Proof By Induction, by Jose Pablo Iriarte

So reality is catching up to this story in a hurry. Digital avatars of your loved ones that you can interact with after they die? Check. In this story the speculation is that people don't use these for long, but as they say here some would. Basically the Coda for this mathematician (father of the protagonist) is a large language model that focuses on math, mostly because Dad couldn't be bothered with feelings or human relations when he was alive. Really all the model does in the story is throw out a few hints--maybe GPT-3 trained with his data could do that now? Though it does seem like they work some proofs together, and that's probably more than a model can do (though not a math program perhaps). Spooky real.

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Mr. Death, by Alix Harrow

A very sweet little story about an apprentice Reaper, someone who guides the dead to the afterlife. Many thought it should have won the Hugo and Nebula awards over Sarah Pinsker's "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather", but I'm respecting the judges' choice here--the ending is a bit on the sweet side and shades toward judgments on who should and shouldn't die that have problematic potential. I really liked it though.

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Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather, by Sarah Pinsker

Gotta say I absolutely love Sarah Pinsker, and this is one darned clever story. Telling it as a Reddit thread is great, though that kind of thing is becoming more common now. She very accurately simulates people geeking out about their very specific knowledge space, which is a lot of fun, and also she's good at name dropping. Really glad I read this one, and that it has its own space here on Goodreads.

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A Blessing of Unicorns, by Elizabeth Bear

I've read both of the Sub-Inspector Fallon stories now and enjoy the near-future post-apocalypse-but-we-survived setting of the story. In many ways it seems this version of the future is making the same mistakes as the present version, but that in some ways speaks to the critiques that the series can't really sufficiently let go of the present. It would almost work better as a near-future pre-apocalypse setting where we've managed to put off the (maybe) inevitable a bit longer.

It's interesting to be conscious of how we've changed when looking at representation in literature. Elizabeth Bear is not Indian, and in some ways the protagonist is not that convincing an Indian character. You're very conscious that it's a Western white woman telling a story set in India. Contrast that with, say, S. P. Divya's writing, which has a very Indian flavor and brings a different set of concerns.

It's good work and I'm glad to have read it.

A Blessing of Unicorns

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Skinder's Veil, by Kelly Link

Skinder's Veil is part of the collection "When Things Get Dark", a volume in honor of Shirley Jackson.  It's the last story in the book, so it's the last impression you have of the volume.  I'm left a bit confused.  Content is benign, no warnings of any sort really.  Even though it's a classic horror setup.  Our protagonist is an ordinary sociology ABD making somewhat slow progress on his dissertation.  He gets a housesitting gig in an isolated location with strange rules--let anyone in who asks, except the owner, Skinder.  You figure mayhem is going to ensue.  Instead we get a series of encounters with humans telling stories, and non-humans getting treated like houseguests.  Intriguing because you keep waiting for the other shoe (or the axe) to drop and it never really does.  Instead it's kind of an allegory.  I guess I liked it?  

In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns, by Elizabeth Bear

Picked this up because I want to read A Blessing of Unicorns, the second in this story series. And I have to say that it is entertaining and interesting to read, like all Elizabeth Bear's work. I agree with other reviewers that there's a lot going on here, and in creating the mystery it gets a bit overwhelming. But a whole lot of good speculative elements. The sentient cats were cute, though I don't know how much demand there would be for an intelligent, socially demanding cat (accurately called a parrot-cat--parrots are really demanding). I enjoyed it and almost can give it a 4, but it's just a little all over the place. Looking forward to the next one.

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Colors of the Immortal Palette, by Caroline Yoachim

Colors of the Immortal Palette is a story that you can tell was written by a veteran writer.  As literature it's excellent, and pretty fine as a story as well.  The protagonist is a model for famous painters, but she'd like to break into painting and be taken seriously as an artist.  The story indicates that a lot of models would like that.  But the art world does not take women seriously, even less so models who pose nude.  An extra dollop of intersectional prejudice is layered on as our protagonist has Japanese ancestry and is named Mariko.  Exotic but not serious, in Paris or Chicago.

