“The Button Bin” - Mike Allen (Helix: A Speculative Fiction Quarterly, Oct07)
“The Dreaming Wind” - Jeffrey Ford (The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Ed., Viking, Jul07)
“Trophy Wives” - Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Fellowship Fantastic, ed. Greenberg and Hughes, Daw Jan08)
“26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” - Kij Johnson (Asimov’s, Jul08)
“The Tomb Wife” - Gwyneth Jones (F&SF, Aug07)
“Don’t Stop” - James Patrick Kelly (Asimov’s, Jun07)
"Mars: A Traveler's Guide" - Ruth Nestvold (F&SF, Jan08)
The short story category here is a solid lineup of stories with only one which disappointed, that being “The Tomb Wife” from Gwyneth Jones. I’m not quite sure what to say about that story, except that it failed to work for me. There is a certain amount of humor in the interplay between the alien and the humans, and the conclusion is sad, but “The Tomb Wife” did not offer anything to me as a reader. I just don’t have much at all to say about it, which is why it gets first mention in this post as the story I enjoyed the least.
Next up is “Don’t Stop” from James Patrick Kelly. “Don’t Stop” is a ghost story with running, or perhaps a running story with ghosts. I’m not sure which. It’s a perfectly serviceable story. The ending doesn’t quite deliver for me, and there isn’t quite enough in the guts of the story to really recognize it as one of the year’s best, but it’s not bad. I do appreciate any story that touches running in an honest and realistic manner, and “Don’t Stop” certainly does that. Had this been a badminton story with ghosts I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it as much. Scratch that. I would very much like to read a badminton story with ghosts. The point is, beyond the depiction of a runner / running, I wasn’t totally sold on the premise. (my review)
It’s been a year since I’ve read “The Dreaming Wind”, so my memories may be a touch hazy, but I remember this being a good story. This came as something of a surprise to me because I generally have difficulty with Jeffrey Ford’s I can see why others appreciate and enjoy his work. For whatever reason, his stuff doesn’t connect with me. There are exceptions to this, of course (“The Way He Does It”, for example). “The Dreaming Wind” is somewhere in the middle between how much I enjoyed “The Way He Does It” and the utter disappointment I felt about “Botch Town”. “The Dreaming Wind” is a phenomenon which sweeps through a town once a year and causes all sorts of weirdness to occur, some of it uncomfortable. One year the wind does not come and the residents are left waiting for the wind. It’s a more satisfying story than I generally expect from Ford.
“Trophy Wives”, from Nina Kiriki Hoffman, is a story of two women rescuing another, but doing so in a manner that takes the titular concept of trophy wives and turns it so that being a trophy wife can be considered an opportunity besides the captivity of being a trophy wife. It's an interesting story of the nature of freedom (in this setting) and how it both does and does not exist in a conventional manner but truly exists when one chooses it. That's how I read the story. I was mostly into it, by the end. I liked the storyoverall, but now it's been about a week since I read the story and I'm less enamored by it than I was then. Each passing day drops it a little bit in my estimation and I can't say exactly why.
What I like about “The Button Bin” is the inherent nastiness to the story. It's the stuff beyond the initial confrontation between you and Lenahan. Mike Allen makes this one dark and he succeeds. I'm seldom excited about second person perspective stories but this one works. (my review)
I was so enamored by the ending and overall revelation as to what the true story of “Mars: A Traveler’s Guide” that I bumped Ruth Nestvold’s story well up on my faux-voting list to the second slot. This starts out kind of dull as it reads like a regular travel guide, but patience is rewarded when we notice what topics are being chosen and why. Then it gets really good. (my review)
If I had an actual vote for the Nebula, which I sadly do not, my vote would go to Kij Johnson’s delightful story “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss”. Touching on loss, magic, monkeys, and healing, Kij Johnson tells a story that sticks in the reader’s imagination without really answering some of the questions raised by the story. The answers don’t matter. It doesn’t matter exactly how the monkeys do what they do, or why. By the end we can guess where they go. That aspect was subtly handled. I don’t know if “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” will win the Nebula, but I certainly think it should. I’m glad that the nomination (and the Hugo nomination!) is bringing greater recognition to this story. (my review)
So, that's that. I still can't find a link to "The Dreaming Wind", but everything else is linked up. Go read some short stories and come back to tell me why I'm wrong.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Nebula Award Nominee: "Dark Rooms"
“Dark Rooms”
Lisa Goldstein
Nominated for the Nebula Award: Novelette
“Dark Rooms” is the story of Nathan Stevens, a man who met Georges Melies in 1896, befriended Georges, stole one of his ideas about early movie-making, and became a success in Ameirca. “Dark Rooms” is told from the increasingly paranoid perspective of Stevens (mirroring the letters he receives from Melies). The story opens with a young Stevens having seen his first motion picture and the developing friendship between Stevens and Melies but quickly moves to the magic of movies and how time alters memory.
