2021 Hugo Reviews: Novellas

Note: I'll try to avoid major spoilers here, and will talk generally about the stories nominated for the 2021 Hugos. You may intuit some plot points as I do so.

Current Novellas List:

#1 - Ring Shout – P. Djèlí Clark

#2 - The Empress of Salt and Fortune – Nghi Vo

#3 - Finna – Nino Cipri

#4 - Upright Women Wanted – Sarah Gailey

#5 - Come Tumbling Down – Seanan McGuire

#6 - Riot Baby - Tochi Onyebuchi

Ring Shout – P. Djèlí Clark

Overall Thoughts

I have never been disappointed in a book by P. Djèlí Clark, and this one continues the tradition! I was a little hesitant going in, as the story has large sections of dialect and even Gullah language (which I happened to be familiar with as my family comes from South Carolina), but in the end, the blending of history and the explanation of racism, while bringing in elements of horror and lovecraftian mythos, while also containing a version of the hero’s journey, make a very satisfying story of fear, hatred, understanding, and redemption. There’s a lot of really great competition in the Hugo Novellas this year!

Plot

Clark manages to put a much larger story into this novella, starting with placing us in an alternate 1922 history where Gullah and indentured servant rituals hold great power, as well as having other-dimensional horrors. I was actually a bit thrown off in the beginning (and not sure how to express this as a white person reading this…) because it’s sort of implied that KKK members weren’t actually responsible for their actions, but driven by other forces. However, Clark admirably gives us a full explanation as the book goes on, and makes some great insights as well.

Setting

This is one part I really admire in Clark’s works, from the steampunk Middle-Eastern aesthetic of the Dead Djinn universe to the bayou magic in The Black God’s Drums. Ring Shout continues his excellent alternate history, this time combining Gullah and indentured servant songs from the south, voodoo magic, horror and haints, and portals to other worlds. He also shows the anger and determination of Black people to great effect.

Character

There is a lot to love with these characters, both protagonist and antagonist. The strength of the characters drives the story, with sacrifices that are well developed and strong personalities that feel very real. There are a lot of different speaking characters for a novella, but none are forgettable. I’d love to see more in this universe and what else the main character is capable of. Pretty sure this one will be my top pick.

Rating: 1 of 6

The Empress of Salt and Fortune – Nghi Vo

Overall Thoughts

This was an excellent Asian-influenced journey told partially as memories of events many years past. A cleric of an order that records all happenings in the empire finds a lakeside retreat recently unsealed following the previous empress’ death. After a surprising introduction, the cleric, Chih, learns much from an old woman who was there many years before. I was surprisingly drawn in to the historical accounting style and the simple understanding by Chih. Very happy to learn there’s another adventure in the works!

Plot

This is almost plotted as a mystery, where Chih is attempting to find out what happened to this retreat and why it’s sealed off. The revelations included and surprising yet inevitable, and slowly build a very complete picture of tumultuous events some sixty years previous.

Setting

The Asian setting, very reminiscent of the Chinese monarchy, contains hints of all the court intrigue and scandal that occurred in the time period. However, Chih makes it clear this is only one piece of history, and references other places and times that give the world surprising depth considering the brevity of the story. It really makes me want to journey along with Chih to other destinations!

Character

There are only three characters in the tale, Chih, a nonbinary cleric who records history, Almost Brilliant, their bird/friend who remembers everything, and Rabbit, an old woman. However other politicians, the empress, fortune tellers, and more are brought to life in the stories Rabbit tells. We see a subtle humor and strength in Chih, while Rabbit slowly reveals more about her history. This one might have jumped to the top of my list (Edit: knocked down one peg by Ring Shout!).

Rating: 2 of 6

Upright Women Wanted – Sarah Gailey

Overall Thoughts

Another excellent story from Gailey, dealing with queer culture and how to be yourself. This starts out like a straight western, but is revealed pretty quickly it’s likely an alternate future rather than an alternate past. I really enjoyed the main character’s journey to find herself, as well as great LGBTQIA rep from all the characters. While the story itself isn’t as deep as some, it absolutely achieves what it set out to do.

