2016 Nebula Award Finalists (c.2015 fiction)

[J-Sun]

FINALISTS: 2015 Nebula Awards (With FREE FICTION Links) (I link to SFSignal only because they have the links)

If Martin L. Shoemaker's "Today I Am Paul" doesn't win for short story, it will serve to confirm my feelings about the bankruptcy of the Nebulas. (I did also like Naomi Kritzer's "Cat Pictures Please" but it didn't have the heft of the Shoemaker and Levine's "Damage" was okay, too.)

The webzine novelette nominees (Bolander and Lemberg) would not get my nomination. (Now that I know they're available, I'll be reading the two Asimov's noms soon.) I hate to say something like this as it's rude and I'd avoid it in most cases (such as a couple of noms in the other categories I think are non-optimal) but the Bolander being nominated for a Nebula stuns me. I just have to say it, even if I shouldn't.

For novella, Usman T. Malik's "The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn" is looong, basically a fantasy and not really the sort of thing I'd want to win a Hugo or anything, but it's a reasonable Nebula nominee. Again, I'll be reading the Asimov's nominee soon.

For films, I would be fine with either The Martian (I think I'd give this the nod) or The Force Awakens. I haven't seen Ex Machina but intend to.

I don't know a thing about the novel/YA noms and don't foresee that changing.

Overall, not a great list to me, unsurprisingly, but some good stuff on there. (All the ones I've mentioned positively were "recommended" (well, the Levine was an "honorable mention") when I was reviewing webzines for my own entertainment - something I got distracted from but still mean to get back to.)

What about mah fellow Chronners? What are you familiar with from the lists? What did you like? Other memories, dreams, reflections?

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Just to show how out of touch I am, the only name I'm familiar with on the whole list is Michael Bishop.

No comments on the visual media, the YA stuff, or the novels. As time allows, I'll take a look at the short fiction which is available on-line.

Speaking of which, here's the first one:

Madeleine - Lightspeed Magazine

"Madeleine" by Amar El-Mohtar

I'll start with some minor quibbles.

Writing a story about vivid memories triggered by sensory impressions, and starting your story with a quote from Proust, and making the name of your protagonist and the title of the story "Madeliene" is a bit too precious. In other ways the author tries a little too hard to be "literary" and "intellectual" (and I tend to be in favor of those sorts of things.) Having the trigger phrases that take her out of the memories be quotes from what seem to be ponderous modern volumes of philosophy was a bit much.

The author is a bit too fond of very long run-on sentences that repeat themselves.

Now let me deal with some "anti-quibbles" -- small things I liked.

I really liked the image of the hummingbird and how it was later used as a metaphor.

The author has a gift for sensory images; critical for a story of this kind.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty good story, and would fit perfectly into something like The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. (Just as it would be wildly out of place in Analog.)

As a side note, this story almost seems to be designed to drive the Puppies up the wall. Passive, depressed protagonist; same-sex love story implied, if not explicit; sympathetic character who is not only dark-skinned, but might possibly be a Muslim; no male characters at all. None of this bothers me, but it might be seen as a deliberate effort to be Politically Correct by those who are proudly anti-PC.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Next:

Clarkesworld Magazine - Science Fiction & Fantasy

"Cat Pictures Please" by Naomi Kritzer

This is best described as "cute." How you feel about that term may determine how much you like the story. It amused me, and was just long enough for a lightweight piece.

Quibble:

I'm not sure it was a very good idea to make so many references to other science fiction stories, particularly the one by Bruce Sterling. That makes the story seem less original than it might seem on its own.

Anti-quibble:

I like the fact that the narrator doesn't completely succeed in all its efforts. Life is messy like that.

Overall, a nice way to pass the time, but not an award-winner in my book.

(And more pro-gay content to drive some of the Puppies nuts.)

 

[J-Sun]

"Madeleine" by Amar El-Mohtar

...

As a side note, this story almost seems to be designed to drive the Puppies up the wall. Passive, depressed protagonist; same-sex love story implied, if not explicit; sympathetic character who is not only dark-skinned, but might possibly be a Muslim; no male characters at all. None of this bothers me, but it might be seen as a deliberate effort to be Politically Correct by those who are proudly anti-PC.

