it came from the packet, part 1
May. 31st, 2017 11:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psocopteraThings I have read for Hugo purposes:
The Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle. I have to respect "white people are the real horror" as a theme but this didn't grab me as a story. (The POV switch away from the sympathetic first character kind of killed the momentum, alas, although I can see why LaValle didn't think he could do the whole thing from his POV.)
Penric and the Shaman, Lois McMaster Bujold. I didn't feel like this did anything that she hadn't already done better in Hallowed Hunt.
"Your Orisons May Be Recorded", Laurie Penny. Good gimmick but I have no strong reaction here.
"Blue Monday", Laurie Penny. Also enh.
The Jewel and her Lapidary, Fran Wilde. A bunch of authors I respect seem really into Wilde and I just don't get it. Here, she obviously had an ending she wanted to get to but I totally didn't understand the logic that was supposed to make it necessary? And (SPOILER)there's something icky about "slave nobly sacrifices her life in a horrific way so her mistress can live", like in whose bodies are ultimately considered disposable there?
Infomocracy, Malka Older. A kickass near-future novel with interesting political mechanics, an awesome action scene, appealing characters, the works. On the one hand it is weird to be reading about election shenanigans that don't seem to have a lot of catastrophic real-world consequences, on the other hand it was delightfully escapist. Recommended. Minor spoiler: my one tiny complaint is that I thought it was hinting at Mishima being like 20 years older than Ken and I was disappointed it was only 7, come on, if you're serving up wish-fulfillment fantasy you might as well go for it.
The Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle. I have to respect "white people are the real horror" as a theme but this didn't grab me as a story. (The POV switch away from the sympathetic first character kind of killed the momentum, alas, although I can see why LaValle didn't think he could do the whole thing from his POV.)
Penric and the Shaman, Lois McMaster Bujold. I didn't feel like this did anything that she hadn't already done better in Hallowed Hunt.
"Your Orisons May Be Recorded", Laurie Penny. Good gimmick but I have no strong reaction here.
"Blue Monday", Laurie Penny. Also enh.
The Jewel and her Lapidary, Fran Wilde. A bunch of authors I respect seem really into Wilde and I just don't get it. Here, she obviously had an ending she wanted to get to but I totally didn't understand the logic that was supposed to make it necessary? And (SPOILER)there's something icky about "slave nobly sacrifices her life in a horrific way so her mistress can live", like in whose bodies are ultimately considered disposable there?
Infomocracy, Malka Older. A kickass near-future novel with interesting political mechanics, an awesome action scene, appealing characters, the works. On the one hand it is weird to be reading about election shenanigans that don't seem to have a lot of catastrophic real-world consequences, on the other hand it was delightfully escapist. Recommended. Minor spoiler: my one tiny complaint is that I thought it was hinting at Mishima being like 20 years older than Ken and I was disappointed it was only 7, come on, if you're serving up wish-fulfillment fantasy you might as well go for it.
