emperor: (Default)
emperor ([personal profile] emperor) wrote2024-06-11 01:04 pm

More Hugo Novellas

In reading order:

Seeds of Mercury, Wang Jinkang (tr. Alex Woodend). This is a very human tragedy, and pretty depressing. I was struggling to maintain my suspension of disbelief at some of the tech, as well.

The Mimicking of Known Successes, Malka Older. I liked the steampunk setting of this, with humanity exiled to habitats ringing a gas giant. The characters were relatable and well described (though the early switch of narrator was a bit jarring), and the plot was nicely twisty.

Life Does Not Allow Us to Meet, He Xi (tr. Alex Woodend). This was let down for my by a really clunky translation (and poor layout); some interesting ideas, an at times slightly confusing plot (I lost the ordering of events a couple of times), and another rather bleak reflection on humanity.

Mammoths at the Gates, Nghi Vo. Another book in the Singing Hills Cycle, which is a setting I've come to very much enjoy. This is a story about grief, about stories, and about the very different ways people are remembered. It's very moving at times, and also has some lovely funny moments. I realise I've not read When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, and should probably fix that :)

Post a comment in response:

This account has disabled anonymous posting.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting