Mar 6

Mar 6 Reviewing the 38th Annual Readers' Award Finalists from Asimov's Science Fiction. 2024. Novellas, Novelettes, and Short Stories.

With the scandals plaguing the Hugo Awards in 2023 again (and this time its a really a big deal), it seems like a good moment to direct your attention to the Reader’s Award Finalists from Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine. These stories are consistently among the very best short fiction published in the science fiction genre each year. I continue to lament that because they are “behind a paywall” and so many readers don’t pay for their short fiction anymore, these tales almost never get the respect they deserve.

Asimov’s Science Fiction, formerly Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, is one of the greatest SF magazines in the genre’s history with awards too numerous to mention, an unbeatable roster of published authors, and some of the editorial giants at the helm. Subscribe here.

Previous Reviews: Asimov’s Reader’s Choice Awards

As usual Asimov’s Science Fiction is making the stories free read online temporarily, (here as of March 6, 2024) and you should go and read them. They offer a diverse array of science fiction ranging from the mysterious disappearances of spacecraft and explorations of alien planets to the complexities of human relationships in futuristic settings. Themes of technology's impact on society, including advanced AI, time travel, and genetic modifications, are prevalent. Some narratives delve into post-apocalyptic worlds, examining the psychological effects of war and environmental collapse, while others offer humorous takes on alien invasions and bureaucratic oddities in small towns. Definitely worth a read.

Here are my reviews and rankings. No Spoilers!

38TH ANNUAL READER'S AWARD FINALISTS FROM ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION

RATED 88% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE: 4.1 OUT OF 5.00

16 STORIES : 6 GREAT / 6 GOOD / 4 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF

BEST NOVELLAS

Lemuria 7 Is Missing, Allen M. Steele, May/June 2023
Great. Since time immemorial, airplanes and boats have gone missing. Why not spaceships? In journal entries, news reports, and interviews when learn the mystery of Lemur 7’s ill-fated trip to the moon. This has billionaire space tourists, love-triangles, work drama, and maybe aliens. Wonderful story that reminds me why I used to read a lot of Allen M Steel.
The Ghosts of Mars, Dominica Phetteplace, November/December 2023
Great. YA in the best way possible. A young woman, disabled through genetic modification, is the last person left on the moon. She is haunted by memories of her dead father, disobedient drones, and maybe actual ghost hauntings. A wonderful snarky voice with lots of fun hot takes on life, the universe, and everything.
The Break In, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, September/October 2023
Good. An action-heist-movie in novella form. Large cast of characters and lots of explosions as one group tries to steal a cache of weapons and the other group tries to stop it. A sequel to Death Hole Bunker, but stands alone as a complete story.
Gravesend, or Everyday Life in the Anthropocene, Paul McAuley, March/April 2023
Good. Rose was a soldier until a psych bomb exploded and now she is haunted by terrifying ‘ghosts’ that intrude on her vision. She meanders her way through a bleak eco-collapsed England, until she stumbles into a mystery involving “Soul Chips” - recorded personas of dead people. A good mystery story that takes a bit too long to get going to be great.
The Death Hole Bunker, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, July/August 2023
Average. This isn’t a complete story, but the first act of a novel. You won’t get a conclusion or any answers to the mystery of what our protagonist discovers in the depths of a Death Hole that he explores.

BEST NOVELETTES

The Less Than Divine Invasion, Peter Wood, January/February 2023
Great. Hilarious and charming story of a botched alien invasion of a small town. All about bureaucracy, small town politics, conveniece store cooking, run down movie theaters, and love.
The Nameless Dead, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, March/April 2023
Great. A woman gets drunk abandoning her husband and child, hopping to a spaceport, separated by space and time dilation. Her job is to research what happened to others’ family left behind. She gets drawn in to a mystery dealing with hundreds of nameless dead bodies and uncovers a horrific secret.
Ernestine, Octavia Cade, March/April 2023
Good. In a dystopia where adults have ‘puffed away,” a young girl survives with the help of an educational hologram who is really into growing potatoes.
Planetstuck, Sam J. Miller, March/April 2023
Good. A sexworker/spy, who travels the universe though ‘gates,’ discovers that his home world may not actually be completely cut off from everyone else.
The Case of the Blood-Stained Tower, Ray Nayler, March/April 2023
Average. Feel like I’m missing most of this story, as the there are things I’m expected to recognize and know, but I don’t. This is a fantasy, middle-eastern influenced murder mystery. I just keep asking myself if I’m supposed to recognize who these characters are.
The Fifteenth Saint, Ursula Whitcher, May/June 2023
Average. On a distant planet, a judge who loves poetry and interacting with an a.i. book, deals with a number of issues including a distant revolution and problems with bus schedules.

BEST SHORT STORIES

Berb by Berb, Ray Nayler, November/December 2023
Great. In an alternate history, the USA's victory in World War Two was made possible by harnessing alien technology from a crashed UFO. Now, a man resides in solitude in the desert near the crash site, tormented by memories of his days retrofitting alien weaponry. His solitude is interrupted by peculiar sentient beings known as "berbs," emergent byproducts of escaped alien technology and scrap metal.
Six Incidents of Evolution Using Time Travel, Derek Künsken, September/October 2023
Great. Science fiction with a capital S. Mini-profiles of various species and their interactions with time travel in various shapes and forms. Bursting at the seems with speculation and wonder.
Hope Is the Thing With Feathers, Karawynn Long, July/August 2023
Good. A developmentally disabled caretaker in a lab that studies and trains crows uses her special perspective on the world to communicate with them. Great writing and character work, kept from greatness by being quite predictable and unwilling to let the reader come to their own conclusions about the themes and morality of the protagonist’s actions.
Embot’s Lament, James Patrick Kelly, November/December 2023
Good. A time travel A.I. observes, but isn’t allowed to interfere with, a woman who has chosen this moment to escape her abusive husband.
The Pit of Babel, Kofi Nyameye, September/October 2023
Average. Written in a biblical style, complete with chapter and verse. Tells the story of humans digging holes to extract energy, which concerns Lucifer who doesn’t all he can to stop it.