"Cat Pictures Please" by Naomi Kritzer

...

(And more pro-gay content to drive some of the Puppies nuts.)

I haven't read "Madeleine" because I've just given up on Lightspeed and Nightmare., despite at least Lightspeed being considered one of the major webzines. I've read two other stories by El-Mohtar and didn't care for one of them but do recommend "Pockets" which was published in Uncanny. (Recommendation here.) It was also eligible for this year's awards but I guess the Nebula folks liked the Lightspeed one better. I may give it a try after I read all the rest, though, Lightspeed or not.

Sounds like I might have liked "Cat Pictures" a little more than you but I basically agree with you - while I liked it and recommended it, I didn't peg it as an award-type story. I just like cats and AI myself. But I did think it had a little more than just cuteness in that it was treating what being "moral" actually might be. But, yeah, not so much that, if the cuteness didn't work for you, the story might not work at all.

Sidenote to your sidenotes: the Puppies thing always puts me in a funny spot. Seems like you have to be, ahem, rabidly pro- or anti-puppy and thus I'm hated by all because I'm merely sympathetic to a mild puppiness. Some of them go too far, sometimes innately and sometimes just because of action/reaction to anti-puppy people but, as I've said here and elsewhere, I'm sympathetic to people who want more fun and more variety in their fiction and want more people involved in "fandom" and the awards process and so on. On the other hand, I'm sympathetic to people who want LGBTXYZ fiction and people of colors besides white and green. Or who want little green women as well as men. You've already spotted the trend in two stories, though, and I'm not very sympathetic to reverse-discrimination anti-variety "variety" in which it seems de rigeur to check boxes. I suspect most of those stories (I know most of the webzine portion) are in keeping with your first two in that regard. Still, I try to approach each story as its own thing and any one story about anything can be great and isn't necessarily complicit in the wave of box-checking.

Social issues or no, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the rest of your readings.

And the rest of the Chrons is welcome as well. Free fiction, folks! Come'n'get it! Science fiction and fantasy to discuss!

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Next:

Damage

"Damage" by David Levine

This is what I like to call a solid science fiction story. Military SF isn't my thing, but I don't mind a good story dealing war.

Quibble: Not the most original background or theme.

Anti-quibble: On the other hand, it's done very well.

This is the kind of story that doesn't require a lot of discussion. Read it, you'll like it. Nothing to upset either the Social Justice Warriors or the Puppies, as far as I can see.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Next:

Clarkesworld Magazine - Science Fiction & Fantasy

"When Your Child Strays From God" by Sam J. Miller

If "Damage" was an Analog story, this is another F&SF story. (And I suppose I'd call "Cat Pictures Please" an Asimov's story. This is all strictly subjective on my part.)

Quibbles:

It took me a while to get into this one. Part of that was the silly name "Bugtuttle," which made me think this was going to be a comedy. I also got the feeling this was going to deal with stereotyped Fundamentalist Christians, and the unseen Pastor seems to be one.

Anti-quibbles:

I really liked the scene with Timmy's imaginary twin brother. There's good emotional appeal, and the narrator turns out to be a more complex character than I expected.

Another pretty good soft science fiction story dealing with the effect of a drug on the mind, like the first story. The continued use of dinosaur and spider images worked well. I also like the fact that not everything is neatly resolved. As I said, life is messy.

Like the first story, this one definitely leans to the Politically Correct side, with an implied anti-Fundamentalist (although not anti-Christian, in my opinion) theme, and yet more pro-gay sentiment. (Just to be clear, I'm on the SJW/PC/anti-Fundamentalist/pro-gay side of things myself.)

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Next:

Clarkesworld Magazine - Science Fiction & Fantasy

"Today I am Paul" by Martin L. Shoemaker

This is an excellent story. I have no quibbles at all. Realistic, emotional without being sentimental, and with a perfect ending. The technical aspects of the android were convincing, so this would fit in right at home in any of the major genre magazines. Nothing for anybody on either side of the debate to object to, I think.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Last nominee in the short story category:

Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers - Nightmare Magazine

"Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers" by Alyssa Wong

Your reaction to this story might depend on how you feel about horror fiction in general. It's certainly vividly written, which may interest or repel you. The author has come up with an unusual premise, and doesn't waste any time pulling you right into it. I don't have any particular quibbles or anti-quibbles. It's another pretty good story that I wouldn't think of as an award-winner.

I might note that this makes four out of six stories with gay themes. No surprise for this one, since it was part of Nightmare's "Queers Destroy Horror!" issue. Whether this represents an effort by the nominating members of SFFWA to bend over backwards to be non-discriminating is an exercise I'll leave to others.

Overall, I'd have to say that "Today I am Paul" is the clear winner.

 

[J-Sun]

Overall, I'd have to say that "Today I am Paul" is the clear winner.

So that means it's leading 2-0 so far. Let's hope that lead holds.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Among the novelette nominees, two seem not to be available on-line for free.

"The Deepwater Bride" by Tamsyn Muir, from what I can find out on-line (even from the author's own description of it), seems to be a modern Young Adult Horror/Fantasy on a Lovecraftian theme. A teenage girl who is one of a line of "seers" helps another teenage girl escape being the "bride" of some kind of underwater eldritch entity. No controversial content, as far as I can tell.

The exact opposite seems to be true of "Rattlesnakes and Men" by Michael Bishop, which has generated on-line discussion far beyond the usual science fiction sites. From what I have read, it appears to be a satire of the gun culture of the southern United States, set in a parallel Georgia where, apparently, there is no such thing as a firearm, but a certain town requires every household to own a genetically-modified rattlesnake as personal protection. (This is obviously based on the Georgia city that required every household to own a firearm; a law which was purely symbolic and impossible to enforce.) When I consider the fact that the author's son was killed during the Virginia Tech massacre, that he then lobbied unsuccessfully for gun control laws in Georgia, and that many of the names of the characters in the story are obvious variations on the names of the politicians who opposed him, I have to come to the conclusion that this is a very personal and bitter satire indeed. The story has already generated comments on at least one forum for Georgia gun owners, so it's sure to be controversial.

Obviously I can make no judgement on the literary quality of either story.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

On to the ones I can read on-line:

And You Shall Know Her By The Trail Of Dead - Lightspeed Magazine

"And You Shall Know Her by the Trail of Dead" by Brooke Bolander

Super-violent cyberpunk story hiding a love story inside.

Quibble: I see no reason to set this story on Ganymede. That seems completely irrelevant to the plot, which could be the typical gritty future Earth of cyberpunk.

Anti-quibble: Well, it's not boring, at least. Moves faster than a Hollywood action movie.

Overall, although I can admire the author's vivid, lightning-paced style, I thought the narrator tried way too hard to be as tough as possible, not just with the constant fighting and killing, but with the nonstop display of just about every variation of profanity you can imagine. Doesn't offend me, but seems to be deliberately daring the reader to be offended.

Not my cup of bloody tea.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Next:

Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Grandmother-nai-Leylit’s Cloth of Winds by Rose Lemberg

"Grandmother-nai-Leylit's Cloth of Winds" by Rose Lemberg

This is an exotic, sensual, very imaginative fantasy with a sort of "Arabian Nights" feel to it.

Quibbles: Depending on your taste, this may have too much magic in it. There seems to be something fantastic happening in every line.

Anti-quibbles: All that magical stuff is certainly original.

Overall, an enjoyable escape from the mundane world.

Unlike the previous story, which doesn't have any political content to offend anybody as far as I could see (although it has enough violence and cursing to offend some), this one deals to a very great extent with sex roles and transgender issues. That, and the fact that the first thing you see in the author's biography is that she calls herself "queer" may be enough to put off some of the Puppies.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Next:

Henry Lien | The Ladies’ Aquatic Gardening Society Online

"The Ladies' Aquatic Gardening Society" by Henry Lien

This charming pastiche of 19th century society fiction (The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton may be its main inspiration, I think) very slowly brings its speculative element into a comedy of manners.

Quibble: The ending is rather sudden.

