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Uncanny Magazine #18
Uncanny Magazine Issue 18: September/October 2017
Contents
The Uncanny Valley / essay by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
Henosis / short story by N. K. Jemisin
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand / short story by Fran Wilde
Though She Be But Little / short story by C.S.E. Cooney
Down and Out in R'lyeh / novelette by Catherynne M. Valente
Fandom for Robots / short story by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
At Cooney's / novelette by Delia Sherman
Ghost Town / short story by Malinda Lo
My Voice-Over Life / essay by Sophie Aldred
Let Me Tell You / essay by Cecilia Tan
I'm Not the Only One: Why Wonder Woman Doesn't Need to Stand Alone in Order to Stand Tall / essay by Sarah Kuhn
Resistance 101: Basics of Community Organizing for SF/F Creators and Consumers— Volume Four: "Don't Let Him Catch You With Your Work Undone"—Activism for the Long Haul / essay by Sam J. Miller and Jean Rice
Changeable Skins, Consummate Catchphrases / essay by Sabrina Vourvoulias
Too Much Dystopia? / poem by Jo Walton
Birth, Place / poem by Brandon O'Brien
A Lovesong from Frankenstein's Monster / poem by Ali Trotta
The Golem of the Gravestones / poem by Gwynne Garfinkle
Interview: C. S. E. Cooney / interview by Julia Rios
Interview: Delia Sherman / interview by Julia Rios
The Uncanny Valley / essay by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
Henosis / short story by N. K. Jemisin
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand / short story by Fran Wilde
Though She Be But Little / short story by C.S.E. Cooney
Down and Out in R'lyeh / novelette by Catherynne M. Valente
Fandom for Robots / short story by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
At Cooney's / novelette by Delia Sherman
Ghost Town / short story by Malinda Lo
My Voice-Over Life / essay by Sophie Aldred
Let Me Tell You / essay by Cecilia Tan
I'm Not the Only One: Why Wonder Woman Doesn't Need to Stand Alone in Order to Stand Tall / essay by Sarah Kuhn
Resistance 101: Basics of Community Organizing for SF/F Creators and Consumers— Volume Four: "Don't Let Him Catch You With Your Work Undone"—Activism for the Long Haul / essay by Sam J. Miller and Jean Rice
Changeable Skins, Consummate Catchphrases / essay by Sabrina Vourvoulias
Too Much Dystopia? / poem by Jo Walton
Birth, Place / poem by Brandon O'Brien
A Lovesong from Frankenstein's Monster / poem by Ali Trotta
The Golem of the Gravestones / poem by Gwynne Garfinkle
Interview: C. S. E. Cooney / interview by Julia Rios
Interview: Delia Sherman / interview by Julia Rios
168 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2017
12 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
About the author
Lynne M. Thomas
105 books223 followersIn my day job, I am the Head of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country. I used to manage pop culture special collections that include the papers of over 70 SF/F authors at Northern Illinois University. I also teach a Special Collections course as an adjunct in the iSchool at Illinois, and used to do so at SJSU.
I'm an eleven-time Hugo Award winner, the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Uncanny Magazine with my husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013), I co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas, and Chicks Dig Comics. I moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contribute to the Verity! Podcast. You can learn more about my shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.
I'm an eleven-time Hugo Award winner, the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Uncanny Magazine with my husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013), I co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas, and Chicks Dig Comics. I moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contribute to the Verity! Podcast. You can learn more about my shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 137 reviews
May 23, 2018
A couple of months back,
I read a news story that made me go "wait, whaaaaaaaat?". It was about an A.I. that wrote a Harry Potter fanfic, and it just really hit me how Asimov's stories are coming to fruition. Ah, what a time to be alive!
Fandom for Robots tells the short little story of Computron, an early sentient Robot from 1954 who is housed in a museum, and his emotionless journey through binge-watching and following latest anime which tells the adventures of a Robot and a Human. Computron also finds the fans of the show on Internet, and his interactions with them paint this funny and thoughtful tale, which YOU can read here------> https://uncannymagazine.com/article/f...
First of all, I loved the structure of the tale: The chats, the comment sections, and messages are really refreshing and funny. Plus who doesn't love a creative Robot?!
Recommended.
Merged review:
This is the review for Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand, a 2017 Nebula/2018 Hugo nominee for Best Short Story!
Come on in, Welcome to the creepiest museum tour in the history of creepiest museum tours!
The story opened strong. Creepy atmosphere and an absolutely vivid narrative brimming with promise. But just as the tourist taking the museum tour (Who is actually you, because the guide is directly talking to you! Yes, you!) starts feeling uneasiness, you start feeling uneasiness! I know, confusing. But to be honest, it works too well because now you (actually me while reading) want the story to be over because it's just too creepy and claustrophobic.
Make sense?
While it's a great premise, the novelty of narratives wanes towards the second half because of the repetition. Nevertheless, the short story did manage to leave me in a glass case of emotions.
Or just in a glass case.
Fandom for Robots tells the short little story of Computron, an early sentient Robot from 1954 who is housed in a museum, and his emotionless journey through binge-watching and following latest anime which tells the adventures of a Robot and a Human. Computron also finds the fans of the show on Internet, and his interactions with them paint this funny and thoughtful tale, which YOU can read here------> https://uncannymagazine.com/article/f...
First of all, I loved the structure of the tale: The chats, the comment sections, and messages are really refreshing and funny. Plus who doesn't love a creative Robot?!
Recommended.
Merged review:
This is the review for Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand, a 2017 Nebula/2018 Hugo nominee for Best Short Story!
Come on in, Welcome to the creepiest museum tour in the history of creepiest museum tours!
The story opened strong. Creepy atmosphere and an absolutely vivid narrative brimming with promise. But just as the tourist taking the museum tour (Who is actually you, because the guide is directly talking to you! Yes, you!) starts feeling uneasiness, you start feeling uneasiness! I know, confusing. But to be honest, it works too well because now you (actually me while reading) want the story to be over because it's just too creepy and claustrophobic.
Make sense?
While it's a great premise, the novelty of narratives wanes towards the second half because of the repetition. Nevertheless, the short story did manage to leave me in a glass case of emotions.
Or just in a glass case.
