Semper Augustus, by Nancy Kress

[Asimov's]

★★★★★ Rich setting, Cool Characters, Great Writing

(Dystopia) Alien technology has been a big boon for some Americans, but everyone else has slid into poverty. Little Jennie knows things should be better, and over time, she tries different ways to change her world. (40,182 words; Time: 2h:13m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+2 (Q&A)

Cost of Doing Business, by Nancy Kress

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆ Mixed

(Climate SF) A journalist takes a job covering a multibillionaire’s efforts to stop climate change—and to figure out what his real motive might be. (12,347 words; Time: 41m)

This was originally printed in “A Year without a Winter,” (Columbia University Press, May 22, 2018), but it’s still eligible for the 2019 Hugo Award.

Canoe, by Nancy Kress

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Exploration SF) The first human interstellar mission finds an icy moon that might host life. (6,450 words; Time: 21m)

Recommended By: GDozois+2

Although this was originally published in the UK in 2017, the first US Publication was in March 2018, so it should be eligible for the 2019 Hugo Awards at the 2019 WorldCon, to be held in Dublin.

Dear Sarah, by Nancy Kress

Find this book

(Military SF) The new tech the aliens gave us created a golden age for some and abject poverty for others. MaryJo joins the army to get out, knowing she may end up fighting rebels who are friends or relatives. (4,443 words; Time: 14m)

Rating: ★★★★★ Powerful Coming-of-Age Story

Pyramid, by Nancy Kress

Find this book

(Allegory) Young people enter the pyramid on the first floor, but although the parties are great, they aspire to ascend. (1,869 words; Time: 06m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆, Average

Recommended By: RHorton:4

Belief, by Nancy Kress

Find this issue

(SF) While Andrea struggles to make progress at the lab, her teenage daughter, Natalie, is getting involved with people doing spiritual "research." (5,674 words; Time: 18m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

Blessings, by Nancy Kress

Find this book

(Hard SF) About a century ago, aliens distributed "the Blessing," which ended war by making people less violent. But civilization collapsed, and it's proving difficult to rebuild. (5,000 words; Time: 16m)

Rating: ★★★★★ Award-Worthy

Cocoons, by Nancy Kress

Find this story.

(SF) The narrator escorts an official concerned about a disease that converts unlucky colonists into alien creatures. (5,000 words; Time: 16m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆, Average

Machine Learning, by Nancy Kress

Find this book

In this very emotional story, to distract himself from the wife and child he lost, Ethan buries himself in his work on a AI system designed to teach children. (9,000 words; Time: 30m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆, Average

Recommended By: GDozois:5