Louise's Ghost, by Kelly Link

Louise's Ghost (part of Link's Stranger Things Happen collection) won the Nebula for best novelette in 2001, and I think I understand why.  It's a really fine piece of writing for writers.  The protagonist and her best friend are both named Louise, and there is much weaving of their stories, with a bit of intentional confusion.  The magical elements are matter-of-factly handled yet central to the story--the ghost(s) are not mere adjuncts to character development, they are central to it.  I feel like I've learned something about writing by reading this piece.  The only holdback is that I normally don't want to work that hard to understand a speculative piece, and I think this story sort of needs to be studied.  I would highly recommend it if you like more introspective, writerly pieces.  As more of an adventure-science guy I can manage 3 stars for it.

Shoe and Marriage, by Kelly Link

Shoe and Marriage is part of Kelly Link's Stranger Things Happen collection, and was nominated for a World Fantasy Award in 2001.  In order to convey a large message, a short story has to be poetic, or cryptic, or both.  I would say that Shoe and Marriage is on the cryptic side.  The shoe is a metaphor for all things we care deeply about, mostly children.  Not to make you think it is sweet--it's mostly pretty dark.  I think her fans would find it worth reading, I myself will have to consider whether I did or not.  2 stars, in the end.

Redchapel, by Mike Resnick

Redchapel is a bit of historical speculative fiction featuring Theodore Rooseveldt as a character.  It got a Hugo nomination in 2001.  Resnick portrays Rooseveldt as a pretty overbearing character, but I rather think this is accurate.  I think he made this one available to present his own theory on who Jack the Ripper was.  Since it is a mystery story I won't give it away, but I do find the speculation pretty interesting.  All told with Resnick's superb professional touch. 

This story also features Resnick's strong attachment to the troubled places of the world.  London's Whitechapel slum is every bit as awful as the heart of Africa, and Resnick evokes a similar sense of hope and resignation in the setting.  3 stars from me.

Radiant Green Star, by Lucius Shepard

I have spent a couple of good days reading Radiant Green Star, which got both a Hugo and Nebula nomination in 2001.  It's a great pleasure to read a story so well-constructed, with just enough twist in it to make it interesting and not confusing.  The story is set as a struggle among wealthy and powerful people, but in the modest circumstance of a traveling circus, and Shepard spends a lot of time in the inner life of our protagonist, a half-American Vietnamese boy named Phillip.

I feel a need to be mildly critical as this seems to me to be a good story that could have been really good.  It's just a bit long for what it accomplishes--might have been filled out further for a novel, or cut to a novelette.  His most striking side character is The Major, the last American POW, who has had horrible genetic experiments carried out on him that have granted long life and weird disfigurement.  And while he is carefully woven into the story and has important moments, in the end I couldn't figure out his true place.  The speculative part is a backdrop to the emotions and circumstances of the protagonist, which can make for a good tale and in this case does.  I give it 3 stars, and you would not be sorry if you spent some time reading it too.

The Elephants of Neptune, by Mike Resnick

I like most all of what Mike Resnick writes, since he does it so thoroughly professionally.  The Elephants on Neptune is no exception.  It is well researched and executed, and I learned something.  But while I liked it enough to give it 3 stars, I concede to be somewhat confused as to his point.  Elephants are nicer than people?  Surely not so prosaic.  As he says, Neptune is a confusing place.

Fortitude, by Andy Duncan

The premise of Fortitude is pretty simple--George Patton gets a reboot on his life, and we see him try to change his future.  But the story is of course much more, and is told with a great deal of depth so it's no wonder it was a Nebula nominee in 2000.  The style in which it is told reminds me very much of Connie Willis' time travel to WWII stories and novels (All Clear, for example), except that this one is focused very much on fighting and Willis is mostly about the backstory.  I have a nagging feeling I've read it before, but can find no evidence of it.  So I hung in with it, and can say I enjoyed it enough for 3 stars.

The Dead Boy at Your Window, by Bruce Holland Rogers

The Dead Boy at Your Window is, according to its author, an exercise in writing a fairy tale.  That exercise turned out pretty well, garnering a Nebula nomination for best short story in 1999.  It's a very brief tale, and like most fairy tales it does not summarize well without paraphrasing its point.  And you don't want to do that with a fairy tale, because a good one does that much better in the original words.  The story is about life, and death, and the connections between--which covers a pretty large chunk of all speculative fiction anyway.  What I can say is I liked reading it, and as an exercise it worked.  I give it 3 stars, have fun.