October 29, 2019
4.5 stars for the two Nebula nominated stories reviewed below; 3.5 for N.K. Jemisin's interesting "Henosis." This issue of Uncanny Magazine (free online here) has two current Nebula award nominees in the short story category, both of them IMO excellent and very worthy nominees. Reviews for these stories first posted on Fantasy Literature:
4.5 stars: “Fandom for Robots” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad: Computron, despite being the “only known sentient robot,” is dismissed by society as a quaint artifact, because it was built in 1954 and boasts a boxy steel frame and claw design. It’s now part of the Simak Robotics Museum, and its only function, other than answering a few random student emails, is to play a role in the museum’s Robotics Then and Now presentation for visitors, representing the “Then” portion of the program and answering four questions to demonstrate its sentience (a breakdancing android represents the “Now” segment).
Everything changes for Computron when a teenage girl asks it if it has ever watched the anime program Hyperdimension Warp Record; Computron reminds her of one of the characters. Instead of entering sleep mode afterwards, Computron determines that it is logical to spend some time researching this anime series on the internet, in order to better answer any future questions on the topic.
“Fandom for Robots” is both charming and insightful in relating how an intelligent robot finds a way to develop into something more, even if the path it chooses seems an odd choice. We are assured that Computron can feel no emotion, and yet there is something of that nature bubbling beneath Computron’s logical surface. The fanfic community and online discussions are depicted with humorous affection, and there’s a poignancy to Computron’s eagerness to being a productive member of its newfound community that has stuck with me.
Content notes: A couple of F-bombs and a little erotic slash fanfic.
4.5 stars: In “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand” by Fran Wilde, a visitor is carefully ushered through a Victorian type of freak museum by a guide, who narrates this short work. From the moment you pay your dime and enter, the evocative, disturbing imagery builds, as you and the insidious guide make your way from room (A Hallway of Things People Have Swallowed) to room (A Room of Objects That Are Very Sharp, and more).
With each section of this story, N.K. Jemisin jumps back and forth in time, gradually closing in on the key moment when we as readers realize what’s at stake, though the characters have been aware of it all along. The non-linear storytelling here seemed a bit like excessive gymnastics, though Jemisin helpfully includes chapter numbers to help the reader mentally order events. The ultimate reveal struck me as a little too weak of a concept to build an entire story around, though it’s told with Jemisin’s usual style and insight.
“Henosis” is a classical Greek word meaning “oneness”, “union” or “unity” with what is fundamental in reality, which concept gives the reader a little something extra to chew over in connection with the story’s underlying theme.
4.5 stars: “Fandom for Robots” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad: Computron, despite being the “only known sentient robot,” is dismissed by society as a quaint artifact, because it was built in 1954 and boasts a boxy steel frame and claw design. It’s now part of the Simak Robotics Museum, and its only function, other than answering a few random student emails, is to play a role in the museum’s Robotics Then and Now presentation for visitors, representing the “Then” portion of the program and answering four questions to demonstrate its sentience (a breakdancing android represents the “Now” segment).
Everything changes for Computron when a teenage girl asks it if it has ever watched the anime program Hyperdimension Warp Record; Computron reminds her of one of the characters. Instead of entering sleep mode afterwards, Computron determines that it is logical to spend some time researching this anime series on the internet, in order to better answer any future questions on the topic.
Between watching the series, viewing the online bulletin boards, and perusing the extensively footnoted fan encyclopedia, Computron does not enter sleep mode for ten hours, thirty-six minutes, two seconds, and twenty milliseconds.So web surfing can be a timesuck for robots too ― good to know! Not only does Computron become a fan of the series, it decides that ― other fans’ depictions of the robot character Cyro being inadequate ― it should take a shot at writing fanfiction itself. Computron’s first HyperWarp fanfic story is met with a fair amount of confusion by other fans … but one enthusiastic fan, bjornruffian, sees potential in its writing, and they begin communicating online.
“Fandom for Robots” is both charming and insightful in relating how an intelligent robot finds a way to develop into something more, even if the path it chooses seems an odd choice. We are assured that Computron can feel no emotion, and yet there is something of that nature bubbling beneath Computron’s logical surface. The fanfic community and online discussions are depicted with humorous affection, and there’s a poignancy to Computron’s eagerness to being a productive member of its newfound community that has stuck with me.
Content notes: A couple of F-bombs and a little erotic slash fanfic.
4.5 stars: In “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand” by Fran Wilde, a visitor is carefully ushered through a Victorian type of freak museum by a guide, who narrates this short work. From the moment you pay your dime and enter, the evocative, disturbing imagery builds, as you and the insidious guide make your way from room (A Hallway of Things People Have Swallowed) to room (A Room of Objects That Are Very Sharp, and more).
Maybe take this chair. I’ll push you around. The wheels squeak on the wood floor, and the chair is really more of a bin. Don’t mind the parts in there with you, the arms bent at angles, some screws missing; the legs, still braced, the leather straps, the metal bits and the plastic… remember, plastic’s newer and we don’t really respect anyone who’s turned on by that. Comfy?“Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand” isn’t as accessible as “Fandom for Robots,” and it certainly won’t leave you with cozy feelings. But it is weirdly intriguing, and demanded a second read from me. Its second person narration pulls us readers into the story, as we play the role of a visitor who has judged those who are different and unusual … and may end up paying a horrible price for it.
I wish you could see yourself. Slouching! You’re becoming a mess. Mouth wide open. And that stare. At the glass cases, at me. Surely you’ve seen us before, on the street? In a shop?
Stay quiet, it will be over soon—3.5 stars: "Henosis" by N.K. Jemisin. Harkim is a well-known author who’s one of the finalists for an award to be given out that very night. He’s in a chauffeured limousine when he realizes that his driver is the wrong person. In fact, it’s a fan of his, who assures him that she’s kidnapping him for his own good.
With each section of this story, N.K. Jemisin jumps back and forth in time, gradually closing in on the key moment when we as readers realize what’s at stake, though the characters have been aware of it all along. The non-linear storytelling here seemed a bit like excessive gymnastics, though Jemisin helpfully includes chapter numbers to help the reader mentally order events. The ultimate reveal struck me as a little too weak of a concept to build an entire story around, though it’s told with Jemisin’s usual style and insight.
“Henosis” is a classical Greek word meaning “oneness”, “union” or “unity” with what is fundamental in reality, which concept gives the reader a little something extra to chew over in connection with the story’s underlying theme.
September 21, 2018
I LIKED THIS STORY IT MADE ME WANT TO WRITE A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A ROBOT THAT WRITES A QUIRKY MOVING FAN-FIC ABOUT A
Reviewbot 9000 is currently offline for maintenance. Please refrain from entering self-referential ironic metafiction since this can damage its neural feedback mechanisms.