This is only nominally a science fiction / fantasy story (there are a couple of questions throughout the story as to what exactly Melies is capable of when around Stevens), but by the end “Dark Rooms” is a satisfying story. There is no flash to Goldstein’s storytelling, and this isn’t a story (exactly) about rivalry, but it is a story about the dawn of moviemaking and perhaps how Edison and Hollywood became successful and famous – from the intellectual theft of Melies. Except even that isn’t quite right because the story presents the theft as a gesture of friendship. It is what came next that was the theft.
It’s an intellectually and emotionally interesting story that is never overwhelmed by technical details. “Dark Rooms” is about the people.
I question whether this is, in fact, a SFF story or whether it should have garnered a SFF nomination, but beyond that – decent story. I doubt, at this point, that I will view it as a favorite in the novelette category. If I do, this would be a weak category, but as an individual story, it’s good enough. Damned with faint praise? Perhaps.
Lisa Goldstein
Nominated for the Nebula Award: Novelette
“Dark Rooms” is the story of Nathan Stevens, a man who met Georges Melies in 1896, befriended Georges, stole one of his ideas about early movie-making, and became a success in Ameirca. “Dark Rooms” is told from the increasingly paranoid perspective of Stevens (mirroring the letters he receives from Melies). The story opens with a young Stevens having seen his first motion picture and the developing friendship between Stevens and Melies but quickly moves to the magic of movies and how time alters memory.
This is only nominally a science fiction / fantasy story (there are a couple of questions throughout the story as to what exactly Melies is capable of when around Stevens), but by the end “Dark Rooms” is a satisfying story. There is no flash to Goldstein’s storytelling, and this isn’t a story (exactly) about rivalry, but it is a story about the dawn of moviemaking and perhaps how Edison and Hollywood became successful and famous – from the intellectual theft of Melies. Except even that isn’t quite right because the story presents the theft as a gesture of friendship. It is what came next that was the theft.
It’s an intellectually and emotionally interesting story that is never overwhelmed by technical details. “Dark Rooms” is about the people.
I question whether this is, in fact, a SFF story or whether it should have garnered a SFF nomination, but beyond that – decent story. I doubt, at this point, that I will view it as a favorite in the novelette category. If I do, this would be a weak category, but as an individual story, it’s good enough. Damned with faint praise? Perhaps.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
get some free Shimmer
The folks over at Shimmer are celebrating the publication of issue #10 by giving it away for free!
I had a chance to read this issue in early February and I was really, really impressed. Chock full of good stuff with only a couple of misses.
So, go check it out. It's free, ya know? 12 stories and a Cory Doctorow interview.
I had a chance to read this issue in early February and I was really, really impressed. Chock full of good stuff with only a couple of misses.
So, go check it out. It's free, ya know? 12 stories and a Cory Doctorow interview.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
next week
I’m going to be quite busy next week with stuff that includes (but is not limited to) moving my 30 yr old carcass to a new town so I’m going to try to pre-load a bunch of content so that you won’t miss me at all. This week’s content will (has) suffer(ed) as a result.
For sure I’ll have my thoughts on the Nebula: Short Story category and a review of Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand.
The rest of the week should be more Nebula and Hugo nominated short fiction coverage. There’s some good stuff out there, y’all.
I may not be able to respond to e-mails / comments in a timely manner, but I’ll get to them all. So, feel free to leave comments and stuff.
For sure I’ll have my thoughts on the Nebula: Short Story category and a review of Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand.
The rest of the week should be more Nebula and Hugo nominated short fiction coverage. There’s some good stuff out there, y’all.
I may not be able to respond to e-mails / comments in a timely manner, but I’ll get to them all. So, feel free to leave comments and stuff.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Evil Robot Monkey available
Rather than be a pest and e-mail Mary asking when, exactly, her Hugo nominated story would be available to read for free, I decided to wait like a good boy.