Plot

This is a journey in both the literal and metaphorical sense, with the main character finding herself as well as traveling with the mysterious Librarians, who (supposedly) disseminate the “Approved Literature” to people so they stay in line with what the nation wants them to think. Of course, hijinks ensue, and there is a much greater depth to how the Librarians operate and what types of thought they actually protect. I’d love to read a follow up to this story if there is one!

Setting

Gailey has some excellent worldbuilding, and this is no exception. A future America, devastated by years of supporting war rather than the country, things are barely held together and so things have largely recessed to a wild west type situation. It’ a cool take on future dystopia while still using a lot of aspects from the past.

Character

The characters in this piece are lots of fun to read, from the naïve Esther, who is our viewpoint to learn about the world, to the pair of Bet and Leda, accomplished Librarians with several big secrets, to Cye, their apprentice, who is able to be their nonbinary self out in the wilds, but must appear as a woman in towns because an alternate is not acceptable. Last, there’s the shadowy figure of another mentor to Esther, and I love what is done with this gray character.

Rating: 3 of 6

Finna – Nino Cipri

Overall Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The premise is that wormholes to other dimensions can open up in the twisty aisles of an alternate universe IKEA, which of course sends the lowest-paid employees into them when someone goes missing. There’s a lot of great anti-capitalist satire in here, plus a moving story of relationships, with a lot of queer representation. There’s a lot of story for such a quick read!

Plot

There’s not a lot hidden from view here, and the beats are pretty much what you expect, but the story is fun to read, carrying the protagonists from one place to another. The romance is just enough to make the characters people you care about, while dangling death in front of our faces.

Setting

Alternate dimensions give a lot of space to play with here, and Cipri has some cool places to travel to. The base setting of the big-box furniture store is filled with awesome room setups like “Nihilist Bachelor Cube,” “Parental Basement Dweller,” and “Massage Therapist Who Lived In Their Studio,” while the other worlds of the multiverse, though few included, are interesting to see.

Character

The two main characters have an instant conflict set up, as they just broke up, and are forced to both go through a wormhole together. Of course hijinks ensue, and the few other characters are given some good depth with quick strokes. It’s also nice to see a queer main character and a nonbinary secondary character.

Rating: 4 of 6

Come Tumbling Down – Seanan McGuire

Overall Thoughts

Another awesome Wayward Children book! I love the detail of the Moors and, that we've gotten to visit more than once in the series. It lends a lot of depth to this world.

There's mostly the same characters in this one, and the book develops them all in little ways. I will say this particular story almost felt a little rushed through the "quest" because we already know so much about the Moors. Still, we do get some new locations, and little more explanation of how it works. Very interested to see what comes next!

Plot

If you’ve read the other Wayward Children books, this is the first to return to a location previously explored. I will say I think that detracts just a bit from the story because a lot of what McGuire writes is an exploration of new ideas. Here we have an expansion of an idea, and it’s most evident in skipping over a few steps to complete a quest in favor of more time on the setup and the conclusion to the story.

Setting

The Moors is an excellent world to read about, but not one to visit. Because this is a revisiting, we learn a little more about the borders and the other types of people that live there. We also learn about the forces that interact and how the rules of the world keep them in balance. Like all of McGuire’s works, the setting is intricate where it needs to be and expected until the moment it isn’t.

Character

Jack and Jill are two of my favorites of the Wayward Children, right up there with Kade and Christopher. This story develops their rivalry in interesting directions and we see down to some of the things that (literally) make Jack tick. I love her pragmatism and acceptance of who she is, all the while trying to save her sister from what she wants to become.

Rating: 5 of 6

Riot Baby – Tochi Onyebuchi

Overall Thoughts

The concept of this book is very interesting, told between a sister with powers and her brother who watches over her. It contains a lot of righteous anger, directed at justifiable targets. That said, this story covers so many time periods, so much injustice, and so many areas of societal concern, that I feel it doesn’t quite bring home the point it’s trying to make. I would have either read a shorter, more concise version, or had an entire book to flesh out the story more.

