Scan barcode
titusfortner's review
3.0
I only listened to: Burn or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super
Fun story, I enjoyed it.
Fun story, I enjoyed it.
wanderlustlover's review
4.0
Spring 2021 (April);
- Specifically “Burn, or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super”
Another twist on a superhero story, I found this one charming. I'm always down for newer and different takes on superheroes and superhero stories, and Sam Wells, with the power to catch himself regularly on fire, is very much that. I love that this story is all about finding what you're good at and sticking to it. I love that he realizes being on the big, big "main team" isn't all its cracked up to be. That he gets to come full circle with the people in his office and the people in the bar, and most of all with himself.
- Specifically “Burn, or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super”
Another twist on a superhero story, I found this one charming. I'm always down for newer and different takes on superheroes and superhero stories, and Sam Wells, with the power to catch himself regularly on fire, is very much that. I love that this story is all about finding what you're good at and sticking to it. I love that he realizes being on the big, big "main team" isn't all its cracked up to be. That he gets to come full circle with the people in his office and the people in the bar, and most of all with himself.
bookaneer's review
4.0
Rating for two stories:
Burn, or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by AT Greenblatt
Delightful little story. Might be my fave from all Hugo nominated shorts this year.
High in the Clean Blue Air by Emma Törzs.
A wonderful addition to the adult female friendship stories in SFF. It took a while for me to finish it maybe because I'd like to savor it. If there's a longer work, gimme now please.
Burn, or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by AT Greenblatt
Delightful little story. Might be my fave from all Hugo nominated shorts this year.
High in the Clean Blue Air by Emma Törzs.
A wonderful addition to the adult female friendship stories in SFF. It took a while for me to finish it maybe because I'd like to savor it. If there's a longer work, gimme now please.
nataliya_x's review
4.0
This review is for two stories in this issue: Arkady Martine’s “A Being Together Among Strangers” (4 stars) and A.T. Greenblatt’s “Burn or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super” (3 stars).
—————
—————
A Being Together Among Strangers by Arkady Martine:
—————
Oh, this is good. Short and good and dense with meaning and really just pitch-perfect.
And it’s the memory of the miners’ voices that propels our narrator to intervene in the everyday ugly of hatred targeted at a climate refugee from drowning parts of the country. She uses her tech and her training to project the understanding of anger that stems from desperation — and her human actions serve as a bridge for understanding and compassion.
It’s such a short story and yet so densely packed with meaning and emotion. It’s a story about empathy and understanding, and is conveyed so well, without platitudes or cheap play of overreliance on relatability of emotion. It is ultimately a story about those bits of humanity that do not change regardless of how much technology progresses — empathy, communication, channeling of desperation into hatred and taking it head on with compassion. It straddles that thin line between detached and personal, and the combined effect is powerful.
Arkady Martine is the author of my new favorite SF duology [b:A Memory Called Empire|37794149|A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1)|Arkady Martine|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526486698l/37794149._SY75_.jpg|59457173] and [b:A Desolation Called Peace|45154547|A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan, #2)|Arkady Martine|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654565596l/45154547._SY75_.jpg|61309907]. Her works are very thoughtful, and this one is not an exception to that. It struck that special chord in my heart, and I simply loved it.
4.5 stars.
You can read it free here, on Uncanny Magazine site: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/a-being-together-amongst-strangers/ . You can hear it on their podcast (link on the site, story starts at 8 minutes, interview with Arkady Martine at 30 min).
—————
—————
Burn or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (nominated for Best Novelette for Hugo 2021 and Nebula 2020 Awards):
—————
I suppose the idea of an accountant for superpowered beings has its allure for writers (see [b:Hench|49867430|Hench|Natalie Zina Walschots|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594616305l/49867430._SY75_.jpg|73236179] for a bloodier take on this). I mean, if you had to come up with an antithesis for all superheroic shenanigans, it would have to be accounting, right? It’s that contrast between the showy superpowers and ordered mundane world of spreadsheets and invoices that seems quite interesting to explore.
Here we have Sam Wells, an accountant who apparently has a superpower of bursting into flames — and is ostracized by the rest of the world for this perceived otherness. Naturally he struggles with self-disdain and self-hatred, and joins a team of “Supers” to help his self-image - of course, as an accountant. What follows is a quiet melancholic story of friendship, self-acceptance, fitting in, and the inherent small-minded evils of “othering”.