Per this post at Mary Robinette Kowal's blog, "Evil Robot Monkey" is freely available to read.
Except, because Mary is all creative and stuff, we've got three options.
Read some plain text on the blog post itself.
Read a PDF chapbook beautifully designed by Mary herself.
Or, listen to Mary read the story (link on her blog).
Awesomely awesome. I'm going to read it tonight. And then probably listen to it.
Per this post at Mary Robinette Kowal's blog, "Evil Robot Monkey" is freely available to read.
Except, because Mary is all creative and stuff, we've got three options.
Read some plain text on the blog post itself.
Read a PDF chapbook beautifully designed by Mary herself.
Or, listen to Mary read the story (link on her blog).
Awesomely awesome. I'm going to read it tonight. And then probably listen to it.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Ted Chiang's "Exhalation" available
I was hoping this would happen and it did.
Ted Chiang's Hugo nominated story "Exhalation" is now available for free online reading.
Thanks to Jonathan Strahan for the heads up on that.
Ted Chiang's Hugo nominated story "Exhalation" is now available for free online reading.
Thanks to Jonathan Strahan for the heads up on that.
Scalzi on Hugo Nominations
The wisdom of Scalzi on this year's Hugo nominations and discussion on Internet Presence.
Exactly.
Next year, when I plan on becoming a member so I can vote (even though there is no chance I’ll be able to make it to that Worldcon – I just want to be a larger part of the conversation), I’ll have my say. My ballot may not line up with the majority. Had I been able to cast a ballot this year, it probably wouldn’t have looked anything like what the final nomination is now. But the final ballot would be representational. Given the relatively few number of voters, a small handful of extra votes could change the look of the ballot. I would have voted for, say, Ink and Steel not because I like Elizabeth Bear’s Internet Presence or because from all reports she is a decent person to be around or because she was gracious and friendly when I (briefly) met her at a con. I would have voted for Ink and Steel not for any of those reasons, but because I think it is one of the best novels published in 2008. Period.
And yes, Scalzi's title did make me think of Shadow Unit
In point of fact, there is only one specific and verifiable reason that these five authors and their books made the Hugo Best Novel ballot this year: that out of the 639 ballots cast in the category by members of last year’s Worldcon and this year’s Worldcon, these were the five that garnered the most votes. I suspect that if you were to ask the people who cast those 639 ballots why they chose the books they chose, the answer would not be because they were influenced by the Internet, or because the author made a bestseller list, or because the publisher had it as a lead title, or because the author had a snazzy goatee or whatever. The answer would be because the voter read that book, and liked it enough to say that it was one of the best science fiction novels they read this year.
Exactly.
Next year, when I plan on becoming a member so I can vote (even though there is no chance I’ll be able to make it to that Worldcon – I just want to be a larger part of the conversation), I’ll have my say. My ballot may not line up with the majority. Had I been able to cast a ballot this year, it probably wouldn’t have looked anything like what the final nomination is now. But the final ballot would be representational. Given the relatively few number of voters, a small handful of extra votes could change the look of the ballot. I would have voted for, say, Ink and Steel not because I like Elizabeth Bear’s Internet Presence or because from all reports she is a decent person to be around or because she was gracious and friendly when I (briefly) met her at a con. I would have voted for Ink and Steel not for any of those reasons, but because I think it is one of the best novels published in 2008. Period.
And yes, Scalzi's title did make me think of Shadow Unit
i wonder
I wonder...is "Mitigation", the story from Karl Schroeder and Tobias Buckell subtly tied to Buckell's Xenowealth series?
I ask, or just wonder aloud, because there is a mention of the island Anegada being flooded over due to rising sea levels.
The world of Buckell's Crystal Rain? New Anegada.
I know this is the genesis of Buckell doing something different, and that really we're just talking near-future science fiction, and that even if there IS a tie to Xenowealth it is tenuous at best, but...
I just wonder.
Good story, by the way.
I ask, or just wonder aloud, because there is a mention of the island Anegada being flooded over due to rising sea levels.
The world of Buckell's Crystal Rain? New Anegada.
I know this is the genesis of Buckell doing something different, and that really we're just talking near-future science fiction, and that even if there IS a tie to Xenowealth it is tenuous at best, but...
