My Read-Through of the Hugos: 1993

I’m a huge science fiction fan, and, having read a list of what are alleged to be the top 200 science fiction novels, I decided to next tackle a read-through of all the Hugo Award winners and nominees for best novel. Let me know your thoughts and favorites. I’ve marked the winner as well as my own choice for which novel would win, had I the choice among the nominees. At the end I have a brief summary comment on the year’s nominees.

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge (Co-Winner, My Winner) Grade: A
The main plot is a first contact story, largely, between some dog like species (the Tines) who exist as kind of individual pack hive minds and humans. Dancing around this core plot is a much, much bigger plot involving, you know, the fate of the galaxy. A malevolent AI, issues of traveling through space and what that might mean for the capacities of species at different parts in the galaxy, and inter-species conflict abound. Questions about what it means to be an individual, to be intelligent, and more come up as the story goes on. It’s a simply phenomenal read that demands additional read-throughs just to be sure one catches more details. It is definitely space opera on a high level, but it’s also managed to be a fairly personal space adventure type story that is deeply intimate. It’s the kind of book that every fan of science fiction should at least give a try once to see if they like it. Also I really wish that that awesome illustration on the cover had some bearing somewhere on the contents, because a manta ray space city thing would be a ridiculously over the top and awesome story bit.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (Co-Winner)- Grade: B
Doomsday Book is a beautiful tale of someone traveling back in time to the Black Death only to be caught there and try to do the best she can with the technology at hand–which is to say she can’t do very much. It’s a heart-rending tale that I remember even years after first reading it as one I enjoyed enormously. The biggest issue with the book is that basically every “modern” scene is an absolute slog. I hate to do this to you, dear reader, but I’ll share something I wish I hadn’t thought of or heard at some point about Willis’s writings. She’s incredibly gifted, but she’s utterly obsessed with telephony and I don’t know why. I can’t unsee it. Several of her books have multiple scenes of people just missing someone else based on a land line phone, or talking about phones, or being on the phone, and it’s compounded here by some of the most frequent and annoying scenes of missed phone calls I’ve ever read. Like… can someone please pick up the damned phones!? And that’s basically the most memorable part of the book that isn’t the Black Death side of the story. That’s unfortunate, because the Black death side of the story is one of the first stories that made me cry as an adult reading a novel. It’s just so good. But wow, points lost for the phone-obsessed present era. I don’t want to visit it again.

Doomsday Book ends up as a mixed bag with a solidly superb past plot combined with a pretty forgettable and even annoying modern plot. 

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson- Grade: C+
A short summary of my opinion of this book would be: “cool science, boring plot.” I’m willing to accept I’m in the extreme minority here–the book got Hugo, Nebula, BSFA, and Arthur C. Clarke Award nominations/wins so it is clearly an accepted classic across the board. For me, though, the people making up the core of the story were bland. It’s difficult to make up for that, as I found myself caring little for the action and even intense sequences in the plot. The characters simply did not grab me. And that’s a shame, because the science ideas in this novel are so cool. Robinson delves deeply into the technology and speculative science behind what could drive colonization of a world like Mars. Exhaustive sequences describing some of this going on make for, in my opinion, some of the most interesting reading of the whole book. I enjoyed these sections very much. But the human element was not enough to sustain the book, especially for such a lengthy reading. I honestly prefer Ben Bova’s Mars and following books to these by Robinson.

China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh- Grade: C
I don’t know what to think about this enigmatic work. It has some big ideas in it–the United States also experienced a communist revolution; the future is dominated by communism; etc.–but those big ideas never translate to anything on the page. Is it an exercise in making something that should be fascinating boring? Or is it a masterful play on science fiction expectations, basically giving readers a ho-hum look at a different world? I lean a bit towards the latter, but I have read the book twice now and haven’t experienced any stunning moments of insight or revelatory “getting it” that I have had with other novels that I’ve enjoyed more. Maybe I still don’t “get it,” but I don’t think I’ll give the book another try. If you really enjoyed it, I’d love to read about what struck a cord with you in the comments.

Steel Beach by John Varley Grade: B-
Varley’s skill as a satirist is on full display in this novel that perhaps best serves as a way to convey that dark sense of humor throughout. The central plot is narrated by a decidedly unreliable Hildy Johnson, who vascillates between wishing for suicide and delighting in whatever life throws at him. The whole story is wonky–a word that sounds just as strange as it ought to for the description of the book. Examining the plot too closely reveals many holes, and Varley himself has a rather funny afterward (at least in the addition I read) in which he tells readers not to bother sending him letters about how things should have or didn’t work because he doesn’t care. That’s very clear. This isn’t meant to be on the science side of science fiction, but rather leans heavily into the fictional side, utilizing readers’ suspension of disbelief to poke at assumptions about gender, capitalism, and more. I’m not sure where Varley lines up on most of these topics, but having read this book I bet he’d be pretty interesting to talk to. 

1993- 1993 is a very ’90s feeling year at the Hugos. Varley is probably the best example of this, with a sardonic plot that absolutely captures the spirit of the time. China Mountain Zhang is one I see a lot of people listing as a favorite book, and I’ve read it twice now and I struggle. Red Mars is emblematic of 90s sci-fi, with a strong hard sci-fi bent and light on characterization. I also have already talked about phones enough so we’re going to skip one of these. Okay, fine Doomsday Book is another I’ve read multiple times, but I can’t unsee the issues with it. If it were just the Black Death portion, it’d be an A+ from me. Finally, Vinge’s offer is a fantastic book that I think has something for most fans of sci-fi, though some will be put off by the length and the sometimes stilted prose.

Links

My Read-Through of the Hugos– Read more posts in this series and follow me on the journey! Let me know your own thoughts on the books.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

My Read-Through of the Hugos: 1992

I’m a huge science fiction fan, and, having read a list of what are alleged to be the top 200 science fiction novels, I decided to next tackle a read-through of all the Hugo Award winners and nominees for best novel. Let me know your thoughts and favorites. Here are the nominees and the winner of the 1992 Hugo Awards. I’ve marked the winner as well as my own choice for which novel would win, had I the choice among the nominees.

Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold (Winner, My Winner)- Grade: A+
Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga continually addresses surprising topics in science fiction. I recommend reading the series in chronological order, starting with Shards of Honor and working your way forward from there. I read this one a second time for this post (I listened to the audiobook, this time), and I was blown away a second time by this fantastic novel. At one point, I was driving down the interstate, tears streaming down my face, as I tried to contain my emotions from a particularly poignant scene. Bujold here confronts questions about parenthood (specifically motherhood, but certainly also fatherhood), adult child relations (father-son), PTSD, and more in ways that are both absolutely real and true to the fictional characters she’s made. It’s rare to have characters so true to life while also being set in a far future a long ways away. Barrayar is top shelf science fiction and any fan of the genre should give it a try at least once.

The Summer Queen by Joan D. Vinge- Grade: C+
The Summer Queen is a mix of incredible brilliance with sometimes mind-numbingly lengthy scenes and descriptions. Like the previous work, there is no denying Vinge’s skill as a writer. The prose is powerful, the dialogue well-written, and the overall plotting is good. It gets bogged down in the details, though, and many, many scenes in excess of what was necessary for the plot. And there’s so much plot here. The book weighs in quite heavily in a very literal sense. One may be able to skip gym sessions after hauling it around. But more seriously, readers who are looking for sci-fi with serious literary meat on its bones will love this. At times, I loved it. But overall, I found it a bit too complex and drawn out for my taste.

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card- Grade: C-
Xenocide picks up right where Speaker for the Dead left off in the Ender series. However, it isn’t nearly as polished as the first two books in the series. The novel should be at least 150 pages shorter. It would easily convey  the same characterization and plot. So many scenes involve characters animatedly shouting or talking about “what are we gonna do next?” We get it, the family has a ton of drama. It got to the point, however, at which I started actively disliking all the characters. They all just seemed unpleasant to be around, and certainly did not enjoy being around each other. There remains much of Card’s dedication to speculation about morality, religion, and big questions, however. That makes the book readable despite the rather incessant arguing of the characters. But honestly, it’s only barely readable. The more I think about it, the more I’m aggravated by the characters themselves. The first two books in the series are probably the ones readers should stick to on re-reads.

Bone Dance by Emma Bull- Grade: D
Sparrow sells stuff and makes Deals for a living, selling especially videos from the World Before. It’s got a kind of cool post-apocalyptic 80s/90s vibe going. Bone Dance rides upon that feeling for a while, but then it just gets stale. The characters simply are not strong enough to sustain the plot. The plot itself becomes a kind of ho-hum adventure story post-amnesia. There are many tropes of sci-fi and fantasy in this cyberpunk novel, but the biggest trope is the plot twist at the end that I saw from miles upon miles away. I honestly found myself saying “uggh” at the end. Yes, originality is overrated, in my opinion. There really is nothing new under the sun, as the Ecclesiastical author says. But–and this is a big “but”–doing the same thing in ways that are totally predictable is still tiresome. I found Bone Dance an intriguing premise with a tiresome set of plot points that ultimately had me just riding it out at the end.

All the Weyrs of Pern by Anne McAffrey- Grade: A-
I’ve enjoyed reading the Pern series over the last several years. All the Weyrs of Pern is deep into the series, and it has much more of the science fiction aspects than any of the previous books had. It’s through-and-through science fantasy–you have some hard science questions about how the “thread” might actually be generated set alongside time traveling dragons dispatched to stop the threat. I especially enjoyed the AI and the idea of lost technology. It’s been done before, many times, but I’m a sucker for it and having it be so prominent in a world I’ve grown to love so much was great. The only real complaint I have with the book is that it seems a bit too long. I don’t mind lengthy works, but this one felt like it could have been edited down by about 100 pages or so. It’s a delightful read that I think I’ll be happy to experience again whenever I decide to do a re-read of the whole series.

Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick- Grade: B+
A bureaucrat gets sent planetside to investigate illegal seizure/use of technology and a strange, thought-provoking journey ensues. Our nameless protagonist, the Bureaucrat, goes on an incredible journey of discovery not just about magic and technology, but also about himself. This somehow involves quite a bit of sex along the way. Anyway, following our Bureaucrat through his journey is a surprisingly revealing way to explore the world Swanwick created in the novel. The world itself is a bit unclear, because the lens through which you see it is the Bureaucrat, and the narration almost assumes you have some of the knowledge of that character. The whole thing adds up into a sometimes bewildering journey. Swanwick’s prose, however, makes that journey enjoyable all the way through. The style in which he writes invites the reader in to enjoy the path just as much as the characters along it. It’s tantalizing. Readers who enjoy New Wave sci-fi will want to pick this one up, in particular.

1992- The reign of Heinlein is ended. The age of Bujold has begun. Okay, technically that turnover began more like 1989 with Bujold’s first nomination, but still. From 1989-now (writing in 2023), Bujold has been nominated 10 times for the Hugo Award for best novel. Ten. Times. She won 4 of them. It ties Heinlein (not counting retro Hugos) for the 10/4 count. NK Jemisin might be the next, with 5 nominations and 3 wins already. Anyway, it’s fun to read through eras like this. And, frankly, I prefer the Bujold era to the Heinlein one so far as the books are concerned. Barrayar is an all-time great. The rest of the year’s slate is okay. Swanwick’s book is intriguing. McAffrey delivers dragons in science fantasy if you’re into that kind of thing. ’92 isn’t bad. But Barrayar is the obvious choice and a year the voters definitely got right.

Links

My Read-Through of the Hugos– Read more posts in this series and follow me on the journey! Let me know your own thoughts on the books.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

My Read-Through of the Hugos: 1990

I’m a huge science fiction fan, and, having read a list of what are alleged to be the top 200 science fiction novels, I decided to next tackle a read-through of all the Hugo Award winners and nominees for best novel. Let me know your thoughts and favorites. I’ve marked the winner as well as my own choice for which novel would win, had I the choice among the nominees.

Prentice Alvin by Orson Scott Card- Grade: D+
The third book in the Tales of Alvin Maker once again shows that Card is a strong storyteller. But he’s telling it in a way that makes it unreadable due to its problematic language, assumptions about whole groups of people, and caricatures instead of characters when it comes to those with whom he disagrees. I try not to over-read into things, but it’s difficult to see anything redemptive about the need to change a half-black boy’s DNA in order to save him from slave hunters. Yes, I understand the way the magic Card set up works this way, but it just doesn’t sit right to me that the solution is to inherently change who someone is internally. And the book is filled with, again, rigid gender norms, racially-charged language and situations with no critique, and more.

The Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson- Grade: C-
The Boat of a Million Years is a sprawling epic covering thousands of generations of human history as eleven immortals struggle to find each other and create a kind of pseudo-family with their shared gift. Time and again, I’m forced to think that perhaps Poul Anderson is just not for me. I just think that in defter hands this idea would have been totally awesome. As it stands, though, it’s rather bland. Anderson’s prose is just not up to the task to which he set himself. He has a great idea, but the execution is so boring that I felt as though I forced myself through the hundreds of pages that the book drags on. None of the immortals feels especially remarkable, either, which is its own kind of amazing. How does one write a novel like this, with such a huge scope and with such big ideas, while also not really making anything about it stand out? I don’t know, but here we are.

Grass by Sherri S. Tepper- Grade: D+
I read Grass twice to see if I was missing something. A span of a few years came and went between the two readings. I remain in that space of thinking I might be missing out on something brilliant while also being somewhat skeptical that I am. The planet, Grass, is somehow immune to a plague that’s been creeping across human settlements. But why is it immune to it? And why does the whole book seem to center around a faux-fox hunt tradition? At some point in each read, I found myself just forcing my way through the novel. It’s so opaquely written that I struggle to piece together the plot. Is it intentionally written in such a confusing fashion? I don’t know, and I found eventually that I stopped caring. Eventually, it becomes tedious.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Winner, Tied for My Winner)- Grade: A+
Hyperion is a work of marvel. It’s a masterpiece. It’s a stunning achievement of literature and genre. The premise is a kind of sci-fi Canterbury Tales in which various people from across the galaxy are thrown together in a quest to meet the indomitable Shrike and make a request of it. Each person has their own reasons for wanting to make a request, and they range from selfish to totally selfless. The stories included in this book are heart-rending, funny, and terrible by turns; sometimes all at once. It’s a beautiful piece of literature that also explores questions of faith and ultimate meaning in a vast universe. There is a bigger story hiding in the shadows of the stories shared by the travelers, but not much of it is revealed in the first novel in this series. The book is a beautiful epic, with each of the travelers’ stories becoming its own piece of art. 

A Fire in the Sun by George Alec Effinger (Tied for My Winer)- Grade: A+
One of the best things about this book is its prose. Each sentence, however unimportant to the overall plot, oozes with character. Fairly early on, Marîd meets his estranged mother, and their conversation turns into a fight. His mother lashes out at him, annoyed that he was prying into her affairs. Effinger writes, from Marîd’s perspective, that “I had an answer to that, but I didn’t use it.” It’s a simple thing, but that single line does so much for the plot. As a reader, you wonder–will he be using that answer later in the conversation? Or perhaps we’ll read his answer later in the book? Or maybe it’s just a tantalizing hint that Marîd is more than the character on the page. He’s got a mental life, because Effinger infused him with it. Writing like this makes the book an enthralling read.
But it’s not just excellent prose that warrants this book my top score. The plotting, characters, and ideas are all top-notch as well. The first book in this series, When Gravity Fails surprised me with its feel of a genuine look into our future paired with an intense mystery and characters you could feel on the page. In this second book, I was surprised that Effinger managed to surpass his spectacular first effort. We see Marîd taking on new roles, expanding his influence, and developing as a character in the novel. It feels like a living, breathing world. And it’s one that I plan to return to time and again.

1990- What a mix! I don’t just mean the scores I’m giving out here, I mean the genre mix is strong this year. Cyberpunk, Space Opera, Historical Fantasy, whatever the heck Grass is supposed to be, and a kaleidoscopic story? Loved it, even if I didn’t love all the books. I gave both Effinger and Simmons my highest score, though if I were absolutely forced to choose between the two, I’d choose Hyperion. It’s one of those transcendent science fiction novels that makes you think about its content for years after reading it. That doesn’t say anything negative about A Fire in the Sun, which is easily one of the most fun books I’ve read. It was great to have these two books on this list, because otherwise it would have been a pretty down year. As it stands, though, 1990 has two all-time reads. 

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

My Read-Through of the Hugos– Read more posts in this series and follow me on the journey! Let me know your own thoughts on the books.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

The 2023 Hugo Nominations Were Announced: My Initial Thoughts

The 2023 Hugo nominations are out! Check them out here! I have some reflections on the ballot as it stands.

Best Fancast

I was soooo excited to see “Hugos There” on the fancast nominating ballot! I was on that podcast a couple times, including 2022, so it’s like I’m part of a Hugo nomination! I don’t know if that counts, but I’m counting it. Also love seeing “Hugo, Girl!” which is a favorite of mine. I’ll have to check out the others.

Best Novel

This is my favorite category, to be honest. I mean, I spent the last 8ish years reading every single Hugo Nominated novel, and having new nominations come out is exciting! I admit some disappointment that none of the books I nominated made the ballot, though I enjoyed several of the reads here. I am more disappointed that we didn’t see any Chinese language sci-fi. It would have been awesome to get some truly worldwide nominations in this category and see some sci-fi in translation come out of it. Oh well.

I’ve read 4/6 nominations. The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal is a fun romp that doesn’t get too deep. Kowal constructs a mystery in space that manages to feel simultaneously futuristic and retro. If you’re into that kind of thing, this will be a good read for you.

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree is pure saccharine in the best way. A slice of life fantasy novel about a barbarian retiring to run a coffee shop. It’s wholesome and delightful and I honestly loved it.

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi- I’m a Scalzi fan and anticipated this novel hugely. Kaiju are a subgenre I love, and I want to see more novels written about Kaiju. That said, I wasn’t captured by the characters, setting, or plot in this one and ended up bouncing off of it a bit. I finished, of course, but didn’t really enjoy it very much. Sorry, Scalzi. Clearly others were fans of this one.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia- a feminist and modern science fiction-historical novel hybrid that is quite well done. Generally, this subgenre isn’t one I actively seek out, but I saw a number of people I trust recommending it. I read it and enjoyed it well enough. If that blend of options seems like your wheelhouse, check it out.

Nona the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir- like the others in this trilogy, another Hugo nod! I am willing to admit this series is just almost entirely in the “not for me” category. I thought the first one read like a laundry list of cool concepts with no execution, and the second, while better executed, was annoyingly formatted and didn’t capture my interest. I’ll dutifully read it–it’s a Hugo nominated novel!–but probably need to admit these just aren’t my jam.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher- I’ve enjoyed Kingfisher’s books in the past, and I’m delighted to see one I haven’t read get a nomination. I have it out from the library, ready to read. The concept reads as a play on the knight in shining armor theme, so I’m curious to see where it goes.