Reviewbot 9000 is currently offline for maintenance. Please refrain from entering self-referential ironic metafiction since this can damage its neural feedback mechanisms.
April 30, 2020
Very, very short and very cute!
... …and Ellison manoeuvred his flesh hands in a claw-like motion, locking them with Cyro’s own grasping claws. His soft human body pressed against the hard lines of Cyro’s proprietary alloy, in a manner which would have generated wear and tear had Cyro’s body not been of superior make. Fluids leaked from Ellison’s eyes. No fluids leaked from Cyro’s ocular units, but…
Comments (3)
DontGotRhythm:
What the hell? Have you ever met a human? This reads like an alien wrote it.
tattered_freedom_wings:
uhhh this is kinda weird but i think i liked it?? not sure about the box thing though...
... …and Ellison manoeuvred his flesh hands in a claw-like motion, locking them with Cyro’s own grasping claws. His soft human body pressed against the hard lines of Cyro’s proprietary alloy, in a manner which would have generated wear and tear had Cyro’s body not been of superior make. Fluids leaked from Ellison’s eyes. No fluids leaked from Cyro’s ocular units, but…
Comments (3)
DontGotRhythm:
What the hell? Have you ever met a human? This reads like an alien wrote it.
tattered_freedom_wings:
uhhh this is kinda weird but i think i liked it?? not sure about the box thing though...
May 9, 2019
Fandom for Robots
BY VINA JIE-MIN PRASAD
Another nominee for Hugo for this author, this time for Best Short Story.
Computron is a robot with no emotions which gets sucked in a fandom for a robot character; quite realistic and funny, but I liked A Series of Steaks better.
Still, totally worth reading; here's the link: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/f...
BY VINA JIE-MIN PRASAD
Another nominee for Hugo for this author, this time for Best Short Story.
Computron is a robot with no emotions which gets sucked in a fandom for a robot character; quite realistic and funny, but I liked A Series of Steaks better.
Still, totally worth reading; here's the link: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/f...
January 3, 2019
A shadow ducks low, then high. You hear soft breathing, a giggle. Curious?
Yes, yes I AM curious. Are you?
Well, don't get your hopes up about that curiosity being satisfied.
This was creepy and intriguing, a well-crafted read, but ultimately unsatisfying as a story.
Yes, yes I AM curious. Are you?
Well, don't get your hopes up about that curiosity being satisfied.
This was creepy and intriguing, a well-crafted read, but ultimately unsatisfying as a story.
Read
June 15, 2020Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
Computron is the only known sentient robot. He was created in 1954 and is fairly outdated by now, because apparently android-bodied automatons are en vogue and our poor sentient robot protagonist is not.
So Computron’s only tasks are to take part in the Simak Robotics Museum’s Robotics Then and Now performance once a day where he has to answer four queries from the audience as proof of his sentience. And to answer his electronic mail, which consists of more queries from elementary school students.
A teenage girl asks him about the Japanese anime Hyperdimension Warp Record, a show set in space in the far future, where the two main protagonists Ellison and Cyro (a robot) escape from a galactic prison and make their way across the galaxy in hunt of the Seven Sabers of Paradise.
Computron starts to watch the show (only for research, of course) and subsequently develops an interest in modern fanfiction.
Vina Jie-Min Prasad created a protagonist that seems to be born of nostalgia for science-fiction stories from the middle of the 20th century but nonetheless presents her story in a modern way. And also with a nice sense for subtle humor.
Makes me want to read an Isaac Asimov novel now. Which I should do anyway, because my Foundation Universe project is far behind schedule.
The story is free online. You can read it here.
2018 Hugo and 2017 Nebula Award nominee for Best Short Story
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde
A visit to a curiosities cabinet. Written in 2nd person.
I have to admit, it was a little disturbing. Apart from that there wasn't much at offer for me here.
I had to read this a second time. Because my reaction after the first read was something like- Eh? What’s this all about?
It got a lot clearer the second time around and I upgraded my carefully considered assessment to- Eh? Why is this nominated for the Hugos?
And a Nebula Award too, mind you. Quite clearly, I’ve read this wrong.
Maybe you can do better?! Try here. It’s free! wheee! Oh well…
____________________________
Best Novel
��� The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (Tor)
• New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
• Provenance by Ann Leckie (Orbit)
• Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
• Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (Orbit)
• The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
Best Novella
• All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
• And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny, March/April 2017)
• Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
• River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)
Best Novelette
• Children of Thorns, Children of Water by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny, July-August 2017)
• Extracurricular Activities by Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com, February 15, 2017)
• The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld, September 2017)
• A Series of Steaks by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld, January 2017)
• Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
• Wind Will Rove by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s, September/October 2017)
Best Short Story
• Carnival Nine by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, May 2017)
• Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde (Uncanny, September 2017)
• Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny, September/October 2017)
• The Martian Obelisk by Linda Nagata (Tor.com, July 19, 2017)
• Sun, Moon, Dust by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017) by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
• Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™ by Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex, August 2017)
Best Related Work
• Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate by Zoe Quinn (PublicAffairs)
• Iain M. Banks (Modern Masters of Science Fiction) by Paul Kincaid (University of Illinois Press)
• A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison by Nat Segaloff (NESFA Press)
• Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler edited by Alexandra Pierce and Mimi Mondal (Twelfth Planet Press)
• No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Sleeping with Monsters: Readings and Reactions in Science Fiction and Fantasy by Liz Bourke (Aqueduct Press)
Best Graphic Story
• Black Bolt, Volume 1: Hard Time written by Saladin Ahmed, illustrated by Christian Ward, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Marvel)
• Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, illustrated by Valentine De Landro and Taki Soma, colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Image Comics)
• Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood written by Marjorie M. Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
• My Favorite Thing is Monsters written and illustrated by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
• Paper Girls, Volume 3 written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Cliff Chiang, colored by Matthew Wilson, lettered by Jared Fletcher (Image Comics)
• Saga, Volume 7 written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
Best Series
• The Books of the Raksura, by Martha Wells (Night Shade)
• The Divine Cities, by Robert Jackson Bennett (Broadway)
• InCryptid, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
• The Memoirs of Lady Trent, by Marie Brennan (Tor US / Titan UK)
• The Stormlight Archive, by Brandon Sanderson (Tor US / Gollancz UK)
• World of the Five Gods, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Harper Voyager / Spectrum Literary Agency)
___________________
Best Novel
• Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly (Tor)
• The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss (Saga)
• Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory (Knopf; riverrun)
• The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (Orbit US)
• Jade City by Fonda Lee (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• Autonomous by Annalee Newitz (Tor; Orbit UK 2018)
Best Novella
• River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)
• Passing Strange by Ellen Klages (Tor.com Publishing)
• And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3-4/17)
• Barry’s Deal by Lawrence M. Schoen (NobleFusion Press)
• All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
Best Novelette
• Dirty Old Town by Richard Bowes (Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction 5-6/17)
• Weaponized Math by Jonathan P. Brazee (The Expanding Universe, Vol. 3)
• Wind Will Rove by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s 9-10/17)
• A Series of Steaks by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld 1/17)
• A Human Stain by Kelly Robson (Tor.com 1/4/17)
• Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny 5-6/17)
Best Short Story
• Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny 9-10/17)
• Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™ by Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex 8/17)
• Utopia, LOL? by Jamie Wahls (Strange Horizons 6/5/17)
• Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde (Uncanny 9-10/17)
• The Last Novelist (or A Dead Lizard in the Yard) by Matthew Kressel (Tor.com 3/15/17)
• Carnival Nine by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 5/11/17)
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy
• Exo by Fonda Lee (Scholastic Press)
• Weave a Circle Round by Kari Maaren (Tor)
• The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller (HarperTeen)
• Want by Cindy Pon (Simon Pulse)
Computron is the only known sentient robot. He was created in 1954 and is fairly outdated by now, because apparently android-bodied automatons are en vogue and our poor sentient robot protagonist is not.
