stormsewer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stormsewer) wrote2015-06-26 10:09 pm
stormsewer) wrote2015-06-26 10:09 pm
2015 Hugo picks: Short stories
Alright, I suppose we can't put this off any longer. Incidentally, I've decided not to disclose if and how I'll be employing "No Award" votes this year.
5. "The Parliament of Birds and Beasts" by John C. Wright
In the wake of the disappearance of humanity after the Second Coming of Christ, animals gain the power of speech and have to decide what to do.
It brings up a topic of passing interest within the context of Christian theology, but as a nomination for the highest award in the field of science fiction? Uhh, no. I did find one blog post praising it under the assumption that it's subversive horror, but given that the author is a devout Catholic I'm skeptical it was intended that way. Might have to invoke Poe's Law for this one.
4. "On a Spiritual Plain" by Lou Antonelli
A chaplain serving on an alien planet whose magnetic field causes departed souls to linger must advise dead humans.
A little clunky prose-wise. Not that much really happens. I dunno.
3. "Turncoat" by Steve Rzasa
An AI space-battleship has to decide where its loyalties lie.
Definitely a puppies piece in its military SF universe where the male gender is all that seems to exist (or at least matter). You could be forgiven for thinking of this as a men's-rights reinterpretation of Aliette de Bodard. For all that it wasn't terrible.
2. "A Single Samurai" by Steven Diamond
A single samurai must take down a truly massive kaiju.
The scale was interesting. The main character is really just a samurai stereotype, though I guess his utter devotion to duty is inspiring in its way. The bloodiness of the thing bordered on trite. There's some random battles in there that seem to exist for no other reason than to make the story last longer without being too monotonous. I didn't quite buy the ending, but I guess it had to end somehow. Puppies seems to prefer two themes: violence and religion (both glorified).
1. "Totaled" by Kary English
A scientist working on providing sensory inputs to damaged neural tissue finds herself as subject rather than experimenter.
I really like this as a story about a scientist who willingly makes the ultimate sacrifice for her work, but this is all tempered by the fact that I'm still quite unclear on what exactly it means to be "totaled" in the context of the story. In a normal year I don't think this piece would top my list, but it ain't a normal year.
Bonus: "Goodnight, Stars" by Annie Bellett
When someone blows up the moon, things change fast.
So this was one of the stories on the Puppies slate, but the author withdrew the story from consideration after making the Hugo ballot ("A Single Samurai" was the new belle at the ball after that). It was not bad by any means, but seemed pretty standard apocalyptic fare.
5. "The Parliament of Birds and Beasts" by John C. Wright
In the wake of the disappearance of humanity after the Second Coming of Christ, animals gain the power of speech and have to decide what to do.
It brings up a topic of passing interest within the context of Christian theology, but as a nomination for the highest award in the field of science fiction? Uhh, no. I did find one blog post praising it under the assumption that it's subversive horror, but given that the author is a devout Catholic I'm skeptical it was intended that way. Might have to invoke Poe's Law for this one.
4. "On a Spiritual Plain" by Lou Antonelli
A chaplain serving on an alien planet whose magnetic field causes departed souls to linger must advise dead humans.
A little clunky prose-wise. Not that much really happens. I dunno.
3. "Turncoat" by Steve Rzasa
An AI space-battleship has to decide where its loyalties lie.
Definitely a puppies piece in its military SF universe where the male gender is all that seems to exist (or at least matter). You could be forgiven for thinking of this as a men's-rights reinterpretation of Aliette de Bodard. For all that it wasn't terrible.
2. "A Single Samurai" by Steven Diamond
A single samurai must take down a truly massive kaiju.
The scale was interesting. The main character is really just a samurai stereotype, though I guess his utter devotion to duty is inspiring in its way. The bloodiness of the thing bordered on trite. There's some random battles in there that seem to exist for no other reason than to make the story last longer without being too monotonous. I didn't quite buy the ending, but I guess it had to end somehow. Puppies seems to prefer two themes: violence and religion (both glorified).
1. "Totaled" by Kary English
A scientist working on providing sensory inputs to damaged neural tissue finds herself as subject rather than experimenter.
I really like this as a story about a scientist who willingly makes the ultimate sacrifice for her work, but this is all tempered by the fact that I'm still quite unclear on what exactly it means to be "totaled" in the context of the story. In a normal year I don't think this piece would top my list, but it ain't a normal year.
Bonus: "Goodnight, Stars" by Annie Bellett
When someone blows up the moon, things change fast.
So this was one of the stories on the Puppies slate, but the author withdrew the story from consideration after making the Hugo ballot ("A Single Samurai" was the new belle at the ball after that). It was not bad by any means, but seemed pretty standard apocalyptic fare.