Uncanny Magazine, Issue 25, November/December 2018

Uncanny Magazine #25

by Lynne M. Thomas (Editor), Michael Damian Thomas (Editor), Isabel Yap (Contributor)

The November/December 2018 issue of Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine.

Featuring new fiction by Isabel Yap, T. Kingfisher, Naomi Kritzer, Monica Valentinelli, and Cassandra Khaw. Reprinted fiction by Sofia Samatar, essays by Diana M. Pho, Steven H Silver, Sarah Goslee, and Nilah Magruder, poetry by Beth Cato, Hal Y. Zhang, Leah Bobet, and Sharon Hsu, and interviews with Isabel Yap and Monica Valentinelli by Caroline M. Yoachim, a cover by John Picacio, and an editorial by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Science Fiction, Ghosts, Humor, Science Fiction Fantasy

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 6, 2018

About the author

In my day job, I am the Head of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country. I used to manage pop culture special collections that include the papers of over 70 SF/F authors at Northern Illinois University. I also teach a Special Collections course as an adjunct in the iSchool at Illinois, and used to do so at SJSU.

I'm an eleven-time Hugo Award winner, the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Uncanny Magazine with my husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013), I co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas, and Chicks Dig Comics. I moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contribute to the Verity! Podcast. You can learn more about my shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.

Reviews

[carol. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for two 2019 Hugo nominations:

"The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society" by T. Kingfisher, 2018
Best Short Story nomination
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...

"But far beyond the merriment and the music and the trapped mortals, there was a campfire, and around it sat a half-dozen men, and a great bull selkie, and a horse the color of night.

Three and a half flowers, rounding up.

Thoughts Posted permanently at https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2020/...

***********************

"The Thing About Ghost Stories" by Naomi Kritzer
Best Novelette nomination
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...

"It feels like ghost stories should mean something, but it’s not at all clear what. I managed to get about a hundred pages out of the question, “What do these mean, anyway?” when I wrote my doctoral dissertation to get my PhD in Folklore, all without reaching an actual conclusion."

Again, not what I expected, but a very interesting discussion of stories, meaning, and of course, the author's own experience. Presumed fictional. Four easy ghost stars.

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Update #2: Review added for "How to Swallow the Moon," a Locus Award nominated short story.

Two 2019 Hugo award nominees and a Locus Award nominee in this issue of Uncanny magazine, free to read online! 4 stars for each of these stories, which are very different: a sex comedy type of fantasy (Kingfisher's), a poignant story about ghosts, love and loss (Kritzer's), and a queer love story set in a mythic Philippine culture (Yap's). Reviews first posted on Fantasy Literature:

"The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society" by T. Kingfisher: A half-dozen faerie men, a bull selkie and a black pooka in the shape of a horse (except when he wants more beer) morosely gather around a campfire to commiserate. Each of them has a history with one Rose MacGregor, a lusty human who has unexpectedly turned the tables on them. Human women are supposed to pine after them, right? But somehow Rose never got that message.

“The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society” is a short but very amusing sex comedy type of story (lots of innuendos in this one!). There’s a running joke about Rose’s lost sheep that adds to the humor, and as the men around the campfire share their stories, one can’t help but admire Rose’s strength of character while grinning at her disregard for the feelings of the guys … most of whom were planning to treat her worse than she treated them, so there’s that.

“Excuse me! I am a pooka! We drown people! None of this waiting around for them to die of a broken heart! We are efficient!”

“Yer a bunch of cads,” said the selkie. “At least we don’t go killin’ the ladies after.”

It’s a one-joke kind of tale, but a clever twist on the standard trope, and well-told (as always) by T. Kingfisher.

