Jul 30 2025

Hugo Awards 2025: Best Poem

Continuing with our coverage of the 2025 Hugo Awards is my survey of the poetry finalists, a category that debuts this year as a trial balloon for inclusion in future WorldCons. Personally, I think it’s a great idea for an ongoing category, especially as it encourages writers to continue experimenting with form and, hopefully, discipline, while still telling amazing stories.

All this is exemplified in my personal favorite of this year’s nominees, Marie Brennan’s A War of Words. It was originally published in Strange Horizons, but has since been collected with several other of the author’s shorter works into The Atlas Of Anywhere. The poem works in capturing the rhythm of both battle and loss, with the necessary economy only underscoring the surprisingly universal theme. Frankly, I think it’s brilliant, and head and shoulders above the rest of its competition.

Which isn’t to say that the rest are at all bad! Angela Liu’s there are no taxis for the dead is much more imagist in its leanings, as it discusses grief and spectral homecomings. It is, perhaps, the most mainstream of these poems, as it reads easily as a literary metaphor of dealing with the loss of a loved one.

My third favorite was Oliver K. Langmead’s Calypso, a book that I’ve previously discussed at the link. This sci-fi novel in verse is the longest and probably most experimental of the nominees, spanning centuries of both in-universe time and our-universe pages. I felt that it had both pros and cons — the most pertinent of which being that I felt that some of its parts would have been better as just regular prose — but overall it was a worthy experiment and one I hope more authors will attempt.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/30/hugo-awards-2025-best-poem/

Jul 29 2025

Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland (EXCERPT)

We have a timely treat for you today, readers, with an excerpt from Jacqueline Friedland’s Counting Backwards. Told in two alternating narratives bound together by a shocking parallel of issues — including reproductive rights and society’s expectations of women and mothers — this novel is a compelling reminder that progress is rarely a straight line and always hard-won.

New York, 2022. Jessa Gidney is trying to have it all: a high-powered legal career, a meaningful marriage and hopefully, one day, a child. But when her professional ambitions come up short and Jessa finds herself at a turning point, she leans into her family’s history of activism by taking on pro bono work at a nearby detention center. There she meets Isobel Perez, a young mother fighting to stay with her daughter. As she gets to know Isobel, an unsettling revelation about Isobel’s health leads Jessa to uncover a horrifying pattern of medical malpractice within the detention facility… one that shockingly has ties to her own family.

Virginia, 1927. Carrie Buck is an ordinary young woman in the center of an extraordinary legal battle at the forefront of the American eugenics conversation. From a poor family, she was only six years old when she first became a ward of the state. Uneducated and without any support, she spends her youth dreaming about a future separate from her exploitative foster family, unaware of the ripples that her small country life will soon have on an entire nation.

As Jessa works to assemble a case against the prison and the crimes that she believes are being committed there, she discovers the landmark Supreme Court case involving Carrie Buck as well as its shocking implications for the one before her now. Her connection to the case, however, is deeper and much more personal than she ever knew, sending her down new paths that will leave her forever changed and determined to fight for these women, no matter the cost.

Read on for a tension-filled excerpt from Jessa’s personal life!

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/29/counting-backwards-by-jacqueline-friedland-excerpt/

Jul 28 2025

Star Trek: Lower Decks ― Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North & Chris Fenoglio

As a bad Trekker with little time for TV, I have yet to watch a single episode of Lower Decks, tho it was certainly top of list for me even before I read this astonishing book. I figured that this graphic novel would be a great introduction to the series but was thoroughly unprepared for exactly how mind-bending — and heart-wrenching — this story would turn out to be.

And you have to understand, I adore fiction that plays with the conventions of storytelling. If you’re not into that, this might not be for you. But if you are, if you’re the kind of person who enjoys when Star Trek plays with time and space, if you don’t mind a lot of non-linear narrative, and especially if you love a little good fan service, then you absolutely need a copy of this book.

Another note: I read this via the Hugo 2025 packet, so my copy was a hyperlinked pdf that I read on my PC, which is pretty much the only format I would recommend reading this in aside from physical. It might work on some tablets too, but the hyperlinks are crucial to the story flow, so make sure that any digital copy you get is something you can interact with in that fashion.

So to the story! This is essentially a Choose Your Own Adventure format revolving around the crew of the USS Cerritos, and particularly Lieutenant Junior Grade Beckett Mariner. After a night of hard partying, she’s not particularly enthused about having to get out of bed on her day off. Readers help her figure out what caffeinated beverage she wants from the replicator and then who she wants to bother/spend time with. Things start going haywire shortly after.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/28/star-trek-lower-decks-%e2%80%95-warp-your-own-way-by-ryan-north-chris-fenoglio/

Jul 25 2025

Tantalizing Tales — July 2025 — Part Four

This is the first time I’ve had to write a Tantalizing Tales Part Four, dear readers! I did confirm with a publicist friend that it has been an unusually busy summer this year, though neither we nor the BlueSky brain trust could figure out why. Very happy to hear your theories, if you have them!