Plot

I think most of my issues with the story lay in this aspect. There are some jarring POV switches that take a bit to get used to, and jumps in time are not always clear. Some of the references were not completely clear to me, and the theme of the book jumped between exploring the sister, Ella’s powers, and following the brother, Kevin’s journey through his life, including time in prison. I wanted just a little bit more of one or the other, but as is, it didn’t completely gel for me.

Setting

The setting is largely contemporary, but transitions between the 80’s, 90’s 2000’s and even slightly into the future (I think). There are a lot of descriptions of prison life which are quite eye opening, especially given the events of 2020, and there are many thought-provoking descriptions of how inmates are treated.

Character

This is, to me, the most compelling part of the story. Ella and Kevin each have their own ambitions and journeys, and this is what pulled me through the story, even when I didn’t fully understand some of the events. Learning about how their lives unfold was the best part of this book, seeing how their determination and ambition fuel their struggle for their goals.

Rating: 6 of 6

2021 Hugo Reviews: Novels

Note: I'll try to avoid major spoilers here, and will talk generally about the stories nominated for the 2021 Hugos. You may intuit some plot points as I do so.

Current Novels List:

#1 - The Relentless Moon – Mary Robinette Kowal

#2 - The City We Became – N.K. Jemisin

#3 - Network Effect – Martha Wells

#4 - Black Sun – Rebecca Roanhorse

#5 - Piranesi – Susanna Clarke

#6 - Harrow the Ninth – Tamsyn Muir

The Relentless Moon - Mary Robinette Kowal

Overall Thoughts

Another amazing entry in the Lady Astronaut universe! Following a different character in this story gives us some great new perspective on other characters, and develops some people who were secondary characters in the first books. It's also very interesting to have a different (older, female) protagonist with her own personal challenges to get over. I think Kowal is one of the only writers who can reliably get me to tear up at some point in every book she writes. I'm ready for more exciting Lady Astronaut adventures!

Setting

This book has the advantage of building on two other “Lady Astronaut” novels as well as a couple short stories. That said, Kowol weaves together and engaging alternate history of what might have happened if a catastrophic event pushed Earth to band together in a space race to save humankind. The alternate history is very well researched, and Kowol makes sure to go to real sources such as astronauts for space research and lots of history books for how the space race started. Kowol also tackles such weighty problems as racism, women’s rights, segregation, civil rights, and addiction and depression without the book becoming preachy or overburdened.

Character

Elma had been the main character in the previous two novels, but here the focus switches to another lady astronaut: Nicole Wargin. This again shows Kowol’s skill in writing many types of characters. Wargin is so unlike Elma I actually didn’t connect with her right at first, but by the end of the book, I was totally enthralled by her deep well of experience and trauma.

Plot

The other two Lady Astronaut stories so far were about the race to space and staying right at the top of technological progress to help mankind survive. This is not that sort of book. Yes, there are still space-related technical challenges, but this is a full-on thriller/mystery, on the moon. Just like the best mysteries, this one keeps the reader guessing until the end. Plus, there are cyphers to solve!

Rating: 1 of 6

The City We Became – N.K. Jemisin

Overall Thoughts

I see a lot of conflicting reviews on this book, simply because it is so weird! I'm going to fall on the "like" side. This is an amazing response and criticism of the Lovecraftian mythos, and especially to the racism and colonialism inherent in that whole genre. So yes, there is a fairly blatant message in several parts of this book, but that's also sort of the point.

Now, that doesn't even get into the great story and characters contained in this book. I really don't want to spoil a whole lot because once you get into it, there are some really big ideas included, as expected for otherworldly plots. I thoroughly enjoyed this and I'm really looking forward to another in this series.

Plot

Ok, now a slightly deeper dive, and there will be a few spoilers in here because it’s almost impossible to talk about the story without doing so. You have been warned!

The plot, as usual for Jemisin, is intricate and compelling. Five people representing the boroughs of New York are drawn together because of events far beyond their control. There are POVs from all those characters and more, layering on different views of what’s happening and how events are perceived in different way. It’s an awesome ride.