"The Thing About Ghost Stories" by Naomi Kritzer: Leah has been collecting ghost stories from people for years; mostly ordinary people, though with a few mediums in the mix (who Leah views with suspicion). These ghost stories were the basis of her doctoral dissertation for her PhD in folklore, and now she’s looking to write a book based on the stories she’s collected, analyzing their types, geographic variations, connections to popular culture, and so forth. Leah briefly retells some of the ghost stories she’s assembled as she narrates this tale, and they intermingle with Leah’s own story about the loss of her mother ― first to Alzheimer’s and then to death ― and the loss of an heirloom ring that Leah assumes was taken by one of her mother’s caregivers.

Mom had moved to Indiana with me, even though it was just for a year, because she said she thought I’d write my dissertation faster with someone there cooking for me. I figured she was just feeling lonely after Dad’s death. In retrospect, I wondered if she’d felt the first whispers of dementia, and figured that if she wrapped herself around my ankle early, it would be that much harder for me to shake her loose later on.

The Thing About Ghost Stories is a rather meandering tale at first, but it gradually gains focus as Leah’s own experiences begin to tie together with a few of the stories she’s being told by some of the people she meets. It’s far more poignant than spooky. Leah’s practical-minded narration strikes just the right balance between skepticism and belief. Naomi Kritzer has written a lovely, heartfelt story about ghosts, love and loss.

"How to Swallow the Moon": Isabel Yap, born and raised in the Philippines, makes great use of its traditional culture and mythology in this Locus award-nominated novelette. Anyag, not quite sixteen, is a binukot, a young women kept sequestered and pampered since early childhood in order to increase her beauty and her value in the marriage market, a practice that still persists. (Somewhat surprisingly, young men also occasionally have been binukots. But mostly, of course, it’s women.) The only people allowed to set eyes on her are her family and her servant, Amira, an orphan two years older than Anyag. Amira has served and loved Anyag since they first met nine years ago, though in recent years her love has grown into something more passionate. Amira doesn’t know if Anyag returns her romantic feelings, however, and in any case she knows Anyag is destined for a marriage that will bring honor and rewards to her family.

I also appreciated the way Yap weaves Philippine mythology into this tale. The Earth once had seven moons, but the bakunawa, a dragon-type monster, has eaten all but our one remaining moon. The bakunawa has been sated for many years by another binukot’s self-sacrifice to its appetite. But nothing lasts forever, and when a sly-eyed suitor appears, he represents a threat to Anyag and Amira on several levels.

“How to Swallow the Moon” emphasizes Amira’s feelings and the evolving relationship between the two girls; it lost some of its impact for me in its focus on romance and All. The. Feels. that Amira has. Still, Yap is a fine writer, and her twist on Philippine mythology and culture is an intriguing one.

[Carol, She's so Novel ꧁꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★

I was led here after reading an absolutely wonderful poem by Hal Y. Zhang in an issue of Strange Horizons. I'm not sure if Strange Horizons magazines are allowed on Goodreads & I don't want to find out by having my review deleted, so I will review here.

From Strange Horizons 22/02/21 Issue
Go Agile I thought this poem was mad, fragmented and absolutely wonderful. Read it here 5★

I was so intrigued I wanted to read more. Cardioid for me was not the equal of Go Agile, but it was still an evocative, intriguing poem. 4★.

Now that I am here, I will be reading more.

& here I am, reading more!

The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society by T. Kingfisher
I enjoyed this short story, I thought it was funny and quirky. Wasn't really what I was expecting from a fantasy short story, but I am a bit of a novice in this genre. 3.5★

The Thing About Ghost Stories I think Naomi Kritzer is a good fit for me! How can I not love an author who manages to work books by two of my favourite authors (Jane Austen & Georgette Heyer) into her short story. & this short story captures so well the off-the-wall, almost callous way a caregiver starts to feel about the most beloved of Alzheimer's/Dementia cases - and the way your feelings suddenly turn back to love. I have never read a ghost story like this one! An easy 5★

How to Swallow the Moon by Isabel Yap. This story is a combination of so many wonderful, magical ingredients - a love story, fairy tale, fantasy and the supernatural with a good dose of Phillipines culture. I was completely enchanted and some of the twists and turns took my by surprise. Unusually in a short story I really cared about the two heroines.