Yet it failed to engage me. Maybe it’s the low-key narration, or my overall “meh”-feeling about superheroes, or the too-transparent parallels to real world, or my persistent bafflement as why you would be an asshole to people who have abilities to hurt you badly. There nothing wrong with it, but it left me feeling that I’ve read something of this sort many times before, with the melancholic sadness feeling too familiar. It’s a well-trodden territory in recent fiction.
3 stars.
———————
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3701332299
——————
Recommended by: Dennis
—————
—————
A Being Together Among Strangers by Arkady Martine:
—————
Oh, this is good. Short and good and dense with meaning and really just pitch-perfect.
“It does take blood, to make a city. That’s part of the problem. We haven’t figured out how not to feed ourselves on ourselves.”Narrated by a 22nd century New York subway commuter who works in conflict resolution using the tech implanted in her head - in the time of climate refugees and scarcity and kids who have never even eaten an apple - this starts with a poignant look at the cave-in during the 1903 building of a section of New York Subway, a disaster taking lives of many miners, some of whose names remain unknown to us. The bloody disaster is imagined as an enormous horrific sacrifice to the city. An extra dynamite blast is fired during the construction of the tunnel - two blasts are considered safe, third may not be, “but cities have demands, and so do subcontractors” — and so among blood and mangled limbs and dying cries that carried to the surface some 180 feet above them, dying in the dark, the miners sacrifice to the growing city added to the terrible symbiosis.
“Breathing creatures are hungry ones, and the city took the miners twice: once with joy, into its pubs and brothels and theaters, into its rooming-houses in Spuyten Duyvil—and once with blood.”
And it’s the memory of the miners’ voices that propels our narrator to intervene in the everyday ugly of hatred targeted at a climate refugee from drowning parts of the country. She uses her tech and her training to project the understanding of anger that stems from desperation — and her human actions serve as a bridge for understanding and compassion.
“[…] but if I keep talking to her, the rest of the people in this car will rotate around, they’ll make a human space where they recognize this woman as a person. We’re New Yorkers, and one of the other laws of the subway is when someone fucks up we all shout them down.”
It’s such a short story and yet so densely packed with meaning and emotion. It’s a story about empathy and understanding, and is conveyed so well, without platitudes or cheap play of overreliance on relatability of emotion. It is ultimately a story about those bits of humanity that do not change regardless of how much technology progresses — empathy, communication, channeling of desperation into hatred and taking it head on with compassion. It straddles that thin line between detached and personal, and the combined effect is powerful.
‘Thomas Lynch on his knees’, I tell myself, and ‘they heard the screaming from the surface’, and I breathe in and out and think about holding back the sea a little longer, with my own hands if I have to. With my own voice.
Arkady Martine is the author of my new favorite SF duology [b:A Memory Called Empire|37794149|A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1)|Arkady Martine|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526486698l/37794149._SY75_.jpg|59457173] and [b:A Desolation Called Peace|45154547|A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan, #2)|Arkady Martine|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654565596l/45154547._SY75_.jpg|61309907]. Her works are very thoughtful, and this one is not an exception to that. It struck that special chord in my heart, and I simply loved it.
4.5 stars.
“But I know they’re still here. With us in the dark. Sometimes I am sure they bought us the city, the vast machine of it that still runs despite everything we’ve done to the world. Sometimes I think that if we’d never sacrificed them, we’d never have had to have despite. Cities work by old magic, though, and there’s only so much you can plan for. They make demands. They grow and they die, and they make us, too, we small vicious brilliant things, and we grow and we die too, under their care, and we murder and nurture them the same.”
You can read it free here, on Uncanny Magazine site: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/a-being-together-amongst-strangers/ . You can hear it on their podcast (link on the site, story starts at 8 minutes, interview with Arkady Martine at 30 min).
—————
—————
Burn or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (nominated for Best Novelette for Hugo 2021 and Nebula 2020 Awards):
—————
I suppose the idea of an accountant for superpowered beings has its allure for writers (see [b:Hench|49867430|Hench|Natalie Zina Walschots|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594616305l/49867430._SY75_.jpg|73236179] for a bloodier take on this). I mean, if you had to come up with an antithesis for all superheroic shenanigans, it would have to be accounting, right? It’s that contrast between the showy superpowers and ordered mundane world of spreadsheets and invoices that seems quite interesting to explore.
“The time-space continuum might be back to normal, but what about the paper trail?”
