Review – Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

I’m bouncing off of this book even as I recognize it as a great book. It’s about Zelu, who is disabled due to paralysis, as well as Nigerian-American, as well as the author of the greatest science fiction book ever, which makes her instantly rich and famous. She also has a very close family, and a major part of the novel has to do with diplomacy between formidable people. Those last two are the elements that made it difficult for me to engage – overnight success and being part of a family unit full of people with strong opinions. 

The novel-within-a-novel, Rusted Robots, is written in a poetic style lots of modern writers seem to enjoy, which reminds me of people like Richard Brautigan, except to me it’s one of those red flags, like psionics, and it feels kind of like … the Reviewer contemplated the Reviewed as it sat there spinning in digital space in its nascent, pre-reviewed state. The Reviewer contemplated the Reviewed with the same diffidence she had displayed eating the Breakfast. It had been Breakfast, the same she ate every day. She consumed it following her daily escape from the Bed. A duality forever at odds, the Breakfast and the Bed, existing in a room where the Reviewed did not. 

So I had a hard time believing Rusted Robots was that big a bestselling fluke, especially when I’ve been having an extended affair with legit bestselling fluke DC Carl. 

I also had a hard time with the community-centric way the African people interacted. It was an interesting glimpse into a different world, and I kept wanting to tell Zelu to tell all those people off and run away with her robots and money to lead a more Zelu-centric life, and failing to understand why she kept going back for more. 

That’s the point of the story, though – Zelu’s uncomfortable transition into becoming a cyborg. The themes about accommodating and changing with new technology seemed far more mature and nuanced than a lot of voices in this discussion, possibly including mine. 

Both this book and Tchaikovsky’s address Big Themes with regard to technology, and inclusion, so it’s easy to see why they are nominated. The fact I bounced off of both of them halfway through, and then wandered over to the Wiki for enough summary to write a coherent review, isn’t detracting from their importance or quality. These are great books from an intellectual standpoint, and I’m more of a sensation-chasing barbarian when it comes to literature, or music, or food, or most things. 

Which kind of leaves me torn. Should I vote for the Important Book by the British guy who needs more acclaim? Or should I vote for the Important Book by the Nigerian-American woman who is getting plenty of deserved acclaim plus I got to be on a panel with her once, at Hawaiicon, and I’m still a little bit starstruck because she was glimmering with impending success vibes at the time. 

Or should I take a chance with the other three books to see if any of them have the qualities I seek? Or (and this is my current direction), should I just bounce off the Best Novel category and go read YA entries, because I definitely enjoyed the first chapter of Among Ghosts enough to feel an almost recreational vibe, where most Hugo nominees feel more like summarizing evidence. 

This one is good. It’s nuanced. It made me think. It revealed a world of classy smart Nigerian-Americans behind the handful of individuals I’ve personally met. Parts of it I found deeply engaging. I just couldn’t mesh with the story-in-a-story, or Zelu’s many frustrating encounters where she’s being misunderstood again. 

Rewards I Will Give Myself For Getting Through This Reading Assignment

 Best Novel: Nnedi's has some interesting characters but there's a "you're nothing without family" theme running through it, and the whole family has to weigh in as to whether a disabled member can use an assistive device, so I'm seeing it as an interesting look into an alien culture, with some interesting nuance compared to a lot of these other anti-tech stories that people wrote on computers. Like "well what if it helps a disabled person have a better life?" These are interesting people from a parallel world and Nnedi makes them come alive but I'm not sure if I'll make it to the end. 

If I finish the others I might check out some of the other novels, but as of now, I'm tempted to leave Nnedi's novel unfinished yet still vote for it on that basis, although if I finish the rest of it in time I'll check out all the cozy mysteries or whatever else is on the slate and see if any voices grab me. I think that warrants a self-reward of at least one concert ticket. 

Best Lodestone/YA novel: upon completion of this category I intend to gift myself one of those new Labubus wearing a sailor hat. 

Best Novella: I used to use food as a reward, just like my parents used to do whenever they wanted to distract me, but these days I am trying to substitute healthier rewards, such as things that give me incentive to get off my ass and go outside. Therefore, if I slog my way through this category, I am allowing myself one trip to Stonestown for some fried shrimp (which is way healthier than fried ice cream) and a bath bomb from either Lush or Sephora. 

The whole shebang: a copy of one of Matt Dinniman's books that I haven't read yet. That should incentivize me to turn some pages and grind some levels in reading books. Plus if I pull off all this reading before I go to Las Vegas to see BTS again, I am allowing myself some bonus lilikoi Hi-Chews from the ABC Store in addition to other treats not determined as of yet. 

Best Novelette – Halfway Between Never Eaten Vegetables and No Award

 In today's episode of "former aspiring writer whose blunt opinions inspired so much gatekeeping she decided she didn't really care as much about getting through that gate as much as sharing her obnoxiously unfiltered consciousness streams and blowing up bridges," we are torn.

One option is to vote No Award, just to say that I don't think any of these stories belong in a "best stories" collection although they are all perfectly adequate on their own terms. I'm not seeing any exciting future trends (the way I once did with Murderbot stories) or finding any voices likely to keep me awake and turning pages until 2:00 a.m. 

Another option is to just omit this category from my ballot and pretend it doesn't even exist. And a third option would be voting for Never Eaten Vegetables as a middle finger to someone who once told me that 3D printing human embryos to seed planets was a disgusting sexist concept that nobody should ever write about. I might just do that, since it’s always a great day when you can bring happiness into another person’s life while also rehashing an old grudge.

Yes, yes, I probably shouldn't have read these stories after having an intense monthlong relationship with the Carl books, but what's done is done. I don't want to hurt any of the authors' feelings and wish them much luck writing for a subculture I shall continue to mostly avoid except for the platinum outliers to which my cheap commercialized aesthetics gravitate. 

EDIT: After a friend suggested I just find pictures of them all, and vote for the cutest one, and flat out state that was how I was basing my decision, I started to do that. And I discovered they are all cute, but Cameron Reed seems to be avoiding the spotlight. So I abandoned this plan just in case they turned out to be so staggeringly cute that I was forced by my own logic to vote for them. H.H. Pak, meanwhile, is represented by a cartoon, and I thought that was super cute, and all the rest are at least cuter than me, although probably nowhere near as mouthy. As of this current moment I'm inclined to vote for H.H. Pak because we both thought Giving Tree was a crock and so was Cold Equations. And also if this wins I kinda want to do a whole series about robot nannies. 

“When He Calls Your Name” by Catherynne M. Valente

 Dolly Parton’s hit Jolene done up as a Lovecraftian tale with way more domestic drama than I felt inclined to enjoy. Now do Amos Moses. 

Review - “The Millay Illusion” by Sarah Pinsker

Plucky girl illusionist has sapphic romance with mysterious and pixieish dream girl while musing about transformation. I disliked the ending. 

Re-Review – “Never Eaten Vegetables” by H.H. Pak

I went back into the fray to give this story a second chance. It’s kind of Cold Equations meets The Giving Tree and I didn’t like either of those stories, and neither did the author apparently, which is one of the few things we have in common.

Review – Rapport Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy

This is it? This is what I was looking forward to? An action-free tale about a petulant adolescent AI that needs to be gently scolded just like a human adolescent because it’s having its first crush? Currently tempted to No Award this whole category, but I’m going to power through those last two stories I bounced away from first.