I just wonder.
Good story, by the way.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Hand of Isis at SBR
My review of Jo Graham's Hand of Isis has been posted online at the Sacramento Book Review. There's a lot more I wanted to / could say about it, but, well, there's a word count and a format.
Good book. Enjoy.
Good book. Enjoy.
mostly true names
I hesitate to call this a real post. It's certainly nothing of substance.
I read the Hugo nominated novella "True Names" this evening.
Sigh.
It's the sort of science fiction that I don't like. Far future and laced with technology to the point where competing technologies are the characters with semblances of personality. "True Names" appears to be some sort of war between filters and strategies and policies and some other larger intellectual / technological bodies.
Honestly, I didn't understand a whole lot of what was going on. I mean, I got the basics but it had no meaning for me.
"True Names" felt like one of the overly technical stories of Charles Stross or something. I don't mean that as a compliment. Given the title, the story is probably Vingean as well, but I can't say. I've only read two novels from Vernor Vinge, including the original True Names and don't have a sense of what Vingean means.
Here's the thing - I like Cory Doctorow's work. I haven't read quite enough Rosenbaum to have formed an opinion (nothing has really resonated), but I suspect he's good. Their novella "True Names"? It's not for me. It's overlong with little meaning (for me) and has nothing for me to connect with, to engage with. I was left lost and cold.
I read the Hugo nominated novella "True Names" this evening.
Sigh.
It's the sort of science fiction that I don't like. Far future and laced with technology to the point where competing technologies are the characters with semblances of personality. "True Names" appears to be some sort of war between filters and strategies and policies and some other larger intellectual / technological bodies.
Honestly, I didn't understand a whole lot of what was going on. I mean, I got the basics but it had no meaning for me.
"True Names" felt like one of the overly technical stories of Charles Stross or something. I don't mean that as a compliment. Given the title, the story is probably Vingean as well, but I can't say. I've only read two novels from Vernor Vinge, including the original True Names and don't have a sense of what Vingean means.
Here's the thing - I like Cory Doctorow's work. I haven't read quite enough Rosenbaum to have formed an opinion (nothing has really resonated), but I suspect he's good. Their novella "True Names"? It's not for me. It's overlong with little meaning (for me) and has nothing for me to connect with, to engage with. I was left lost and cold.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Article of Faith available
I'll be updating my Hugo Nominee list with links to the stories as they come available.
Newly available, Short Story Nominee "Article of Faith", by Mike Resnick
Enjoy. Thanks to Baen's Universe for making the story available.
Newly available, Short Story Nominee "Article of Faith", by Mike Resnick
Enjoy. Thanks to Baen's Universe for making the story available.
Dreadnought
You heard it here second.
Cherie Priest, she of the excellent Eden Moore novels, has a novel called Boneshaker coming out later this year. Boneshaker is Cherie's "west coast steampunk Victoriana book with zombies, air ships, toxic gas clouds, mad scientists, dead folk heroes, secret criminal societies, and Bonus! extended deleted scenes from the Civil War" book. That's not news.
The news is that she recently sold a second novel in her Clockwork Century setting called Dreadnought.
Woo to the hoo.
Dreadnought is Cherie's "battlefield adventure about a widowed nurse from a Confederate hospital aboard a west-bound train pulled by a Union war engine — now with military intrigue, murderous plots, the treachery of spies, bushwackers, bandits, sabotage, and epic scenes of mayhem" book.
Color me excited, people!
To get a teaser to the Clockwork Century, you can read Cherie's story "Tanglefoot" over at Subterranean Online.
Cherie Priest, she of the excellent Eden Moore novels, has a novel called Boneshaker coming out later this year. Boneshaker is Cherie's "west coast steampunk Victoriana book with zombies, air ships, toxic gas clouds, mad scientists, dead folk heroes, secret criminal societies, and Bonus! extended deleted scenes from the Civil War" book. That's not news.
The news is that she recently sold a second novel in her Clockwork Century setting called Dreadnought.
Woo to the hoo.
Dreadnought is Cherie's "battlefield adventure about a widowed nurse from a Confederate hospital aboard a west-bound train pulled by a Union war engine — now with military intrigue, murderous plots, the treachery of spies, bushwackers, bandits, sabotage, and epic scenes of mayhem" book.
Color me excited, people!
