwitting victim of a Puppy prank: this story is not good. “Blast after blast of energy went bouncing around the room, the crowd roaring even as they scrambled to dodge my sizzling nipple ejaculations.” “Laser nipple orgasm.” “Forty-eight inch stilettos.” And of course, the alien stripper “came from the planet Fylashio.”
Look, I read a lot of fanfic, and I have seen a lot of pornography that ranges from mediocre to awful. “Alien Stripper Boned From Behind By the T-Rex” could have been much, much, much worse than it was, and at least the author knows how to punctuate dialogue (barring a typo or two). But it reads to me like the sort of thing men write when they want to sound like a woman – I was frankly surprised cup sizes weren’t mentioned or a specific dimension supplied for the T-rex’s massive penis – and frankly feels like the amateur porn that it is. I will happily give the hardest of hardcore porn a Hugo if I think it deserves it, but this … no.
”The Art of Space Travel,” Nina Allan
Arguably, this isn’t science fiction other than that it takes place in the near future and involves an upcoming mission to Mars. It’s really more of a character study of Emily Starr, head of housekeeping at a Heathrow hotel about to host two of the astronauts, and her mixed feelings about her family and her own history. Her mother, an expert in physics and metallurgy, is dying slowly of exposure to classified toxins found in airplane wreckage she’d been studying, and though Emily loves her mother, the stress of being a caregiver is wearing on her. At the same time, Emily is pursuing a search for her unknown father, who might be an astronaut from a previous failed Mars mission. The prose is lovely, and I cared a lot about Emily and her mother; and tonally and to some extent thematically, it reminded me of an old favorite, Mary Robinette Kowal’s “The Lady Astronaut of Mars,” which also dealt with the stress of long-term caregiving and was more of a character study with SF trappings. I don’t know yet where “The Art of Space Travel” will fall in my award ranking, but I do know I enjoyed it a great deal.
”Touring With the Alien,” Carolyn Ives Gilman
Aliens land, unseen other than their giant domes and human translators, and a truck driver gets an unusual commission: drive an alien and its translator around the country. I feel like there’s probably a lot more to explore here than Gilman chose to. It’s not that the story feels unfinished – it’s perfectly self-contained and enjoyable to read – so much as I felt like the concept and importance of consciousness could have been explored a little more deeply than it was, and the ending, while satisfying, left things wide open for further development. (Though on a purely personal note, I was pleased with myself for correctly guessing Gilman had a DC connection, because no one without one would have written such an accurate passage about the petty political squabbles between different local and federal groups arguing over who has jurisdiction over an alien structure that mysteriously appeared in Rock Creek Park.)
”The Tomato Thief,” Ursula Vernon
This is essentially a folktale set in a mystical version of the American southwest, where the railroad is a capricious god, and where a wise and tenacious old woman finds an avian shapeshifter is stealing her precious homegrown tomatoes. The shapeshifter is clearly bound to a much more powerful magic, which sets the woman on a journey to track it down and free her. This was a delight from start to finish: Grandma Harken takes no crap from anyone, the magical realist setting was vividly drawn, and honestly, I’m just a sucker for a really good folktale.
”The Jewel and Her Lapidary,” Fran Wilde
This is an imaginative and compelling story of palace betrayal and the last princess and her servant’s struggle to survive, and I was really enjoying it … right up until the end. Some of this is likely because, as my husband (also a Hugo reader) said to me later, it’s because Wilde has chosen to tell a different story than the one he and I wanted her to tell – and that’s okay. She’s the author; she’s got control here. But not only was it not the story I wanted to read, the plot resolution involves … how to say this without being spoilery … a class-based sacrifice I am not particularly interested in reading about in the current political climate, even if such a sacrifice will ultimately lead to something positive.
”You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay,” Alyssa Wong
I’m an Uncanny subscriber, so I’d read this one already. It’s a weird one – not a complaint – about an otherworldly child of the desert (literally) who can control the dead, and what happens when a man who wants to abuse that power comes to town. I remember that I thought this story was very well-written, but not quite my thing, and sure enough, skimming it again just now, that’s still my impression: a terrific story absolutely worthy of Hugo consideration, but not my first choice on the ballot.