Novella/Novelette/Short Story

I haven’t read many of these, but was thrilled to see Tchaikovsky’s superb Ogres on the list. Read that one if you haven’t! It’s fantastic.

Dramatic Presentation Long/Short

Look, I love Avatar and don’t really care if others don’t. The first movie transported me to another planet where I’d rather be, and the memory of watching it with a dear friend whom I haven’t been able to see in more than a decade now is a favorite memory of mine. The second move I also loved, while admitting it had some flaws. Check out my review for more.

Andor and The Expanse on here is great to see, though I admit I was hoping to see Wheel of Time and Rings of Power. Yep, I know there are haters of both, big time. But I thought they each had some of the best TV I saw all of last year. Anyway, I’m pulling for either Andor or Expanse.

Best Series

I love best series as a relatively new category. I love book series, as I’m sure you do if you follow this site. I was delighted to see some favorites of mine (Tchaikovsky again, Seanan McGuire, and the superb Founders Trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett! What surprised me, though, was a series I’d never even heard of showing up! Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich. I’d no idea it existed, so I promptly snagged the first book at the library and look forward to diving in.

Related Work

This is one of my favorite categories. I nominated several works here, but again none of mine made it through. Needless to say, I’ll be devouring the works here, as I think it’s a fascinating category.

Lodestar Award for Best YA Book

I am obviously hugely deficient in this category as I found I had only read a single of the nominations! I find this thrilling, to be honest. I have a few already on the way at the library.

Astounding Award for Best New Writer

Another list in which I find myself needing to track down some works in order to catch up!

Your Choices!

Please let me know what you think what you’re excited about, and what recommendations you have.

My Read-Through of the Hugos: 1986

I’m a huge science fiction fan, and, having read a list of what are alleged to be the top 200 science fiction novels, I decided to next tackle a read-through of all the Hugo Award winners and nominees for best novel. Let me know your thoughts and favorites. Here are the nominees and the winner of the 1986 Hugo Awards. I’ve marked the winner as well as my own choice for which novel would win, had I the choice among the nominees.

1986

Footfall by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven- Grade: C-
Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven collaborated on a number of bestselling blockbuster novels for several years. Some were great, others were not-so-great. This one falls towards the “not-so-great” side of the spectrum. The primary flaw in Footfall is with how bloated it is on almost every level: the buildup is too long, there are too many characters (to the point that, as a reader, I never became very invested in any of them), and there is too little going on in extended sequences of exposition of people walking around wondering what to do. It has the intensity of their other collaborations, but it doesn’t maintain it throughout the novel, which lends itself to exposing some of the flaws in the writing style itself. On the plus side, the Fithp, despite having a ludicrous name, are a well thought out alien species with some fascinating details in the background. Footfall ultimately would have been much better as either a series–so that readers could get more invested in the characters and perhaps more of the Fithp background could be explored–or a short story–so that the extraneous details could all be cut out. As it stands it’s a middling novel.

Cuckoo’s Egg by CJ Cherryh- Grade: A-
Cherryh has a knack for making aliens seem quite alien, and for telling the stories from their perspective. Here, we get the story of a protective alien, Duun, caring for a human child named Thorn. Duun is a Shonunin, an apparently warlike species of aliens. But Cherryh uses the perspective of Duun to totally subvert many of the reader’s expectations. We, being humans, have made assumptions about the Shonunin society from the outset, not realizing that Duun’s affiliation with a warrior group may have made them seem more warlike and aggressive than they actually are. As Thorn learns about human language, his own development as a character begins to take over the novel as well. It is in that section that I started to have a few points of wanting to get back to the “main plot” of Duun’s life and how he was impacted by all the events. Cherryh sells it all with a passionate viewpoint from Duun that makes it believable while playing with expectations. It’s quite well done.

The Postman by David Brin- Grade: C-
I couldn’t help but feel a major amount of deja vu with this. It’s got scenes that feel incredibly similar to Chrysalids or Alas, Babylon in different ways. I’m not saying it’s copied–it clearly is not–but it has a sense of familiarity that simply should not exist in a post-apocalyptic novel. Perhaps that’s a mark of how many of these books I’ve read by now, but I think it is at least in part a function of the writing itself. Anyway, The Postman certainly isn’t bad, it just didn’t strike me as particularly excellent, either. The blurbs on the back seemed to focus on how it’s some kind of warning. But a warning of what? And why is it particularly poignant in regards to humanity’s plight? Frankly, compared to some other post-apocalyptic tales, this is rather tame.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Winner, My Winner)- Grade: A
Ender’s Game will always hold a special place in my heart as it was basically the first serious science fiction I ever read. I read it for a book club in high school, and the only sci-fi I’d read before that was a bunch of Star Wars books and then some Timothy Zahn works because I had read all of his Star Wars books and figured I liked them enough to try something else by him. Card’s thoughtful sci-fi absolutely blew me away, and I will never forget the experience of gushing over it with several fellow high schoolers and then, a few years later, meeting Card himself and getting the chance to sit and chat with him for about 15 minutes at a conference. So while I have some decidedly mixed feelings about the man and his legacy (his personal kindness to me–and it was true kindness–seems so at odds with his often hateful writings about politics and policy), I am navigating the space of work vs. creator. Ender’s Game itself is a fantastic study of not just the human psyche but also of military science fiction itself. It’s unexpected, particularly in its massive twist at the end. Or, perhaps it was only unexpected for my teenage self. Nevertheless, I believe the novel stands as a bell ringing warning as well as a surprising call for mercy in a merciless world.

Blood Music by Greg Bear- Grade: B+
Bear does a fantastic job building this one up and setting the stage. The outbreak itself was a bit terrifying and it is all too easy to envision this actually happening. One person’s mistake leads to a complete disaster on the highest scale imaginable. But once Bear went past the setup and the early stages, it got crazy quickly. The story went from a somewhat standard–but well-written–outbreak scenario to something much bigger and stranger. That’s not bad on its own, and that makes it more memorable in many ways, but it moved so quickly from one type of story to another so quickly. It was an interesting, if sometimes rushed, play on the outbreak type theme in science fiction.