To get a teaser to the Clockwork Century, you can read Cherie's story "Tanglefoot" over at Subterranean Online.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Nebula Award Nominee: "Don't Stop"
“Don’t Stop”
James Patrick Kelly
Nominated for the Nebula Award: Short Story
Lisa Schoonover sees dead people. Her mother, her old track coach, neighbors. Somebody she calls Crispin. Crispin follows her everywhere, even when she runs. “Don’t Stop” tours through Lisa’s life over the course of one run.
In terms of running, Kelly gets most of the details right. I’d quibble regarding stretching before a run vs after the run or after a warmup job, but that’s really minor. Nothing in “Don’t Stop” rings false. This includes the craziness Lisa has felt over forty years of seeing Crispin and how she has been unable (for various reasons) to hold a steady job and how her hometown as being slightly off-kilter. She is.
“Don’t Stop” is a low-key story. Mellow. James Patrick Kelly inserts the reader into Lisa’s life and makes Lisa and her situation feel real, as if we are reading a non-fiction narrative article in Runner’s World (probably not Running Times, though) instead of a short story.
The title, and how it plays out in the end, is a little…the word I want to use is “precious”, but I’m not sure that’s right. It’s a bit too neat, too simple, too resolved. Overall, though, “Don’t Stop” is a solid story. I don’t know that I would consider it a standout story for the year, but it’s good enough.
James Patrick Kelly
Nominated for the Nebula Award: Short Story
Lisa Schoonover sees dead people. Her mother, her old track coach, neighbors. Somebody she calls Crispin. Crispin follows her everywhere, even when she runs. “Don’t Stop” tours through Lisa’s life over the course of one run.
In terms of running, Kelly gets most of the details right. I’d quibble regarding stretching before a run vs after the run or after a warmup job, but that’s really minor. Nothing in “Don’t Stop” rings false. This includes the craziness Lisa has felt over forty years of seeing Crispin and how she has been unable (for various reasons) to hold a steady job and how her hometown as being slightly off-kilter. She is.
“Don’t Stop” is a low-key story. Mellow. James Patrick Kelly inserts the reader into Lisa’s life and makes Lisa and her situation feel real, as if we are reading a non-fiction narrative article in Runner’s World (probably not Running Times, though) instead of a short story.
The title, and how it plays out in the end, is a little…the word I want to use is “precious”, but I’m not sure that’s right. It’s a bit too neat, too simple, too resolved. Overall, though, “Don’t Stop” is a solid story. I don’t know that I would consider it a standout story for the year, but it’s good enough.
blogging the awards
Now that award season is in full swing I intend to step up my Award blogging. While I'm all kinds of not interested in the novel nominees for the Nebulas, I'm slowly working my way through the short stories and will crack out at the novelettes in short order.
Interspersed will be Hugo nominees as I get to them. Happily for me, I've read a small handful of them already and reviewed them, so I'll be able to work through that list quicker than I thought.
If there is anything in particular about either Award you'd like to see covered, please let me know and I'll see what I can do.
Oh, happy happy for Awards and for all the cool kids nominated.
Interspersed will be Hugo nominees as I get to them. Happily for me, I've read a small handful of them already and reviewed them, so I'll be able to work through that list quicker than I thought.
If there is anything in particular about either Award you'd like to see covered, please let me know and I'll see what I can do.
Oh, happy happy for Awards and for all the cool kids nominated.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Oh, and Metatropolis up for Hugo!
It's on the full list, but I tend to gloss over the Best Dramatic Presentations because it's about TV and movies and stuff...and I like those, but I pay attention to the Hugos for the stories.
Except, what I missed is that the audiobook of Metatropolis is up for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form!
METAtropolis features the fiction of John Scalzi, Jay Lake, Elizabeth Bear, Tobias Buckell, and Karl Schroeder. It features the voice talent of the cast of Battlestar Galactica (well, Tigh, Dualla, and Gaeta + two others not from BSG).
When it was first released I wasn't sure if I could justify the purchase, but Subterranean will be releasing the print version of Metatropolis in a few months.
So, another hearty congratulations with a doubleshot because, as Jay Lake points out, this may be the first time an audiobook cracked the the category usually reserved for movies and the like.
(via Jay Lake, because I apparently can't be bothered to read the full list myself)
Except, what I missed is that the audiobook of Metatropolis is up for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form!