I also read Caroline M. Yoachim's interview with Ms Yap - she is quite the overachiever - Harvard, no less. I enjoyed the insight Ms Yap gave to this work. Rated together 5★

Monologue by an Unnamed Mage by Cassandra Khaw. I have heard good things about this short story writer and she did not disappoint. A science fiction love fragment. Beautifully written. 5★

Osiris by Leah Bobet I was about to wrap this review up, as I have so many books/magazines on the go at the moment, but then I spotted that this poem was an award nominee...

... which did restore my faith that entering awards on Goodreads data base is worthwhile. Like all excellent poems this one is open to interpretation, & mine was that this was a war survival poem. I loved it. 5★

& I was going to leave but the title of the Valentinelli entry has me intrigued. Just one more...

...but first I have another stray. Martha Wells & her Murderbot series has long been recommended to me & this wonderful little story The Future of Work: Compulsory appeared on Wired. You can read it here https://www.wired.com/story/future-of... NB: there has just been a change in policy on how Goodreads handle short stories and poetry published in a non book form (NABs) I'm excited about it but not ready to remove my entry from here just yet. This is a big change for Goodreads & not all librarians are members of the Librarians' Group.

I loved this story that did remind me (a lot) of Naomi Kritzer's Cat Pictures Please Quirky & funny is a science fiction sub genre I can definitely get behind. 5★

My Name Is Cybernetic Model XR389F, and I Am Beautiful by Monica Valentinelli At first this story had me giggling, but there is a more serious message behind it. Very well done. 5★

Not so the interview Caroline M. Yoachim did with the author. Talk about being programmed! I felt I was being told how I should interpret the story 2★

Translatio by Sharon Hsu Not science fiction but a poem about culture being lost. Elegant & achingly sad. 5★

An Account of the Land of Witches by Sofia Samatar. This is billed as "reprint fiction." I did a spot of research & it looks like Samatar started being published around 2012. This story was wonderfully evocative, giving two versions of a truth. it shows a lot of the author's Sudanese heritage & her multiculturism. Although some parts were evocative, it didn't totally hold my attention. 3.5★

There is still some non fiction I haven't read but I will finish my read of this magazine with smile by Beth Cato. To be honest, a poetry title in lower case always makes my heart sink a bit. Poetry fragment. I'm not big on fragments. 2.5★

I cannot leave this magazine without without saying how much I love the cover by John Picacio. It is unusual to see a portrait of a female character from this angle - which denotes power. I love it!

https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

T. Kingfisher for The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society

Nommed for Hugo '19

This short story had some cleverness to it and a bit more style. It was enjoyable, read from the PoV of a fairy. :)


Naomi Kritzer for The Thing About Ghost Stories

Also nommed for Hugo '19

Itself a ghost story about ghost stories, this academic ruminates on the nature of redemption. Entertaining. Solid. Worth the read. :)

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sigh. I had reviews for the stories I had read, but goodreads deleted them because they insist on conflating short stories, apparently just to piss users off, since I know zero people who prefer this practice.

I think I've read:

An Account of the Land of Witches by Sofia Samatar

The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society by T. Kingfisher 3 stars
Cute idea but it doesn't really DO anything, or feel emotionally convincing. My least like thing my this author to date. (Do try her, though! She's usually great!)

The Thing About Ghost Stories by Naomi Kritzer

Monologue by an unnamed mage, recorded at the brink of the end by Cassandra Khaw

poem "Osiris" by Leah Bobet

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.7112335569789 stars.

📚 The Thing About Ghost Stories by Naomi Kritzer: 5 stars

I'm not sure what it is about Kritzer's writing that sometimes reminds me of Connie Willis. Her realistic style maybe, and also the way her down-to-earth characters react when facing the unexplained and the inexplicable. The more I read her work, the more I enjoy it and I definitely wouldn't have picked up this short if she hadn't written it. Because it is a truth universally acknowledged that ghosts and stories about them are boring as fish. But I loved this one. Because it is much more than a story about a woman who collects ghost stories. It's about love and parents and caregiving and death. Think poignant and heartfelt more than eerie and creepy. No wonder the story was nominated for a Hugo. It's slightly outrageous that it didn't win if you ask me. Maybe I should unleash the crustaceans on the jury to let them know what I think about their wrong opinions. Yeah, maybe I'll do just that.



