Premise: The title character hails from a fantasy culture in which only the women are permitted to practice magic. While out on a reconnaissance mission for her queen and lover, she is killed, and her soul is eternally bound to the living world. Over the centuries, she is reawakened by a variety of individuals, and through these summonings, she witnesses the dramatic ebb and flow of her world's history.
Steph's Comments: Imagine what would happen if we could call forth the spirit of an ancient and introduce him to our modern culture and you'll get a sense of the structure of this story. The positive: Swirsky doesn't shrink from portraying her main character's virulent prejudice. At one point, the Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen's Window refuses to assist in combatting a deadly plague because her involvement would involve teaching magic to men, and a panel of academics is forced to cast an "Obligation" in order to get the answer they need. The appropriate analogy: giving truth serum to the spirit of a Nazi doctor to force him to render aid to a Jew. As you might expect, the ethical dilemmas such a scene brings forth are certainly fascinating. The negative: the Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen's Window has too long a name! Actually, I'm just kidding. The real negative is this: Swirsky's main character is a bigot and extremely vengeful to boot, and that makes it hard for me personally to connect with her. In sum? This is a strong story, but not quite what I'm looking for.
Steph's Rating: 8.0
*****
The Lifecycle of Software Objects, Ted Chiang (Subterranean)
Premise: Remember when those hand-held digital pets were all the rage? Well, the "digients" featured in this novella are basically extremely sophisticated, sapient versions of those old toys -- and over the course of the story, the main human characters grow very attached to them and start to treat them like children.
Steph's Comments: Eh. I'm not sure I see a real point to this story. Occasionally, Chiang will bring up some questions regarding the legal and moral status of his characters' digients, but such questions have been tackled in a more interesting fashion elsewhere. I also feel that Chiang, in exhaustively detailing the rapid rise and fall of tech companies in a competitive market, loses sight of the human element. The digients are appealing, but his human characters definitely leave something to be desired.
Steph's Rating: 6.0
*****
“The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerophon”, Elizabeth Hand (Stories: All New Tales, William Morrow)
Premise: Years ago, a museum curator at the Smithsonian advanced a bizarre theory: that aliens assisted us in our quest to fly by establishing special spots all over the planet at which flight could be accomplished. Now, this curator is dying of breat cancer, so a former lover sets out to recreate an old, pre-Wright Brothers flight in the hopes of offering her vindication.
Steph's Comments: This story is very much the opposite of Ted Chiang's: the human element is very well rendered while the sci-fi aspect is virtually ignored. The characters are believable people who, though flawed, are basically likable; in particular, Leonard's desire to make up for his past mistakes with Maggie is quite poignant. Still, it would've been nice if Hand had spent more time developing the mystical/alien dimension of her story. I like "The Maiden Flight...", but it's a little too mundane for the Hugos.
Steph's Rating: 8.0
*****
“The Sultan of the Clouds”, Geoffrey A. Landis (Asimov’s, September 2010)
Premise: Dr. Leah Hamakawa receives an invitation from the satrap of Venus, and the point-of-view character (Tinkerman), who is somewhat smitten with the scientist, decides to accompany her on her journey. Throughout the story, Tinkerman is introduced to the architecture and customs of the Venusian sky cities -- and in the process, he foils the young satrap's plot to take control of the entire planet.
Steph's Comments: Landis' solution to the problem of Venusian colonization -- i.e., building in the upper atmosphere where the pressure is not as great -- is certainly novel. Unfortunately, the storyline feels very thin -- like Landis came up with the floating cities idea and then tried to compose a story to justify it. If you're a geeky engineer, you'll probably like this novella. Otherwise? Once again, I'm going to have to say, "Eh."
Steph's Rating: 6.0
*****
“Troika”, Alastair Reynolds (Godlike Machines, Science Fiction Book Club)
Premise: Three Russian cosmonauts are sent out to explore a mysterious multi-layered vessel that entered the solar system twenty-four years earlier. When two of the three cosmonauts finally penetrate the inner layer, they discover that the vessel in question is a time machine -- and that it contains an important message for the human race.
Steph's Comments: This novella, I think, finally strikes the balance I'm looking for. Number one, it sets up a good sci-fi-style mystery that is solved in a satisfying manner by the end of the story. Number two, Reynolds' tale is set in an interesting future in which the Russians have formed a second Soviet Union -- and Reynolds is unfailingly accurate when it comes to portraying the dreariness of life under a communist regime. Number three, there is a human element. The final revelation that the pilot at the center of the time machine sacrificed his sanity in order to warn the people of Earth that they were approaching a bottleneck - and that he did so despite the fact that it would do nothing to preserve the human race in his own timeline - is genuinely touching.
Steph's Rating: 9.0
*****
Steph's General Impressions of the Ballot:
Let's recap the average scores for each ballot reviewed so far:
- Short Stories: 5.75
- Novelettes: 7.36
- Novellas: 7.40
Steph's Personal Selection: "Troika".
No comments:
Post a Comment