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Science Fiction

Ardis Ardis's Lists Award Winners Literary Fiction Science Fiction Short Story Collection

The Philip K. Dick Award, 2020

written by Ardis

Each year the Philip K. Dick award is given to “the best science fiction paperback novel published in the United States in the previous calendar year” at Norwescon. This year, the award ceremony will take place in Seattle, WA, on April 10th.

Between now and then, I will be working to read and review all of the nominees. Hopefully, I’ll have time to circle back before the ceremony and update this list with my bet (and my vote), but if the past is any indication I’ll be reading down to the wire.

For now, read on for a little about each book as a nominee. One by one I’ll add review links to this page, so if you’re following along (or reading along), be sure to bookmark this page and check back for the latest updates.

February 18, 2020 0 comment

2019 Ardis Ardis's Favorite Books Reviews Science Fiction Short Story Collection

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

written by Ardis

Last month, the world became a little brighter – Ted Chiang published Exhalation, a short story collection brimming with another nine short stories. Some of these stories were published previously while others are brand new and original to this collection. All are heart-stoppingly gorgeous. Throughout, this collection contains the same balance of fanciful speculation and hard science fiction as his last collection. This, in short, is very Ted Chiang.

Of these nine stories, I was moved to tears by five. I was so moved by three that I immediately sent quotes to friends and family. During one, I had to pause twice: once to cry, and once to head to Amazon and order two more copies for friends.

It’s safe to say that I’m a fan.

June 27, 2019 0 comment

2019 Ardis Ardis's Lists Award Winners Books Fantasy Science Fiction

2019’s Nebula Award for Best Novel: Nominees

written by Ardis

The 2019 Nebula Awards will be announced at the SFWA Nebula Conference in Los Angeles, CA, on (or around) May 18th. Over the past few months, I’ve been working to read and review all of the nominees in the Best Novel category. As theVerge.com describes:

The Nebula Awards are issued annually by SFWA to the best works in genre novels, novellas, novelettes, and short stories published in the last year, alongside the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy and the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation. The Nebulas are a sort of industry award, determined by professional authors.

Over the coming months, I will be reviewing each finalist in the Best Novel category and linking those reviews here. As I have in years past, I will circle back to this post once the Nebula Award winners are announced in May to record the winner.

Be sure to follow this page for the latest updates to this review series, and as always don’t hesitate to read along with me and let me know what you think of these nominees (or the Nebula Awards) in the comments!

May 2, 2019 0 comment

2019 Ardis Ardis's Lists Award Winners Books Fantasy Science Fiction

2019’s Hugo Award for Best Novel: Nominees

written by Ardis

The 2019 Hugo Awards will be announced at this year’s WorldCon 77 in Dublin, Ireland, on August 18th, 2019. Often considered “among the highest honors bestowed in science fiction and fantasy writing“, the Hugo Award for Best Novel is the central event of each year’s Worldcon. Any work of fiction 40,000 words or more and published or translated into English during the previous year is eligible.

Over the coming months, I will be reviewing each finalist in the Best Novel category and linking those reviews here. As I have in years past, I will circle back to this post once the Hugo Award winners are announced in August to record the winner.

Be sure to follow this page for the latest updates to this review series, and as always don’t hesitate to read along with me and let me know what you think of these nominees (or the Hugo Awards) in the comments!

April 9, 2019 0 comment

2019 Ardis Ardis's Favorite Books Award Winners Reviews Science Fiction

Scalzi’s “The Collapsing Empire” Made Me an Instant Fan

written by Ardis

It can take five years for a piece of news to go from one end of space to the other, and the story’s going to change in the telling. So you don’t listen to the story. You listen to the pattern. And right now, the pattern is weird …

Almost from page one, it’s easy to see why Scalzi has such huge devoted fanbase, and why he’s met with such success since his entry onto the scene with a self-published novel in 1997. He’s known for his humor, and I was prepared for silliness. What I found was so much more.

I’m not always a fan of a lot of intentional humor in my fiction, and usually shy away from authors “known for their humor”. My feelings on Scalzi were no different. I knew friends who loved Old Man’s War, and Redshirts, but I didn’t see anything that appealed to me – until The Collapsing Empire hit the shelves. I don’t know why, but I had to read it!

And I’m so glad I did.