So Computron’s only tasks are to take part in the Simak Robotics Museum’s Robotics Then and Now performance once a day where he has to answer four queries from the audience as proof of his sentience. And to answer his electronic mail, which consists of more queries from elementary school students.
A teenage girl asks him about the Japanese anime Hyperdimension Warp Record, a show set in space in the far future, where the two main protagonists Ellison and Cyro (a robot) escape from a galactic prison and make their way across the galaxy in hunt of the Seven Sabers of Paradise.
Computron starts to watch the show (only for research, of course) and subsequently develops an interest in modern fanfiction.
Vina Jie-Min Prasad created a protagonist that seems to be born of nostalgia for science-fiction stories from the middle of the 20th century but nonetheless presents her story in a modern way. And also with a nice sense for subtle humor.
Makes me want to read an Isaac Asimov novel now. Which I should do anyway, because my Foundation Universe project is far behind schedule.
The story is free online. You can read it here.
2018 Hugo and 2017 Nebula Award nominee for Best Short Story
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde
A visit to a curiosities cabinet. Written in 2nd person.
I have to admit, it was a little disturbing. Apart from that there wasn't much at offer for me here.
I had to read this a second time. Because my reaction after the first read was something like- Eh? What’s this all about?
It got a lot clearer the second time around and I upgraded my carefully considered assessment to- Eh? Why is this nominated for the Hugos?
And a Nebula Award too, mind you. Quite clearly, I’ve read this wrong.
Maybe you can do better?! Try here. It’s free! wheee! Oh well…
____________________________
2018 Hugo Awards Finalists
Best Novel
��� The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (Tor)
• New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
• Provenance by Ann Leckie (Orbit)
• Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
• Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (Orbit)
• The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
Best Novella
• All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
• And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny, March/April 2017)
• Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
• River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)
Best Novelette
• Children of Thorns, Children of Water by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny, July-August 2017)
• Extracurricular Activities by Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com, February 15, 2017)
• The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld, September 2017)
• A Series of Steaks by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld, January 2017)
• Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
• Wind Will Rove by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s, September/October 2017)
Best Short Story
• Carnival Nine by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, May 2017)
• Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde (Uncanny, September 2017)
• Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny, September/October 2017)
• The Martian Obelisk by Linda Nagata (Tor.com, July 19, 2017)
• Sun, Moon, Dust by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017) by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
• Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™ by Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex, August 2017)
Best Related Work
• Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate by Zoe Quinn (PublicAffairs)
• Iain M. Banks (Modern Masters of Science Fiction) by Paul Kincaid (University of Illinois Press)
• A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison by Nat Segaloff (NESFA Press)
• Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler edited by Alexandra Pierce and Mimi Mondal (Twelfth Planet Press)
• No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Sleeping with Monsters: Readings and Reactions in Science Fiction and Fantasy by Liz Bourke (Aqueduct Press)
Best Graphic Story
• Black Bolt, Volume 1: Hard Time written by Saladin Ahmed, illustrated by Christian Ward, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Marvel)
• Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, illustrated by Valentine De Landro and Taki Soma, colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick, lettered by Clayton Cowles (Image Comics)
• Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood written by Marjorie M. Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
• My Favorite Thing is Monsters written and illustrated by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
• Paper Girls, Volume 3 written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Cliff Chiang, colored by Matthew Wilson, lettered by Jared Fletcher (Image Comics)
• Saga, Volume 7 written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
Best Series
• The Books of the Raksura, by Martha Wells (Night Shade)
• The Divine Cities, by Robert Jackson Bennett (Broadway)
• InCryptid, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
• The Memoirs of Lady Trent, by Marie Brennan (Tor US / Titan UK)
• The Stormlight Archive, by Brandon Sanderson (Tor US / Gollancz UK)
• World of the Five Gods, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Harper Voyager / Spectrum Literary Agency)
___________________
2017 Nebula Award Nominees
Best Novel
• Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly (Tor)
• The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss (Saga)
• Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory (Knopf; riverrun)
• The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (Orbit US)
• Jade City by Fonda Lee (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• Autonomous by Annalee Newitz (Tor; Orbit UK 2018)
Best Novella
• River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)
• Passing Strange by Ellen Klages (Tor.com Publishing)
• And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3-4/17)
• Barry’s Deal by Lawrence M. Schoen (NobleFusion Press)
• All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
• The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
Best Novelette
• Dirty Old Town by Richard Bowes (Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction 5-6/17)
• Weaponized Math by Jonathan P. Brazee (The Expanding Universe, Vol. 3)
• Wind Will Rove by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s 9-10/17)
• A Series of Steaks by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld 1/17)
• A Human Stain by Kelly Robson (Tor.com 1/4/17)
• Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time by K.M. Szpara (Uncanny 5-6/17)
Best Short Story
• Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny 9-10/17)
• Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™ by Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex 8/17)
• Utopia, LOL? by Jamie Wahls (Strange Horizons 6/5/17)
• Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde (Uncanny 9-10/17)
• The Last Novelist (or A Dead Lizard in the Yard) by Matthew Kressel (Tor.com 3/15/17)
• Carnival Nine by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 5/11/17)
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy
• Exo by Fonda Lee (Scholastic Press)
• Weave a Circle Round by Kari Maaren (Tor)
• The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller (HarperTeen)
• Want by Cindy Pon (Simon Pulse)
January 10, 2019
2.5 robotics stars
A sentient robot is the protagonist of this short-short story about a solitary existence as an obsolete object in a museum whose non-existence sees a change for an iniquitous question of a girl about an anime series. From there, the fandom consumes it.