Character

Jemisin’s characters are all fighters, in different ways, and I love the amount of diversity on show. Many of the cast is POC, female, and queer. They’re all broken in different ways, but there is also someone nearby who is willing and able to help them heal. We get to see the Call to Adventure and the Refusal, and Acceptance played out in multiple ways, making the second half of the gripping as we see everyone come together.

Setting

This is the section where I’ll have to reveal some spoilers, just because Jemisin has invented an absolutely amazing universe, drawing from the Lovecraftian mythos (and even mentioning it by name) while subverting it and returning the concept to many of the people Lovecraft hated. The big thing here is the concept of cities as living beings, and not only that, but people acting as their avatars when they “awaken.” I can’t say too much more without getting into major spoilers, but Jemisin knots these concepts together seamlessly as New York itself awakens, leading to a climax that made me think about the universe in a different way.

Rating: 2 of 6

Network Effect – Martha Wells

Overall Thoughts

A word of warning here. I have not read Network Effect, as I haven’t read the two books previous. I have read the first two novellas in the series, and based on how much I enjoyed them, this is the position I’m putting this book in. I will try to get the other two novellas and this book read before the Hugos, but no promises!

Rating: 3 of 6

Black Sun – Rebecca Roanhorse

Overall Thoughts

Roanhorse's worldbuilding is consistently great. I loved the Native American non-colonized civilization displayed here, as well as great LGBTQIA inclusion including several other genders. I also really wanted to like the story more than I did. As I said, the worldbuilding is fantastic, but I had trouble getting invested in the plot. This was similar to my reaction to Trail of Lightning. I just didn't have a great connection to the characters’ movement through the story. Especially with trading between several different characters in the first few chapters, I wanted a little more immediate punch to the story.

I am, however, very interested in how the story unfolds from here. I can't say much without spoiling, but the story is definitely not conventional!

Plot

This is the part I where have the biggest problem with Roanhorse’s works. I just wasn’t as engaged as I wanted to be. I can see characters moving from one place to another, and even though there was a ticking clock in this story in the form of days to an eclipse, I never felt an urgency to the plot. Several climactic events happened, but I felt like they had the same importance as all the other sections of the book. I’m not sure if this is a prose problem, or pacing, or editing, but it affecting my reading of the story.

Setting

On the other hand, I absolutely LOVED Roanhorse’s Native American-inspired world, bringing aspects of Quechan, Incan, Aztec, Mayan, and other Native American people’s cultures. There is a large focus on creation myths and animal gods, a city built into a massive cliff, where people are separated by a sort of caste based on height, and ritualized magic using tattoos and powders. I’m very much looking forward to a second book where some of these aspects might be expanded.

Character

The characters are so intriguing here I really wished the plot did them justice better. A lesbian/bi quasi-mermaid pirate ship captain. A voluntarily blind celibate martial priest who literally has a god bound inside him. A third gender assassin who is so skilled they can disappear from a council meeting with no one the wiser. A noble son who has a mental connection with a gigantic raven. There’s just so much cool stuff here, and the arcs for at least two of the characters are barreling toward an ending you hope won’t happen but know can’t be avoided.

Rating: 4 of 6

Piranesi – Susanna Clarke

Overall Thoughts

I waffled whether to give this three or four stars, but finally settled on four just because the writing is very evocative. I think is one of those books that either makes a big impression on you or doesn't. For me, it didn't really. There's a mystery in this story, but because of how it's narrated, it's pretty easy for the reader to unravel and then they are forced to follow a protagonist who is unable to rationalize simple clues laid out before them. It's interesting to see the mind of the protagonist develop, but only for so long. In the end, I felt this book could have been about 25% shorter, and not covered some of the aimless wandering that happened between revelations. That said, the writing is well done and I know there are readers that enjoy this type of story, so YMMV.

Plot

The plot here is actually fairly simple, though it’s unclear where it’s headed right from the beginning. Because the main character is shortly revealed to have some sort of memory loss, there are only a few places the plot can go. Either he can find out more about his old self, or stay stagnant. I’ll let you guess which happens.

