The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society by Ursula Vernon
Started: 7/27/19
Finished: 7/27/19
SHORT short story, with a cute twist on the sly faerie folk genre.
Hugo nominee
Nine Last Days On Planet Earth by Daryl Gregory
Started: 7/26/19
Finished: 7/27/19
In contrast to the previous novelette, I felt like this one needed more. As a family story, I think it had enough (and it was really good). As a science fiction story, it felt a little empty.
The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections by Tina Connolly
Started: 7/26/19
Finished: 7/26/19
Oh, how I liked this novelette. A bad leader, a long-term revenge, pain and suffering. Really good stuff in a very small package. And food! Delicious food!
The Court Magician by Sarah Pinsker
Started: 7/25/19
Finished: 7/25/19
An eerie short story by the author of that portal fantasy with clones from last year that I liked so much. This one was pretty good. Learn the rules before you use magic!
The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat by Brooke Bolander
Started: 7/24/19
Finished: 7/25/19
I loved the voice of the narrator in this short story. Same author as the sad elephant novella, but I would never have guessed that. I feel like the plot is given away in the title, and I’m okay with that.
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
Started: 7/18/19
Finished: 7/24/19
This is the second novella in the Murderbot Diaries series, and it’s so great! Poor Murderbot.
The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander
Started: 7/14/19
Finished: 7/18/19
I had heard such wonderful things about this story, but at its start, all I can think of is how SAD it is. Update: at its end, all I can think of how sad it is. It’s an alternate history that combines two true events tragedies: Topsy the Elephant and the Radium Girls. It’s very good, but very hard to read. I suppose it’s a good thing it’s a novelette…
Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson
Started: 7/8/19
Finished: 7/14/19
I was just getting into the swing of things when it ended! That’s the problem with novellas, I suppose. Good story, but there’s a lot about the world and their mission that I didn’t completely follow. I care enough to wish I could find out more, but that also means I’m a little disappointed in it.
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
Started: 6/22/19
Finished: 7/1/19
Book 3 in the Wayfarers series. This was a NICE story, but I had a hard time getting into it at first. I enjoyed it, and I wholeheartedly recommend it (the whole series), but I don’t think it’s Hugo-worthy (this book is nominated, as is the series).
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Started: 6/1/19
Finished: 6/7/19
I’ve been meaning to read this one for a year, and then it got nominated for a Hugo and I got it in the voter’s packet, so yay for me! It’s a story about monsters and monsterslayers in a post-apocalyptic US, set on a Navajo reservation, and it’s pretty great.
Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng
Started: 8/16/18
Gave up: 8/17/18
Interesting premise: Victorian missionaries travel to the lands of the Fae to try to convert them to Christianity. Our protagonist’s brother never returned, so she heads there to try to find him. And then nothing happens. For a long time. So I gave up.
The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller
Started: 7/17/18
Finished: 7/21/18
I’m really not sure if I liked this. It was interesting, and there’s an open question about the abilities the kid had (Did he actually have them? Did those things really happen?), but aside from that, it’s about a teenager, his relationships, and his eating disorder.
Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn
Started: 7/12/18
Finished: 7/17/18
Entertaining, but not great. Superheroes are a thing, but the main character is the assistant to one of the heroes because she’s afraid of her own powers and blah blah blah. It wasn’t exactly gripping.
Summer in Orcus by T. Kingfisher
Started: 7/6/18
Finished: 7/12/18
It’s a Baba Yaga story, it’s an Alice in Wonderland story, and of course it’s neither of those, but it was really good, and I really enjoyed the characters.
The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer
Started: 7/5/18
Finished: 7/5/18
Cute story (novelette) about robots when people aren’t around.
Wind Will Rove by Sarah Pinsker
Started: 7/4/18
Finished: 7/4/18
I wanted to like this one more (because I really enjoyed her Hugo-nominated novella), but it was maybe a bit too “these kids today” for me.
Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
Started: 7/4/18
Finished: 7/4/18
One of my favorites of the Hugo-nominated novelettes (the other being the other robot one – it seems I like robots), this one was really sweet.
Extracurricular Activities by Yoon Ha Lee
Started: 7/4/18
Finished: 7/4/18
This novelette is set in the same universe as Ninefox Gambit, which I wasn’t crazy about. I did enjoy this story, very much, but I’m not sure I would have if I’d read it first.
Children of Thorns, Children of Water by Aliette de Bodard
Started: 7/4/18
Finished: 7/4/18
I’m not sure I liked this novelette. The magic was odd, the setting was interesting, but I didn’t get enough background or explanation to get into the story.
A Series of Steaks by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
Started: 7/4/18
Finished: 7/4/18
Interesting novelette about a future where food is cloned/printed.