Category: Fantasy

The Space Cat by Nnedi Okorafor & Tana Ford

I vastly overestimated the number of books I still had to read for the 2026 Hugo for Best Graphic Story, so this is the last and, dare I say, my favorite of the slate! Full ranking at the bottom, once I’m done discussing this utterly charming graphic novel that reimagines the life of Nnedi Okorafor’s …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/08/06/the-space-cat-by-nnedi-okorafor-tana-ford/

A Wizard Of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel by Ursula K Le Guin, adapted by Fred Fordham

That has got to win the prize for unwieldiest title going. But yes, I came to this graphic novel adaptation of Ursula K Le Guin’s classic because it’s been nominated for the 2026 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story. Fred Fordham has done an incredible job here and I’m grateful that this book was nominated, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/08/04/a-wizard-of-earthsea-a-graphic-novel-by-ursula-k-le-guin-adapted-by-fred-fordham/

The Summer War by Naomi Novik

The Summer War by Naomi Novik

In contrast to Cinder House, The Summer War is not a classic fairy tale re-told in a more modern idiom but a re-working of fairytale elements, a new story told entirely in the register of a fairy tale. Thus the kingdom that is the setting for a bit more than half of the story is …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/08/01/the-summer-war-by-naomi-novik-2/

Absolute Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Last Amazon by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Mattia de Iulis & Jordie Bellaire

Comic books, y’all. Ngl, I bailed from being a regular comics reader — I even had a box with a weekly pull list at my local comics store up till that point — around the time of Marvel’s House Of M fiasco in 2005, because I was so tired of reboots (and crossovers, but that’s …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/28/absolute-wonder-woman-vol-1-the-last-amazon-by-kelly-thompson-hayden-sherman-mattia-de-iulis-jordie-bellaire/

The Invisible Parade by Leigh Bardugo & John Picacio

When I opened the part of the Hugo 2026 voter’s packet for Best Professional Artist, I did not expect to find an entire kid’s book in there! I’m so glad I did tho, as this is a gorgeously illustrated, heartfelt book about grief, culture, and learning to mourn in a healthy way. It’s Dia de …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/27/the-invisible-parade-by-leigh-bardugo-john-picacio/

Adventure In The City Of Stories by Emma Otheguy

with wonderful illustrations by Poly Bernatene. This sequel to Cousins In The Time Of Magic finds our three young protagonists Siggy, Camilla and Jorge heading back in time for an even more personal reason than in the first book. Camilla is already having a terrible day after being humiliated at her Florida school by the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/20/adventure-in-the-city-of-stories-by-emma-otheguy/

A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo

A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo

A Long and Speaking Silence, the seventh in Nghi Vo‘s Singing Hills cycle, takes Cleric Chih back to one of their first assignments as a chronicler, a gatherer of stories. On their way to the riverside city of Luntien a moment of inattention led to their being relieved of their purse and stipend, so as …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/19/a-long-and-speaking-silence-by-nghi-vo/

The Summer War by Naomi Novik

Ooh, Naomi Novik, you crafty little devil of a writer, you! I’m always so impressed when an author sets the reader up to intensely dislike a character, only for that same character to eventually and successfully capture our hearts later on. And I get it, there were a ton of mitigating factors for why our …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/15/the-summer-war-by-naomi-novik/

Hugo Awards 2026: Best Novelette

Rapport by Martha Wells

Among this year’s Hugo finalists in the four headline fiction categories — short story, novelette, novella and novel — no author has more than one nomination. I don’t think I have a particular view about this distribution. On the one hand, it’s neat when a writer has a banner year and gathers up two or even three …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/12/hugo-awards-2026-best-novelette-2/

Hugo Awards 2026: Best Novelette

Ooh, boy, is Doug gonna be surprised when he reads my voting slate for this year’s Hugo Awards nominees for Best Novelette! Presented, as usual, in descending order of preference. Top of my list this year is Catherynne M Valente’s When He Calls Your Name. Perhaps oddly, it is one of the two nominees on …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/08/hugo-awards-2026-best-novelette/