2021 Hugo nominees: Best Novella
Aug. 27th, 2021 06:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nonelvisAgain, no surprises if you follow me on Goodreads:
This is a far more consistently strong category than the novel category, IMO. Mind you, some of this could be because there is nothing here involving any of the Locked Tomb books, but still.
Finna, Nino Cipri
What would happen if a wormhole opened in IKEA? Pretty much exactly what you think – a quest through multiple universes to find a missing person, with adventure and romance along the way. It's got a very similar feel to Connie Willis' work: a satire tinged with gentleness and genuine feelings.
Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark
Gory, gruesome, and a terrific extrapolation of how Birth of a Nation and Klan activity in the early 20s could actually have been part of a magical summoning of murderous creatures feeding off the rage and fear of Black folks. I pretty much always love P. Djèlí Clark's work, and this was no exception, even though it was right at the edge of my gore tolerance.
Upright Women Wanted, Sarah Gailey
A futuristic, post-apocalyptic Western featuring only women and nonbinary people, and in which all the men are misogynist crap, and I am here for all of that. The women and nonbinary character are all Librarians, keepers of the societally approved reading material, while secretly smuggling both less approved pamphlets -- and people -- across borders. Gailey uses all the standard Western tropes of gunfights, outlaws, and dangerous towns and crossings, all seen through the perspective of a young queer woman trying to find her place in society after her lover's murder, and if you like a good Western, this is the book for you.
Come Tumbling Down, Seanan McGuire
I think I need to just stop reading this series, because while I ultimately enjoyed the book, I spent nearly the first half of it going "I truly don't care about any of these characters."
Anyway, it was fine. If you liked the previous ones, you'll like this. If you didn't, don't bother.
Riot Baby, Tochi Onyebuchi
This is probably more like 3.5 stars? I feel like it fell down a bit at the end, leaving things hanging when it could have taken its premise of psychic, telekinetic Black siblings seeking revenge and redemption for racial oppression much further. Still, the character work is terrific, and the writing sharp and emotional.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo
This is a short book, but it packs a ton into its few pages: a story of how several different women are exploited by an Imperial court in very different ways, and how some of them manage to take that power back, cleverly working their way around the men through patience and subterfuge. My only complaint is that I wanted a lot more of this book – which just means I need to go put the next volume on hold at the library.
The final rankings – legit hard considering how many of these I liked!
This is a far more consistently strong category than the novel category, IMO. Mind you, some of this could be because there is nothing here involving any of the Locked Tomb books, but still.
Finna, Nino Cipri
What would happen if a wormhole opened in IKEA? Pretty much exactly what you think – a quest through multiple universes to find a missing person, with adventure and romance along the way. It's got a very similar feel to Connie Willis' work: a satire tinged with gentleness and genuine feelings.
Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark
Gory, gruesome, and a terrific extrapolation of how Birth of a Nation and Klan activity in the early 20s could actually have been part of a magical summoning of murderous creatures feeding off the rage and fear of Black folks. I pretty much always love P. Djèlí Clark's work, and this was no exception, even though it was right at the edge of my gore tolerance.
Upright Women Wanted, Sarah Gailey
A futuristic, post-apocalyptic Western featuring only women and nonbinary people, and in which all the men are misogynist crap, and I am here for all of that. The women and nonbinary character are all Librarians, keepers of the societally approved reading material, while secretly smuggling both less approved pamphlets -- and people -- across borders. Gailey uses all the standard Western tropes of gunfights, outlaws, and dangerous towns and crossings, all seen through the perspective of a young queer woman trying to find her place in society after her lover's murder, and if you like a good Western, this is the book for you.
Come Tumbling Down, Seanan McGuire
I think I need to just stop reading this series, because while I ultimately enjoyed the book, I spent nearly the first half of it going "I truly don't care about any of these characters."
Anyway, it was fine. If you liked the previous ones, you'll like this. If you didn't, don't bother.
Riot Baby, Tochi Onyebuchi
This is probably more like 3.5 stars? I feel like it fell down a bit at the end, leaving things hanging when it could have taken its premise of psychic, telekinetic Black siblings seeking revenge and redemption for racial oppression much further. Still, the character work is terrific, and the writing sharp and emotional.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo
This is a short book, but it packs a ton into its few pages: a story of how several different women are exploited by an Imperial court in very different ways, and how some of them manage to take that power back, cleverly working their way around the men through patience and subterfuge. My only complaint is that I wanted a lot more of this book – which just means I need to go put the next volume on hold at the library.
The final rankings – legit hard considering how many of these I liked!
- Ring Shout
- The Empress of Salt and Fortune
- Riot Baby
- Finna
- Upright Women Wanted
- Come Tumbling Down