2017 Recommended SF/F List

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By JJ: This thread is for posts about 2017-published works, which people have read and recommend to other Filers.

There will be no tallying of recommendations done in this thread; its purpose is to provide a source of recommendations for people who want to find something to read which will be Hugo-eligible next year.

You don’t have to stop recommending works in Pixel Scrolls, please don’t! But it would be nice if you also post here, to capture the information for other readers.

The Suggested Format for posts is:

  • Title, Author, Published by / Published in (Anthology, Collection, Website, or Magazine + Issue)
  • Hugo Category: (Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, Related Work, Graphic Novel, etc)
  • link (if available to read/view online)
  • optional “Brief, spoiler-free description of story premise:”
  • optional “What I liked and didn’t like about it:”
  • (Please rot-13 any spoilers.)

There is a permalink to this thread in the blog header.

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294 thoughts on “2017 Recommended SF/F List”

  1. A Skinful of Shadows, by Frances Hardinge

    Novel

    A young girl in seventeenth century England learns her family has a dark secret.

    I don’t think Frances Hardinge has ever written a bad book. This one certainly hasn’t broken the trend. An engaging heroine and a great historical setting are two of the reasons this is another one well worth reading. I wouldn’t rate this one among her absolute best, but it’s still very, very good.

  2. The Gates of Tagmeth by P. C. Hodgell

    Novel (Book 8 in a series)

    This is a transitional novel in the series. That makes it somewhat difficult to judge on its own. The writing is as great as ever, but there were more references to the events of previous books than I might have preferred — I didn’t need quite so many reminders of past events. All in all, though, I’m happy to have read it, and I’m eager to see how it all plays out as the series continues to progress.

  3. A Skinful of Shadows looks like a very plausible candidate for the YA not-Hugo. (I wish the YA not-Hugo had come online when The Lie Tree was an eligible candidate – that would have been an excellent work to launch the award with – but anyway.) However, Hardinge has a bit of a problem appealing to Hugo voters, because of the gap between UK and US publication.

  4. The Glass Town Game by Catherynne Valente

    Novel

    Four children named Anne, Charlotte, Emily, and Branwell (if those names sound familiar, there’s a reason) find themselves in a magical land of their own creation.

    To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this one. Parts of it are charming, inventive, funny, clever, insightful, and meaningful. There were at least two plot twists that made me gasp with how unexpected and perfect they were. But … the middle of the book drags more than a bit, and the character of Branwell is so relentlessly annoying that he becomes tedious — which may be realistic from a historical standpoint, but doesn’t necessarily make for the best story. I feel like this book could have used another round of serious editing. Nonetheless, there’s a lot to love here.

  5. All Systems Red, by Martha Wells

    Novella

    I’ll chime in along with everyone else who’s already recommended this one. A nice novella with tight plotting and a great main character. I like that it didn’t go for easy answers to the protagonist’s issues. I’m looking forward to the sequels.

    (Huh … it’s pretty easy to tell when I’ve gotten a new batch of book orders in, isn’t it?)

  6. The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

    There’s a lot going on in this novel, mostly involving self discovery of one kind or another: demigods learning about their various powers, AI self-actualisation, and personal character journeys involving race, sexuality, adulthood, disability and family. The plot revolves around a small collection of generally compelling characters, whose lives wind up intersecting with each other and with increasingly supernatural happenings which appear to be linked with the new drug Godsend. It’s a lot to pack into a single average sized novel, and the details are hard to follow at times – a lot of plot strands seem to get left behind by the end – but I still found this a fast-paced and enjoyable read, and the unique worldbuilding overcame the narrative shortcomings for me. Maybe not an award worthy book but definitely an author to watch.

    An Oath of Dogs by Wendy N. Wagner

    Continuing the “a lot of things are happening and I don’t think I’m following them all” theme, Wagner’s novel follows a woman, Kate Standish, who moves to a colony on a far-off jungle moon, only to discover that her would-be boss has been murdered and a pack of mysterious earth dogs are terrorising the neighbourhood – the latter being a particularly significant problem because Standish relies on a therapy dog to function after previous trauma. The result is an interesting hybrid of claustrophobic mystery and anti-corporate eco SF, with a hefty dose of supernatural weirdness. The plot ends up being a little predictable, especially towards the end, but I still enjoyed reading this for the atmosphere alone.

    Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View

    I’m a big Star Wars fan and I especially enjoy things which widen out the scope of the original trilogy, bringing diversity and nuance to the central narrative. So this anthology, collecting 40 stories by over 40 authors told from POV of background characters in A New Hope (or, in a few cases, “what characters who weren’t in ANH were doing when all that went down”), was right up my alley. Not everything is a hit – the organisation of the anthology along chronological lines produces several clusters of stories about the same event which can get repetitive (“lighthearted empire bureaucracy” followed by “literally everyone in the Mos Eisley Cantina” followed by “many pilots died assaulting the Death Star”), and there a couple of entries which read as admonishments to the audience for not realising the character had an internal life, rather than actually telling a story (Aunt Beru). But the highlights are fantastic, including Nnedi Okorafor’s story about the monster in the trash compactor, queer romance in the Death Star from a droid’s point of view, a short but heartbreaking story about a rebel father on Yavin 4, the trials of being the only one of your species on Tattooine, and more.

  7. The Ruin of Angels, by Max Gladstone

    Novel (part of a series; probably best read after having at least read the previous book Full Fathom Five)

    In a literally divided city, a priestess/investment banker gets embroiled in her sister’s schemes.

    Ever since the mind-blowing Three Parts Dead, I have been waiting for Max Gladstone to produce a book that equals his stunning debut. This one is definitely the closest yet to achieving that same sense of wonder and complexity. It is not without flaws, however, particular in the narrative of Kai, who is less interesting than the other characters and sometimes makes choices that seem oddly difficult to justify. However, Gladstone does some of his best character work yet with the other important people such as Gal, Raymet, Ley, Izza, and Zeddig. Add in some wonderful scenes and a few sly literary in-jokes, and this one gets a big thumbs up from me. I’ll keep waiting for the next Three Parts Dead, but this one makes me pretty confident that someday I’ll get it.

  8. Pale Guardian, by Barbara Hambly

    Novel (seventh in a series; 2017 U.S. publication date)

    Lydia sees firsthand the horrors of World War I, and uncovers a plot that will turn the conflict into an even worse nightmare.

    If you’ve never read Hambly’s historical fiction vampire horror mystery novels, you really should; they’re excellent. If you’ve already been reading them, this is a welcome addition to the series. Eight years into the story, World War I has finally broken out, and the book’s depiction of the violence and gruesomeness of that conflict is powerful. The book also delves even further into the odd friendship between Lydia, Ysidro, and James, which is an impressive achievement given all the text that has gone before. If I have a minor quibble, it’s that I caught a couple of Americanisms that should have been Britishisms (yard instead of garden), but on the whole, the book is supremely well-researched, as might be expected of a practiced writer of historical novels like Hambly.

    Note: I have now been reading this series for 27 years.

    Note 2: This is, apparently, the 34th book by Hambly that I have read.

  9. Novella:
    All Systems Red [Murderbot Diaries #1], by Martha Wells
    I’ll add my voice to everyone else raving about this story. Action, suspense, and adventure with a rogue military AI whose personality is displayed subtly and with a slight bit of delightful snark.

    This is real SF space opera, the way it should be done. #2, Artificial Condition, comes out in May 2018, and #3, Rogue Protocol, will be released in August 2018.

  10. Campbell author:
    Peter Cawdron, author of Retrograde.

    This is an edge-of-the-seat murder mystery set within a cooperative international scientific mission on Mars, and is really well-researched Hard SF. [Trigger Warning for a high body count and some brutal scene descriptions.]

    Fortunately and unfortunately for the author, the book, like Weir’s The Martian and Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was originally self-published (in 2016) and then picked up by a major publisher in 2017… so no eligibility for Hugo Best Novel. However, Cawdron is definitely going on my Campbell ballot. And the gorgeous Elizabeth Leggett cover, printed on reflective holographic stock, is a stunner.

  11. Novel:

    Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

    Every once in a while I’ll hit a science fiction novel which, out of the blue, gives me that same awesome thrill and sense of wonder that the best ones have given me since I started reading SF as a child. If I’m lucky, this happens 2 or 3 times a year. Ancillary Justice was one of those, as was The Martian, as was Retrograde.

