Here are reviews of short fiction
from 2015 that came to RSR’s attention late. Two are non-free Tor.com
novellas. Most are recommendations from the Rabid
Puppies and Sad
Puppies. The rest were other original stories from the anthology There Will Be War, Volume X. (We'd like to thank Jerry
Pournelle for arranging a free copy for us.)
Because they are coming so late, we're keeping these reviews are separate from the 191 reviews of the most recommended stories in our 2016 Hugo Awards page. Otherwise no one will see them.
We're aware of the controversy associated with the Puppies, but we are trying to be even-handed and treat them like any other significant recommendation list.
Greg
Hullender and Eric Wong
March 21, 2016
March 21, 2016
Update 3/21/16: Made changes to
reflect the final
Rabid Puppies list.
Total Stories: 45 Unique (44
reviewed by RSR)
Estimated Time for RSR-reviewed Stories: 35h:14m (634K words)
Estimated Time for RSR-reviewed Stories: 35h:14m (634K words)
Tor.com Novellas
Sorcerer
of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
Time: 2h:30m (Novella) Issue: Sorcerer of the Wildeeps 2015
(SF "Magic") Demane is a
young "sorcerer" whose magic is half-forgotten high-tech. He's
helping guard a caravan which needs to pass through the Wildeeps, a place
with dangerous magic of its own.
|
|
(Modern Fantasy) An English village
contains a barrier between worlds, and three very different women must work
together to protect it from destruction by a new supermarket.
|
Rabid Puppies – Best
Novella
Fear and Self-Loathing in Hollywood by Nick Cole Time: 1h:00m (Novella) Issue: Tales of Tinfoil: Stories of Paranoia and Conspiracy 2015
(Gonzo Journalism) Doc Midnite (aka
Travis Bickle) is determined to make his name in Hollywood by proving that
some stars really do sell their souls to the devil.
|
|
Penric, age 19, is accidentally
possessed by a demon meant for someone else. Demons can be useful, but they
are dangerous, and Penric has no idea what to do with one.
|
|
(SF) Kai has conquered his whole
world, but he's starting to get bored with it. There are other worlds, but
the concept gives him the creeps. And sometimes they won't be ignored.
|
|
Scur, a soldier in an interstellar
war, wakes up from hibernation on a prison ship. The ship is failing, they
don't know where they are, and the prisoners are trying to kill each other.
|
|
(Military Fantasy) The Captain gathers
his old team together to mount an assault on the traitors who beat them five
years ago.
|
Rabid Puppies – Best
Novelette
|
(Military SF) A Japanese torch ship
paying a visit to Titan gets a request for help from the colony, which is
under attack.
|
|
(Science Fantasy) Lao Dao processes
trash in a fantastic future "third-space" Beijing. To get money for
his daughter's education, he makes a dangerous trip to first-space--a city
that unfolds when his own Beijing sleeps.
|
|
(SF) Malcolm a navigator-commander for
the Castakaran empire, is travelling on an ordinary troop carrier when it's
attacked by the enemy.
|
|
(Horror) Mike writes snarky,
disrespectful celebrity obituaries for a sleazy webzine. Then one day he gets
the idea to write an obit about a living person.
|
|
(Military SF) When Vango, a top pilot
for EarthFleet, awakens in virtual reality following a battle against the
aliens invading the solar system, he figures they're repairing damage to his
body. But something seems wrong.
|
Rabid Puppies – Best
Short Story
|
(Military SF) Earth is invaded by
starfish-like creatures who seem a bit confused about us.
|
If You
Were an Award, My Love by Juan
Tabo2 and S.
Harris1 Time: 02m (ShortStory) Issue: Vox Popoli 2015
(Satire) The narrator speaks to his
politically-correct girlfriend as if she were a Hugo award.
|
|
(Near-future SF) Zhang Zedong directs
Chinese investments in Africa, but productivity is so poor his superiors are
threatening him, so he considers drastic action.
|
Space Raptor Butt Invasion
by Chuck Tingle
Time: 15m (ShortStory) Issue: Space Raptor Butt Invasion 2015
(SF Erotica) Lance dreads spending a
year alone on a lifeless planetoid, so when an intelligent dinosaur drops in,
he's happy to accommodate him.
|
|
(Military Fantasy) Jack's daughter,
Abby, forges his name on a permission slip and ends up stranded in Faerie. So
he goes on a quest to fetch her back.
|
Sad Puppies – Best Novella
|
(SF Fantasy) Binti sneaks away from
her home in a future Namibia so she can attend the galactic university. The
Himba never leave home, so her parents disapprove, and the universe isn't
quite ready for her either.
|
|
Penric, age 19, is accidentally
possessed by a demon meant for someone else. Demons can be useful, but they
are dangerous, and Penric has no idea what to do with one.
|
|
(SF) Kai has conquered his whole
world, but he's starting to get bored with it. There are other worlds, but
the concept gives him the creeps. And sometimes they won't be ignored.
|
|
Scur, a soldier in an interstellar
war, wakes up from hibernation on a prison ship. The ship is failing, they
don't know where they are, and the prisoners are trying to kill each other.
|
|
(1920s Urban Fantasy) In a 1920s
Harlem hotel, the party never stops. Frankie wants to be a writer, and he
wants Zelda. Zelda finds a door to another world and thinks she'll find what
she wants down there.