1986- There’s a strong ballot here, and quite a bit of catastrophe for humanity. Footfall, The Postman, Blood Music, and Ender’s Game each have humanity at a destructive crossroads. While I didn’t enjoy all of them the same amount, each has some redeeming qualities. Cuckoo’s Egg and Ender’s Game are the more thoughtful reads of the bunch, however. The former gives us alien viewpoint to a high degree while the latter ultimately gives us a deep look at humanity. As I said, while I am navigating the creator-creation distinction regarding Ender’s Game, it’s been incredibly formative to my own sci-fi fandom, and I believe it remains a classic read to this day. Overall, ’86 was a good year for the Hugos. Which would you choose?

Links

My Read-Through of the Hugos– Read more posts in this series and follow me on the journey! Let me know your own thoughts on the books.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

My Read-Through of the Hugos: 1985

I’m a huge science fiction fan, and, having read a list of what are alleged to be the top 200 science fiction novels, I decided to next tackle a read-through of all the Hugo Award winners and nominees for best novel. Let me know your thoughts and favorites. Here are the nominees and the winner of the 1985 Hugo Awards. I’ve marked the winner as well as my own choice for which novel would win, had I the choice among the nominees.

1985

The Peace War by Vernor Vinge- Grade: B-
Vernor Vinge has huge ideas, and that is fully on display here. A hard sci-fi combination with dystopia and superweapon (almost a play on “Red Scare” type vintage sci-fi) fears comes together into this story of humanity imploding and coming out of the rubble. I have such mixed feelings after having read it. The first 100 pages or so are an amalgam of confusing data, breathtakingly cool ideas, and characters being thrown around in ways that are difficult to follow alongside everything else going on. As a reader, you’re very much just plopped in the middle of this story without much ground to figure out what’s going on. Why does the Peace Authority go full on totalitarian so quickly? What motivates the central players here? Why does the dude who created the superweapon manage to escape? In the midst of all this we have, as I said, some hard sci-fi ideas like quantum decay, parallel universes, and the like being thrown together in what is a stunning but confusing mess of a novel. I alternately was enthralled and confused by this. I think I liked it?

Neuromancer by William Gibson (Winner)- Grade: B-
I have a lengthy relationship with Neuromancer. I first bought it as a teenager and tried to read it and was completely confused. I’d only really read Star Wars novels for sci-fi before this point, and the complexity of this cyberpunk world was beyond me. I tried again later, and then again when a friend at work recommended it. I finally got through it then. I’ve since read it in total 4 times, with numerous false starts. I still don’t think I understand the book, and at this point, I’m becoming more willing to blame Gibson than myself for it. Although Gibson writes an in introduction to one of the versions I read that he was not out to try to predict the future, this novel seems almost prophetic in some ways as Gibson coined a number of terms and used ideas that have since become reality. The dialogue-to-action ratio is off. The world and characters feel somewhat empty and lifeless. There’s a great hook at the beginning, but we then spend an enormous amount of time just following one guy around as he follows a hacking job down a rabbit hole. Though there are characters with all kinds of cool backgrounds, they never seem much more than cutouts put there to help the plot along. There is very little characterization, and as a reader, that’s something I look forward to most. The thematic details are, I am okay admitting at this point, totally lost on me. I often feel I don’t get this novel, but I can admire what’s going on from a distance. There’s no denying that Neuromancer is one of the best examples of Cyberpunk, but that’s more for its ideas than for its excellence of plot or character development. People looking for big ideas in their sci-fi will love this. I’m still trying to decide.

Emergence by David R. Palmer (My Winner)- Grade: B+
Emergence will be a polarizing book. The novel is told from the viewpoint of a young super-genius who writes in shorthand. That means grammatical rules largely don’t apply. I am usually annoyed hugely by that, but Palmer manages to use the backstory of the character and still make it work. And what a character she is! Candidia Maria Smith-Foster–or “Candy”–is 11 years old and at first seems to merely be a precocious character who possibly has a heavy overdose of being too good at everything. But as you read her story, you discover why she is the way she is. The earliest part of the novel–the first 1/4 or so–is the best part by far in my opinion. Here, you spend all your time with Candy and her “twin brother” (a bird, Terry) as you peel away the layers of a disaster and how to survive. Of course, Candy has a huge leg up as she starts off with an almost embarrassingly well-equipped bomb shelter. But again, this is all part of the story and it makes sense. Revealing too much more would give away some of the better parts of the plot, and I have to admit Candy is such a wonderful character that I couldn’t not love the book for that. That said, there are some scenes that grossed me out. (SPOILER: specifically, when she runs into an older boy and they think they may be the only human-ish people left so he tries to convince her, not even a teenager, to have sex or give him some kind of relief. It’s gross and the way he keeps pushing on the topic makes it even worse. This alone, along with another similar scene later in the book, is what leads me to mark it down. I can see the argument for people would really act that way, but it didn’t prevent me from feeling extremely awful about the scenes anyway. /SPOILER.) Aside from those, this is a pretty fantastic post-apocalyptic story that has a heartwarming, almost comfort-food type of feel to it that only a few books can truly grasp.

Job: A Comedy of Justice by Robert A. Heinlein- Grade: F
Reading this was an absolute chore. If I had to choose a single word to describe this novel, it would be “pretentious.” In the hands of a humbler author, an exploration of the end times going along with corruption of a main character in a fall from grace type narrative could be a wonderful, tongue-in-cheek adventure. Here, it reads as projection. There are so many ideas about Christianity thrown together here in a mishmash of ecumenical soup that it doesn’t even make sense. Is Heinlein trying to offer a critique of Christianity? Is he trying to say there’s something more going on? I doubt it, and if he is, his combination of Roman Catholic ideas, American millenarianism, folklore masquerading as theology, and various other branches of beliefs into one is done with all the deftness of using a dump truck to spread mulch around your flowers. It’s incredibly frustrating to read, and set alongside a central plot that is a yawn-inducing reflection on (surprise, surprise) a man choosing to reason by means of sexual desire instead of any sort of character drive (I’m not surprised–this is Heinlein), it becomes unbearable. It’s not the worst Heinlein book I’ve read, but it’s mighty close.

The Integral Trees by Larry Niven- Grade: C
The Integral Trees is milquetoast to me. It wasn’t offensive or terrible enough to make me downgrade it, but it wasn’t captivating or thought-provoking enough to make me feel anything more than a general sense of… “meh.” The core idea of some trees that can move and have changed how humans evolve and interact once they’ve crash landed on some planet is okay, and may have been more exciting at the time the book came out. But as it stands it just doesn’t really have any single point that makes it worthy of recommendation or any effort to critique it beyond this review. The characters are bland; the societies are bland; the tension is almost nonexistent; and the overarching plot is barely enough to engage with. Even as the characters faced various perils, I just wasn’t engaged. It’s a novel for which the offhanded remark of “fine” seems entirely appropriate.

1985- The nominees here are a banner year for some heavy hitters past and present at this point. We’ve got yet another Heinlein, who continues to show up due to a voracious fan base; Larry Niven, William Gibson, and Vernor Vinge. I don’t think I’d read anything from Palmer before, but found Emergence one of the more unique narrative voices I’ve experienced. I’m sure there are many who would be upset by my picks and grades here, but that’s the joy of diverse opinions, right? If we all liked the same thing, it’d be pretty boring out here.

Links

My Read-Through of the Hugos– Read more posts in this series and follow me on the journey! Let me know your own thoughts on the books.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

My Read-Through of the Hugos: 1982

I’ve almost completed my read-through of the top science fiction books of all time and was casting about for something else to do. I decided that reading through the list of Hugo award winners and nominees wasn’t a bad way to spend my time. I’ve marked the winner as well as my own choice for which novel would win, had I the choice among the nominees. There is a reflection on the year’s nominations at the end.

The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe (My Winner)- Grade: A+
The Claw of the Conciliator is the second book of the tetralogy The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. I first read this series as a teenager in high school and was totally blown away by the scope and language while being baffled by its perplexing narrative style and tantalizing hints at more. After reading the first two, I sought out virtually everything I could find by Wolfe, but lost steam and basically stopped reading them, even selling them off online. Later, I re-read the first book but was not at all in the right mood and ended skimming it, not really taking in the language or details. Finally, I’m re-reading the whole series for my Hugo list and am once again enthralled by this series. It’s sort of impossible to describe exactly how it impacts the reader so strongly. The Claw of the Conciliator is a travelogue through a kind of baroque future filled with terrifying things that, when described by Wolfe as though they are normal, somehow almost become normal for the reader. The parts of the story that make it sci-fi are slim-to-none thus far, with very small shades of science fantasy thrown about. Nevertheless, this is the kind of book that transcends genre/literature and becomes an event. This series ought to be at least tried by every science fiction/fantasy fan once in their lives to see if it is to their taste. I eagerly look forward to the next one.

Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh  (Winner)- Grade: B-
Cherryh creates a fascinating future world that is vast in scope in the introductory sections. Then, she zooms in to a particular crisis set within that vast universe, but goes just a tad too far. Because of this, the vast universe seems to be, in fact, quite tiny and restrictive. Rather than having expansive, endless stories to explore, it feels like there are only a few. Of course, what she delivers is a highly complex political crisis centered around one system, and that is enough to make up for much of the disappointment from the transition of big- to small-scale story.

The Many-Colored Land by Julian May- Grade: C
I wanted so much to love this novel. High recommendations, great reviews, and the like all had me hyped for it. But this is almost 100% a set-up novel. It introduces many characters before it finally ties them all together by throwing them back through a one-way trip to the past. The characters are interesting, but because there are so many, there is little chance to really get into any of them. I wanted to spend more time exploring the world, as well, but ended up stuck trying to sort through so many narrative voices and places that it became difficult to keep up. I read the book after this one, The Golden Torc, and wasn’t struck by it either. It’s an interesting, exciting setting, but overall seems to just be a huge number of characters with little to tie them all together.

Little, Big by John Crowley- Grade: B-
I think this is a book I would absolutely adore if I read it in the right mood. It is definitely one I’m going to go back and revisit when I feel like reading a massive book that moves rather slowly. The premise made me think quite  strongly of Galilee by Clive Barker, which I remember absolutely loving when I was younger. It doesn’t play out in a very similar way at all, but the idea of following a family throughout a series of fantastical events as they discover the layers of universes within and around our own. It’s fascinating, but long, and it moves along at an absolute snail’s pace, plodding through plot twists that hit so gradually they don’t even feel like a twist by the time the events finish. As I said, I hope to revisit this one in the right mood, because I suspect I’d love it more.

Project Pope by Clifford D. Simak- Grade: A
Clifford Simak is one of those authors I think would be very difficult to dislike. His writing style is like someone’s kind old grandpa sat down to describe to them the events of some far future while sitting in front of the fireplace. All of Simak’s major themes come to the forefront in Project Pope, considered by many to be his masterpiece. It has the questions about robots and whether they can have souls found throughout even his earliest work. It asks the big questions about faith and the hereafter. It has some weirdness, but it is so toned down by the pastoral themes that you barely notice it. This is a story about some robots who decide to make the perfect, infallible religion and questions about whether that is possible or could succeed. Seriously. But the robots also farm and grow food for humans, they live fairly normal lives. It leads to more and more questions from the reader about what it means to have a soul, what the relationship between reason and revelation might be, and more. It’s an intensely deep book, but written in a tone that is like a conversation with, as I said, a kindly older man. It’s fantastic and haunting and wonderful and cozy all at once.

1982- A superb year for the Hugos, with each book having something to offer that one could see how it would appear on the list. While The Many-Colored Land was my least favorite, it still had flashes of potential that I could see there. Downbelow Station and Little, Big are frequently mentioned in conversations about the best-of-the-best. Project Pope was an astonishing read, a classic by an acknowledged Grand Master of science fiction that takes readers into a pastoral, wonderful setting to contemplate life. The Claw of the Conciliator is part of one of the greatest masterworks of science fiction ever written, The Book of the New Sun, and deserves to at least be tried by every fan of the genre. Of course, one must start with Shadow of the Torturer (the two books come together in a new edition as “Shadow and Claw”). A banner year for the Hugos and well done to the nominees!

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Links

Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

My Read-Through of the Hugos: 1981

I’m a huge science fiction fan, and, having read a list of what are alleged to be the top 200 science fiction novels, I decided to next tackle a read-through of all the Hugo Award winners and nominees for best novel. Let me know your thoughts and favorites. I have included a brief reflection on the year’s Hugos at the end. I’ve marked the winner as well as my own choice for which novel would win, had I the choice among the nominees.

The Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven- Grade: D+
Take the longest, most drawn-out parts of Ringworld, in which the characters are slogging through endless terrain. Now, turn that into an entire book. That’s what it feels like I just read. Yes, I know there was a plot there to try to ratchet up the tension. Something about some aliens trying to find treasure so they can impress other aliens or whatever. But realistically, the plot here absolutely drags. I mean, it’s the sloggiest of slogs. I found myself barely caring about what was happening about halfway through, and then forcing myself towards the end, which manages to be, insultingly, a cliffhanger-ish ending. A cliffhanger! After a book that did almost nothing with its characters for 300 pages! I admit I groaned a bit. Finally, something happened, and it was right as I turned the page to run into the epilogue.

Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl- Grade: A-
A small group of humans goes to explore an artifact left by the Heechee, a super-advanced race that mysteriously disappeared. There’s a surprising amount of plot tucked into this book that starts with a kind of razor focus on four main characters and ultimately has galaxy-wide implications. As I read, it seemed there was plenty left unexplained. It’s possible I missed some explanations. I just thought that more questions were opened near the end than were closed. I didn’t realize that this opens up more of a series from Pohl, though, and I’m interested in whether the next few books live up to the first two.

The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge (Winner, My Winner)- Grade: A
I had a number of abortive attempts to read this a few years ago and then just gave up. I picked it up for the fourth or fifth time on a vacation for this read-through and it all started to click together. This is a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s “Snow Queen…” kind of. It doesn’t really strike me as having too many similarities, but my only experience with Anderson’s version is, to be fair, a few cartoon versions somewhere (I think) and the Wiki page. So I basically read this on its own merits, and it stands up very well. The world building here is at a level akin to some of the all time greats. The characters are complex, though a few get lost on tangents here and there along the way. The star is the Snow Queen and Moon, her pseudo-progeny slash rival for power. Political intrigue, questions of connection to a greater universe, and more abound throughout the novel. It’s not an easy read. This is one you’ll need to sit down and pay attention to, which thankfully lent itself to a couple long drives across South Dakota and Wyoming for me (I wasn’t driving, before you get too worried). I think I can now say I understand why this is considered a great by so many, and I may even dive into it again in a year or two because I enjoyed it immensely. It’s dense, though, almost to the point of being unbearably dense.

Lord Valentine’s Castle by Robert Silverberg- Grade: A-
A science fantasy epic follows the story of Valentine, a man who’s memories have been repressed as he finds himself in a major city with a pile of coins but little knowledge of what to do. He becomes a juggler with a traveling party of humans and aliens for lack of anything better to do. As the novel goes on, layers of this fantastical world are peeled away and readers are swept into the adventure of Valentine as he rediscovers himself and his place on Majipoor. I used the terminology “swept” on purpose, because this is a novel that, if you’ll allow it, will take you up and carry you on an adventure across the massive planet. There are parts where the plot could drag, such as the lengthy descriptions of the juggling. However, if one lets oneself truly dive into those parts and see the flow, the rhythm, and the beat for what they’re intended to be, it’s enthralling. A slow burn read that builds on itself over its lengthy stay, I believe readers will largely get out of it the amount of emersion they’re willing to allow.

Wizard by John Varley- Grade: B-
A significant improvement over the first book in nearly every way. Wizard tells the story of the world of Gaea, which is somehow sentient and also personal and… has many other singular qualities. Readers follow the story of a few pilgrims to Gaea, each seeking their own answers, who get drawn into a kind of epic journey trying to figure out and possibly overthrow some of the mechanisms behind Gaea’s workings. Along the way, no small amount of Weird Sci-Fi conventions get thrown into the mix. Whether it’s the pseudo-centaur-like creatures on Gaea engaging in explicitly detailed sex with a human, many, many other sexual comments and scenes, the constantly pseudo-feminist-yet-weirdly-male-gaze-y narrative of a certain character, or any number of other scenes, the reader is treated to a veritable cacophony of strangeness. At times, the feeling of “other” is overwhelming to the point where it becomes almost prosaic to have an actual plot happening. Happens it does, however, and the story itself is fine enough, though I found some if its elements (such as Gaea’s boredom and attempts to cure it) a bit disappointing. Still, this is a singular work that, so far as I am concerned, vastly surpasses the first in the series.

1981

What a weird year. Wizard headlines the weirdness by being among the more strange pieces of science fiction I’ve read–but it remains readable. I had fun reading it as I walked circles around a local pond. Snow Queen is a book that felt a monumental task to finish, and I’m glad I did. I doubt if I’ll ever attempt it again, though, despite it being my pick for a winner. It’s majestic, but overbearing. Silverberg’s entry is somehow a traditional-feeling fantasy novel, something I haven’t really encountered from him (which shows both his range and my need to read more of his works!). I was hoping to find a newfound love of the Ringworld books, as I always hear them raised as longtime favorites. I especially felt this way after having finally “figured out” the first book in some ways. But alas, I found Ringworld Engineers to be boring and mostly pointless. Finally, Beyond the Blue Event Horizon is full of big ideas and cool happenings. While it never reaches the highest of heights, its a supremely worthy read. 1981 is a solid year for the Hugos. It’s not the best, but it certainly isn’t the worst year. It also is one of the few years so far in which my winner was the same as the actual winner. I should keep track of how often this happens.

Links

Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

My Read-Through of the Hugos: 1980

I’m a huge science fiction fan, and, having read a list of what are alleged to be the top 200 science fiction novels, I decided to next tackle a read-through of all the Hugo Award winners and nominees for best novel. Let me know your thoughts and favorites. I have included a brief reflection on the year’s Hugos at the end. I’ve marked the winner as well as my own choice for which novel would win, had I the choice among the nominees.

The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke (Winner)- Grade: D
The Fountains of Paradise is dull almost beyond words. It’s served with a heaping helping of ‘religious people are stupid’ on top. Hey, maybe you think religious people are stupid, but if you do, can you at least acknowledge that some of them are thoughtful instead of making them all into cardboard caricatures?  There’s a decent premise, I guess. Let’s build an elevator to the stars. Of course, only one place on Earth is suitable for some extremely dense hard sci-fi reason. I love science fiction. And I have enjoyed books by Clarke, but this one was aggravating and boring. That’s an accomplishment.  Clarke has done much better.

Titan by John Varley- Grade: D
Titan is a combination of some hard science fiction themes along with some fantasy elements. It’s a recipe for something that I love, but when you add something awful into the mix, it all goes sideways. Here, that something awful is a heaping dose of misogynist sexual fantasies. The amount of ink spilled upon how women look and just how good they might be because of a shapely thigh or somesuch is just… so over the top. It was distracting all the way through to the extent that it, along with the assumptions about how men and women in general would act, detracted entirely from my enjoyment of the novel. But then I started to notice some of the other issues with it–some big plot holes, somewhat annoying characters, and nonsensical twists. I’ll be reading the next book, entirely because it also got an award nomination, so I’m hoping that I like it more.