First up for our roundup column is the book with my favorite cover this week, Rebecca Danzenbaker’s Soulmatch. In a world where your past lives determine your future, a sharp-witted girl confronts a major twist of destiny, embroiling her in a high-stakes game of danger, corruption and heartbreak.

Two hundred years after World War III, the world is at peace, all thanks to the soul-identification system. Every eighteen-year-old must report to the government to learn about their past lives, in a terrifying process known as kirling. Good souls leave the institute with their inheritance, a career path and, if they’re lucky, a soulmate. Bad souls leave in handcuffs.

It’s a nerve-wracking ordeal for Sivon who, given her uncanny ability to win every chess match, already suspects that her soul isn’t normal. Turns out that she was right to worry. Sivon’s results stun not only her but the entire world, making her the object of public scrutiny and anonymous threats.

Saddled with an infuriating and off-limits bodyguard, Sivon is thrust into a high-stakes game where souls are pawns and rules don’t exist. As the deaths keep mounting, Sivon must decipher friend from foe while protecting her heart against impossible odds. One wrong move could destroy the future lives of everyone Sivon loves. She can’t let that happen, even if they’ll never love her back.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/25/tantalizing-tales-july-2025-part-four/

Jul 24 2025

We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans & Clayton Cowles

Ooh, look, a standalone graphic novel from one of my favorite creative teams! And, interestingly, an object lesson in how to write a book that doesn’t explain everything yet still manages to feel both satisfying and complete, which I’ll delve into more later on in this review.

This is also my first review of the Graphic Novels slate for the 2025 Hugos. I’m still torn as to whether I want to do a complete roundup column for the category, but I can safely say that this was not my favorite of the bunch.

Which isn’t to say that it wasn’t good! Stephanie Hans’ art is spectacular as always, as is Clayton Cowles’ lettering. The Blah Blah Blah motif was a nice moment of levity in an otherwise grim book that essentially centers around the premise of unexpected compassion in the midst of devastation.

Essentially, Lori wakes up one day and discovers that everyone has disappeared. As a foster child, she’s used to feeling abandoned but still feels an intense sense of relief when she encounters Annette, a schoolmate with a much more optimistic outlook on life. Until, that is, they discover that food supplies are unexpectedly low and electricity no longer works either. Together, they go questing for food and safety, in a world that was already hostile to teenage girls even in times of abundance.

Unsurprisingly, the world has devolved into the standard dystopia of violent gangs taking the center of power, with nonconformists like Lori and Annette ekeing out an existence on the margins. The big difference here is that oversized wolves hunt the remaining humans, forcing our heroes to edge ever closer to capture by the local gang. Until, that is, someone shows them another way.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/24/we-called-them-giants-by-kieron-gillen-stephanie-hans-clayton-cowles/

Jul 23 2025

Hugo Awards 2025: Best Novelette

Managed another reading category for the Hugos this year! Will review the other categories I’ve read through after tonight’s voting deadline, but figured I’d start with the next fastest to read: the nominees for Best Novelette.

As is my wont (but not Doug’s!) we’ll go from my favorite on down. Tho I must say that I definitely noticed the difference between my enjoyment of this category vs the short stories this year, a conversation that Doug and I have previously indulged in regarding prior nominees. Some years the novelettes feel far superior; this was not one of those years, alas. Still some good reads here, beginning with Naomi Kritzer’s The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea.

Morgan is a former academic who is justifiably annoyed by her husband Stuart’s old-fashioned attitude towards the distribution of their family responsibilities. Moving to the coast only makes things worse, as she learns of the local legend of the Four Sisters, the four large rocks that stand guard over the town of Finstowe. When her proximity to the water reminds her of whom she used to be, will she be able to fight to reclaim her true self?

The supernatural elements of this story work perfectly as a metaphor to remind people who lose themselves in relationships that it is possible to find yourself once more. It’s fascinating how the legend referenced here has so many variants worldwide, and almost never a bad time to retell it in hopes of finding a reader who desperately needs to apply its lessons to their own lives.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/23/hugo-awards-2025-best-novelette/

Jul 22 2025

When People Leave by Leslie Rasmussen (EXCERPT)

We have another terrific excerpt for you today, dear readers, with an absorbing, dual viewpoint look at one of the most traumatic experiences of a person’s life, and the mysterious circumstances that precipitated it.

Leslie Rasmussen’s When People Leave is subtitled A Story Of Love, Lies And Finding The Truth. It follows the three Weiss sisters as they grapple with the aftermath of their mother Carla’s shocking suicide. She left behind no explanation and no note, leaving the women reeling.

The close knit sisters take a break from their everyday lives, their men and their personal issues to move into their mother’s Los Angeles home, searching for answers even as they plan Carla’s funeral. What they discover will lead them on a cross-country trip in pursuit of a mysterious stranger who may have clues as to their mother’s hidden past. But are the women ready for what they’ll discover, especially when it could change everything they ever believed to be true?