The speculative element here is a "vampire" story.  Here vampires don't want to be called vampires, and they do not bite or drink blood--they take a slice of life from their victims/proteges by more direct and spiritual means.  This world is interesting in that immortals are "out"--they do not hide their nature, and at least from the perspective of the story it isn't disruptive.  Mariko asks her immortal painter to "turn" her, which he does, giving her time to perfect her art but also to weary of life as he has.  Very beautiful.

O2 Arena, by Donald Ekpeki Oghenechovwe

O2 Arena won the Nebula this year.  Possibly as encouragement because the story itself reads like a new author, one that will find his way but is early in his career.  Which Oghenechovwe is.  The setting is familiar--people fighting for their right to breathe--but brings Nigerian cultural perspective to it.  The story is often kind of on the nose with social justice, but then we keep that African perspective in mind--these things need saying.  What is unique and compelling here is how this is tied in with climate failure, and the overriding consciousness of the characters--they know that a world where you need supplemental oxygen to survive is one that doesn't have long anyway.  The law school backdrop of the story is cramming a 3 year course of study into 8 months because they simply don't have time.  I look forward to reading more from this author.

Bots of the Lost Ark, by Suzanne Palmer

The second in this series and both won Hugos. The story is absolutely fun to read. The spaceship carrying what might be the last of humanity has suffered heavy damage from aliens trying to wipe them out, and now faces internal issues as well--bots that have been directed to take on the tasks and personas of their human crew in stasis. They get a little too into their roles. Palmer gives the characters personality and a good problem space to work in. Go read it.

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Small Monsters, by E. Lily Yu

Small Monsters is really on-the-nose, but also beautifully written so it can push you to read it when you might not otherwise. As others have said it is quite graphic, but does not dwell on the grossness. Rather it dwells on the injustice, which is the thing to do. Monster world can feel a bit removed from human world, but it shouldn't--this is the way some experience it. Deserves its nomination for the Locus and to be read.

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The Red Mother, by Elizabeth Bear

The Red Mother is a very fun character study.  Our protagonist, Auga Augasson, is a rogue--a sorcerer, a Viking (used as a verb here) and generally a guy out for a good time.  He's on a mission for kin duty--to find his brother and tell him he's been cleared of a manslaughter charge.  He ends up having to contest with a dragon to bring his brother back from death (caused by that dragon) and save a village.  Which might not really be worth saving.  

Auga and the dragon have some good if a little predictable dialog, though the situation was pretty original to me.  This is a fine piece of writing that, given what else was nominated, perhaps should have been more of a contender.

Unseelie Brothers, Ltd., by Fran Wilde

A lot of folks found Unseelie Brothers Ltd. a bit predictable, and they are right. The tale unfolds from the title and the initial setting. I did find the fashion descriptions fun, and it was gripping to read even if you knew what was coming. Maybe a twist in that it has a happier ending than many stories of the Fae. I liked it and am glad I got to read it. It got nominated for a lot of awards--solid execution counts for a lot.

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Mulberry and Owl, by Aliette de Bodard

I read Mulberry and Owl because it's nominated for a Locus award in 2022.  This story is set in the Xuya universe, with mindships as characters. The title is a reference to the location of the story and one of the characters, a ship named The Owl with the Moon’s Tongue.  It's an enforcement ship, holding up a horrible dictatorship.  The protagonist has rebelled against that dictatorship along with her friend Kim Lan, but Kim is now giving in and seeking amnesty.  The protagonist is buying that amnesty by increasing the capabilities of that enforcement ship.  This tortures her in ways one would expect, and is well told.

Sort of reminds me of trying to rebel in modern China.  But as we have seen, Chinese citizens succeed in this sometimes.  Ok for fans of De Bodard.

L’Esprit De L’Escalier, by Catherynne M. Valente

It’s hard for me to rate overt retellings of classics really high, but the tradition is a venerable one and L'Esprit De L'Escalier is very good. Since it references Virgil’s telling you might want to read that or a summary first. The setting is very clever, making the minor tweak that Orpheus never looks back at Eurydice and actually gets her out of Hades, sort of. She’s not in good shape. The modernizing of the Pantheon (the Greek gods) is fun too. What a year for Valente.

