Take a breath, then read this story
I've now read four of the five nominees for the 2009 Hugo Award under the Short Story category:
Best Short Story
"Exhalation" by Ted Chiang, my first exposure to his work, is set on an all-metal world, where the inhabitants breathe argon and go about living otherwise normal lives, the removal of filled and/or dirty lungs withstanding, of course. It's a story within a story, which are really never my favorite things, but the narrator here--a scientist of sorts, a quizzical metalman--has an easy-to-go-with voice and explains all the nuances and quirks of the society without it becoming too confusing or overpowering. Then, wanting to know more, this scientist takes matters into his own hands and performs a self-examination of his body. Creepy and fascinating. The worldbuilding is sound, and the revelations that unfold are powerful, justified, making for a very evocative story in the end. There's a lot to love about this, and clearly it belongs on the list...but still, with only one more story to be read, my hopes are with "26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss" this year.
Best Short Story
- "26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss" by Kij Johnson (Asimov's Jul 2008)
- "Article of Faith" by Mike Resnick (Baen's Universe Oct 2008)
- "Evil Robot Monkey" by Mary Robinette Kowal (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume Two)
- "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
- "From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled" by Michael Swanwick (Asimov's Feb 2008)
"Exhalation" by Ted Chiang, my first exposure to his work, is set on an all-metal world, where the inhabitants breathe argon and go about living otherwise normal lives, the removal of filled and/or dirty lungs withstanding, of course. It's a story within a story, which are really never my favorite things, but the narrator here--a scientist of sorts, a quizzical metalman--has an easy-to-go-with voice and explains all the nuances and quirks of the society without it becoming too confusing or overpowering. Then, wanting to know more, this scientist takes matters into his own hands and performs a self-examination of his body. Creepy and fascinating. The worldbuilding is sound, and the revelations that unfold are powerful, justified, making for a very evocative story in the end. There's a lot to love about this, and clearly it belongs on the list...but still, with only one more story to be read, my hopes are with "26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss" this year.