    And Six Wakes is another. I’m a sucker for a good SF mystery, and this is a great locked-room SF mystery with bonus space opera, on a generation ship with clones. This is going on my Hugo ballot, and I’m hoping that Lafferty can pull more of these out of her spacesuit sleeve.

  12. (copied from a scroll comment a few days ago, added word count)

    I see Hugo potential. “Pan-Humanism: Hope and Pragmatics” by Jess Barber & Sara Saab, 12087 words, Clarkesworld, Sept 2017.

    I was very impressed by this story’s combination of world-building (centered around efforts to restore/refresh a future Earth damaged by ecological and climactic change, supplemented by a society with better support systems for emotional and intellectual growth/stability), and how it also tells a very human story. It deals with longing, and love, and the difficult choices we still have to make, even in a better future.

    I was also struck that this story didn’t rely on dramatic cliches or violence for plot development. No bombs, no killings, no sinister villains lurking in the wings. It tells a story of the heart, rather than a story of the fist or gun.

    And, per usual, I enjoyed Kate Baker’s narration of the audio version.

  13. City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett
    Divine Cities #3
    Best Novel

    This was excellent and almost certainly will be on my Hugo ballot. I liked getting into Sigrud’s head and getting more of the intriguing worldbuilding, seeing how society and technology progresses, etc. [ETA: The plot kept going non-stop and took some turns I really didn’t expect!] This book was more spread out than the first two, which largely took place in and around one city each.

    While reading it, I felt like Bennett tweaked the worldbuilding a bit in terms of how the Divines and miracles worked, but now I can’t think of an example. (I finished it almost 2 months ago, sorry.) So it may have been my misunderstanding or assumptions at play, and he clarified things in this book that I needed clarified.

    The very end was a little dull – the wimper after the bang, if you will. After the grand finale, probably any epilogue would’ve been a little meh, but I felt less would’ve been better (not nothing; obviously we needed something!). I’m picking at a tiny little nit, though.

    This was a great conclusion to a very interesting series. This world seems ripe for short stories; I hope Bennett writes some short fiction here!

  14. The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin, narrated by Robin Miles
    Broken Earth #3
    Best Novel

    I listened to the audiobook. This was an awesome conclusion, as the fascinating, dire, horrific history of the world is revealed, alternating with the present from Nasun’s (sp?) and Essun’s (sp?) points of view. We find out the fate of everything, as the threads finally come together. Jemisin really delivered on the conclusion to the trilogy, and Robin Miles again did an incredible job narrating!

    I was surprised and a little irked that Jemisin managed to change my opinion on Nasun (sp?) and Shaffa (sp?). I was bound and determined to hate them till the bitter end, but over time I realized Jemisin had done it. I knew she was trying to, but I resisted for a long time! I still don’t like them, but I’m sympathetic and don’t have the “OMG I hate them, please kill them right this instant!” feelings I had before. So, super-well-done, there – I didn’t think she’d manage it. I can’t point to one particular place where this happened; it was gradual.

    Some of the ancient history was a little tough to reconcile with how the culture was portrayed, their supposed morals, etc. One particular atrocity was especially tough to swallow, especially considering the culture and ethos of the time. But it’s a minor thing that is probably my failing, not hers.

    Overall, it was splendid – fascinating, appalling, sad, and even heart-warming. And some very nice crunchy bits. I loved almost everything in this book, but especially the window into the past and how the world became what it was. Obviously, this’ll almost certainly be on my Hugo ballot.

  15. Penric’s Fox by Lois McMaster Bujold
    Penric & Desdemona #3 (chronologically speaking)
    Best Novella (I think)

    Bujold goes back in time to write a story connected to (and not long after, IIRC) Penric and the Shaman. I enjoy the Penric & Desdemona novellas a lot; this is a very good addition to the line-up, a little mystery-adventure with more talk about cbffvoyr pbaarpgvbaf orgjrra qrzbaf naq funznavp cbjref.