Here we have Sam Wells, an accountant who apparently has a superpower of bursting into flames — and is ostracized by the rest of the world for this perceived otherness. Naturally he struggles with self-disdain and self-hatred, and joins a team of “Supers” to help his self-image - of course, as an accountant. What follows is a quiet melancholic story of friendship, self-acceptance, fitting in, and the inherent small-minded evils of “othering”.
Yet it failed to engage me. Maybe it’s the low-key narration, or my overall “meh”-feeling about superheroes, or the too-transparent parallels to real world, or my persistent bafflement as why you would be an asshole to people who have abilities to hurt you badly. There nothing wrong with it, but it left me feeling that I’ve read something of this sort many times before, with the melancholic sadness feeling too familiar. It’s a well-trodden territory in recent fiction.
3 stars.
———————
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3701332299
——————
Recommended by: Dennis
villyidol's review
Review only for two stories in this issue.
A Being Together Amongst Strangers by Arkady Martine
(science-fiction / read February 26, 2021)
That’s a great one.
In a 22nd century New York City a woman is on her commute. While she’s on the subway she thinks about the miners that lost their lives in the 1903 Fort George Subway Tunnel Disaster. How they had been sacrificed for the city. Taken by the city.
That’s when a fight is about to break out on the train. A couple of teenagers verbally attack a woman who is apparently a climate refugee, of which New York has taken on a lot, as many cities are drowning.
Everyone is minding their own business, but the first-person narrator is working in conflict resolution and decides to step in, even though outside of work she is not allowed to use the tech that had been installed in her head for that exact purpose. Her job is to become “a vessel for hurt”, to understand the anger of people and where it is coming from. And then take it and translate it into the respective language that both parties can understand.
There’s a lot going on in this story. I like the integration of the real-life tragedy of the miners that Martine has done here. Her story is also about what it means to be a New Yorker and what it is that makes a city and the city’s people in general, and in which way those belong together. But mainly it is a story about empathy. I shelved it as sci-fi, but it isn’t really about the tech, or even the environmental problems in this imagined future. It’s more about understanding the different ways that people use to communicate and how hate often springs from hurt.
4.5 stars
Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/a-being-together-amongst-strangers/
I listened to it as part of the Uncanny Magazine Podcast #34A. The story starts at 8:00 and is roughly 19 minutes long. It was narrated by Joy Piedmont.
I recommend to also listen to the interview with the author, which follows after this story and a short poem. I had not heard Martine speak before. But I think I quite like her.
Burn or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt
(fantasy / read March 04, 2021 to March 05, 2021)
Sam loses his job as an accountant, because he has a tendency to spontaneously combust. No, seriously. So, what does Sam do? He auditions for a role on a team of Supers. However, setting himself on fire isn't the most useful super power. Therefore they hire him as their new accountant.
This started out exactly as it sounds — very amusing. However it loses a bit of steam midway through and actually becomes rather downtrodden.
Ultimately this is another story about being different and trying to fit in, and the superhero thing is just mirroring real-life otherness. Look, I get the message and it's nice and all. But to me it felt more like a missed opportunity to write something weird and funny instead of something that I read every two weeks or so.*
3 stars
Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/burn-or-the-episodic-life-of-sam-wells-as-a-super/
I listened to the Uncanny Magazine Podcast, episode #34B. The story starts at 7:31 and is roughly 64 minutes long. It was narrated by Erika Ensign. And this time I can't recommend the audio version. First of all, it's not one of Ensign's best. But more importantly, the text gets a little annoying at some point. There's one expression that gets repeated throughout the story. Watch Sam burn. Watch Sam not burn. Watch Sam run. Watch Sam do this and that. You get the idea. Listening to her saying this over and over again was exhausting.
Now that I think about it, listening to this instead of reading it might actually have contributed to my getting tired of the story midway through.
*But apparently it wasn't a missed opportunity to get nominated for an award (or two).
