Grade A #AudioBookReview: Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole by Isabel J Kim My Review: Once upon a time - back in 1973 - Ursula K. Le Guin published a short story that exists on an uncomfortable border between science fiction and philosophy titled “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” It’s one of those stories that rips you to pieces on first reading and keeps swirling around in your head well after you’ve read it.

Grade A #AudioBookReview: Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole by Isabel J Kim @isabel.kim‬ ‪@clarkesworldmagazine.com‬ #sciencefiction #dystopian #shortstories #shortstoryreview #podcastreview #HugoNomineeReview #bookreview

A- #AudioBookReview: We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read by Caroline M Yoachim My Review: The first three short stories in my Hugo nominee readings were not ‘all that’ as the saying goes. Either they didn’t have enough room to work, they didn’t work for me, or they just plain didn’t work. I’m not alone in that opinion, as the contributors to the Hugo Readalong on reddit had similar thoughts. I want to say that this is a case of ‘great minds think alike’, but even if it’s just that we all went down the same rabbit hole, it is what it is.

A- #AudioBookReview: We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read by Caroline M Yoachim @carolinemyoachim.bsky.social‬ @lightspeedmagazine.com‬ #sciencefiction #shortstories #shortstoryreview #podcastreview #HugoNomineeReview #bookreview

#AudioBookReview: Five Views of the Planet Tartarus by Rachael K Jones My Review: I listened to the final three Hugo Short Story nominees in a single evening. In the practical sense, that wasn’t hard as they are all, indeed, short. So now that I have finished the lot, I can say unequivocally, IMHO, that there’s definitely a divide in the set. The first three I read/listened to weren’t terrible, but they either weren’t special or didn’t grab me or were so experimental they didn’t land or didn’t have enough room to work or all of the above.

#AudioBookReview: Five Views of the Planet Tartarus by Rachael K Jones ‪@rachaelkjones.bsky.social‬ ‪@lightspeedmagazine.com‬ #sciencefiction #shortstories #shortstoryreview #podcastreview #HugoNomineeReview #bookreview

#BookReview: Three Faces of a Beheading by Arkady Martine My Review: The actual Hugo ballots have to be turned in by midnight PDT on July 23, making this an absolutely fitting thing to post today. At this point I have read all the stories so that I could vote responsibly, but I’ll continue to post reviews until just before Worldcon opens, as no one will know what the results will be until then.

#BookReview: Three Faces of a Beheading by Arkady Martine @uncannymagazine.bsky.social #sciencefiction #shortstories #shortstoryreview #HugoNomineeReview

#BookReview: Stitched to Skin Like Family Is by Nghi Vo My Review: The fun - if sometimes frustrating - thing about reading the Hugo nominated novelettes and short stories is that I generally go into the reading without much in the way of preconceived notions about the story itself. That doesn’t mean I’m not already acquainted with the author, but that I haven’t seen anything in the way of reviews or summaries - at least not until the…

#BookReview: Stitched to Skin Like Family Is by Nghi Vo @nghivo.bsky.social‬ @uncannymagazine.bsky.social #fantasy #shortstories #shortstoryreview #HugoNomineeReview

#AudioBookReview: Marginalia by Mary Robinette Kowal My Review: This entry in my Hugo Award nominee readings moves the dial from the novelettes to the short stories. I picked this one to go first in that category because the author is one that I’ve certainly enjoyed in longer forms, notably her Lady Astronaut series and The Spare Man. Having finished this story, I have a feeling that it made the Hugo Ballot because I’m not alone in that name recognition and affection for her longer works.

#AudioBookReview: Marginalia by Mary Robinette Kowal ‪@maryrobinettekowal.com‬ @uncannymagazine.bsky.social #fantasy #shortstories #shortstoryreview #podcastreview #HugoNomineeReview #bookreview

A- #BookReview: Lake of Souls by Ann Leckie My Review: I read this story almost two years ago, when I reviewed the collection for Library Journal. (LJ runs ahead, so the collection, which was published in April 2024, was reviewed in the February 2024 issue which was finalized in December 2023.) Which means that I read the story, “Lake of Souls”, more than 18 months ago and I didn’t remember the details before I reread it the other night.

A- #BookReview: Lake of Souls by Ann Leckie ‪@annleckie.com‬ ‪@orbitbooks.bsky.social‬ #sciencefiction #shortstories #novelettereview #HugoNomineeReview

#AudioBookReview: Loneliness Universe by Eugenia Triantafyllou My Review: The title does give the theme of the story away, as this is very much a story about loneliness, being alone and being unable to connect with those closest to you. The way the loneliness works in this story, as soon as Neferi even GETS somewhat close to someone, they then become utterly inaccessible to her. Except through social media, which may or may not be the cause of the loneliness in the story.

#AudioBookReview: Loneliness Universe by Eugenia Triantafyllou @foxesandroses.bsky.social‬ @uncannymagazine.bsky.social #sciencefiction #shortstories #novelettereview #podcastreview #HugoNomineeReview #bookreview

A- #AudioBookReview: The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video by Thomas Ha My Review: I came into this story not quite sure what I was getting into. Probably not helped by reading the “St.” in the title as “Saint” instead of “Street”. I think the “Brotherhood” bit led me astray. But only a bit. The opening of this story was a bit jarring, when the unnamed narrator goes to the library and picks up what he calls a “dead book” and is so surprised about it.

A- #AudioBookReview: The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video by Thomas Ha @thomasha.bsky.social‬ ‪@clarkesworldmagazine.com‬ #sciencefiction #dystopian #shortstories #novelettereview #podcastreview #HugoNomineeReview #bookreview

Grade A #BookReview: The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea by Naomi Kritzer My Review: Once upon a time, there were two Ph.D students who fell in love and got married. Then reality set in, a particular academic reality known as the ‘two-body problem’. They are two bodies, both in need of those oh-so-rare tenure track positions, but for both of them to advance in their careers they need to find a place that has jobs for both of them at the same time.

Grade A #BookReview: The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea by Naomi Kritzer @naomikritzer.bsky.social @asimovssfmag.bsky.social #magicalrealism #shortstories #novelettereview #HugoNomineeReview

#AudioBookReview: Signs of Life by Sarah Pinsker My Review: I’m attempting to be a bit - just a bit - more deliberate in my Hugo reading this year, so I’ll be reviewing all of the Best Novelette nominees before moving on to the Best Short Story nominees. With one exception for Lake of Souls by Ann Leckie because I reviewed that year for Library Journal as one of the two not previously published stories in the author’s collection of the same title…

#AudioBookReview: Signs of Life by Sarah Pinsker @sarahpinsker.bsky.social @uncannymagazine.bsky.social #magicalrealism #shortstories #novelettereview #podcastreview #HugoNomineeReview #bookreview

A- #AudioBookReview: By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars by Premee Mohamed My Review: As much as I enjoy audiobooks, I don’t listen much to podcasts. Howsomever, last year when I finally realized that a lot of the shorter works nominated for the Hugo Awards were available as podcasts, the penny dropped and I dove in. Last year, I opened my Hugo reviewing with a short work by one of my favorite authors, and this year continues that trend, albeit with a different author.

A- #BookReview: By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars by Premee Mohamed @premeemohamed.com @strangehorizons.bsky.social
#fantasy #shortstories #novelettereview #podcastreview #HugoNomineeReview