I think that many fanfiction fans will be very recognized in some lines and will start more than some smile. However, the idea, despite being charming and ingenous, does not manage to catch me in a revealing way, maybe because the metafandom is something very seen in my case.
Computron es un robot creado en los 50s cuya única ocupacion es responder emails de niños de primaria y contestar 4 cortas preguntas pre-establecidas en el museo The Simak Robotics Museum. Una de esas preguntas acerca de una serie anime donde un personaje se asemeja a este, le lleva a investigar el asunto. Cuando queda esperando la proxima temporada de la serie descubre esa cosa llamada ¡'fanfiction' ! y además es ¡fanfiction slash! jaja. Bueno es una idea simpática y entretenida con los que los adeptos al fandom y fanfiction se identificarán , pero a pesar de ello no alcanza un nivel de genialidad que me lleve a asombrarme.
Queda la idea sí, del aislamiento y la soledad del personaje, y la parte más conmovedora es cuando realiza la investigación en el museo para ayudar a la chica dibujante. Eso convendria explorar.
here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/f...
A sentient robot is the protagonist of this short-short story about a solitary existence as an obsolete object in a museum whose non-existence sees a change for an iniquitous question of a girl about an anime series. From there, the fandom consumes it.
During the wait for episode eight, Computron discovers a concept called “fanfiction.”
I think that many fanfiction fans will be very recognized in some lines and will start more than some smile. However, the idea, despite being charming and ingenous, does not manage to catch me in a revealing way, maybe because the metafandom is something very seen in my case.
Computron es un robot creado en los 50s cuya única ocupacion es responder emails de niños de primaria y contestar 4 cortas preguntas pre-establecidas en el museo The Simak Robotics Museum. Una de esas preguntas acerca de una serie anime donde un personaje se asemeja a este, le lleva a investigar el asunto. Cuando queda esperando la proxima temporada de la serie descubre esa cosa llamada ¡'fanfiction' ! y además es ¡fanfiction slash! jaja. Bueno es una idea simpática y entretenida con los que los adeptos al fandom y fanfiction se identificarán , pero a pesar de ello no alcanza un nivel de genialidad que me lleve a asombrarme.
Queda la idea sí, del aislamiento y la soledad del personaje, y la parte más conmovedora es cuando realiza la investigación en el museo para ayudar a la chica dibujante. Eso convendria explorar.
here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/f...
April 12, 2018
'18 Hugo Nom for short story.
I thought this one was rather great. Funny, recognizable, and delicious. Perfect for old anime fans and fandom in general. But more so, I love the robots squeeing over each other. :) It's a nearly perfect mild meta-story for SF fans. :)
Merged review:
'18 Hugo finalist for short story.
Probably the most vivid of the stories I've read for the noms, it's written in 2nd person and you're the exhibit for a morbid curiosity show full of horrors and history. :) Not bad, but not sure if it really belongs in the Hugo noms.
I thought this one was rather great. Funny, recognizable, and delicious. Perfect for old anime fans and fandom in general. But more so, I love the robots squeeing over each other. :) It's a nearly perfect mild meta-story for SF fans. :)
Merged review:
'18 Hugo finalist for short story.
Probably the most vivid of the stories I've read for the noms, it's written in 2nd person and you're the exhibit for a morbid curiosity show full of horrors and history. :) Not bad, but not sure if it really belongs in the Hugo noms.
June 3, 2018
***FINALIST FOR THE 2018 EUGIE AWARD***
No to my personal taste because second-person narratives need to be burned in the cleansing fire of the sun's core.
Plus I've already read The Screwtape Letters.
Points for handling the second person better than most, plus the sheer verve of the storytelling.
No to my personal taste because second-person narratives need to be burned in the cleansing fire of the sun's core.
Plus I've already read The Screwtape Letters.
Points for handling the second person better than most, plus the sheer verve of the storytelling.
October 29, 2019
Review for Fandom for Robots. Thanks Tadiana and Corinne!
I...I’m speechless. This was beautiful and I want MORE!! 5, you need to read this right now, stars!
I...I’m speechless. This was beautiful and I want MORE!! 5, you need to read this right now, stars!
July 30, 2023
Review for Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand BY FRAN WILDE
“There is a ticket booth on my tongue.“
This strange first sentence sets the tone of the story. Very odd. My take on this was a guy taking a tour in some sort of museum/ward/institution peopled by freaks, aka circus freaks/sideshows or maybe supernatural beings like mermaids. Someone not considered “normal“ in appearance.
Each room the visitor is taken through is increasingly weirder and more horrible. Considering the ending this could be read as a revenge story.
Of the Hugo Awards 2018 Short Story Nominees I liked this the least.
Turns out it is a very personal piece for the author, see here: https://franwilde.wordpress.com/2018/...
Story can be found here:
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/c...
Hugo Awards 2018 Short Story Nominee (I liked it the least).
PS: It‘s possible that I mixed up the review of that story and this one:
Fandom for Robots BY VINA JIE-MIN PRASAD.
I went back to Uncanny to check if I had downloaded the entire story or if I was missing a page or two. This felt a bit like an unedited first draft. More likely, I just didn‘t get it.
Nice idea to see a sentient robot caught up in fanfiction and a fandom. But the writing felt very disjointed. I liked the story, the writing wasn‘t really for me.
That one can be read here: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/artic...
I might have to re-read both stories again at some point.
“There is a ticket booth on my tongue.“
This strange first sentence sets the tone of the story. Very odd. My take on this was a guy taking a tour in some sort of museum/ward/institution peopled by freaks, aka circus freaks/sideshows or maybe supernatural beings like mermaids. Someone not considered “normal“ in appearance.
Each room the visitor is taken through is increasingly weirder and more horrible. Considering the ending this could be read as a revenge story.
Of the Hugo Awards 2018 Short Story Nominees I liked this the least.
Turns out it is a very personal piece for the author, see here: https://franwilde.wordpress.com/2018/...
