Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Annotated 2017 Hugo Awards Finalists

Here is the annotated 2017 Hugo Awards Finalists list for short fiction.

Annotations include time estimates, links to the story on the author's website (if available), author links with Campbell Award-eligibility marked (superscript for year 1 or 2), blurbs for RSR-reviewed stories, links to reviews, and links to digital back issues (of print magazines) at eBookstores and library websites.

There's also the Annotated 2016 Nebula Awards Nominees.


Novellas

Total Stories: 6 (6 reviewed by RSR)
Estimated Time for RSR-reviewed Stories: 11h:40m (210K words)
A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson  Time: 1h:54m (Novella)  IssueTor Novella 10/25/16
(Fantasy/SF) Young Aqib has a bright future as a noble, but he meets an enchanting foreigner who makes him consider risking everything.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: JStrahan Nebula Hugo
Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire  Time: 2h:09m (Novella)  IssueTor Novella 04/05/16
(Portal Fiction; Wayward Children) Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children helps kids who passed through a portal to another world and returned unable to cope with this one.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 JStrahan Nebula Hugo
Penric And The Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold  Time: 2h:05m (Novella)  IssuePenric And The Shaman 06/24/16
(High Fantasy; Five Gods) Young Penric, a powerful but fledgling sorcerer, joins the hunt for a fugitive sorcerer, suspected of killing his own best friend.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 RHorton:4 Hugo
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle  Time: 1h:32m (Novella)  IssueTor Novella 02/16/16
(Black Lovecraftian Horror) In 1924 Harlem, 20-year-old Tommy Tester plays bad jazz and runs minor scams. When an old man offers him $500 to play at his house, he knows there's a catch. It's just not what he expects.
The Dream-Quest Of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson  Time: 1h:59m (Novella)  IssueTor Novella 08/16/16
(Fantasy) Vellitt Boe teaches math at a university in the dreamworld. When her star student elopes with a dreamer from the real world, she goes after them.
This Census-Taker by China MiΓ©ville  Time: 1h:58m (Novella)  IssueThis Census-Taker 2016
(Post-Apocalypse) At age seven, the narrator thought he saw his father murder his mother. But did he?
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: Hugo

Novelettes

Total Stories: 6 (5 reviewed by RSR)
Estimated Time for RSR-reviewed Stories: 3h:37m (65K words)
Alien Stripper Boned From Behind By The T-Rex by Stix Hiscock  Time: 00m (Novelette)  IssueAlien Stripper Boned From Behind By The T-Rex 2016
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review []  Recommended By: Hugo
The Art Of Space Travel by Nina Allan  Time: 42m (Novelette)  IssueTor.com 07/27/16
(SF/Mainstream) The crew of the new Mars mission are coming to the hotel where Emily works, and her mom is starting to say strange things about her involvement with the last Mars mission.
The Jewel And Her Lapidary by Fran Wilde  Time: 56m (Novelette)  IssueTor Novella 05/03/16
(High Fantasy) Two teenage girls, Lin, the last Jewel, and Sima, the last Lapidary, struggle to fight the invaders who've taken the kingdom by treachery.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:5 Nebula Hugo
The Tomato Thief by Ursula Vernon  Time: 46m (Novelette)  IssueApex 80
(Fantasy) Someone (or something) is taking Grandma Harken's tomatoes, but finding the thief leads to a real mystery--and danger.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 SFRevu:4 Hugo
Touring with the Alien by Carolyn Ives Gilman  Time: 39m (Novelette)  IssueClarkesworld 115
(SF) Months after mysterious aliens scattered their spacecraft across North America, no one has a clue what they want. Avery knows what one of them wants, though: it wants a tour.
You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay by Alyssa Wong  Time: 33m (Novelette)  IssueUncanny 10
(Historical Fantasy) In a magical Old West, young Ellis has a love for the desert and an affinity for dead things. Both of these attract unwelcome attention from strangers visiting from back East.

Short Stories

Total Stories: 6 (5 reviewed by RSR)
Estimated Time for RSR-reviewed Stories: 1h:15m (23K words)
(Magical Realism) Hannah watched her sister Melanie die, incinerated with her own magic. Hannah can't accept that and sets out to use her own magic to put things right.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: SFEP Nebula Hugo
An Unimaginable Light by John C. Wright  Time: 00m (ShortStory)  IssueGod, Robot 2016
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review []  Recommended By: Hugo
Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies by Brooke Bolander  Time: 03m (ShortStory)  IssueUncanny 13
(Horror) The girl he killed was much more than merely human, and there will be consequences.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [1]  Recommended By: Nebula Readers Hugo
Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar  Time: 18m (ShortStory)  IssueStarlit Wood 2016
(Fairy Tale) Tabitha has been walking a long time, trying to wear out seven pairs of iron shoes; Amira has been sitting alone on a glass hill that suitors try to climb.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 JStrahan Nebula Hugo
That Game We Played During the War by Carrie Vaughn  Time: 20m (ShortStory)  IssueTor.com 03/16/16
(SF) Despite not being a telepath, Calla worked out a way to play chess with her captor, Major Larn, during the recent war. Now they're going to finish their game.
The City Born Great by N.K. Jemisin  Time: 20m (ShortStory)  IssueTor.com 09/28/16
(Modern Fantasy) A young hustler discovers that he's supposed to play a big role in transforming New York from a city to a City. If he can survive it.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: Hugo


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