Setting

Clarke’s setting is one of the best parts of this book. Almost the entire story takes place inside what appears to be a giant house, filled with an infinite number of rooms, each holding countless statues in evocative or descriptive poses. There is weather, rain, and tides in the house, and there are birds that make nests and scavenge for food. We learn more about the house during the story, and eventually why it exists and what it is in general, but by that point it’s almost not important.

Character

This is my largest problem with the book. The main character, called Piranesi, has very definite memory loss, to the point where he imagines common words, places, and items from our world to be fantastical in nature. It’s both interesting to watch him piece little bits of information together in the right (and wrong) order, and at the same time incredibly frustrating. The reader can easily make the conclusions that Piranesi stumbles over, so much of the plot is spent urging him to just get on with it and figure it out. Once a few other characters, without memory loss, make an appearance, it’s fairly easy to deduce what’s happening from their words, and so in the end I wished this was a little shorter just so the reader doesn’t have to wade through the same confusion Piranesi does when we already know the answer.

Rating: 5 of 6

Harrow the Ninth – Tamsyn Muir

Overall Thoughts

Sooooo....this is a hard review to write, because this is an incredibly hard and frustrating book to read. I'd probably give it 3.5 stars, because it works REALLY hard in the last quarter of the book to redeem the first three-fourths. Does it do it? I'm still not sure. I'm still annoyed at it, so maybe not.

This would have been a really good first book, because it basically rewrites the entire first book in addition to ignoring the romance developed until way past when you've decided it's never going to be addressed. I almost would have preferred this be half again as long and taken the time to develop the emotions it did in the first book to shore up the story in this one.

Several friends of mine either DNFed it or were similarly annoyed, so I was at least warned that there might be things I wouldn't like, so if you want to read this, be warned that it takes an effort to get through the story. The ending is really good, but I'm not sure it's good enough to make up for the first half to two-thirds of the book.

Plot

If you’ve read the first book, you’re likely a fan of Harrow and Gideon trampling through the tests to become Lyctors. Well, much of this book is spent denying and rewriting that gleeful romp with, instead of the instantly likeable character of Gideon, the dour and fawning Ortus, from the first book. Yeah, remember him? Me either. This is continued as Harrow learns more of how to be a Lyctor, as well as sparring with the much older and variously corrupted previous Lyctors of the Emperor, as well as the Emperor himself. There are absolutely NO hints to the complete turnaround about three fourths of the way through the book and darn it, I really enjoyed the triumph. But if I was not as determined to finish books that I start, I would have given up long before that.

Setting

This is one of Muir’s strong points, with awesome gothic space architecture, dying planets, a ghostly plane of existence, necromantic legions, and even hints of what’s going on outside the reach of the Emperor. We get to see the full decaying might of this interplanetary organization, rather than just one house. The setting is one of the main reasons I would even attempt to read the next book in the series, because it’s so original.

Character

Again, Muir has fascinating, broken, healing characters. Harrow is as curmudgeonly as ever, but without the irreverent humor of Gideon, it often starts to spiral into nihilism. The other characters around her are all very very old, and their outlook is often just as gloomy as hers. Added to the confusion of the plot in the first half of the book, I really wanted to hear just from Gideon again and recapture the tone of the first book. But this one is very different, and while I did enjoy it in the end, I didn’t like it nearly as much as the first book.

Rating: 6 of 6

On walking the same path again…

So…I had a writing plan for early 2021, and it’s already changed, five days in (it was actually by two days in…). I figured I’d write a little here on the writerly reach for excellence (and possibly masochism).

I’ve just come off recording two audiobooks between October and December 2020. These are the sequels to The Seeds of Dissolution, which I recorded in 2019. Seeds was a decent recording. It gets the job done. I had a few complaints about the sound quality.

You can find it here, if you’re interested (although it may be an updated version if you read this a while after it’s posted).

Then I recorded the next two books, Facets of the Nether and Fall of the Imperium. You can find those below and wherever else you consume audiobooks. What better thing to accompany this thread than listening to the end product!

Facets of the Nether

Fall of the Imperium

While recording, I got a better microphone, I learned how to control my breathing and pacing better, and most importantly, I started recording in our walk-in closet with blankets covering the door and window.