Story can be found here:
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/c...
Hugo Awards 2018 Short Story Nominee (I liked it the least).
PS: It‘s possible that I mixed up the review of that story and this one:
Fandom for Robots BY VINA JIE-MIN PRASAD.
I went back to Uncanny to check if I had downloaded the entire story or if I was missing a page or two. This felt a bit like an unedited first draft. More likely, I just didn‘t get it.
Nice idea to see a sentient robot caught up in fanfiction and a fandom. But the writing felt very disjointed. I liked the story, the writing wasn‘t really for me.
That one can be read here: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/artic...
I might have to re-read both stories again at some point.
June 24, 2018
Robot Computron is an artifact from the past, residing in a museum. A fan urges Computron to check out an animated show about a person and a robot, and becomes hooked, and begins writing fanfic -- how perfect!
I loved Computron's awkwrardness and literal-ness in conversation, and how the anonymity of the online world allows Computron the freedom to become quite the hit as a writer and collaborator of fan fiction.
Merged review:
A guided tour through an exhibit of weird stuff should have been fascinating, but wasn’t for me. Not sure why as there’s nothing wrong with this short, but my attention kept straying.
I loved Computron's awkwrardness and literal-ness in conversation, and how the anonymity of the online world allows Computron the freedom to become quite the hit as a writer and collaborator of fan fiction.
Merged review:
A guided tour through an exhibit of weird stuff should have been fascinating, but wasn’t for me. Not sure why as there’s nothing wrong with this short, but my attention kept straying.
July 5, 2018
A very good robots short story : )
Read it!
Read it!
May 29, 2018
A short, fun, & really interesting look at an AI & fanfic. Read it for free. It's worthy of its nomination.
March 12, 2020
Review solely for "Fandom for Robots" by Vina Jie-Min Prasad. Yet Another stealth merge by GR! Bah.
Online at https://uncannymagazine.com/article/f... Nebula nominee for best short story, 2018
Wow. My new fave from this author, and for the Hugo shorts nominees.
"The Simak Robotics Museum’s commemorative postcard set ($15.00 for a set of twelve) describes Computron as “The only known sentient robot, created in 1954..."
Computron binge-watches all 6 episodes of HyperWarp. "Hyperdimension Warp Record (超次元 ワープ レコード Chōjigen Wāpu Rekōdo, literal translation: Super Dimensional Warp Record) is a Japanese anime series set in space in the far future."
Remarkably silly and fun. Don't miss!
Online at https://uncannymagazine.com/article/f... Nebula nominee for best short story, 2018
Wow. My new fave from this author, and for the Hugo shorts nominees.
"The Simak Robotics Museum’s commemorative postcard set ($15.00 for a set of twelve) describes Computron as “The only known sentient robot, created in 1954..."
Computron binge-watches all 6 episodes of HyperWarp. "Hyperdimension Warp Record (超次元 ワープ レコード Chōjigen Wāpu Rekōdo, literal translation: Super Dimensional Warp Record) is a Japanese anime series set in space in the far future."
Remarkably silly and fun. Don't miss!
September 9, 2017
A near miss for Uncanny, which is a bit disappointing. I truly disliked a few of the stories in this. Some of the essays didn't interest me that much too.
My favorites: "At Cooney's" by Delia Sherman (I always love her stories), "Henosis" by N.K. Jemisin (had to look up what "henosis" actually is to get it though), and "Fandom for Robots" by Vina Jie-Min Prasad. The reprint "Ghost Town" by Malindo Lo was also a suitably creepy story going into the Halloween season.
My favorites: "At Cooney's" by Delia Sherman (I always love her stories), "Henosis" by N.K. Jemisin (had to look up what "henosis" actually is to get it though), and "Fandom for Robots" by Vina Jie-Min Prasad. The reprint "Ghost Town" by Malindo Lo was also a suitably creepy story going into the Halloween season.
December 26, 2018
Computron es un robot inteligente construido en 1954 que reside en un museo. Cada semana, se involucra en un programa donde le realizan cuatro preguntas sencillas. En una de estas sesiones, una chica le insta a ver un anime sobre un humano y un robot que viajan por diferentes dimensiones. Computron se engancha a la serie, descubre el mundo del fandom, y escribe su primer fanfic. Nominada tanto al premio Nébula como Hugo, Vina escriba una historia de estructura peculiar (combina registros, búsquedas de internet, chats,…) bastante divertida y reflexiva. La autora consigue pintar todo un homenaje hacia el anime mecha, el mundo del fandom en general, y a las historias de ciencia ficción a mediados del siglo XX. Un relato encantador, donde, aunque creo que falta potencia de resolución, su desarrollo sobre la interacción social y la inteligencia emocional de una IA es de lo más interesante.
Disponible en la SuperSonic #12 con traducción de Alexander Páez
Disponible en la SuperSonic #12 con traducción de Alexander Páez
April 17, 2018
“Have you ever met a human? This reads as if an alien wrote it.”
In the not-too-far-distant future Artificial Intelligences may be able to write science fiction “from a certain point of view” better than humans, and of course humans may not know the difference. In this Hugo year of abounding AI stories, Fandom distinguishes itself with a compact plot and wry humor.
“My lack of emotion circuits means I cannot be ‘happy’ about performing any actions.”
(2018 Hugo Award short story finalist. Illustration is cover of magazine in which story appeared; has nothing to do with story.)
Merged review:
“You paid your money, you might as well have a look.”
A strange, sad little tale, told in second person. Almost nothing to recommend it. Not sure why this was nominated for a Hugo Award; harder to believe it’s a finalist.
“We’re all dolls here, with some spare parts.”
Perhaps the emperor really doesn’t have any clothes.
“Never confuse good intentions for malice.”
In the not-too-far-distant future Artificial Intelligences may be able to write science fiction “from a certain point of view” better than humans, and of course humans may not know the difference. In this Hugo year of abounding AI stories, Fandom distinguishes itself with a compact plot and wry humor.
“My lack of emotion circuits means I cannot be ‘happy’ about performing any actions.”
(2018 Hugo Award short story finalist. Illustration is cover of magazine in which story appeared; has nothing to do with story.)
Merged review:
“You paid your money, you might as well have a look.”
A strange, sad little tale, told in second person. Almost nothing to recommend it. Not sure why this was nominated for a Hugo Award; harder to believe it’s a finalist.
“We’re all dolls here, with some spare parts.”
Perhaps the emperor really doesn’t have any clothes.