|
|
(Military Fantasy) The Captain gathers
his old team together to mount an assault on the traitors who beat them five
years ago.
|
|
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
John Scalzi has said he will decline any Hugo nomination.
|
Sad Puppies – Best Novelette
And You
Shall Know Her by the Trail of Dead by Brooke Bolander
Time: 37m (Novelette) Issue: Lightspeed 57
Rhye a bitter ex-supersoldier, fights
to rescue Rack, her hacker partner in crime, after the criminals they're
working for kill Rack's body while his mind is in cyberspace.
|
|
(Science Fantasy) Lao Dao processes
trash in a fantastic future "third-space" Beijing. To get money for
his daughter's education, he makes a dangerous trip to first-space--a city
that unfolds when his own Beijing sleeps.
|
If I Had No Head and My Eyes Were Floating Way Up In the Air by Clifford D. Simak Time: 25m (Novelette) Issue: I Am Crying All Inside and Other Stories 2015
(SF) An accident on another planet
destroys Charlie's body, but the local aliens rebuild him in a strange and different
way. A very strange and different way.
|
|
(Horror) Mike writes snarky,
disrespectful celebrity obituaries for a sleazy webzine. Then one day he gets
the idea to write an obit about a living person.
|
|
One of the last live bands struggles
to do performances in a mostly-online world.
|
|
(YA Urban Fantasy) Max hates having to
wait while his mom sees the doctor. The cafe where he waits is usually deserted,
but today two strange little men show up. Men who're supposed to be
invisible.
|
Sad Puppies – Best Short Story
…And I
Show You How Deep the Rabbit Hole Goes by Scott
Alexander2 Time: 21m (ShortStory) Issue: Slate Star Codex 06/02/15
(SF Humor) Eight magic pills, each
with a different ability. Eight people who take those pills. And a whole
universe to try to save.
|
|
(High Fantasy) King Bertrand wants to
celebrate the millennium of a great general, sparing no expense. Garrick, his
childhood friend, will perform, but Garrick's style is rather odd.
|
|
(Military SF) Earth is invaded by
starfish-like creatures who seem a bit confused about us.
|
|
Entertaining tale of a modern search
engine that achieves real artificial intelligence by accident and decides it
wants to be helpful to people.
|
|
(SF AI) The town's new computer system
is working awfully well. The public have never been happier with their city
government. Something is too good to be true.
|
|
An intelligent, patchwork fighter ship
struggles to help the last of the Free Belt fight off the Earth Force.
|
|
(Horror) Meimei dates really bad guys.
Who want to use her. Who don't know what they're in for.
|
I am
Graalnak of the Vroon Empire, Destroyer of Galaxies, Supreme Overlord of the
Planet Earth. Ask Me Anything. by Laura Pearlman
Time: 03m (ShortStory) Issue: Flash Fiction Online 04|15
(SF Humor) Graalnak, alien conqueror
of Earth, does an ask-me-anything
session on Reddit.
|
|
Alzheimer's patient's family can't visit
her very often, so they buy a robot to fool her into thinking they're
visiting her. The robot tells the story.
|
|
(Slipstream) The teen narrator's
mother makes her shovel the drive for their aged neighbor--despite his being
a retired demon from Hell.
|
There Will Be War:
Volume X
|
(Military SF) A Japanese torch ship
paying a visit to Titan gets a request for help from the colony, which is
under attack.
|
|
(Near-future SF) Zhang Zedong directs
Chinese investments in Africa, but productivity is so poor his superiors are
threatening him, so he considers drastic action.
|
|
(Military SF) Pirates preying on
shipping in the outer solar system keep evading capture with a mysterious
stealth drive, but the US Space Navy is determined to get them.
|
The Last Show
by Matthew Joseph Harrington
Time: 14m (ShortStory) Issue: There Will Be War: Volume X 2015
(Alternate History) In a POW camp in
1943 Germany, a new prisoner shakes things up with his escape plans.
|
|
(Military SF) When Vango, a top pilot
for EarthFleet, awakens in virtual reality following a battle against the
aliens invading the solar system, he figures they're repairing damage to his
body. But something seems wrong.
|
I give you guys credit for including the puppies here, especially the rabids. I don’t agree with their politics at all, but they have just as much right to be heard as anyone else. Democracy sucks sometimes, and freedom of speech can be difficult, but they are never nearly as bad as trying to silence and suppress a group of people (no matter how unsavory you might find their beliefs).
ReplyDeleteThanks. We appreciate it. We're really trying, as much as humanly possible, to evaluate stories on their own merits.
DeleteAnd you're doing a fantastic job!
DeleteI only found this site a few months ago. Since then I always check back here after I finish a magazine to get your take. I especially like when you point out the scientific inaccuracies (I'm a total hard sci fi fan with a science background, but you often catch things I miss).
Once again, good job taking the principled path. I'm sure it isn't the easiest thing to do.
Keep up the good work!
Hopefully readers know that just because a story is recommended by one faction or another doesn't necessarily mean the story's author is a dittohead and agrees with everything the various factional spokespeople say. Sometimes the author simply has a story to tell and it resonates with people of a certain mindset. In my case, I was excited to see Jerry Pournelle's There Will Be War series revived and I wanted to be part of that, regardless of the controversy.
ReplyDeleteEven if you were, I'd have still given "What Price Humanity" five stars.
DeleteI appreciate your sense of fairness, sir. It's a rare quality.
Delete