Best Novel
• [b:Piranesi|50202953|Piranesi|Susanna Clarke|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1609095173l/50202953._SY75_.jpg|73586702] by Susanna Clarke
• [b:The City We Became|42074525|The City We Became (Great Cities #1)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585327950l/42074525._SY75_.jpg|54760675] by N.K. Jemisin
• [b:Mexican Gothic|53152636|Mexican Gothic|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1607462569l/53152636._SY75_.jpg|73647361] by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• [b:The Midnight Bargain|49151031|The Midnight Bargain|C.L. Polk|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587158919l/49151031._SY75_.jpg|74297088] by C.L. Polk
• [b:Black Sun|50892360|Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1)|Rebecca Roanhorse|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601212809l/50892360._SY75_.jpg|61321587] by Rebecca Roanhorse
• Network Effect by Martha Wells
Best Novella
• [b:Tower of Mud and Straw|55236234|Tower of Mud and Straw|Yaroslav Barsukov|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599295493l/55236234._SX50_.jpg|86121622] by Yaroslav Barsukov
• [b:Finna|44081573|Finna (LitenVerse #1)|Nino Cipri|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563304090l/44081573._SY75_.jpg|68548236] by Nino Cipri
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
• [b:Ife-Iyoku, Tale of Imadeyunuagbon|57370124|Ife-Iyoku, Tale of Imadeyunuagbon|Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|89792116] by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, Aurelia Leo)
• [b:The Four Profound Weaves|51600161|The Four Profound Weaves|R.B. Lemberg|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575992755l/51600161._SY75_.jpg|73397963] by R.B. Lemberg
• [b:Riot Baby|43719523|Riot Baby|Tochi Onyebuchi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556633991l/43719523._SY75_.jpg|68038597] by Tochi Onyebuchi
Best Novelette
• [b:Stepsister|56671617|Stepsister|Leah Cypess|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|88573911] by Leah Cypess (F&SF 5-6/20)
• [b:The Pill|53052208|Big Girl|Meg Elison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575492744l/53052208._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73371095] by Meg Elison (Big Girl, PM Press)
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 5-6/20)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com 6/17/20)
• Where You Linger by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Shadow Prisons by Caroline M. Yoachim (serialized in the Dystopia Triptych series as The Shadow Prison Experiment, Shadow Prisons of the Mind and The Shadow Prisoner’s Dilemma, Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press)
Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Advanced Word Problems in Portal Math by Aimee Picchi (Daily Science Fiction 1/3/20)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• The Eight-Thousanders by Jason Sanford (Asimov’s 9-10/20) (Asimov’s 9-10/20)
• My Country Is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)
The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
• [b:Raybearer|50158128|Raybearer (Raybearer, #1)|Jordan Ifueko|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567330635l/50158128._SX50_SY75_.jpg|70180082] by Jordan Ifueko
• [b:Elatsoe|49089632|Elatsoe|Darcie Little Badger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1581002562l/49089632._SX50_.jpg|71388826] by Darcie Little Badger
• [b:A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking|54369251|A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking|T. Kingfisher|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593743861l/54369251._SX50_.jpg|84842875] by T. Kingfisher
• [b:A Game of Fox and Squirrels|44280976|A Game of Fox & Squirrels|Jenn Reese|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567292584l/44280976._SY75_.jpg|68794492] by Jenn Reese
• [b:Star Daughter|52781202|Star Daughter|Shveta Thakrar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596350537l/52781202._SY75_.jpg|66825697] by Shveta Thakrar
Best Novel
• [b:Black Sun|50892360|Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1)|Rebecca Roanhorse|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601212809l/50892360._SY75_.jpg|61321587] by Rebecca Roanhorse
• [b:The City We Became|42074525|The City We Became (Great Cities #1)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585327950l/42074525._SY75_.jpg|54760675] by N.K. Jemisin
• [b:Harrow the Ninth|39325105|Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2)|Tamsyn Muir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1602323622l/39325105._SY75_.jpg|60943273] by Tamsyn Muir
• Network Effect by Martha Wells
• [b:Piranesi|50202953|Piranesi|Susanna Clarke|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1609095173l/50202953._SY75_.jpg|73586702] by Susanna Clarke
• [b:The Relentless Moon|52381417|The Relentless Moon (Lady Astronaut Universe, #3)|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574326388l/52381417._SY75_.jpg|65396089] by Mary Robinette Kowal
Best Novella
• [b:Come Tumbling Down|44804083|Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children, #5)|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556543251l/44804083._SY75_.jpg|60132774] by Seanan McGuire
• [b:The Empress of Salt and Fortune|51190882|The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle, #1)|Nghi Vo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565188992l/51190882._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71836130] by Nghi Vo
• [b:Finna|44081573|Finna (LitenVerse #1)|Nino Cipri|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563304090l/44081573._SY75_.jpg|68548236] by Nino Cipri
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
• [b:Riot Baby|43719523|Riot Baby|Tochi Onyebuchi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556633991l/43719523._SY75_.jpg|68038597] by Tochi Onyebuchi