“Never confuse good intentions for malice.”
May 10, 2019
This is a review of two Hugo nominated stories from the issue.
"Fandom for Robots" A nice SF story with nostalgia feel, a clear homage for the 50s. A sentient robot, built in 1954 becomes engaged in modern fandom
"Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand" I may be biased but it is the weakest story in the list. May be this is because it is a borderline between SF and horror and I ain't the fan of the latter. The story depict an excursion to a strange exhibition of strange things and raises a question of normal vs abnormal
"Fandom for Robots" A nice SF story with nostalgia feel, a clear homage for the 50s. A sentient robot, built in 1954 becomes engaged in modern fandom
"Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand" I may be biased but it is the weakest story in the list. May be this is because it is a borderline between SF and horror and I ain't the fan of the latter. The story depict an excursion to a strange exhibition of strange things and raises a question of normal vs abnormal
September 2, 2018
A sentient robot stuck as a museum exhibit learns of an anime in which its doppleganger appears, and then learns of the existence of sexy fan fiction.
To her great credit, the author was wise enough to *not* bring some things to resolution. This stands against some clunkiness in dialogue and characterization, and a no-people-don't-act-like-that passage that should've been dropped.
Anyway, despite being an award nominee, it's not bad. And Prasad has only become a published author recently; clunkiness is a much easier to improve than plot design.
To her great credit, the author was wise enough to *not* bring some things to resolution. This stands against some clunkiness in dialogue and characterization, and a no-people-don't-act-like-that passage that should've been dropped.
Anyway, despite being an award nominee, it's not bad. And Prasad has only become a published author recently; clunkiness is a much easier to improve than plot design.
August 28, 2020
Lovely short story about a robot becoming involved with fandom, and writing fanfiction.
It felt a bit aimless and the ending was rather jarring, giving it an unfinished feel. But what was there was adorable!
It felt a bit aimless and the ending was rather jarring, giving it an unfinished feel. But what was there was adorable!
Read
April 7, 20182018 Hugo Finalist for Best Short Story: “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand,” by Fran Wilde (Uncanny, September 2017) and “Fandom for Robots,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny, September/October 2017)
Listened (9/9/2017) to the Uncanny podcast 18A which included two of the short stories published in this edition plus a poem by Jo Walton entitled "To Much Dystopia?" (https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...).
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde (liked it)
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/c...
and
Henosis by N.K. Jemisin (liked it)
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/h...
April 2018: Re-read "Clearly Letter" and still liked it (3.5 stars) plus "Fandom for Robots" which was just okay (2.5 stars)
Listened (9/9/2017) to the Uncanny podcast 18A which included two of the short stories published in this edition plus a poem by Jo Walton entitled "To Much Dystopia?" (https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...).
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde (liked it)
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/c...
and
Henosis by N.K. Jemisin (liked it)
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/h...
April 2018: Re-read "Clearly Letter" and still liked it (3.5 stars) plus "Fandom for Robots" which was just okay (2.5 stars)
June 20, 2019
Vina Jie-Min Prasad's Fandom for Robots is a delightful short story about a robot who discovers fandom. Fit for anyone who likes robots, fandom, space toasters, or any combination thereof.
Read Fandom for Robots online for free at Uncanny Magazine.
Read Fandom for Robots online for free at Uncanny Magazine.
Read
June 5, 2021I love the idea of a robot, unimpressed with humans writing human/robot romance in fanfic, deciding he can do it better himself. Especially "all that mushy stuff about Cyro’s beautiful boxy shape". Plus bonus points for a Simak namecheck.
![Profile Image for Ruxandra Grrr [in a slump :(((((].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1520583842i%2F4259436._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
August 20, 2020
What a cute, sweet wholesome story. I loved it, it was funny & touching.
I found out about it from a Martha Wells interview, and I was not disappointed. Damn I love those bots who love fiction.
I found out about it from a Martha Wells interview, and I was not disappointed. Damn I love those bots who love fiction.
November 12, 2017
Finally finished! This was my first time reading Uncanny, and it was a pretty good experience. My thoughts:
N. K. Jemisin- “Henosis" - I liked this, but I thought it was a bit heavy-handed in making its point. I suppose it's a technique that works well for short fiction, but it's not one that I love.
Fran Wilde- “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand” - This one was not for me. It was beautifully written, and if I was a visual reader, I might have really liked it, but I have a big problem with visualizing things, so this was just hard for me to read. I really liked the message, but the actual experience of reading just wasn't great for me.
C. S. E. Cooney- “Though She Be But Little” - I really liked this! I liked the play with stereotypes and the cleverness and playfulness of the story. I've liked other things by Cooney, so I think she's really an author that I need to keep track of.
Catherynne M. Valente- “Down and Out in R’lyeh” - This started great and then dimmed a bit in the middle before ending well. I loved the wordplay and the made-up slang and the parallels between our world and R'lyeh. I do wish I'd actually read some Lovecraft, as I think I was probably missing references, but, yeah. Not enough to actually read Lovecraft.
Vina Jie-Min Prasad- “Fandom for Robots” - This was so cute! As a fangirl, this was a story after my own heart, and I thought it was a lovely way to show the joys of fandom.
Delia Sherman- “At Cooney’s” - I really liked the writing style of this. It flowed so smooth that I read it in gulps. It also had a great message, and I truly liked the main character. It just felt a bit heavy-handed again with the message. (I think that perhaps my expectations for the subtlety of short fiction are just too high?)
Malinda Lo- “Ghost Town” - I thought this was OK, but not great. I think I had heard a lot of people say they really liked this one, so my expectations were too high. It was enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable for me.
My favorite was either "Though She Be But Little" or "Fandom for Robots."
I read the poetry, but I'm really not a poetry person, so it went way over my head. I also read the essays, but I didn't feel particularly strongly about any of them.
N. K. Jemisin- “Henosis" - I liked this, but I thought it was a bit heavy-handed in making its point. I suppose it's a technique that works well for short fiction, but it's not one that I love.
Fran Wilde- “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand” - This one was not for me. It was beautifully written, and if I was a visual reader, I might have really liked it, but I have a big problem with visualizing things, so this was just hard for me to read. I really liked the message, but the actual experience of reading just wasn't great for me.
C. S. E. Cooney- “Though She Be But Little” - I really liked this! I liked the play with stereotypes and the cleverness and playfulness of the story. I've liked other things by Cooney, so I think she's really an author that I need to keep track of.
