psocoptera

Navigational Entanglements, Aliette de Bodard, 2024 novella. Can I call this xianxia in space? Four space cultivators from rival space cultivation clans are sent on a space mission to deal with a space monster, but then, oh no, space cultivation politics. Fun and I enjoyed it, although I probably wouldn't have Hugo-nominated it myself. The romance felt a little rushed and the writing got a little repetitive (does the one cultivation style need to be "slow and ponderous" *every* time it's mentioned?). I would read a sequel, though!

Also I guess I can rank Hugo novellas now?

So, we have:

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed (Tordotcom)
Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard (Tordotcom)
The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar (Tordotcom)
The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (Tordotcom)
What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher (Nightfire)

Of which I nominated the Samatar and still think it's the best of the set. None of the rest are *bad* but none of them really stand out to me as especially better or worse than the others. I could probably rank them in random order and end up about as happy with it as I'm going to be with whatever I come up with on purpose. So, I don't know... Kingfisher, Nayler, de Bodard, Vo, Mohamed? Kingfisher, Mohamed, Nayler, Vo, de Bodard? Nayler, de Bodard, Kingfisher, Mohamed, Vo? This feels more like change-ringing than successful ranking. Maybe I'll come back and hope some kind of opinion has precipitated out.