April 2, 2019 0 comment

2019 Ardis Books Science Fiction Young Adult

Hank Green succeeds with An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

written by Ardis

Several people who weren’t Andy walked by as I waited for him. Manhattan is less legit than it once was, for sure, but this is still the city that never sleeps. It is also the city of ‘Behold the field in which I grow my fucks. Lay thine eyes upon it and see that it is barren.’ People gave the sculpture a quick glance and kept on walking, just as I had very nearly done. I tried to look busy. Manhattan’s a safe place, but that doesn’t mean a twenty-three-year-old woman by herself on the street at 3 A.M. isn’t going to get randomly harassed.

I first heard of Hank Green’s debut story An Absolutely Remarkable Thing in November 2018’s Book of the Month (not sponsored), and I was skeptical even then. I was instantly minded of 2016’s Sleeping Giants, but other than that it was hard for me to get an impression of what I was supposed to expect from this book.

Now that I’ve read Green’s book, I’m still not entirely sure whether what I got from it is what they’d intended (or what they’d advertised). It’s been a really interesting reading experience. I hope these insights prove helpful for prospective readers!

February 26, 2019 0 comment

2019 Ardis Books Reviews Science Fiction

An Unkindness of Ghosts is an Inspired Debut

written by Ardis

“She had happened upon an erased chalkboard, and though she could see the unsettled dust of calcium carbonate, there was no putting together what had been written there before. Everything left a trace, but sometimes a trace was not enough.”

Rivers Solomon’s debut novel An Unkindness of Ghosts has received critical acclaim and attention from all corners since its publication in late 2017, and I finally know why.

It’s so unique!

February 22, 2019 0 comment

Ardis Ardis's Favorite Books Reviews Science Fiction

The Calculating Stars is Just What My 2019 Needed

written by Ardis

This story is nominated for both a Nebula and a Hugo award, to be announced on May 18th and August 18th, respectively. Click the links above to view the other nominees, and to keep track of the awards themselves.

There is something magic about takeoffs. I know people who are afraid of flying who say that the takeoffs and landings are the only hard parts, perhaps that’s when the act of flying is most apparent. I love the way you get pushed back into your seat. The weight and the sense of momentum press against you and the vibrations from the tarmac hum through the yoke and into your palms and legs. Then, suddenly, everything stops and the ground drops away. It never feels like I’m rising, but that the ground is falling away from me …
Most kids? Their dad teaches them to drive. Mine taught me to fly.

Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Calculating Stars is often referred to as a kind of scifi Hidden Figures (most notably by astronaut Cady Coleman, who called it “An alternate history of spaceflight that reminds me of everything I loved about Hidden Figures” on the book’s front cover).

How do you resist a book like that?

February 5, 2019 1 comment

2018 Ardis Science Fiction

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman – Another Thrilling Victorian Adventure

written by Ardis

This is a review of the sequel to 2017’s the Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter. You can read my review of that first book here. Please note that the following review might contain minor spoilers for its predecessor.

“If something goes wrong, give a signal of some sort – wave a handkerchief out the window, for example. They will contact me, and I will contact Sigmund to get you out. Hannah and I will work on a plan to rescue Lucinda. Our best bet is probably blackmailing one of the guards … Don’t worry,” she said as they all sat around the table, worrying. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman is the second installment of Theodora Goss’s series The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club. I was an unreserved fan of the first book, the Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, and dove into this book eagerly.

To a great extent this book is a perfect successor, carrying the legacy of the first book’s accomplishments in Victorian style.

November 6, 2018 0 comment

Ardis Discussion Questions Science Fiction

Book Club Discussion Questions: Artemis

written by Ardis

2018’s Artemis is Andy Weir’s highly anticipated follow-up to his shattering debut, The Martian. This book has been hotly critiqued since its publication, and presents plenty of material ripe for analysis and discussion. Whether your book club is preparing to discuss it, or you’ve read it on your own and are looking for more, I hope the questions below will help guide your discussion.

Note: If you haven’t read Artemis, you can read my review of it here.

Please let me know if you use these questions, find them helpful, or think I missed something. And of course I would love to see your answers to any (or all) of these questions in the comments. Happy discussing!

Of course, MAJOR SPOILER WARNINGS below:

October 16, 2018 0 comment

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