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That Story Isn’t the Story, by John Wiswell

Short stories by default have to be more direct about their topic, and That Story Isn't the Story is. It’s a kind of magical realism story where the protagonist is trying to get out of an abusive living arrangement and does so with the help of a friend. The author does a good job of showing how difficult that can be—the friend is indeed a good one but the living arrangements are late stage capitalism precarious. What I liked here was the way the title of this story is used.  The characters use it to keep focus on the lesson being conveyed and not go down pity rabbit holes. Read it for that. The rest is ok and potentially moving to someone in that situation.

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The Giants of the Violet Sea, by Eugenia Triantafyllou

Not sure what to make of The Giants of the Violet Sea. The setting is a colony on an inhospitable world where most life is toxic to the colonists. One of these toxic life forms is highly revered--the Venedolphin. More like a whale, and the colonists understand it to have a complex social structure. But they are being poached. The protagonist is a girl child of a Venedolphin tamer and a healer. The society has structured gender roles so she could not be a tamer, but didn't want to be a healer like her mother so she left for a time. She comes back to solve the mystery of her brother's death.

The story is mostly confusing and kind of hard to follow. There's a lot of side issues, like a more-favored sister colony that seems to have ruined its environment, that are introduced but don't really go anywhere. In the end it all resolves but it's in a kind of awkward space where the author needed a lot more space to develop it all, or a lot less plot. It's also a bit awkward to read for a major award nominated story.

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The Necessity of Stars, by E. Catherine Tobler

This is a neat little novella blending themes of climate change, social disorder and mental health breakdown. Protagonist Breone Hemmerli is a diplomat, a very capable one who is suffering from dementia. She is called on to engage in diplomacy with what might be aliens (or might be created beings).

The story references the themes but it's mostly Breone's reflections on her memory and what is happening to it. One of the other reviewers said that it is more fun to discuss than to read, and I have to concur. Many of her reflections become repetitive, and not in that poetic way where you know it is on purpose. But there are some great lines in it.

Something that I think others have missed--Breone is aware of her breakdown and a lot of the imagery she uses about herself is that of an elderly person. But at the beginning of the book she states her age as sixty-three--not old enough to be retired, for many of us, and for a diplomat that's a prime age for using one's experience. Breone seems aware of this and has the idea that she should be capable, IS capable. Breone is suffering from early-onset dementia, a particularly debilitating condition, though often not as drawn out as dementia that occurs later.

Interesting as a literary piece. Not compelling as a read. But I'm glad I read it.

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Flowers for the Sea, by Zin Rocklyn

Maybe better than a 2 but not a 3. The book jacket description--Rosemary's Baby by way of Octavia Butler--is pretty accurate. Kind of dead on really. There's a lot of really luscious description of body horror, quite organic and messy. Pregnant Iraxi is definitely a force on this doomed ark (climate change refugees, probably?) in all sorts of ways. As literature it works pretty well. But it feels like it is just getting started, and yet had nowhere to go. So in the end just OK for me. Some uniqueness as a Black horror writer, it comes through in the writing, not quite enough for me to really like it.

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Elder Race, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

I haven't read much Adrian Tchaikovsky (just this year, Shards of Earth), though I know he's written a lot. I get the feeling from the reviews that his recent work is more character driven than in the past, when he was more into plot twists. I would say that is the case with this book. The characters of Lynesse Fourth Daughter and Nyr Allem Tillich (Nygoroth Elder to Lynesse) are the heart of the story, and they make it a great read. Lynesse is from a culture of woman warriors on a colony founded from Earth but abandoned in a technological retreat. Nyr is there to study that culture as Earth has recovered. But during his time there Earth has retreated again. His struggles with his mission vs. his conviction that it is meaningless can seem forced, but that is explained by his bigger struggle with depression. No surprising twists or turns, but a very heartening tale of people being their best selves. Great action and adventure, pretty horrifying at times but overall fun.

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