    I’ve read a lot of novellas so far this year, so this’ll be in a cage match with some others, methinks. 😉 And there’s a new Penric & Desdemona barely-a-novella coming in (methinks) November – more competition for my ballot.

  16. @JJ: Oh yay, I’m glad you enjoyed Six Wakes! It’s on my Hugo short-list, too.

    I read your Retrograde comment the other day and I really need to bump it up my “buy/read” list. It was already on my “read the sample, this sounds good!” list, and based on other SF overlap in our tastes (e.g., Lafferty, Weir, Leckie, and IIRC, Wagers), your rec for a book like Retrograde means a lot.

  17. Kendall: I read your Retrograde comment the other day and I really need to bump it up my “buy/read” list.

    It’s got a really smart, competent female protagonist, action and adventure (some of it quite brutal, though), lots of good hard science without the infodumping of The Martian, and a lot more character development and interaction than in the latter. I’d really love it if the author can figure out a way to do a sequel to what seems like a complete story, without having to engage in extreme contrivances.

    I definitely got the awesome thrill and sense of wonder that I get from the best SF books.

  18. I will also join in with the multiple Filer love for Robert Jackson Bennett’s City of MIracles. It’s on my Hugo Novel ballot (as were the first two novels, for the years they were published), and The Divine Cities is on my Hugo ballot for Best Series.

  19. Also on my Hugo ballot for Best Series:

    I love love love Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Diving Universe, which saw the release of the 42,677-word novella The Runabout this year (which is currently on my ballot for Best Novella) in Asimov’s May/June 2017, then later as a standalone book (read an excerpt here).

    The series focuses on a spaceship-wreck-exploration company, and includes time travel and lots of mystery, action and adventure.

  21. Greg Hullender: I liked The Runabout so much that I went out and bought the rest of the stories in the series.

    Yay! I would be interested in hearing your thoughts, once you’ve had a chance to read them. The Runabout, while it stands alone, is intertwined with The Falls — but I recommend reading the series from the beginning, because there’s background and worldbuilding in the first 2 books which really enhance the rest of them.

  22. Note also that there are a number of Diving Universe novellas, but most of them have been incorporated into the novels, and don’t need to be bought if you’ve got the novels:

    Diving Into The Wreck
    • Diving Into The Wreck
    • The Room of Lost Souls

    City of Ruins
    • Becoming One With The Ghosts

    Boneyards
    • Stealth

    Skirmishes
    • Strangers in the Room of Lost Souls
    • Encounter on Starbase Kappa

    If you’re interested in new stories in that universe, these are standalone novellas:
    • Becalmed – story of Mavis (Mae) Kravchenko on Ukhanda
    • The Spires of Denon – story of Meklos Verr and Gabrielle Reese
    • The Application of Hope – story of Tori Sabin after Ivoire disappears

  23. I bought “The Diving Series Starter Bundle” on Amazon, which contains the novels Diving Into The Wreck, City of Ruins, and Boneyards. Handy to get all that in a single volume.

    Then all I needed was “Skirmishes” to be caught up with “The Runabout.”

    I thought about reading “The Falls,” but that’s set in a completely different time with different characters, and by that point I needed a break from it anyway. (I pretty much binge-read the “Starter Bundle” and “Skirmishes” right after finishing “The Runabout.”) Did you like “The Falls?”

    Likewise, I’ve thought about reading the three novellas, but, since they didn’t include Boss and her crew, I’ve put them off. Are they as good?

  24. I really did enjoy The Falls — it’s a whodunit mystery, one of Rusch’s other writing genres, mixed with Diving Universe, and it will really snap The Runabout into focus for you (I don’t want to say more and spoil it), such that you may want to read The Runabout again afterward. Plus it provides some more interesting worldbuilding into how the Fleet works.

  25. Okay, I’m sold. I just bought “The Falls” from Amazon. I won’t have a chance to read it until I’m done reviewing Analog, Asimov’s, and (probably) F&SF, so probably end of the week.

    Thanks!

  26. As far as the standalone Diving Universe novellas, I enjoy anything that fleshes out the universe and the characters. And some of the main characters do have secondary or tertiary roles in them.