• [b:Upright Women Wanted|45320365|Upright Women Wanted|Sarah Gailey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556718522l/45320365._SY75_.jpg|62411007] by Sarah Gailey
Best Novelette
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt ([b:Uncanny Magazine Issue 34: May/June 2020|53340305|Uncanny Magazine Issue 34 May/June 2020|Lynne M. Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588778181l/53340305._SY75_.jpg|81991633])
• [b:I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter|56389293|Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160 (January 2020)|Neil Clarke|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|87868218] by Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
• The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard ([b:Uncanny Magazine Issue 35: July/August 2020|54425955|Uncanny Magazine Issue 35 July/August 2020|Lynne M. Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594094718l/54425955._SY75_.jpg|84933097])
• Monster by Naomi Kritzer ([b:Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160|51267546|Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160 (January 2020)|Neil Clarke|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1581723430l/51267546._SY75_.jpg|87868218])
• The Pill by Meg Elison (from [b:Big Girl|53052208|Big Girl|Meg Elison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575492744l/53052208._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73371095])
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com)
Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson ([b:Uncanny Magazine Issue 32: January/February 2020|50493730|Uncanny Magazine Issue 32 January/February 2020|Lynne M. Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579080364l/50493730._SY75_.jpg|75468797])
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer (Tor. com)
• The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020)
• Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)
Best Series
• The Daevabad Trilogy by [a:S.A. Chakraborty|16002992|S.A. Chakraborty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1495447627p2/16002992.jpg]
• The Interdependency by [a:John Scalzi|4763|John Scalzi|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562613145p2/4763.jpg]
• The Lady Astronaut Universe by [a:Mary Robinette Kowal|2868678|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1602692419p2/2868678.jpg]
• The Murderbot Diaries by [a:Martha Wells|87305|Martha Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1397566224p2/87305.jpg]
• October Daye by [a:Seanan McGuire|2860219|Seanan McGuire|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1245623198p2/2860219.jpg]
• The Poppy War by [a:R.F. Kuang|16820001|R.F. Kuang|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1563395354p2/16820001.jpg]
Best Graphic Story or Comic
• [b:Die, Vol. 2: Split the Party|49426262|Die, Vol. 2 Split the Party|Kieron Gillen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575345987l/49426262._SX50_SY75_.jpg|72153103], written by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles
• [b:Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over|49984842|Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1 Dog Days Are Over|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580942524l/49984842._SY75_.jpg|72585311], written by Seanan McGuire, art by Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosi Kämpe
• Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 2: Edge of Everything, written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Christian Ward
• [b:Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild|52637764|Monstress, Vol. 5 Warchild|Marjorie M. Liu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600742631l/52637764._SY75_.jpg|78402003], written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda
• Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead, written by Kieron Gillen, iIllustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire
• Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings
A Being Together Amongst Strangers by Arkady Martine
(science-fiction / read February 26, 2021)
That’s a great one.
In a 22nd century New York City a woman is on her commute. While she’s on the subway she thinks about the miners that lost their lives in the 1903 Fort George Subway Tunnel Disaster. How they had been sacrificed for the city. Taken by the city.
Already it was the city, and already it was a breathing creature, even if its bloodstream was still being dynamited out of the rock. Breathing creatures are hungry ones, and the city took the miners twice: once with joy, into its pubs and brothels and theaters, into its rooming-houses in Spuyten Duyvil—and once with blood.
That’s when a fight is about to break out on the train. A couple of teenagers verbally attack a woman who is apparently a climate refugee, of which New York has taken on a lot, as many cities are drowning.
Everyone is minding their own business, but the first-person narrator is working in conflict resolution and decides to step in, even though outside of work she is not allowed to use the tech that had been installed in her head for that exact purpose. Her job is to become “a vessel for hurt”, to understand the anger of people and where it is coming from. And then take it and translate it into the respective language that both parties can understand.
There’s a lot going on in this story. I like the integration of the real-life tragedy of the miners that Martine has done here. Her story is also about what it means to be a New Yorker and what it is that makes a city and the city’s people in general, and in which way those belong together. But mainly it is a story about empathy. I shelved it as sci-fi, but it isn’t really about the tech, or even the environmental problems in this imagined future. It’s more about understanding the different ways that people use to communicate and how hate often springs from hurt.
