my hugo nominations
Jun. 4th, 2013 01:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormsewerA bit late, of course, but I thought I'd write up my favorite stories I read in 2012, which I nominated for Hugo awards.
Short stories
#5 "Robot" by Helena Bell.
An older woman gives instructions to a robot servant she has received.
I love the weirdness and the hints of the backstory. For a story written in second person, it ain't bad.
#4 "Zip" by Steven Utley (Asimov's, July 2012).
A time machine seems to be dissolving space-time as it travels, and the travelers must decide what to do about it.
Well-written, well-executed, good ending.
#3 "A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight" by Xia Jia, translated by Ken Liu.
The story of a boy growing up among "ghosts" living in an abandoned tourist attraction.
So odd, so strange, so mysterious. The kind of thing I wish I had written.
#2 "Honey Bear" by Sofia Samatar.
In the future, a husband, wife, and daughter take a trip to the beach...
Amazingly well-done. Outstanding how she started with a seemingly mundane tale that nonetheless seemed a little off, gradually ramping up until the conclusion. If I was being a bit more objective, I might call it the best story of the year.
#1 "Mono No Aware" by Ken Liu.
The story of the only Japanese person on a ship carrying the only survivors from an asteroid-ravaged Earth.
I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Ken. Leave it to a Chinese American to put everything I love about Japanese culture into a story more masterfully executed than any I could ever hope to achieve myself. I was happy to see that this one made the final ballot.
Novelettes
#4 "Missionaries" by Mercurio D. Rivera (Asimov's, June 2012).
Human missionaries from a dying monotheist sect make first contact with an alien from a reclusive race, but what is it trying to say?
This piece presents a fairly nuanced perspective on religion, and I actually liked the way it ended. It's the type of thing I wish I had written.
#3 "Fade to White" by Catherynne M. Valente.
The story of a boy and girl in an alternate 1950s (1960s?) in which the US and the Soviets have deployed nuclear weapons against each other, most men are sterile, McCarthy is president, and things are... different.
Hard to go wrong with Valente. Great piece. (This one made the final ballot.)
#2 "Autogenic Dreaming: Interview with the Columns of Clouds" by Tobi Hirotaka, translated by Jim Hubbert.
Simulations of an unusual serial killer are made to combat a mysterious threat called Imajika.
Very strange, very affecting, very absorbing. Worth rereading.
#1 "The Indifference Engine" by Project Itoh, translated by Edwin Hawkes.
The story of a child soldier in an imaginary African civil war who is subjected to a psychiatric "cure" by a foreign NGO.
This piece was insane. It sounds stupid to say this, but while reading it I felt like I didn't know you could DO that. I couldn't think about anything else for hours after finishing it; this is one of those stories that sticks with you for life. (Yes, I liked this anthology as a whole a great deal.)
I didn't read too many novellas in 2012, certainly none that I would consider worthy of an award. I didn't read any novels published in 2012. I nominated Game of Thrones for something, probably Best Dramatic Presentation- Long Form for the entire second season. I may also have nominated The Hunger Games and/or Looper for the same category. Don't really remember. Don't consider myself particularly qualified to nominate stuff in any other category. So there you go.
Short stories
#5 "Robot" by Helena Bell.
An older woman gives instructions to a robot servant she has received.
I love the weirdness and the hints of the backstory. For a story written in second person, it ain't bad.
#4 "Zip" by Steven Utley (Asimov's, July 2012).
A time machine seems to be dissolving space-time as it travels, and the travelers must decide what to do about it.
Well-written, well-executed, good ending.
#3 "A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight" by Xia Jia, translated by Ken Liu.
The story of a boy growing up among "ghosts" living in an abandoned tourist attraction.
So odd, so strange, so mysterious. The kind of thing I wish I had written.
#2 "Honey Bear" by Sofia Samatar.
In the future, a husband, wife, and daughter take a trip to the beach...
Amazingly well-done. Outstanding how she started with a seemingly mundane tale that nonetheless seemed a little off, gradually ramping up until the conclusion. If I was being a bit more objective, I might call it the best story of the year.
#1 "Mono No Aware" by Ken Liu.
The story of the only Japanese person on a ship carrying the only survivors from an asteroid-ravaged Earth.
I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Ken. Leave it to a Chinese American to put everything I love about Japanese culture into a story more masterfully executed than any I could ever hope to achieve myself. I was happy to see that this one made the final ballot.
Novelettes
#4 "Missionaries" by Mercurio D. Rivera (Asimov's, June 2012).
Human missionaries from a dying monotheist sect make first contact with an alien from a reclusive race, but what is it trying to say?
This piece presents a fairly nuanced perspective on religion, and I actually liked the way it ended. It's the type of thing I wish I had written.
#3 "Fade to White" by Catherynne M. Valente.
The story of a boy and girl in an alternate 1950s (1960s?) in which the US and the Soviets have deployed nuclear weapons against each other, most men are sterile, McCarthy is president, and things are... different.
Hard to go wrong with Valente. Great piece. (This one made the final ballot.)
#2 "Autogenic Dreaming: Interview with the Columns of Clouds" by Tobi Hirotaka, translated by Jim Hubbert.
Simulations of an unusual serial killer are made to combat a mysterious threat called Imajika.
Very strange, very affecting, very absorbing. Worth rereading.
#1 "The Indifference Engine" by Project Itoh, translated by Edwin Hawkes.
The story of a child soldier in an imaginary African civil war who is subjected to a psychiatric "cure" by a foreign NGO.
This piece was insane. It sounds stupid to say this, but while reading it I felt like I didn't know you could DO that. I couldn't think about anything else for hours after finishing it; this is one of those stories that sticks with you for life. (Yes, I liked this anthology as a whole a great deal.)
I didn't read too many novellas in 2012, certainly none that I would consider worthy of an award. I didn't read any novels published in 2012. I nominated Game of Thrones for something, probably Best Dramatic Presentation- Long Form for the entire second season. I may also have nominated The Hunger Games and/or Looper for the same category. Don't really remember. Don't consider myself particularly qualified to nominate stuff in any other category. So there you go.
