The Hugo Nominated Novellas

Since I'm a Hugo voter and am reading through all the nominated works, I thought I'd do a quick blurb on each, if not a full review. Starting with the Novellas. It's hard not to spoil something so short, but I tried my best. Only the one couldn't be reviewed without any.

The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window - Rachel Swirsky
"[It] begins with the death of the title character, Naeva, a powerful sorceress. As she dies, she consents to have her spirit captured so she can be summoned after death, a decision made from misguided loyalty to her queen. At first, Naeva is a pawn in a struggle between the queen and a potential successor. But the ages begin to pass, and Naeva is subject to summoning by an ever stranger succession of future generations." - fantasticreviews.blogspot.com

Spoilery This was very good, however I felt that Naeva's character didn't grow the way I wanted her to. The story has a lot of commentary on gender politics, with Naeva being form a nation where women rule and men are "worms", but after going through eons of watching the evolution of society, she ends the story still hating men and still incapable of seeing them as anything but worms. I wished there had been some lesson she had learned.

Troika - Alastair Reynolds
"Troika tells the story of men and women confronting an enigma known as the Matryoshka, a vast alien construct whose periodic appearances have generated terror, wonder, and endless debate. During its third “apparition” in a remote corner of the galaxy, a trio of Russian cosmonauts approach this enigma and attempt to penetrate its mysteries. What they discover—and what they endure in the process—forms the centerpiece of an enthralling, constantly surprising narrative." Subterranean Press

Of the 5, I think this one works the best for me. I also think it would make a pretty good movie plot. In only 100 pages, you're given a great little framing story as well as the story in space, and Reynolds manages to makes each character stand out in their own ways. I was left wanting more, but in the good way.

The Lifecycle of Software Objects - Ted Chiang
"It’s a story of two people and the artificial intelligences they helped create, following them for more than a decade as they deal with the upgrades and obsolescence that are inevitable in the world of software. At the same time, it’s an examination of the difference between processing power and intelligence, and of what it means to have a real relationship with an artificial entity." - Subterranean Press.

I really enjoyed this one, though unlike Troika, I didn't feel like I wanted more when it ended. It tells a complete story though, so that isn't a bad thing. The avatars are interesting in that you can see both why people would become attached, but also why other people would become bored with them as toys. By the end, I struggled as much with the idea of how far one should go to protect them and how much freedom they should be allowed as the characters did. Very thought-provoking and interesting.


The Sultan of the Clouds - Geoffrey A. Landis
"Dr Leah Hamakawa & David Tinkerman, because of their experience studying Martian ecology, are invited by Carlos Fernando, the heir who will own practically all of the 1000s of orbiting human habitats of Venus. Only, several habitats don't owe him allegiance, & he's hatching a genocide conspiracy that David will foil." - Variety SF

This one left me cold. It wasn't bad, per se, but nothing stuck out at me that made it special. The Venusian flying cities, pirates and family dynamics were all cool to read, but as a story it didn't work for me. The pirates were still pretty cool though.

The Maiden Flight of McCauley's Bellerophon - Elizabeth Hand
"A museum exhibit designer takes it upon himself to re-stage the first flight of the Bellerophon, a Heath Robinson-esque aircraft which crashed in mysterious circumstances, and of which only a few seconds of film footage survives." - Author's website

I really got into the characters with this one. Especially Leonard, who you really understood the motivation of, while also understanding that the man may be more than a little crazy. All of the characters felt realistic, as though you could meet them in real life and they wouldn't stand out. The plot itself is simple, but enjoyable and I liked that it left so much to the imagination.