4.5 stars
Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/a-being-together-amongst-strangers/
I listened to it as part of the Uncanny Magazine Podcast #34A. The story starts at 8:00 and is roughly 19 minutes long. It was narrated by Joy Piedmont.
I recommend to also listen to the interview with the author, which follows after this story and a short poem. I had not heard Martine speak before. But I think I quite like her.
Burn or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt
(fantasy / read March 04, 2021 to March 05, 2021)
Sam loses his job as an accountant, because he has a tendency to spontaneously combust. No, seriously. So, what does Sam do? He auditions for a role on a team of Supers. However, setting himself on fire isn't the most useful super power. Therefore they hire him as their new accountant.
This started out exactly as it sounds — very amusing. However it loses a bit of steam midway through and actually becomes rather downtrodden.
Ultimately this is another story about being different and trying to fit in, and the superhero thing is just mirroring real-life otherness. Look, I get the message and it's nice and all. But to me it felt more like a missed opportunity to write something weird and funny instead of something that I read every two weeks or so.*
3 stars
Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/burn-or-the-episodic-life-of-sam-wells-as-a-super/
I listened to the Uncanny Magazine Podcast, episode #34B. The story starts at 7:31 and is roughly 64 minutes long. It was narrated by Erika Ensign. And this time I can't recommend the audio version. First of all, it's not one of Ensign's best. But more importantly, the text gets a little annoying at some point. There's one expression that gets repeated throughout the story. Watch Sam burn. Watch Sam not burn. Watch Sam run. Watch Sam do this and that. You get the idea. Listening to her saying this over and over again was exhausting.
Now that I think about it, listening to this instead of reading it might actually have contributed to my getting tired of the story midway through.
*But apparently it wasn't a missed opportunity to get nominated for an award (or two).
_________________
2020 Nebula Award Finalists
Best Novel
• [b:Piranesi|50202953|Piranesi|Susanna Clarke|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1609095173l/50202953._SY75_.jpg|73586702] by Susanna Clarke
• [b:The City We Became|42074525|The City We Became (Great Cities #1)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585327950l/42074525._SY75_.jpg|54760675] by N.K. Jemisin
• [b:Mexican Gothic|53152636|Mexican Gothic|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1607462569l/53152636._SY75_.jpg|73647361] by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• [b:The Midnight Bargain|49151031|The Midnight Bargain|C.L. Polk|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587158919l/49151031._SY75_.jpg|74297088] by C.L. Polk
• [b:Black Sun|50892360|Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1)|Rebecca Roanhorse|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601212809l/50892360._SY75_.jpg|61321587] by Rebecca Roanhorse
• Network Effect by Martha Wells
Best Novella
• [b:Tower of Mud and Straw|55236234|Tower of Mud and Straw|Yaroslav Barsukov|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599295493l/55236234._SX50_.jpg|86121622] by Yaroslav Barsukov
• [b:Finna|44081573|Finna (LitenVerse #1)|Nino Cipri|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563304090l/44081573._SY75_.jpg|68548236] by Nino Cipri
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
• [b:Ife-Iyoku, Tale of Imadeyunuagbon|57370124|Ife-Iyoku, Tale of Imadeyunuagbon|Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|89792116] by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, Aurelia Leo)
• [b:The Four Profound Weaves|51600161|The Four Profound Weaves|R.B. Lemberg|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575992755l/51600161._SY75_.jpg|73397963] by R.B. Lemberg
• [b:Riot Baby|43719523|Riot Baby|Tochi Onyebuchi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556633991l/43719523._SY75_.jpg|68038597] by Tochi Onyebuchi
Best Novelette
• [b:Stepsister|56671617|Stepsister|Leah Cypess|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|88573911] by Leah Cypess (F&SF 5-6/20)
• [b:The Pill|53052208|Big Girl|Meg Elison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575492744l/53052208._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73371095] by Meg Elison (Big Girl, PM Press)
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 5-6/20)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com 6/17/20)
• Where You Linger by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Shadow Prisons by Caroline M. Yoachim (serialized in the Dystopia Triptych series as The Shadow Prison Experiment, Shadow Prisons of the Mind and The Shadow Prisoner’s Dilemma, Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press)
Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Advanced Word Problems in Portal Math by Aimee Picchi (Daily Science Fiction 1/3/20)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• The Eight-Thousanders by Jason Sanford (Asimov’s 9-10/20) (Asimov’s 9-10/20)
• My Country Is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)
The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
• [b:Raybearer|50158128|Raybearer (Raybearer, #1)|Jordan Ifueko|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567330635l/50158128._SX50_SY75_.jpg|70180082] by Jordan Ifueko
• [b:Elatsoe|49089632|Elatsoe|Darcie Little Badger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1581002562l/49089632._SX50_.jpg|71388826] by Darcie Little Badger
• [b:A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking|54369251|A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking|T. Kingfisher|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593743861l/54369251._SX50_.jpg|84842875] by T. Kingfisher
• [b:A Game of Fox and Squirrels|44280976|A Game of Fox & Squirrels|Jenn Reese|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567292584l/44280976._SY75_.jpg|68794492] by Jenn Reese
• [b:Star Daughter|52781202|Star Daughter|Shveta Thakrar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596350537l/52781202._SY75_.jpg|66825697] by Shveta Thakrar