➽ Read the story here.

(Approx. reading time: 35 minutes.)



📚 The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society by T. Kingfisher: 3 stars

I lurves T.Kingfisher to bits but I truly don't understand why this was nominated for a Hugo. It's not a bad story and the premise is a pretty fun one, but the whole thing is just...I don't know, kind of bland I guess. I simply didn't give a fish about any of the characters and I'm fairly certain I won't even remember what the story was about a few days from now. Definitely not the Kingfisher Scrumptiousness I was looking for. I am most put out and stuff.



➽ Read the story here.

(Approx. reading time: 9 minutes.)

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society is a 2019 Hugo Awards finalist in the Best Short Story category.

Half a dozen faerie boys, a selkie and a horse are sitting around a fire. They’re trying to figure out why Rose MacGregor didn’t pine for them, instead marrying the blacksmith.

“Are we pining?” asked the green-eyed fae suddenly. “Is this what it’s like when they pine away after us?”

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this short story at all.

Once Upon a Nitpick: The spelling of Rose’s surname kept changing throughout the story. Sometimes it was MacGregor and other times it was McGregor. This has no bearing on my star rating but it really bugged me.

You can read this short story online here.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for “The Thing About Ghost Stories“ by Naomi Kritzer, 22 pages, ★★½☆☆

“The most interesting thing about ghost stories is that almost everyone has one.“

A story about a woman collecting ghost stories. Meh. A bit rambling, not quite boring but nothing interesting for me. Her mother‘s Alzheimers and her changing relationship with her was the only redeeming feature, but it was too little to matter.

Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...

Other Naomi Kritzer stories I read and liked more:
- Field Biology of the Wee Fairies, Apex Magazine September 2018, ★★★★☆
- Waiting Out the End of the World..., Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 126, ★★★★☆
- Cat Pictures Please, Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 100, ★★★☆☆

————
Review for “The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society,” by T. Kingfisher, 1.885 words, 4 pages, ★★★½☆

“There was a land of elven halls and hollows, ... there was a campfire, and around it sat a half-dozen men, and a great bull selkie, and a horse the color of night..“

Normally humans fall for the fey and pine after them...

It was ok. Not sure what makes it so special that it gets nominated for a Hugo award.

Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications)]

I have read at least 2 stories from this issue, one long ago and I thought I had marked it, but apparently not

The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society by T. Kingfisher. I love Kingfisher/Vernon at short stories, but this is flimsy, just voice, almost a fantasy reverse harem thing. It was a hugo finalist for its year, no idea why.

Now, completing my 30 days of short stories, I picked another Hugo finalist for that year, a Naomi Kritzer novelette, The Thing About Ghost Stories by Naomi Kritzer, and oh that is a good one. Naomi Kritzer got the novelette length nailed down, perfected. It is a bit Connie Willis territory, but this time the all-the-feels Connie Willis. A meta-ish story, a folklore researcher muses about ghost stories with a lot about her mother, who died of Alzheimer's recently. It goes the predictable way but that is a feature, not a bug, not really because of the insight and voice. Very very good.

And I set myself a kind of new year challenge for 2025, to read, for 30 days in a row, a whole short story (or longer) of speculative fiction. Day 30 - I was getting a bit tired of it, but the last 3 days I kind of cheated and did just Naomi Kritzer stories, and I think I just might keep the streak going with a few more stories of hers I dug up! This might soon turn into a Naomi Kritzer short fiction stan account...

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thing About Ghost Stories by Naomi Kritzer 4+*
Touching little story about a doctor in folklore researching ghost stories in different areas and cultures, and finally ending up coming to terms with her own ghosts.

[Dennis · Rating 1 out of 5]

***The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society by T. Kingfisher***

Pretty short tale about a couple of faerie boys, a selkie and a pooka sitting around a campfire and recounting their amorous adventures with a woman called Rose MacGregor.

Takes old British folktales about women pining away after they had faerie lovers and turns them on their head.

Otherwise kinda pointless. Not sure why it was nominated for a HUGO.

You can read it here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...
Or listen to the Uncanny Magazine Podcast (episode #25A), using the same link. The story starts after 6 minutes and 36 seconds. The narration isn't very good, though.

____________________________

2019 Hugo Award Finalists

Best Novel
• The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
• Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
• Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee
• Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
• Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
• Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Best Novella
• Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
• Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
• Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor
• The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
• Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson
• The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard

Best Novelette
• If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again by Zen Cho (Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog)
• The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections by Tina Connolly (Tor.com)
• Nine Last Days on Planet Earth by Daryl Gregory (Tor.com)
• The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander (Tor.com)
• The Thing About Ghost Stories by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine)
• When We Were Starless by Simone Heller (Clarkesworld Magazine)

Best Short Story
• The Court Magician by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed Magazine)
• The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine)
• The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by P. Djèlí Clark (Fireside Magazine)
• STET by Sarah Gailey (Fireside Magazine)
• The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat by Brooke Bolander (Uncanny Magazine)
• A Witch’s Guide To Escape: A Practical Compendium Of Portal Fantasies by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine)

Best Series
• The Centenal Cycle by Malka Older
• The Laundry Files by Charles Stross
• Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee
• The October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire
• The Universe of Xuya by Aliette de Bodard
• Wayfarers by Becky Chambers

Best Related Work
• Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
• Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alec Nevala-Lee
• The Hobbit Duology (a documentary in three parts), written and edited by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan
• An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards 1953-2000 by Jo Walton
• The Mexicanx Initiative Experience at Worldcon 76 by Julia Rios, Libia Brenda, Pablo Defendini, and John Picacio
• Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon

Best Graphic Story
• Abbott, written by Saladin Ahmed, art by Sami Kivelä, colors by Jason Wordie, letters by Jim Campbell
• Black Panther: Long Live the King, written by Nnedi Okorafor and Aaron Covington, art by André Lima Araújo, Mario Del Pennino, and Tana Ford
• Monstress, Volume 3: Haven, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda
• On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
• Paper Girls, Volume 4 , written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Cliff Chiang, colors by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher
• Saga, Volume 9, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples

Best Art Book
• The Book of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition illustrated by Charles Vess, written by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Daydreamer’s Journey: The Art of Julie Dillon by Julie Dillon
• Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, and Sam Witwer
• Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, editor John Fleskes
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie by Ramin Zahed
• Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, editor Catherine McIlwaine

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book
• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt; Macmillan Children’s Books)
• The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton (Freeform / Gollancz)
• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (Little, Brown / Hot Key Books)
• Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)
• The Invasion by Peadar O’Guilin (David Fickling Books / Scholastic)
• Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman (Random House / Penguin Teen)

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...

A hoot. I wouldn't mind reading other stories with those characters. "Are we pining?"

(note that the cover art is not for this story, the Rose MacGregor by Kingfisher, though)

[Michael Fierce]

Purchased Kindle for the Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novelette,“The Thing About Ghost Stories” (2019), by Naomi Kritzer.

[Rachel (Kalanadi) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Particularly enjoyed the stories by T. Kingfisher and Naomi Kritzer, and Diana M. Pho's essay.

[Chi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only read The Rose McGregor Drinking and Admiration Society", and goodness, I thoroughly loved the tone of the story! Talk about spinning the usual tropes on their heads! XD

[Silvana · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories I read:

The Thing About Ghost Stories by Naomi Kritzer ***
I liked this one, especially since it's not scary at all. Instead, it's quite touching and personal. Too bad the ending was too easy.