Exploring familial relationships, grief, anger and resolutions, this is a tender, heart-filled contemporary novel. Read on for an illuminating excerpt!

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/22/when-people-leave-by-leslie-rasmussen-excerpt/

Jul 21 2025

Calypso by Oliver K Langmead

My kingdom for pdfs properly formatted for Kindle!

That gripe aside, wow, was I finally glad to be able to read Oliver K Langmead’s novel in verse. And I get it, the pdf was meant to preserve the gorgeous art and design of the book, which it definitely does. It just took way longer to read on my Kindle than it should have because the print was so tiny!

Anyway, the poetry inside is divided into narratives centering four different people: Rochelle, the engineer and moral center; Sigmund, the architect and visionary; Catherine, the biologist and creator, and the Herald, the storyteller and historian. All four are on the colony/generation ship Calypso, where the first three went into extended cryosleep on their way to a brand new planet, in a universe where terraforming has already turned Mars and Venus into habitable environments for humanity. The new planet the four are headed to, however, is light years beyond our solar system.

Rochelle, especially, feels guilt for leaving her children behind. It’s never really explained why she felt compelled to join this expedition to begin with, which I thought was rather odd. It’s obvious why Sigmund and Catherine went, and the Herald had no choice, being the descendant of generations of crew who’ve ensured that the sleeping technicians and colonists are taken care of on their long trek through the stars. Things, ofc, do not quite go to plan, as Rochelle wakes to find a ship entirely different from what she expected.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/21/calypso-by-oliver-k-langmead/

Jul 20 2025

Hugo Awards 2025: Best Short Story

Officially, I’m taking a break from reading for the Hugo Awards this year. I’ve found participating in the Hugo process as a reader and voter wonderfully rewarding, not least because it has introduced me to authors I would have completely missed otherwise, but I’m also a conscientious voter, and that means I try to read enough of each work in the categories I vote in to give it a fair shake. That adds up to a significant share of my annual reading page — I am not one of the people who can read upwards of 200 books a year — and this year I felt it would be more of a chore than a joy. I chose to take a year off even before the finalists were announced, so it’s no reflection on the finalists. In fact, the publishers may come out ahead on me this year, since there are several finalists I want to read and will obviously not be receiving in the Hugo reader’s packet.

Uncanny Issue 57, which contains "Stitched to the Skin Like Family Is" by Nghi Vo

But then I read Doreen’s post, and I thought that looking in on one category, with manageable reading, would be a fun thing to do even in an off year. In theory, I like formal experiments — yay! stretch what it is that a story can do, push limits on what’s considered a story — but I am coming to realize that I almost never like an experiment better than a really well-told narrative. This year’s short story finalists had four experimental stories, and it’s not surprising that I preferred the two narratives. Here are some short thoughts on each, in ascending order of my preference.

“Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachael K. Jones offers a bare-bones account of horrific punishment in a spacefaring society that can afford the resources to mete out eternal orbital confinement as the penalty for treason. The story pulls names from Greek mythology — Tartarus, of course, and also a Sibylline Court — but the setting and society are not even sketched, just gestured toward. Speaking of Sibyls, the story is more of a dream or a vision than a tale. Jones says so with the story’s title, so a reader should not expect anything else. I found the work more of an evocation of elements that I already knew; I don’t know if the set-up could support a story rather than a set of views, but in any event that’s not what Jones chose to write. It’s a horrific vision with a kick at the end, but there isn’t anything else.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/20/hugo-awards-2025-best-short-story/

Jul 18 2025

Tantalizing Tales — July 2025 — Part Three

Was July this huge a month for books in previous years, dear reader, or is this another case of my time blindness? Regardless, we have some delicious reads that have either just or are freshly coming out, beginning with Tess Sharpe’s No Body No Crime, a twisty and gripping romantic thriller about enduring love, true friendship and murder (with an absolutely outstanding cover!)

Murder will either bond you or break you. For teenaged Melanie Tillman and Chloe Harper, their experience of murder was the bonding sort, both in crime and in a love affair that they both believed would last.

But time has a funny way of changing things. Nowadays Mel is single, and a working PI in her rural NorCal hometown. Chloe, meanwhile, has been missing for six years. And their victim Toby Dunne? He’s buried where no one will ever find him.

When the Harper family hires Mel to bring Chloe home to be with her dying father, Mel tracks her ex down to a boobytrapped DIY cabin in the Canadian wilderness. There she learns that what broke them apart wasn’t murder, but the fact that when they buried Toby, they also buried something that belonged to the Newells, the most powerful and politically connected family in town. The Newells are desperate to get it back, and have been hunting Chloe ruthlessly since linking her to Toby’s disappearance. Chloe, in turn, has been hiding out, hoping against hope that doing so will keep Mel safe.

Will the reunited lovers be able to figure out a way to get Chloe home safely to her dad? After losing each other once, they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they’re never parted again.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/07/18/tantalizing-tales-july-2025-part-three/