Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, here to finally talk the Hugos a bit with you. Wow, it’s already Friday again. It’s been a blur of a week for me, mostly because WorldCon ate my entire weekend. But it was a good convention! I enjoyed seeing a lot of people in person that I haven’t seen since the pandemic began (and hugging them! imagine!) and having little take out dinner parties in my room. A quieter personal con experience than previous WorldCons, but I don’t like crowds and noise so it was pretty darn good in my estimation! Hope everyone had a great weekend whether you were at WorldCon or not. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s somewhere to start: NDN Collective and Jane’s Due Process.
Bookish Goods
3D Printed Articulated Robot by JollyBuild
This little ball-jointed and posable robot buddy is super cute, which of course made me think of Robot in A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, which is also extremely cute. $24+
New Releases
Against All Gods by Miles Cameron
In an alternate Bronze Age, the people are merely trying to survive the capricious whims of a myriad of gods. But four god-touched mortals are about to be brought together, and they will launch a conspiracy to take down the corrupt and aging gods, who are already fighting a war on one front.
Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Dreams of Wakanda by Nic Stone, et al.
This isn’t actually fiction, but I think this is very relevant to our SFF interests. This is an anthology of personal essays by Black creatives about the film Black Panther and its impact on culture, society, and film.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations: Hugo Winners!
The Hugo Awards were given out this last Sunday, September 4. Here are just a few of the winners, but you can check out the full list over at Book Riot! And if you want, you can watch the full recording of the Hugo Awards ceremony!
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
Arkady Martine’s acceptance speech starts at about 1:53:00 in the video — and it is well worth watching because Arkady’s speech is excellent and also her dress is amazing. The book itself is about linguists trying to figure out how to communicate with a deeply alien race, when humans already have enough trouble talking amongst themselves.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
Becky Chambers could not attend the Hugos even electronically, so her speech is read starting around 1:47:40 in the video. This is a very gentle, quiet book about a monk trying to find their purpose after losing it, and a robot trying to understand what humans want, when humans really don’t understand themselves. It’s also about the importance of rest, something Becky talks about in the speech.
Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin, art by Jamal Campbell
N.K Jemisin’s speech starts at about 1:30:40 in the video.
Rookie Green Lantern Sojourner “Jo” Mullein has been sent to the City Enduring, a metropolis at the edge of the universe that hasn’t seen a violent crime in generations thanks to the Emotion Exploit erasing its citizens’ full range of feelings and allowing them to lice in peace. But when a brutal murder occurs and the population begins to rise against the Emotion Exploit, Jo must solve the crime and give the city a push toward a better future.
See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.