Making my final rankings in this category is really hard! I enjoyed everything except for one item, so my vote is nothing more than personal preference:
“Alien Stripper Boned From Behind By the T-Rex,” Stix Hiscock
I don’t care whether Stix Hiscock is a Puppy pseud or an unwitting victim of a Puppy prank: this story is not good. “Blast after blast of energy went bouncing around the room, the crowd roaring even as they scrambled to dodge my sizzling nipple ejaculations.” “Laser nipple orgasm.” “Forty-eight inch stilettos.” And of course, the alien stripper “came from the planet Fylashio.”
Look, I read a lot of fanfic, and I have seen a lot of pornography that ranges from mediocre to awful. “Alien Stripper Boned From Behind By the T-Rex” could have been much, much, much worse than it was, and at least the author knows how to punctuate dialogue (barring a typo or two). But it reads to me like the sort of thing men write when they want to sound like a woman – I was frankly surprised cup sizes weren’t mentioned or a specific dimension supplied for the T-rex’s massive penis – and frankly feels like the amateur porn that it is. I will happily give the hardest of hardcore porn a Hugo if I think it deserves it, but this … no.
”The Art of Space Travel,” Nina Allan
Arguably, this isn’t science fiction other than that it takes place in the near future and involves an upcoming mission to Mars. It’s really more of a character study of Emily Starr, head of housekeeping at a Heathrow hotel about to host two of the astronauts, and her mixed feelings about her family and her own history. Her mother, an expert in physics and metallurgy, is dying slowly of exposure to classified toxins found in airplane wreckage she’d been studying, and though Emily loves her mother, the stress of being a caregiver is wearing on her. At the same time, Emily is pursuing a search for her unknown father, who might be an astronaut from a previous failed Mars mission. The prose is lovely, and I cared a lot about Emily and her mother; and tonally and to some extent thematically, it reminded me of an old favorite, Mary Robinette Kowal’s “The Lady Astronaut of Mars,” which also dealt with the stress of long-term caregiving and was more of a character study with SF trappings. I don’t know yet where “The Art of Space Travel” will fall in my award ranking, but I do know I enjoyed it a great deal.
”Touring With the Alien,” Carolyn Ives Gilman
Aliens land, unseen other than their giant domes and human translators, and a truck driver gets an unusual commission: drive an alien and its translator around the country. I feel like there’s probably a lot more to explore here than Gilman chose to. It’s not that the story feels unfinished – it’s perfectly self-contained and enjoyable to read – so much as I felt like the concept and importance of consciousness could have been explored a little more deeply than it was, and the ending, while satisfying, left things wide open for further development. (Though on a purely personal note, I was pleased with myself for correctly guessing Gilman had a DC connection, because no one without one would have written such an accurate passage about the petty political squabbles between different local and federal groups arguing over who has jurisdiction over an alien structure that mysteriously appeared in Rock Creek Park.)
”The Tomato Thief,” Ursula Vernon
This is essentially a folktale set in a mystical version of the American southwest, where the railroad is a capricious god, and where a wise and tenacious old woman finds an avian shapeshifter is stealing her precious homegrown tomatoes. The shapeshifter is clearly bound to a much more powerful magic, which sets the woman on a journey to track it down and free her. This was a delight from start to finish: Grandma Harken takes no crap from anyone, the magical realist setting was vividly drawn, and honestly, I’m just a sucker for a really good folktale.
”The Jewel and Her Lapidary,” Fran Wilde
This is an imaginative and compelling story of palace betrayal and the last princess and her servant’s struggle to survive, and I was really enjoying it … right up until the end. Some of this is likely because, as my husband (also a Hugo reader) said to me later, it’s because Wilde has chosen to tell a different story than the one he and I wanted her to tell – and that’s okay. She’s the author; she’s got control here. But not only was it not the story I wanted to read, the plot resolution involves … how to say this without being spoilery … a class-based sacrifice I am not particularly interested in reading about in the current political climate, even if such a sacrifice will ultimately lead to something positive.
”You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay,” Alyssa Wong
I’m an Uncanny subscriber, so I’d read this one already. It’s a weird one – not a complaint – about an otherworldly child of the desert (literally) who can control the dead, and what happens when a man who wants to abuse that power comes to town. I remember that I thought this story was very well-written, but not quite my thing, and sure enough, skimming it again just now, that’s still my impression: a terrific story absolutely worthy of Hugo consideration, but not my first choice on the ballot.
Making my final rankings in this category is really hard! I enjoyed everything except for one item, so my vote is nothing more than personal preference:
- ”The Tomato Thief”
- ”The Art of Space Travel”
- ”The Jewel and Her Lapidary”
- ”Touring With the Alien”
- ”You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay”
- No Award