The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society by T. Kingfisher*
I have no idea why this was nominated for the Hugo, sorry.

How to Swallow a Moon by Isabel Yap: ***
Fantastic imageries. A bit too YA for me and too much pining but I love the female agency here.
I was surprised with the mention of kulintang since it was a traditional musical instrument from my hometown but then I found out that the author was from the Phillipines (which borders North Sulawesi and thus might share similar tradition). After Vina Jie-Min Prasad making a break last year, I am glad to know more Southeast Asian female SFF writers received recognition.
Additional note: I just read her other story, "Asphalt, River, Mother, Child" which was sad, haunting, and felt real. Since I still have one more slot for short story in my Hugo list, I'll be glad to put her there. Link: http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/as... (for some reason the October issue edition of Strange Horizons here did not have it)

[Oleksandr Zholud · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short story nominated for Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 2019

The story follows the discussion of fae boys and other Mythical creatures about a "slim-hipped, broad-shouldered, and handsome as the devil" woman named Rose MacGregor, with whom all of them had carnal relationship in the past. A nice easy read, which doesn't leave any lasting impression.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating (for the moment) is solely for the Kingfisher and Kritzer stories, both Hugo award nominees.

See Tadiana's review, nearby. I still need to read the Filipina Isabel Yap's story "How to Swallow the Moon", https://uncannymagazine.com/article/h...
Tadiana liked Yap's use of Philippine mythology: see her review for the details. On the (ever-growing) TBR list. Though I'm likely to be catching up in the next few (I hope) weeks!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars; a sweet little Hugo-nominated novelette about death, closure, and hauntings, seen through the lens of a folklorist working on her dissertation collecting ghost stories from other people across America. It's a quick, poignant read -- and the narration has such a great voice, so you get a really clear image of this persnickety academic, fraying at the edges from the toll of looking after her mother with Alzheimers, and yet there's such heart in it.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to Swallow the Moon by Isabel Yap ★★★★☆
“I am your jewel, and you are my sword.”
From Far East legends of magical virgins in towers and the dragons who covet them. Amira and Anyag are determined to write their own ending.


The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society by T. Kingfisher ★★★★☆
Most women pine away and die after a passionate night with a fae. Rose MacGregor could send them home a week later exhausted. A funny light-hearted story of turnabout.


My Name is Cybernetic Model XR389F, and I Am Beautiful by Monica Valentinelli ★★★½☆
A story about sexual harassment told through the eyes of a hazardous waste disposal cyborg caught up in a scientist’s pet project.


An Account of the Land of Witches by Sofia Samatar
★★½☆☆
Lucid dreaming, magic and African politics stitched together in five micro stories. It was a bit desperate and inconclusive.

The Thing About Ghost Stories by Naomi Kritzer ★★☆☆☆
Reads somewhere between a folklorists editorial and a Hallmark Movie.

Monologue by an unnnamed mage, recorded at the brink of the end by Cassandra Khaw ★★☆☆☆
Story/letter/stream-of-conscious about two lovers who decide to run away together instead of helping stop the end of the world. I was not rooting for them.

Average: 3.0

[Lis Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of faerie males, a pookah, and a selkie, are sitting around a fire, drinking and talking.

They're talking about a human woman, Rose MacGregor.

The faerie folk are accustomed to seducing human maidens, and then leaving the maidens to pine away from them. Rose does not play that game.

Not that she avoids the the faerie folk. Not at all. Instead, she seeks them out. It's just that things don't go the way the faerie expect.

This isn't a very substantial story, but it's light, fun, funny. I really enjoyed it.

I received this story as part of the 2019 Hugo Voters Packet.

Merged review:

The thing about ghost stories, our narrator tells us, is that they aren't really stories. There's no beginning, middle, end; there's just a weird event that happens, perhaps one, perhaps repeatedly, and then it either stops, or the person who experienced it leaves that place.