METAtropolis features the fiction of John Scalzi, Jay Lake, Elizabeth Bear, Tobias Buckell, and Karl Schroeder. It features the voice talent of the cast of Battlestar Galactica (well, Tigh, Dualla, and Gaeta + two others not from BSG).
When it was first released I wasn't sure if I could justify the purchase, but Subterranean will be releasing the print version of Metatropolis in a few months.
So, another hearty congratulations with a doubleshot because, as Jay Lake points out, this may be the first time an audiobook cracked the the category usually reserved for movies and the like.
(via Jay Lake, because I apparently can't be bothered to read the full list myself)
2009 Hugo Award Nominees
(via a very excited Mary Robinette Kowal)
Below are the nominees for the Hugo Awards for stuff published in 2008.
Best Novel
Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow
Saturn's Children, by Charles Stross
Zoe's Tale, by John Scalzi
Best Novella
"The Erdmann Nexus", by Nancy Kress (Asimov's Oct / Nov '08)
"The Political Prisoner", by Charles Coleman Finlay (F&SF '08)
"The Tear", by Ian McDonald (Galactic Empires)
"True Names", by Benjamin Rosenbaum and Cory Doctorow (Fast Forward 2)
"Truth", by Robert Reed (Asimov's Oct / Nov '08)
Best Novelette
"Alastair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders", by Mike Resnick (Asimov's Jan '08)
"The Gambler", by Paolo Bacigalupi (Fast Forward 2)
"Pride and Prometheus", by John Kessel (F&SF Jan '08)
"The Ray-Gun: A Love Story", by James Alan Gardner (Asimov's Feb '08)
"Shoggoths in Bloom", by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov's March '08)
Best Short Story
"26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss", by Kij Johnson (Asimov's July '08)
"Article of the Faith", by Mike Resnick (Baen's Universe Oct '08)
"Evil Robot Monkey", by Mary Robinette Kowal (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume 2)
"Exhalation", by Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
"From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled", by Michael Swanwick (Asimov's Feb '08)
Best Editor, Short Form
Ellen Datlow
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder
Sheila Williams
Best Editor, Long Form
Lou Anders
Ginjer Buchanan
David G. Hartwell
Beth Meacham
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Best Semiprozine
Clarkesworld
Interzone
Locus
The New York Review of Science Fiction
Weird Tales
Best Fanzine
Argentus
Banana Wings
Challenger
The Drink Tank
Electric Velocipede
File 770
The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Aliette de Bodard
David Anthony Durham
Felix Gilman
Tony Pi
Gord Sellar
For the full list, go here.
Congratulations to all the nominees, with special note to Elizabeth Bear (yay!), Mary Robinette Kowal (yay!), Paolo Bacigalupi, Lou Anders, John Klima (for EV's nomination), Weird Tales (yes, the whole magazine), Jonathan Strahan, and David Anthony Durham (in his final year of eligibility for the Campbell)
Below are the nominees for the Hugo Awards for stuff published in 2008.
Best Novel
Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow
Saturn's Children, by Charles Stross
Zoe's Tale, by John Scalzi
Best Novella
"The Erdmann Nexus", by Nancy Kress (Asimov's Oct / Nov '08)
"The Political Prisoner", by Charles Coleman Finlay (F&SF '08)
"The Tear", by Ian McDonald (Galactic Empires)
"True Names", by Benjamin Rosenbaum and Cory Doctorow (Fast Forward 2)
"Truth", by Robert Reed (Asimov's Oct / Nov '08)
Best Novelette
"Alastair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders", by Mike Resnick (Asimov's Jan '08)
"The Gambler", by Paolo Bacigalupi (Fast Forward 2)
"Pride and Prometheus", by John Kessel (F&SF Jan '08)
"The Ray-Gun: A Love Story", by James Alan Gardner (Asimov's Feb '08)
"Shoggoths in Bloom", by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov's March '08)
Best Short Story
"26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss", by Kij Johnson (Asimov's July '08)
"Article of the Faith", by Mike Resnick (Baen's Universe Oct '08)
"Evil Robot Monkey", by Mary Robinette Kowal (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume 2)
"Exhalation", by Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
"From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled", by Michael Swanwick (Asimov's Feb '08)
Best Editor, Short Form
Ellen Datlow
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder
Sheila Williams
Best Editor, Long Form
Lou Anders
Ginjer Buchanan
David G. Hartwell
Beth Meacham
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Best Semiprozine
Clarkesworld
Interzone
Locus
The New York Review of Science Fiction
Weird Tales
Best Fanzine
Argentus
Banana Wings
Challenger
The Drink Tank
Electric Velocipede
File 770
The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Aliette de Bodard
David Anthony Durham
Felix Gilman
Tony Pi
Gord Sellar
For the full list, go here.
