Vampires and the living dead seemed to be a sort of theme this year. The quality felt pretty average, and I didn’t find any of the stories to be exceptional. On the other hand, none of them was really bad or very irritating either. The first place in my voting was fairly obvious, but after that the choice was harder. None of the other stories really impressed me in a good way and neither in a bad way, and felt pretty average. I put Valente’s story in second place due to fine writing. I toyed with placing “no award” next, as the other stories really didn’t feel award-worthy. In the final voting, I might even do that. The stories in places 4 to 6 might be in any order.
“Bots of the Lost Ark” by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld, Jun 2021)
Continues the story The Secret Life of Bots, which won a Hugo in the year 2018. The bot who managed to save humanity more or less by accident in the last story has been hibernating for decades. The ship is returning home, but as it wasn’t able to use a jump gate it has taken a lot of time. The human crew members are in hibernation. Most of the bots in the ship have malfunctioned and imagined _they_ are the crew members. The ship is approaching the area of an alien civilization that doesn’t tolerate artificial intelligences. If the ship can’t prove that humans are in control, the ship will be destroyed. But there is only one human the main computer may awake from stasis – and to reach and inform him, the brave bot is needed. A pretty good story, which isn’t on the same level as the first part, but is amusing and entertaining nevertheless.
“Colors of the Immortal Palette” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Uncanny Magazine, Mar/Apr 2021)
In end-of-19th-century Paris a young Japanese-European woman models for artists, especially for one immortal one. He isn’t, apparently at least, an ordinary vampire but can make other people immortal with a personal cost, and apparently can leach the life force from other people. The woman has dreams of being an artist herself. The artist eventually changes the woman to immortal also. She later lives in the US for decades and eventually manages to achieve fame as an artist, pouring some of her life force into her works. A very good and well-written story about art and what it takes to be remembered.
“L’Esprit de L’Escalier” by Catherynne M. Valente (Tordotcom)
The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is presented in modern times. Orpheus is a famous singer. Eurydice his wife, has died and lives as a kind of zombie – breathing, moving, but slowly moulding and decaying, with no real feelings. Orpheus feels torn between the love of his (former) wife and taking care of something that isn’t exactly human anymore. Very nice and good writing, but I didn’t really get into the story.
“O2 Arena” by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Galaxy’s Edge, Nov 2021)
Climate change has caused the climate to become almost unbearably hot, and what is worse, the oxygen levels are declining. Everyone who can afford it in any way uses inhalers for extra oxygen. A young man who is studying at university in Nigeria loves a woman – at least as a dear friend, perhaps as more. The woman has cancer and her family doesn’t have money to pay for her treatment. The man decides to join O2 Arena cage fights, where people are fighting with no rules, sometimes to death. The rewards are huge but the risks of dying are also very real. The story was ok, but somehow it was really engaging – something was lacking. Perhaps a little shorter form with tighter writing (or a longer form with more background and characterization) might have served the storytelling.
“That Story Isn’t the Story” by John Wiswell (Uncanny Magazine, Nov/Dec 2021)
A man, Anton, escapes an apparent vampire who has been sucking his blood. The bite marks on his thighs bleed when the vampire is nearby. He escapes with the help of his friend Grigorii and takes him to live with him and Luis, another friend. They both believe that they have rescued Anton from a strange cult. Anton, on the other hand, is very afraid that his captor and his other victims will come to get him back and will hurt Grigorii and Anton as well. Then one day one of the other victims of the vampire shows up – the vampire can’t be far away. Ok story, but it was a bit scene-like with little backstory, and the ending felt somehow disjointed and sudden.
“Unseelie Brothers, Ltd.” by Fran Wilde (Uncanny Magazine, May/Jun 2021)
A dressmaker's shop appears occasionally – it may take years between appearances and appears at random places. The dresses from the shop are _special_, most beautiful and elegant, and anyone wearing one will be the luckiest woman at the next ball. But when someone wears one some strange things may happen and people might disappear. A young woman gets a chance to work at the shop. Her mother did own a dress made by the shop, but she disappeared. What will happen to the girl? The story left me pretty much lukewarm. I couldn't care less about exotic dresses and being the center of dance. The writing was ok, but perhaps not as sophisticated as in some of the other nominees.
My voting order:
1. “Colors of the Immortal Palette” by Caroline M. Yoachim
2. “L’Esprit de L’Escalier” by Catherynne M. Valente
3. “Unseelie Brothers, Ltd.” by Fran Wilde
4. “Bots of the Lost Ark” by Suzanne Palmer
5. “O2 Arena” by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
6. “That Story Isn’t the Story” by John Wiswell
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