Chicago became the host of the 80th World Science Fiction Convention at the start of this month, with the annual Hugo Awards handed out on Sunday. A new round of recipients, voted for by the convention membership, went home with the iconic rocket-shaped trophies to honour their contributions to the previous year’s science fiction and…
2022 Hugo Awards: A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
The sequel to Arkady Martine’s earlier Hugo-winner A Memory Called Empire, this novel returns to the realm of the interplanetary Teixcalaan Empire. A Desolation Called Peace takes place early in the reign of Her Brilliance Nineteen Adze, an emperor, faced with an encroaching threat: humanity is making first contact with aliens – and those aliens…
2022 Hugo Awards: Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
In Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki, Katrina Nguyen is a young transgender woman who fled her abusive parents and hopes to pursue her passion as a violinist. She meets a woman named Shizuka Satomi, who previously coached six would-be musicians to stardom – only for each one to due young, thereby earning Shizuka…
[Patreon Exclusive] 2022 Hugo Award Nominees for Best Graphic Story, Part Two
Our Patron-exclusive essay series continues. You can read all of these incredible analyses for as little as a dollar a month on our Patreon.
2022 Hugo Awards: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
China, 1345. A peasant girl from the Zhu family has, between drought and bandits, lost almost all of her relatives: only her brother Zhu Chongba remains. A fortune teller has predicted vastly different fates for the two of them, seeing greatness in the future of the brother – who is due to attend a monastery…
2022 Hugo Awards: A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
A Master of Djinn is the first full-length novel in the series that started with the short story “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” and continued with the novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015. The setting is an alternate timeline where Egypt was able to successfully rebel against the British Empire with the aid of…
2022 Hugo Awards: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
A man wakes up to find himself in a high-tech environment but has no memory of how he got there. Through observation, he is able to piece together the basics. One, he is on board a space vessel; two, he is the sole surviving occupant, the other crew being mummified corpses. Then, bit by bit,…
2022 Hugo Awards: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
WWAC’s coverage of the 2022 Hugo Awards continues… The planet Gora sits at a convenient intersection between worlds, and so serves as a stopping-off point for galactic travellers of sundry species. Surrounding the planet is a satellite grid governing the communications and transport that anyone visiting Gora relies upon – and once that grid hits…
2022 Hugo Awards: A Psalm for the Wild-Built/Fireheart Tiger
WWAC’s coverage of the 2022 Hugo Awards continues with a look at the last two contenders for Best Novella: Becky Chambers’ A Psalm for the Wild-Built and Aliette de Bodard’s Fireheart Tiger…
2022 Hugo Awards: The Past is Red/Across the Green Grass Fields
Continuing WWAC’s coverage of the 2022 Hugo Awards, here are reviews of two more Best Novella finalists: The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente and Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire…
2022 Hugo Awards: A Spindle Splintered/Elder Race
Having covered the Best Short Story and Best Novelette categories, WWAC’s review series on the 2022 Hugo Award finalists now reaches Best Novella. This post shall discuss two of the six contenders: Alix E. Harrow’s A Spindle Splintered and Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Elder Race…
2022 Hugo Awards: O2 Arena/L’Esprit de L’Escalier
WWAC’s coverage of the 2022 Hugo Awards continues with reviews of the last two Best Novelette finalists: “O2 Arena” by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki and “L’Esprit de L’Escalier” by Catherynne M. Valente…