  27. A Long Day in Lychford by Paul Cornell
    Lychford #3
    Best Novella

    I started off expecting not to like this much, due to #1 Brexit & Trump references (too topical) and #2 Autumn needs to get to a drunk rehab center. But I wound up liking this story a lot, possibly as much as or better than the second one in the series! The plot was almost an excuse – the story was really about Autumn, Judith, and Autumn & Judith. It made me sad, especially at the end. Very well done, IMHO.

    This will be in the Best Novella cage match on my ballot. BTW, it seemed shorter than previous entries (or I just read it a lot quicker than the previous one), but I believe it’s still a novella.

  30. I’ll second the recommendation for:

    Miranda and Caliban, by Jacqueline Carey

    Novel

    A retelling and re-imagining of The Tempest and the events leading up to it, from the point of view of the title characters.

    Simply stunning. A novel that probes relentlessly at the complex contradictions of its source material — from The Tempest’s oddly villainous hero, to its oddly sympathetic monster, to the curious passivity of its romantic couple. I personally believe that Shakespeare knew what he was doing and put the cracks in his narrative walls in on purpose. But either way, Carey takes them and turns the story to her own purposes, recrafting it into a heartbreaking, tragic tale of doomed love, parental madness, and teenaged rebellion.

    A Romeo and Juliet story, if you will.

    Hm.

  31. Let’s throw down a few more recs:

    Best Graphic Novel

    Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, adapted by Damian Duffy, art by John Jennings

    As far as I can tell, this has flown under the radar. I’d love to change that. This stripped-down version reveals, once again, the extent of Octavia Butler’s genius. The steady progression of the poison of the antebellum South taking hold in Rufus’ mind, and Dana’s desperate and ultimately doomed attempts to make him see his slaves as people rather than property, are unforgettable. The art is harsh and stark, as befits the story. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty tough to read, but it’s a wonderful complement to the book.

    Hawkeye: Kate Bishop, vol. 1: Anchor Points, written by Kelly Thompson, art by Leonardo Romero

    Apparently Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye co-exists with Clint Barton’s Hawkeye, but this new Hawkeye is a smart, competent, delightful character. The storylines here–one of Kate’s first cases is a young woman dealing with an Internet stalker–are timely and realistic (at least as realistic as the Marvel superhero universe can get) and there is a guest appearance by Jessica Jones! Be still my heart.

    Best YA Not-A-Hugo

    Defy the Stars, Claudia Gray

    If this author’s name looks familiar, it’s because she’s written a couple of Star Wars novels (Bloodline and Leia: Princess of Alderaan) that have garnered rave reviews. I met her by way of a book I own whose premise sounds absolutely ridiculous (the book is Fateful, and the premise is “werewolves on the Titanic”), but she pulls it off splendidly. One of her greatest strengths is her gift for characterization, and that’s on full display in this book.

    The characters here are Noemi Vidal and Abel Mansfield, a human and “mech” respectively (although the way Gray describes it, Abel is actually more of a cyborg, with organic and mechanical components) on opposite sides of the conflict between a dying Earth and its colony planets. Noemi wants to save her planet, Genesis; Abel wants to return to his creator, his “father,” Burton Mansfield. Claudia Gray lays down a complicated, tight, fast-paced plot with stellar characterizations, from the secondary characters up to the protagonists. This book is 500 pages, but for me at least, it was absorbing from beginning to end.

    Best Series

    The Broken Earth, obviously.

    The Memoirs of Lady Trent–Right now the final book, Within the Sanctuary of Wings, is on the edge of my top tier of books, although I quite liked it. There’s just such good competition this year! But I think it caps the series wonderfully.

    Best Novel

    What more can one say about The Stone Sky? Right now, #1 on my list, and likely to stay that way.

    Sea of Rust, C. Robert Cargill

    This book definitely falls into what I would define as High Concept. It can be summed up in one sentence: “What happens after Skynet/the Terminators/the Cylons win the war?” Well, among other things, you get a book with an entirely robotic cast of characters, with a well-thought-out culture and world, and conflicts of their own that rise relentlessly to a slam-bang climax. But there’s a surprising amount of philosophical and ethical discussions expertly worked into the story without dragging it down in the least.

