In which I mostly but not wholly fail at Hugo nominee reading

I am cranky because I have managed to read almost nothing published last year. (I was busy mainlining Eugene Onegin and La Traviata. Don't judge me!) I thought I should at least read some of the Nebula nominees. Thanks to File 770 for the links.

Novella:

And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3-4/17) - A multiverse conference of Sarah Pinskers. This was pretty good, and I guess I may put it on my ballot for lack of anything better to do. I didn't think it was earthshattering, but it was solid, and it made me think (as I expect it's supposed to) of what a conference of cahns would be like. (We would all be super geeky and mostly not talk much to each other at first until separation into the ones who were shouting loudly about Extremely Important Opinions About Books And Music And TV, and the ones who had realized that they could actually do complicated vocal arrangements together. OMG. Now I REALLY WANT THIS.)

Novelette:

“A Series of Steaks” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld 1/17) - 3D printing (forging!) steaks. WHAT COULD BE BETTER. Everything about this story is lovely. Almost certainly going on my ballot.

“A Human Stain” by Kelly Robson (Tor.com 1/4/17) - I always find Robson's pieces spooky and working on a level that I'm not at. I think this is probably really good but not for me.

Short story:

“Fandom for Robots” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny 9-10/17) - I don't even care if this story is any good or not, because I loved it. Definitely going on my ballot. Exactly what the title says. It really captures that experience of fandom and the sense of connection one seeks for in fandom, even if one happens to be a robot.

“Utopia, LOL?” by Jamie Wahls (Strange Horizons 6/5/17) - I love this one too. I think I'm mostly just in love with the ADHD mentor/tour-guide heroine (because when do you ever get that??). Definitely going on ballot.

“Carnival Nine” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 5/11/17) - I liked this one, and it had some lovely writing.

Non-Nebula nominees but eligible for the Hugo:
Short story: A Burden Shared - Jo Walton (Tor.com) - This is also going on my ballot. I just feel like it has a lot of things to say about pain and burdens, and maybe even how gender relates to that.

Novel: Bannerless (Carrie Vaughn) -- I had read Vaughn's two stories set in the same universe and really liked them. This novel I think was a lightweight addition to the stories. The thing that got me about the stories is that it postulates a dystopian future in which a shame society makes a comeback -- but in that society, not shame about sex, but rather shame about wasting resources or having unapproved pregnancies (everyone has implants so it's about the population increase, not the sex). The stories weren't shy about poking at both the good and bad about a society that relies on shame for policing, but the novel... kind of is shy about it; the main character basically thinks it's a great thing and that's the only perspective we get. Though apparently it's the first of a series, so maybe the next book will get into that a little more.

Also I'm totally nominating The Good Place (Michael's Gambit) for Short Dramatic Presentation.