Congratulations to all the nominees, with special note to Elizabeth Bear (yay!), Mary Robinette Kowal (yay!), Paolo Bacigalupi, Lou Anders, John Klima (for EV's nomination), Weird Tales (yes, the whole magazine), Jonathan Strahan, and David Anthony Durham (in his final year of eligibility for the Campbell)
Nebula Award Nominee: "26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss"
“26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss”
Kij Johnson
Nominated for the Nebula Award: Short Story
“Aimee’s big trick is that she makes twenty-six monkeys vanish onstage.”
So opens “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss”, a story about Aimee and her 26 monkeys. Told in 24 short sections Kij Johnson tells of Aimee’s act, how Aimee got the act, about what kind of monkeys she has, what they do. Everything except where they go when the monkeys disappear. See, she doesn’t know. She bought the show for a dollar three years ago from a man who bought the show for a dollar four years prior. The show really belongs to the monkeys. The monkeys are just as much characters in this story as Aimee and her boyfriend Geof. They’re real monkeys, though.
The story is in turns clever, sweet, funny, and sad. After reading last year’s nominated story “The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change” I was quite impressed with Kij Johnson’s storytelling skill and was curious to read more of her work. “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” is a story of one woman’s healing among a show full of performing monkeys – monkeys that accepted her, not the other way around.
It’s good. It’s really good. Last year’s story was one of my favorite nominated stories and after reading this, I expect “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” will be one of this year’s favorites.
Kij Johnson
Nominated for the Nebula Award: Short Story
“Aimee’s big trick is that she makes twenty-six monkeys vanish onstage.”
So opens “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss”, a story about Aimee and her 26 monkeys. Told in 24 short sections Kij Johnson tells of Aimee’s act, how Aimee got the act, about what kind of monkeys she has, what they do. Everything except where they go when the monkeys disappear. See, she doesn’t know. She bought the show for a dollar three years ago from a man who bought the show for a dollar four years prior. The show really belongs to the monkeys. The monkeys are just as much characters in this story as Aimee and her boyfriend Geof. They’re real monkeys, though.
The story is in turns clever, sweet, funny, and sad. After reading last year’s nominated story “The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change” I was quite impressed with Kij Johnson’s storytelling skill and was curious to read more of her work. “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” is a story of one woman’s healing among a show full of performing monkeys – monkeys that accepted her, not the other way around.
It’s good. It’s really good. Last year’s story was one of my favorite nominated stories and after reading this, I expect “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” will be one of this year’s favorites.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Nebula Award Nominee: "The Button Bin"
“The Button Bin”
Mike Allen
Nominated for the Nebula Award: Short Story
This…is a disturbing story. “The Button Bin” begins with the line “You know he’s the one who made your beloved niece disappear.” Told in second person perspective, the story is the confrontation with the man who did something to your niece. Mike Allen personalizes things. I don’t have a niece, but for as long as it took to read “The Button Bin”, I did. Something happened to her. This man knows.
“The Button Bin” starts with you and the man, moves over to you and Denise (the niece) to give background and backstory, and then flicks back and forth in time – confrontation and history. The horror and disturbing tone to the story presents ideas about what happened to Denise without ever stating what happened. And then the story turns once more and the horror of the situation becomes even more real and nasty.
There are supernatural elements to the story, but they are almost irrelevant. They are important to the conclusion, but not quite as important and the relationship between you, Denise, and Lenahan.
Things are not simple and not pretty in “The Button Bin”. They are dark and nasty, but Mike Allen has written a compelling story, one that is worth the time to read.
“The Button Bin” was originally published in Helix, but is now available to read at Transcriptase.
Mike Allen
Nominated for the Nebula Award: Short Story
This…is a disturbing story. “The Button Bin” begins with the line “You know he’s the one who made your beloved niece disappear.” Told in second person perspective, the story is the confrontation with the man who did something to your niece. Mike Allen personalizes things. I don’t have a niece, but for as long as it took to read “The Button Bin”, I did. Something happened to her. This man knows.