Catherynne M. Valente- “Down and Out in R’lyeh” - This started great and then dimmed a bit in the middle before ending well. I loved the wordplay and the made-up slang and the parallels between our world and R'lyeh. I do wish I'd actually read some Lovecraft, as I think I was probably missing references, but, yeah. Not enough to actually read Lovecraft.
Vina Jie-Min Prasad- “Fandom for Robots” - This was so cute! As a fangirl, this was a story after my own heart, and I thought it was a lovely way to show the joys of fandom.
Delia Sherman- “At Cooney’s” - I really liked the writing style of this. It flowed so smooth that I read it in gulps. It also had a great message, and I truly liked the main character. It just felt a bit heavy-handed again with the message. (I think that perhaps my expectations for the subtlety of short fiction are just too high?)
Malinda Lo- “Ghost Town” - I thought this was OK, but not great. I think I had heard a lot of people say they really liked this one, so my expectations were too high. It was enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable for me.
My favorite was either "Though She Be But Little" or "Fandom for Robots."
I read the poetry, but I'm really not a poetry person, so it went way over my head. I also read the essays, but I didn't feel particularly strongly about any of them.
June 14, 2019
A mixed bag and one that's taken me a while to get through, but perhaps that is the very nature of anthologies of collected works. Some strike and others, simply don't. In honesty, I picked this up in order to see how the Hugo nomination Fandom For Robots would have been presented in publication. Shorts aren't really my thing and so perhaps I am a less than ideal reviewer. But we work with what we have.
In terms of the fiction, I really enjoyed Honosis with it's different narrative style, disjointed timeline and disturbing setting, although it could have had more substance. It felt more like a scene out of something bigger. I also enjoyed Fandom For Robots with it's whimsical fanfiction references. It's strangely poignant and has stuck in my mind. Though She Be But Little feels almost like an apocalyptic take on Peter Pan, and has both the childish charm and something darker in the well developed characters. But I was less enamoured with the experimental styles of Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand, and found myself skim reading large chucks of Down and Out In R'lyeh.
The final two short stories are clearly focussed in on the LBGT society and both are well done although didn't grip me. I enjoyed the grimmer side of time travel in relation to expectations are rights in At Cooney's and the telling of Ghost Town is firmly in the feel of conventional horror whilst straying into unconventional structure and content.. Cooney's is almost historical fantasy whilst Ghost Town has the feel of Dracula, in comparison to the more standard science fiction experimentation above.
I was less enamoured with the essays, finding most outside my interest although the way Changeable Skins looks at the aging female in the fiction world was intriguing. The poetry caught me, although I always do better with rhyming verse so was caught most by the first two. In terms of the interviews, that was well out of my interest and I didn't bother. I don't read interviews often by authors that I have a long vested interest in following, I'm not going to start with unknowns.
So, a mixed bag. Will I purchase another issue? Unlikely. Might I check some of the online content? Possibly. But there was too much here that didn't catch me to get me to spend any further money.
From there
In terms of the fiction, I really enjoyed Honosis with it's different narrative style, disjointed timeline and disturbing setting, although it could have had more substance. It felt more like a scene out of something bigger. I also enjoyed Fandom For Robots with it's whimsical fanfiction references. It's strangely poignant and has stuck in my mind. Though She Be But Little feels almost like an apocalyptic take on Peter Pan, and has both the childish charm and something darker in the well developed characters. But I was less enamoured with the experimental styles of Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand, and found myself skim reading large chucks of Down and Out In R'lyeh.
The final two short stories are clearly focussed in on the LBGT society and both are well done although didn't grip me. I enjoyed the grimmer side of time travel in relation to expectations are rights in At Cooney's and the telling of Ghost Town is firmly in the feel of conventional horror whilst straying into unconventional structure and content.. Cooney's is almost historical fantasy whilst Ghost Town has the feel of Dracula, in comparison to the more standard science fiction experimentation above.
I was less enamoured with the essays, finding most outside my interest although the way Changeable Skins looks at the aging female in the fiction world was intriguing. The poetry caught me, although I always do better with rhyming verse so was caught most by the first two. In terms of the interviews, that was well out of my interest and I didn't bother. I don't read interviews often by authors that I have a long vested interest in following, I'm not going to start with unknowns.
So, a mixed bag. Will I purchase another issue? Unlikely. Might I check some of the online content? Possibly. But there was too much here that didn't catch me to get me to spend any further money.
From there
February 6, 2022
"Review" only for Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (though I might get to more the stories, will edit if/when), which I read from here https://uncannymagazine.com/article/f...
I am currently skimming the cream of a lot of recent sf/f short fiction available online (and trying not to binge). I am not counting stories read or doing books-read number challenges, I just like short fiction and it is really working as a palate cleanser in between (or more likely, in the middle of) other stories.
Like A Guide For Working Breeds this is really cute and epistolary, an AI coming to terms with fanfiction. For all its cuteness and relative simplicity it also left me thinking a lot about identity and wish for representation in cultural media and what the heck is fanfiction and just how old and universal it is (very, by other names like folklore?). Really very good.
Also, not sure I love epistolary story telling so much but I just do. Maybe because it is the ultimate show and not tell, and I like the puzzle-challenge of it to build personality and plot from just what is told in self contained, controlled points of view.
I am currently skimming the cream of a lot of recent sf/f short fiction available online (and trying not to binge). I am not counting stories read or doing books-read number challenges, I just like short fiction and it is really working as a palate cleanser in between (or more likely, in the middle of) other stories.
Like A Guide For Working Breeds this is really cute and epistolary, an AI coming to terms with fanfiction. For all its cuteness and relative simplicity it also left me thinking a lot about identity and wish for representation in cultural media and what the heck is fanfiction and just how old and universal it is (very, by other names like folklore?). Really very good.
Also, not sure I love epistolary story telling so much but I just do. Maybe because it is the ultimate show and not tell, and I like the puzzle-challenge of it to build personality and plot from just what is told in self contained, controlled points of view.
May 12, 2018
Adorable. Underused, sentient robot finds fanfic and purpose. You can read it free here!
Finding this right after reading the new Murderbot novella (Artificial Condition) was perfect timing as it had similar themes, humour, and clever analysis of robot/human interaction filtered through a stark under-appreciated reality, and the broader world of fanfic and creating your own realities socially.
Finding this right after reading the new Murderbot novella (Artificial Condition) was perfect timing as it had similar themes, humour, and clever analysis of robot/human interaction filtered through a stark under-appreciated reality, and the broader world of fanfic and creating your own realities socially.
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