________________
2021 Hugo Award Finalists
Best Novel
• [b:Black Sun|50892360|Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1)|Rebecca Roanhorse|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601212809l/50892360._SY75_.jpg|61321587] by Rebecca Roanhorse
• [b:The City We Became|42074525|The City We Became (Great Cities #1)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585327950l/42074525._SY75_.jpg|54760675] by N.K. Jemisin
• [b:Harrow the Ninth|39325105|Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2)|Tamsyn Muir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1602323622l/39325105._SY75_.jpg|60943273] by Tamsyn Muir
• Network Effect by Martha Wells
• [b:Piranesi|50202953|Piranesi|Susanna Clarke|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1609095173l/50202953._SY75_.jpg|73586702] by Susanna Clarke
• [b:The Relentless Moon|52381417|The Relentless Moon (Lady Astronaut Universe, #3)|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574326388l/52381417._SY75_.jpg|65396089] by Mary Robinette Kowal
Best Novella
• [b:Come Tumbling Down|44804083|Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children, #5)|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556543251l/44804083._SY75_.jpg|60132774] by Seanan McGuire
• [b:The Empress of Salt and Fortune|51190882|The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle, #1)|Nghi Vo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565188992l/51190882._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71836130] by Nghi Vo
• [b:Finna|44081573|Finna (LitenVerse #1)|Nino Cipri|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563304090l/44081573._SY75_.jpg|68548236] by Nino Cipri
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
• [b:Riot Baby|43719523|Riot Baby|Tochi Onyebuchi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556633991l/43719523._SY75_.jpg|68038597] by Tochi Onyebuchi
• [b:Upright Women Wanted|45320365|Upright Women Wanted|Sarah Gailey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556718522l/45320365._SY75_.jpg|62411007] by Sarah Gailey
Best Novelette
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt ([b:Uncanny Magazine Issue 34: May/June 2020|53340305|Uncanny Magazine Issue 34 May/June 2020|Lynne M. Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588778181l/53340305._SY75_.jpg|81991633])
• [b:I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter|56389293|Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160 (January 2020)|Neil Clarke|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|87868218] by Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
• The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard ([b:Uncanny Magazine Issue 35: July/August 2020|54425955|Uncanny Magazine Issue 35 July/August 2020|Lynne M. Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594094718l/54425955._SY75_.jpg|84933097])
• Monster by Naomi Kritzer ([b:Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160|51267546|Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160 (January 2020)|Neil Clarke|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1581723430l/51267546._SY75_.jpg|87868218])
• The Pill by Meg Elison (from [b:Big Girl|53052208|Big Girl|Meg Elison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575492744l/53052208._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73371095])
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com)
Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson ([b:Uncanny Magazine Issue 32: January/February 2020|50493730|Uncanny Magazine Issue 32 January/February 2020|Lynne M. Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579080364l/50493730._SY75_.jpg|75468797])
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer (Tor. com)
• The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020)
• Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)
Best Series
• The Daevabad Trilogy by [a:S.A. Chakraborty|16002992|S.A. Chakraborty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1495447627p2/16002992.jpg]
• The Interdependency by [a:John Scalzi|4763|John Scalzi|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562613145p2/4763.jpg]
• The Lady Astronaut Universe by [a:Mary Robinette Kowal|2868678|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1602692419p2/2868678.jpg]
• The Murderbot Diaries by [a:Martha Wells|87305|Martha Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1397566224p2/87305.jpg]
• October Daye by [a:Seanan McGuire|2860219|Seanan McGuire|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1245623198p2/2860219.jpg]
• The Poppy War by [a:R.F. Kuang|16820001|R.F. Kuang|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1563395354p2/16820001.jpg]
Best Graphic Story or Comic
• [b:Die, Vol. 2: Split the Party|49426262|Die, Vol. 2 Split the Party|Kieron Gillen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575345987l/49426262._SX50_SY75_.jpg|72153103], written by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles
• [b:Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over|49984842|Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1 Dog Days Are Over|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580942524l/49984842._SY75_.jpg|72585311], written by Seanan McGuire, art by Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosi Kämpe
• Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 2: Edge of Everything, written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Christian Ward
• [b:Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild|52637764|Monstress, Vol. 5 Warchild|Marjorie M. Liu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600742631l/52637764._SY75_.jpg|78402003], written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda
• Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead, written by Kieron Gillen, iIllustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire
• Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings
faesissa's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
My standout for this magazine issue was 'Burn, or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super' by A. T. Greenblatt.