    Brimstone, Cherie Priest

    This book is set in the real-life town of Cassadaga, Florida, the “Psychic Capital of the World,” according to Wikipedia, and features its actual founding father, George Colby. Priest has a real gift for introducing her own brand of fantasy and horror into real-life settings (she did it before with the fantastic story of Lizzie Borden in the Lovecraft universe, Maplecroft), and she does it again here, with this tale of a budding medium exploring her powers, and a World War I veteran with PTSD who, shall we say, brought something extra back with him from the war. It’s a story about the power of love and community against the power of hate.

    Best Novelette

    “To Us May Grace Be Given,” L.S.Johnson, GigaNotoSaurus, 10/1/17. Rashida J. Smith, editor of GigaNotoSaurus, just has impeccable taste. She shows it again here, with this dark, bloody weird Western with a twisted mother-daughter relationship at its heart.

  32. Provenance, by Ann Leckie

    Novel

    While neither as deep nor as profound as the Ancillary series, this is an enjoyable novel written in a breezy style that reminds me strongly of Lois McMaster Bujold. It has particularly well-done aliens. If I have an objection, it’s that the protagonist at times seems a bit dim. But it’s a novel that gets better and better as it goes along, and the further in I got, the more I liked it.

  33. All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells
    Best Novella

    Y’all have to stop rec’ing things that keep me up two nights in a row. 😛 This was excellent, plus it wasn’t what I expected (a good thing, here). The personality, the interactions, the mostly-suppressed-but-expressed emotions – Wells did a great job with everything here. Perfect ending. I look forward to the next two!

    P.S. Thanks for linking to your mini-review, @Arifel. 🙂

  34. I also recommend Provenance.

    I have mentioned it a while ago, but http://www.fantastikajournal.com/fantastika-issues.html would be a great related work entry.
    I would also like to nominate Critical Role which is a DnD real play which is on twitch. I assume it would go under Best Dramatic Long.

    Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience by Rebecca Roanhorse is also by far the best short story I’ve read this year.
    https://www.apex-magazine.com/welcome-to-your-authentic-indian-experience/

  35. An Unkindness of Magicians, Kat Howard, Saga Press (divn of Simon&Schuster)
    Novel
    NYC mage families duel among themselves (being seen by muggles is tabu) for dominance, but their power (a) is getting erratic — not what you want in during duels — and (b) comes from ~Omelas — which some abuse and some of the viewpoint characters are seriously against. Not as flooring as her previous (Roses and Rot), but still very good. More detail (minimal spoilers, well-organized) by Nicoll

  37. Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

    Just finished watching Stranger Things 2, and I wanted to add it here. I don’t think this season is quite as tightly plotted and written as Season 1–a couple of the storylines meandered a bit. On the other hand, attention was paid to all of the characters and everyone had a nice arc. In particular, Joyce, Nancy, new girl Maxine, and of course Eleven were totally badass.

    I don’t think I’ll nominate the entire season as I did Season 1, only because BDF Long Form is already overcrowded–there’s so many things to consider! But as with The Handmaid’s Tale, there are at least four or five episodes worthy of consideration for Short Form.

  38. And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker, Uncanny Magazine March-April 2017

    This murder mystery novella provides the setting for an exploration of Frost’s Road Not Taken, a metafictional musing on choices and consequences and what’s most important in life — and how one’s priorities can be changed depending on the results of previous choices. I loved it. Definitely going on my Hugo Novella ballot.

  39. I just bought and read “All Systems Red” per Kendell’s rec above. And then immediately started evangelizing about this “book” (well, it’s sold as an ebook, so…) to everyone I know. I *love* the narrative voice. Absolutely on my Hugo ballot.

  40. I bow to those who rec’d before me! 😀 And I’m happy you loved it. I can’t believe I have to wait months – months! – till the sequel.

  42. So far I have Best Novel:
    Dichronauts – Greg Egan (lets have a planet that isn’t round PLUS a biology which has two intelligences sharing a body.)
    Vallista – Steven Brust (15th in series, but can be read standalone)
    Ruin of Angels – Max Gladstone (best of his so far, the writing really comes together)
    Orbital Cloud – Taiyo Fuiji (near future thriller)
    Raven Stratagem – Yoon Ha Lee (just fantastic)

    And Murderbot for novella,

  43. My only recommendation to date is Caitlin R. Kiernan’s novella Agents of Dreamland. I wasn’t too hot on Kij Johnson’s Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe (paled next to the original despite the 21c updates) but Kiernan’s Dreamland truly captures the feverishly bizarre quality of good Lovecraftian fiction. Highly recommended and of course it is on my Hugo list.