“The Button Bin” starts with you and the man, moves over to you and Denise (the niece) to give background and backstory, and then flicks back and forth in time – confrontation and history. The horror and disturbing tone to the story presents ideas about what happened to Denise without ever stating what happened. And then the story turns once more and the horror of the situation becomes even more real and nasty.
There are supernatural elements to the story, but they are almost irrelevant. They are important to the conclusion, but not quite as important and the relationship between you, Denise, and Lenahan.
Things are not simple and not pretty in “The Button Bin”. They are dark and nasty, but Mike Allen has written a compelling story, one that is worth the time to read.
“The Button Bin” was originally published in Helix, but is now available to read at Transcriptase.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Nebula Award Nominee: "Mars: A Traveler's Guide"
“Mars: A Traveler’s Guide”
Ruth Nestvold
Nominated for the Nebula Award: Short Story
“Mars: A Traveler’s Guide” is told entirely from the perspective of a voice-prompted computer program for a traveler’s guide intended for visitors to Mars. The story is told entirely through the entries of the travel guide and NOT from the perspective of a sentient computer program. Just wanted to clarify that bit of detail.
What I appreciate most is probably what marks me as at least somewhat immature. The reader never gets a chance to see directly what the user of the travel guide is saying, and the story jumps from topic to topic – often mid entry. But…what I appreciate is when the user gets frustrated with the travel guide. We can tell from the entries and from the response of the travel guide to what was said off the page.
Oh, just delightful. And accurate. Users of such a guide probably would curse at the guide and the computer wouldn’t recognize the words (or, if well designed – would recognize and give snappy comebacks, but that’s another story).
At first “Mars: A Traveler’s Guide” appears to be a simple examination of certain aspects of travel that the savvy traveler would wish to be aware of. Safety and the like. Dust storms, fuel cells, pressurized rovers, safety considerations, bases.
Then realization dawns. Oh. This is about something else entirely and what was only slightly interesting at the start takes on a whole new level of meaning and readers might be interested in going back and reading those first pages to catch what’s going on. There is a reason for those particular topics and there is a progression of topics that tells a story beyond being a travel guide.
By the end I realized just how awesome and well constructed “Mars: A Traveler’s Guide” really was. I want to say more about it, but I don’t want to give away the goodness.
Well done, Ms Nestvold. You didn’t have me at hello, but you grabbed me by the end and made me reevaluate the entire story before realization dawned.
Ruth Nestvold
Nominated for the Nebula Award: Short Story
“Mars: A Traveler’s Guide” is told entirely from the perspective of a voice-prompted computer program for a traveler’s guide intended for visitors to Mars. The story is told entirely through the entries of the travel guide and NOT from the perspective of a sentient computer program. Just wanted to clarify that bit of detail.
What I appreciate most is probably what marks me as at least somewhat immature. The reader never gets a chance to see directly what the user of the travel guide is saying, and the story jumps from topic to topic – often mid entry. But…what I appreciate is when the user gets frustrated with the travel guide. We can tell from the entries and from the response of the travel guide to what was said off the page.
Tours with Red Planet Adventures have been optimized for safety-
I’m sorry, did you say ‘vacuum’?
I’m sorry, I don’t understand the phrase, “no eye said fock cue.”
Would you like to select a new topic?
Oh, just delightful. And accurate. Users of such a guide probably would curse at the guide and the computer wouldn’t recognize the words (or, if well designed – would recognize and give snappy comebacks, but that’s another story).
At first “Mars: A Traveler’s Guide” appears to be a simple examination of certain aspects of travel that the savvy traveler would wish to be aware of. Safety and the like. Dust storms, fuel cells, pressurized rovers, safety considerations, bases.
Then realization dawns. Oh. This is about something else entirely and what was only slightly interesting at the start takes on a whole new level of meaning and readers might be interested in going back and reading those first pages to catch what’s going on. There is a reason for those particular topics and there is a progression of topics that tells a story beyond being a travel guide.
By the end I realized just how awesome and well constructed “Mars: A Traveler’s Guide” really was. I want to say more about it, but I don’t want to give away the goodness.
Well done, Ms Nestvold. You didn’t have me at hello, but you grabbed me by the end and made me reevaluate the entire story before realization dawned.
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