Anti-quibble: The author carries off the literary style without becoming difficult to read.

Overall, I found this to be quite delightful. I don't see anything controversial, although it might be possible to detect a very, very gentle feminist and environmentalist message.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Next:

http://sarahpinsker.com.hostbaby.com/files/Pinsker_Our_Lady_of_the_Open_Road_webpdf.pdf

"Our Lady of the Open Road" by Sarah Pinsker

This near future tale of a rock band wandering around in their ancient van trying to make a living playing live music in a world of holographic recorded concerts seems to capture the feeling of being a musician on the road. Appropriate background music while reading it would have to be "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger (or the Metallica version, if you prefer.)

Quibbles: The ending is rather open-ended, almost as if this is the start of a novel.

Anti-quibbles: The future depicted is very believable. There are some subtle indications of what kind of world this is that work very well. (There seems to be some kind of serious disease going around, but it's barely mentioned.)

Nothing controversial here that I can see. At one point the female protagonist briefly considers making a pass at another woman, but this is so tiny -- just one sentence -- that I can't see it offending anybody except someone who objects to any mention of same-sex attraction in fiction.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Obviously I can't pick an overall winner without reading the Muir or the Bishop, but of the four I have read the Lien was my favorite.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

On a related note, the anthology of Campbell award eligible writers is available free now:

Up and Coming: Stories by the 2016 Campbell-Eligible Authors

(See how calm and sedate I was there. The second from last is awesome...)

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Congratulations on being part of that anthology.

I'm going to take something of a break before I tackle the novella nominees available on-line.

Looking very briefly at descriptions of the six novels nominated, if I had to choose one to read I think it would be Barsk: The Elephant's Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen. That doesn't mean it's the best, of course, but the description makes it sound more like something I would enjoy than the others.

Of the novellas I have been unable to find for free online:

"Wings of Sorrow and Bone" by Beth Cato seems to steampunk fantasy.

"Binti" by Nnedi Okorafor seems to be far future, deep space science fiction with African themes.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

On to the novellas:

Mythic Delirium Books » From the pages of Bone Swans: Stories

"The Bone Swans of Amandale" by C. S. E. Cooney

This is one of those fantasy stories which mixes up themes from multiple fairy tales and the like. This one is inspired by bits of "Swan Lake," "The Pied Piper," and "The Singing Bone." (Maybe others as well, with which I am not familiar.) It's not as dark as, say, the fairy tale variations of Tanith Lee, but it has a goodly amount of violence, as all real fairy tales do. Despite that, it seems to be something of a YA.

Quibble: The person who plays the part of the Pied Piper here is so obviously that character that it wasn't really necessary to call him that.

Anti-quibble: The story is narrated by a were-rat, and his sardonic, cynical tone is enjoyable and prevents the story from becoming too heart-rending in its more emotional scenes.

Overall, a good example of this kind of story.

 

[Kylara]

In regards to the 3 films you mentioned, it should be between ex machina and Martian, and for interesting SF thoughtfulness I'd plump for ex machina. It really is worth a watch, although a couple of niggles, but TFA shouldn't be on there, neither original, groundbreaking, nor intellectually stimulating. Especially when compared to ex machina and the Martian.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Next:

The New Mother

"The New Mother" by Eugene Fischer

This is a near future story of a sexually transmitted disease which causes women to undergo parthenogenesis.

I have no quibbles. It's a fine story. The author has very carefully considered all the implications of the premise, and was wise enough not to tie things up neatly.

Unlike the previous novella, which seems entirely non-controversial, this one is sure to create some mixed opinions. It deals with religious fundamentalism, abortion, and same-sex relationships.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Next:

The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn

"The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn" by Usman Malik

A young Pakistani-American man goes to the land of his ancestors to track down the truth of a strange story his grandfather told him.

Quibble: The title may keep some folks from reading it, since it sounds like a folktale. That's not what the story is like at all. Most of it reads like modern mainstream fiction, and the rest like fantasy of truly cosmic proportions.

Anti-quibble: Lots of local color as the narrator travels to Lahore.

Overall, a good mystical fantasy.