  44. Is Katherine Arden eligible for the Campbell? I can’t see anything of hers earlier than The Bear…, and her self-presentation as someone who just decided to write a novel implies that she is new.

  45. @Andrew M
    I certainly have her penciled into my potential Campbell nominees unless I hear otherwise.

  46. The Mermaid’s Daughter, by Ann Claycomb

    Novel

    I’m not sure this book will appeal to everyone, because it does have flaws (readers are sometimes told about character traits that are never actually shown, and there’s an odd lack of tension in much of the last third of the book.) But what it does well, it does very well indeed, which is the use of a fantasy story to depict and examine a real-world situation. In this case, that’s living with or loving someone who has a chronic, debilitating illness, whether mental or physical. The use of The Little Mermaid to examine that turns out to be a powerful way to tell the story.

  47. Andrew M: Is Katherine Arden eligible for the Campbell? I can’t see anything of hers earlier than The Bear…, and her self-presentation as someone who just decided to write a novel implies that she is new.

    As far as I have been able to determine, Bear is her first eligible genre publication, so yes, she is Campbell-eligible this year.

  48. Ran across a story in an unexpected place:

    “What football will look like in the future” by Jon Bois (et al) at https://www.sbnation.com/a/17776-football

    It’s a 25-part serial.

    Not the most amazing story in the history of ever, but I found it interesting and it has given me a lot to think about. No clue what category I might nominate it in (Graphic Story?).

    Warning: There are video portions and animated gifs and a lot (A LOT) of colored text on black background — so if any of that is a problem for you, then this is one to avoid.

  49. Several recent reads:

    Novellas

    Ironclads, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Solaris)

    A group of soldiers/grunts in a near-future war is sent to rescue a wealthy soldier, whose supersuit has inexplicably failed behind enemy lines. Some fun geopolitics, maybe a bit stretched but not cookie-cutter, and an asymmetric war with some eerie opposition. “Bugs” aren’t front and center in this one, but they have an enjoyable role.

    Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis (Five Fathoms Press)

    First-in-series in a Regency-esque England where the humans are at truce with the elves, and women handle the politicking while men do the magic. For me, it almost felt like its own prequel – a lot of fun world-building setting up future installments, but not too much happens. I’ll probably be back to see where Burgis goes from here. If you enjoy Kowal’s Glamourist Histories or Cho’s Sorcerer to the Crown, or Burgis’s other work, you should take a look.

    I plan to nominate the artist, Leesha Hannigan, for her perfect cover.

    Novel

    Autonomous, Annalee Newitz (Tor Books)

    A pirate distributing reverse-engineered pharmaceuticals is chased by a soldier and his bot partner. The high points are more great world-building, and questions of identity and self for the bot on its first mission. Had a tendency to become tell-y. Would probably appeal to some of the audience for Wells’ All Systems Red.

  50. Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky – Novel (c80k wordcount)

    Rex is a Good Dog.

    We’ve uplifted and/or engineered dogs – and other animals – into man-sized killing machines and deployed them into dirty wars and clandestine conflicts. Rex is a simple soul, doing what Master tells him, but he’s learning that the world is more complicated than Master is allowing him to know…

    This begins as MilSF but quickly starts looking at the ethics of using these Bioforms for combat, and how we react when made tools become something more…and then switches again to see how the bioforms handle these transitions. A lot of chapters are from Rex’s POV, and while his simplicity of thought sometimes seems a little cliched and wearing, there’s a power behind his sections that draw you in. As a whole it handles some interesting themes, some of which are a bit too spoilery to mention, and matches them to an exciting story that sits somewhere between MillSF and thriller. I’d compare it to The Red trilogy, which is a good compliment IMO.

    I’ve seen this described as a novella but I make it as over 80k words, so I’d recommend it as a short & incisive novel.

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