July 2024 Round-up and Short Fiction Miscellany

I finished my Hugo reading at the end of June, and SPSFC is taking our annual break between the announcement of a winner and the starting of next year’s competition, which means I had a whole lot of opportunity to pick up whatever caught my eye. And wouldn’t you know it, I found some real winners! Let’s have a look:

Short Fiction

July Favorites

I’ve already posted my monthly magazine review, and Polenth Blake’s “Born Outside” and Natalia Theodoridou’s “Aktis Aeliou, or The Machine of Margot’s Destruction” would certainly fit here. But they are far from alone.

“Totality” (2024 short story) by Brandi Sperry. I am rarely wowed by stories under 2,000 words, but this one has a striking premise, a tight focus, and a quick-hitting emotional core. What can I say, I’m a sucker for SFF family stories.
“Grottmata” (2024 short story) by Thomas Ha. On the subject of things I rarely do, “reading a magazine called Nightmare” is certainly on the list. This one has quite a bit more horror than I prefer, but it’s just such a wonderful story anyways. Undoubtedly, it’s a dark story, of occupation and resistance, but it’s a deeply compelling one, with plenty of layers and a really fascinating author spotlight published alongside it.
“Signs of Life” (2024 novelette) by Sarah Pinsker. There’s a family story at the heart, with estranged sisters meeting after decades of no contact, and there’s a fair bit of the uncanny in the remote West Virginia setting–a story element that Pinsker consistently executes wonderfully–and those two are plenty to make this a really excellent read. It’s atmospheric and emotional without really feeling especially scary. Perhaps I’d like a little more from the ending, but there’s just not a lot to complain about here.
“Liminal Spaces” (2024 short story) by Maureen McHugh. This story doesn’t feel especially ambitious, but there’s something to be said for envisioning a vibe and delivering it expertly. It’s a story about inexplicable spaces that the engineer main character can’t wrap her mind around. The interpersonal conflicts are solid, but they’re here for flavor–the atmosphere is the star of the show, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Phantom Heart” (2024 short story) by Charlie B. Lorch. An AI that exists to capture the final memories of dying people to aid in murder investigations finds itself learning about the darker parts of humanity, focusing here on domestic violence and abuse of power. The message isn’t subtle, but it’s powerfully executed and drives to a satisfying finish.

Strong Contenders

“In the Moon’s House” (2024 short story) by Mary Robinette Kowal. A short piece about belonging in a society that doesn’t accept you as you are. Not an essential story, but likely a treat for fans of Lady Astronaut–which I am.
“The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye” (2019 novelette) by Sarah Pinsker. The second Sarah Pinsker novelette I read this month set in a remote West Virginia cabin. This one is just as atmospheric, but the hook is a mystery instead of a family story, which didn’t grab me quite as much. There’s not a lot to complain about here, and perhaps I’m being unfair having it in this category, but Pinsker has written so many tremendous stories that it’s hard not to judge her against herself. This was still a really entertaining read.

Others I Enjoyed in July

“Arboretum” (2023 short st0ry) by Habiba Dokubo-Asari. A family tries to do well by their no-longer-human kin in a future where people mysteriously start turning into plants. It’s hard to have a satisfying ending with such a setup, but this does about the best it can.
“Immortal, Invisible” (2024 short story) by Tade Thompson. A host of people are imprisoned by a mysterious figure with intimidating tech. Only a couple of them are persistent in looking for opportunities to escape. A nice tale of cooperation that digs into the motivations of non-POV characters.
“Child’s Tongue” (2024 short story) by Monique Laban. Another story about occupation, this one focused on the return of the daughter of a reviled expat, and the complicated feelings of the locals that don’t leave much room for the person. There were times I wanted this to dig a little deeper, but it does come around to a satisfying conclusion.
“The Speech That God Understands” (2024 novelette) by Jonathan Edelstein. A magical medieval mystery, in which the blind, Jewish lead tries to sort out the academic controversy behind an attack that robs victims of all but the vulgar tongue before he’s blamed for the whole thing himself. An enjoyable character and setting, though it spends a bit more time on magical details than I personally prefer.
“Radio Petrichor” (2024 short story) by E.M. Linden. A short and bittersweet tale about a struggle to survive when there just isn’t enough rain to go around. It wasn’t especially hard to see the ending coming, but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless.
“An Uncanny Patch and Uncanny Hole: The Final Account from the Records of Ptaten, Imperial Surveyor” (2024 short story) by Cara Masten DiGirolamo. Not as much exploration of the uncanniness as I’d have liked, but there’s plenty of exploration of how any new discoveries get coopted by leaders to maintain power.
“Blood Music” (1983 novelette) by Greg Bear. A slow-building tragedy that swept the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1984. I can certainly see the appeal, though there’s a little too much time talking about technological details for my preferences.

Novels and Novellas

Reviews Posted

Echo of Worlds (2024 novel) by M.R. Carey. The closing book to the epic Pandominion Duology is more action-heavy than the opener, but it’s a fitting cap on the tale.
Transformation State (2023 novel) by Ann Leckie. Some excellent character work and fantastically weird aliens, though with a main plot that’s a little more straightforward than I’d have preferred.
A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015 novel) by Sarah J. Maas. An extremely inconsistent opening book to one of the biggest hit series of the last decade.
One Hundred Shadows (2010 novella) by Hwang Jungeun, translated by Jung Yewon. An English-language version of a decorated Korean literary novella, with some excellent thematic work but a story that felt a little disjointed.
Wise Child (1987 novel) by Monica Furlong. A quiet middle grade novel with a lovely, rhythmic prose style, with plenty of time spent on the little details of a good life and much of the conflict coming from the young lead learning to fight her baser impulses.

SPSFC

We crowned Kenai by Dave Dobson the champion of SPSFC3, and we’re now working on organization behind the scenes, as we deal with some turnover in leadership. We have plenty of judges returning, but we don’t have plenty of the people handling the website, so we’re going to take a longer hiatus than usual and make sure everything is in order before we get the competition going again as summer winds down. We will keep you posted.

Hugos

Hugo Awards votes are in, and the winner will be announced in less than a week, on August 11. I shared my thoughts on the four categories I read in full: Novel, Novella, Novelette, and Short Story.

Tar Vol on

Science Fiction and Fantasy