(I got a lot of jokes from friends about how I was going back in the closet…)

The resulting audiobooks are MUCH better than the original, so much so that I worried readers listening to The Seeds of Dissolution might be turned off by the sound quality and not want to continue listening to the rest of the series.

Here’s a sample of the difference in quality, with the first chapter of Seeds, and the first chapter of Facets (beware the chapter of Facets has some spoilers for the end of Seeds).

The Seeds of Dissolution audio sample

First chapter of Facets of the Nether

The recording for Seeds is very hollow sounding and there’s a strange echo, because I recorded in a larger room. There are also a lot of incidental sounds, clicks and even a few road noises.

It also took a LOT of effort to get it just to this sound quality. The original was terrible. It took me and my spouse several weeks of constant work editing all the files to clean them up. I don’t regard that as wasted time, because it served its purpose. But I wish I knew then what I know now.

So, fast forward to October 2020, when I started recording Facets of the Nether. It went a lot better, and I improved through recording that book and into Fall of the Imperium.

(Oh yeah, I also have some outtakes, if you want to listen. There could be some minor spoilers in here, but mostly it’s me just tripping over lines.)

Facets of the Nether Chapter 2 Outtakes

Facets of the Nether Chapter 6 Outtakes

Facets of the Nether Chapter 10 Outtakes

Facets of the Nether Chapter 18 Outtakes

Fall of the Imperium Chapter 5 Outtakes

I uploaded Facets and Fall primarily to Findaway because of the whole Audiblegate hubbub going on. Basically, Audible isn’t paying authors or narrators if readers return books, even after listening to the book. They’re also pushing for listeners to use the exchange function. The new books will be available on Audible eventually, but I’m no longer exclusive.

At this point, I knew the sound quality in Seeds was bad, but was determined to clean it up a bit and then also upload that one to Findaway.

Reader, it took me seven chapters of editing before I broke. It was taking me almost as much time to clean up the files as it did to originally edit them, and the end product still wasn’t that great.

So, being me, what did I do? I decided to re-record The Seeds of Dissolution. I was already in the groove from the last two books. (This was the big change in my schedule for 2021)

And you know what? I’m about six chapters in now, and it’s actually pretty fun. I think I’m getting better at voices, too.

The raw files are pretty darn clean too, because I’ve spent the last three months improving my recording quality and learning how to edit files much more efficiently.

I can basically record, which takes about 1.5 times the chapter length, then edit, which takes only a little longer than listening to the chapter again.

I get a recording to my new benchmark of satisfaction, get a better recording for readers, and it takes only a little longer than trying to edit the original files.

So the files I upload to Findaway, when I finish, will be much better quality than the files originally uploaded to Audible. I’m going to update those files too, but it will take longer to get them approved.

My schedule for the beginning of 2021 *had been* to start on a new SF trilogy I’ve been looking forward to. But instead, I’m going back to recording. I don’t think it will be wasted time.

To top it off, I have one other book in the Dissolutionverse that I was planning on recording later on, because I was running out of steam.

But now I’m just going to do all four books. You can look forward to Tales of the Dissolutionverse in audio format in a few months!

So what does all this mean, in terms of sticking to a schedule and settling for something that’s not top quality?

As we all progress in the things we want/are paid to do in life, we get better. Sometimes you look back and leave the things that were not so great behind you.

Other times, you get a unique chance to make something better that you were never quite happy with. I’m glad to get this chance to re-record The Seeds of Dissolution with better sound quality and better voice acting.

I hope you will get that chance too at some point. It’s nice to look at something and say “I can do better,” and then have the chance to do exactly that. So I’ll leave you with links, if you want to listen along with my journey as an audiobook narrator!

The Seeds of Dissolution

Facets of the Nether (also available wherever you consume audiobooks)

Fall of the Imperium (also available wherever you consume audiobooks)

If you want to see more behind-the-scenes on how I write books and record audio, check out my Patreon! There are outtakes for each chapter of Facets, and nearly half the full book is posted as well. I’ll likely post some more comparisons of Seeds v1 and Seeds v2, once I get more chapters complete.

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