bailym's review
Placeholder for "Burn or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super." 2 stars.
"Dresses Like White Elephants," by Meg Elison. 4 stars.
"Dresses Like White Elephants," by Meg Elison. 4 stars.
8bitlapras's review
4.0
Fiction
A Being Together Amongst Strangers by Arkady Martine: 4/5
Through the Veil by Jennifer Marie Brissett: 2/5
High in the Clean Blue Air by Emma Törzs: 4/5
Burn, or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A. T. Greenblatt: 4.5/5
Dresses Like White Elephants by Meg Elison: 4/5
We Chased the Sirens by Suzanne Walker: 3/5
Where the Sky Is Silver and the Earth Is Brass by Sonya Taaffe: 3/5
Non-fiction
It Is Not That The Spoon Must Bend or: Cypher's Steak and Our Online Lives by Fran Wilde: 4.5/5
Cons, Crud, and Coronavirus by Kelly Lagor: 4/5
Prayer Room Science Fiction by Khairani Barokka: 4/5
Censorship and Genre Fiction - Let's Broaden our Broader Reality by Ada Palmer: 4.5/5
Poetry
Disclaimer: I refuse to rate poetry because I feel like I'm not qualified to and on a whole I don't understand nor enjoy most of it, but the poetry in this issue by Ali Trotta, Valerie Valdes, T.K. Lê, and Roshani Chokshi were all enjoyable to me.
Average rating: 3.77/5, rounded to 3.75/5
A Being Together Amongst Strangers by Arkady Martine: 4/5
Through the Veil by Jennifer Marie Brissett: 2/5
High in the Clean Blue Air by Emma Törzs: 4/5
Burn, or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A. T. Greenblatt: 4.5/5
Dresses Like White Elephants by Meg Elison: 4/5
We Chased the Sirens by Suzanne Walker: 3/5
Where the Sky Is Silver and the Earth Is Brass by Sonya Taaffe: 3/5
Non-fiction
It Is Not That The Spoon Must Bend or: Cypher's Steak and Our Online Lives by Fran Wilde: 4.5/5
Cons, Crud, and Coronavirus by Kelly Lagor: 4/5
Prayer Room Science Fiction by Khairani Barokka: 4/5
Censorship and Genre Fiction - Let's Broaden our Broader Reality by Ada Palmer: 4.5/5
Poetry
Disclaimer: I refuse to rate poetry because I feel like I'm not qualified to and on a whole I don't understand nor enjoy most of it, but the poetry in this issue by Ali Trotta, Valerie Valdes, T.K. Lê, and Roshani Chokshi were all enjoyable to me.
Average rating: 3.77/5, rounded to 3.75/5
crunden's review
5.0
Girl, you best stop setting yourself on fire,
you may be the phoenix,
but these bones aren’t kindling
to keep others warm—
Started with Ali Trotta's 'Athena Holds Up a Mirror to Strength'. Sooo good; here. Looking forward to the rest.
My name is too hard
for you to pronounce
so I changed it.
My hair is too wild so I
tamed it.
Valerie Valdes's 'Assimilation' was fantastic. Read it here.
you may be the phoenix,
but these bones aren’t kindling
to keep others warm—
Started with Ali Trotta's 'Athena Holds Up a Mirror to Strength'. Sooo good; here. Looking forward to the rest.
My name is too hard
for you to pronounce
so I changed it.
My hair is too wild so I
tamed it.
Valerie Valdes's 'Assimilation' was fantastic. Read it here.