Our narrator is a folklorist, and she's researching ghost stories. Not ghosts. The stories we tell about them, the different kinds of stories, the roles those stories play for people.

At first, her mother, a retired romance editor, acts as proofreader and editor as she works on her thesis. Then, her mother descends into Alzheimer's. When her mother dies, and she resumes traveling for her research, occasionally mediums approach her, and tell her she has a ghost with her.

The ghost wants her to find something.

It's an engaging and ultimately very satisfying story Really saying anything more would be a spoiler.

Recommended.

I received this story as part of the 2019 Hugo Voters Packet

[Fiona Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review is for "The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society", by T. Kingfisher.

T. Kingfisher writes my favourite modern fairytales when she's being serious, and in taking a lighter look at the genre she's outdone herself. This was funny, the tiniest bit raunchy, and absolutely fantastic.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Is this what it’s like when they pine away after us?” “We are not pining!”

Slightly ribald version of the shaggy dog story. Riotously indirect. I’ve already told you too much; read it. (Cover art is Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018, in which the story appears.)

“I’ll tell you all about it when you’re older.” She paused, looking down at the stubborn little face. “Much … much older.”

(Finalist 2019 Hugo Award for Short Story)


Merged review:

“I think they’re the manifestation of people’s desire for answers about death and eternity. But I could be wrong.”

Excellent short story, told from the point of view of a young woman who researches ghost stories. Engaging and plausible, which is a tough sell for some readers. (Appears in Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018.)

“I think they’re the manifestation of people’s desire for answers about death and eternity. But I could be wrong.”

“Brains are so weird.”

The denouement is obvious, but I’m not telling. Enjoy it for yourself.

“The thing about ghost stories is that even if you have one, the person is still gone.”

(Finalist 2019 Hugo Award for Novelette)

Merged review:

“Is this what it’s like when they pine away after us?” “We are not pining!”

Short and funny. Slightly ribald version of the shaggy dog story. Riotously indirect. I’ve already told you too much; read it.

“I’ll tell you all about it when you’re older.” She paused, looking down at the stubborn little face. “Much … much older.”

(Finalist 2019 Hugo Award for Short Story)

[Crowinator · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society" by T. Kingfisher.

A bunch of faeries pine over a human woman instead of the other way around. Light-hearted and funny.

I received this story as part of the 2019 Hugo Voters Packet.

Merged review:

"The Thing About Ghost Stories" by Naomi Kritzer.

Another moving story. The Hugo novelette category this year is full of profound ruminations on life, death, love, and grief. It's still so amazing to me that short stories that feel thematically similar can be so varied. I received this story as part of the 2019 Hugo Voters Packet.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gut dass es eine Kurzgeschichte ist. Der Text soll angeblich eine Persiflage des "Frau verliebt sich in männliches, magisches Wesen und geht an ihren Gefühlen zugrunde"-Klischees sein, aber lesen muss man den Text ja trotzdem.

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio from Uncanny Magazine's podcast 25b

Merged review:

Fun. Fantasy. Con Artiste.

[Carien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only read the T. Kingfisher story, and it was not for me:

[Beth Cato]

Not a review. Includes my poem "smile."

[Alexander Pyles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naomi Kritzer's story "The Thing About Ghost Stories" is a moving, quiet story about grief, loss, and the paranormal. Kritzer has lovely way of writing narrative reflection, while also building exposition and tension. The reader follows an academic, Leah, in her journey of doing doctoral work and then research after achieving her tenured status, all based around the idea of ghost stories. Her mother lives with her for a time, but slowly deteriorates to dementia and dies after years of Leah taking care of her.

In some ways, this short is a meta-narrative on the concept of story, but in others it is an unpacking of what the dead leave behind and how a person deals with those realities.

[Tria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read as part of the 2019 Hugo Awards voter packet. I loved this one, and so far it's likely to end up in position 1 or 2 in my votes for its category. Very funny, beautifully drawn and I love the lack of judgement about Rose, her person & her actions. A few typos, unfortunately, but a great short nonetheless.