Jem by Frederik Pohl- Grade: D
I did not like this book very much. A planet is discovered and humans want to peacefully colonize it as a kind of idyllic vision. Back on Earth, things go south and the new colony turns into a kind of last hope for humanity. On the colony, the alien races there are more (or less, in some ways?) than they appear. Honestly, the last 5% or so of the novel was good–it shows the consequences of even well-intentioned colonialism. Everything else was a slog. The first 80 pages or so seem to be half tribute to Pohl contemporaries, half boring meetings of people talking about or seducing each other as they try to figure out colonizing. The whole thing just ends up feeling extremely boring and even chore-like to read, though the bit of payoff at the end made me less upset about paying the fee to interlibrary loan it. 

On Wings of Song by Thomas Disch- Grade: D+
How do you grade books that clearly demonstrate talent while also being nearly unreadable because they feel caught in the past with ideas that are sometimes cringe and sometimes just silly? I don’t know, but here’s where I settled on this frustrating, strange book. The premise is that the United States has turned, in parts, into ultra-conservative dystopias while at the coasts there exist some kind of hippy-ville that also has its share of problems. Someone has developed a way to have astral projection and trigger spiritual experiences, and Daniel Weinreb, our protagonist, has no small amount of trouble because of this “flying.” Ultimately, the book climaxes in a kind of revelation of the capacity to fully leave the body with the mind even as many conservatives and non-flyers reject the reality. It seems to clearly be a parable of a kind, but one that is so hidden behind layers that it’s difficult as to what Disch is trying to get at. Is he warning of the dangers of ultra-conservativism? Probably? Is it a broadside against religion? Perhaps? Is astral projection via machine a metaphor for drugs? I don’t know? It’s such a strange read set in sometimes strong prose that makes it all the more frustrating. I didn’t like it, but I understand why many might.

Harpist in the Wind by Patricia McKillip (My Winner)- Grade: B
Harpist in the Wind is the third and concluding volume in the Riddle-Master trilogy by McKillip. Like the other books in the series, the focus is pretty narrow, largely following a group of characters on an adventure as they quest to discover the mysteries behind some shape-shifters that have been dogging them, along with the mystery of the Kingdom in which they travel. There are moments of great revelations, especially when the magic is revealed in various parts. There are also moments of tenderness that are surprisingly strong in characterization. I have to express some disappointment, though, in that despite the massive focus on riddles as ways to control and even do battle with others, there is very little by way of actual riddles in the novels themselves.

1980- Uffda. This was a rough year for the Hugos. Several familiar names headline these nominations, but none of them delivered the goods, imo. McKillip’s novel is a worthy choice for a nominee, but would not win a stronger year. The winner chosen at the actual ceremony–Clarke’s The Fountains of Paradise–is a tedious slog. The other books don’t fare much better. It’s almost like the voters just nominated favorite authors for the sake of seeing their names yet again on the ballot. One of the worst years, in my opinion. 

Links

Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

The 2022 Lodestar Award for Best YA Novel (At the Hugos)- Reviews

I am a Hugo voter this year (you can be, too, by paying the fee) and I have set off to try to read everything that was nominated in the awards so that I can more fairly vote for what I believe are the best works of the year. The Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book is not technically a Hugo Award, but it is awarded at the same time for the best YA novel of the year in the genres of science fiction or fantasy. I have read all the nominees for this year and given them reviews and scores below. Please let me know what you think, too!

Chaos on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer- Grade: B+
I was blindsided by the first Catnet book, Catfishing on Catnet, which I did not know anything about going in. I read it because it was picked for a group read in the Sci Fi and Fantasy Book Club on Goodreads. It was awesome. A YA adventure that touched on religion, LGBTQ+ questions, online forums, and more. It felt like something I could have lived as a young adult on forums and stuff a decade or so before I read it. The second book picks up where the previous one left off, with the questions of AI and religion looming large. There’s not a lot I can say without spoiling things, but Kritzer once more delivers the goods. It’s a solid read front-to-back and while I didn’t find it quite as transcendently great as the first one, I had a good time reading it.

Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders- Grade: C
I am not sure what I expected going in to this story. The blurb makes it sound like a kind of weird coming-of-age story and I guess that would be a pretty accurate way to describe it. It’s a fun enough plot, but everything feels sort of light and cheery and… saccharine. Even though the main baddies are pretty bad… it all feels so airy that it’s difficult to take seriously. The ending didn’t really do it for me, either, to the point where I found the whole story forgettable.

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik- Grade: B-
The second book in a magical school series from Novik continues to demonstrate her excellent grasp of writing deep characters. Unfortunately, it also has the main flaw I found from the first book–which is that I don’t find myself really liking any of them. I ultimately found this to be a book I wanted to love more than I did. Credit to Novik for a compelling world, plot, and characters, though.

Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko- Grade: A
Jordan Ifueko closes out a duology that features African mythology, religion, magic, and love. Ifueko’s prose is strong, and her narrative voice is utterly compelling. Tarisai is a wonderful protagonist and the challenges she faces as she seeks to find her own space in a world in which everyone is trying to pull her in different directions makes for compulsive reading. Will she be able to bring justice to a world that has so often lacked for it? Read the duology to find out.

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger- Grade: B+
Somehow both haunting and cute, this story of a Lipan Apache girl, Nina, and a (literal) snake-kid, Oli looks like an easy read. Then, you get to some of the content and it’s like hold up, this is going to be a ride. Whether it’s a story about breaking free of one’s made up bonds are living into one’s destiny, Darcie Little Badger delivers strong themes that will leave readers thinking long after finishing the book.

The Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao- Grade: A
I don’t know if there’s anything not to love in this wildly creative, angry book. It’s in-your-face attack on misogyny and other ills could be incredibly off-putting if it wasn’t balanced with an excellent plot, strong main character, and intriguing world. There are alien threats, mechs, attacks on cultural norms, and other great scenes in abundance here. Somehow the churning broth of this concoction all comes together and works and it does it so well. My only complaint here is that while the mechs are super cool, I wanted them to be even more fully realized and utilized. More mech action, please! Anyway, do yourself a favor and read this one. It’ll punch you in the gut and you’ll like it.

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Links

Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.