# Reading the Hugo packet **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [July 12, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616 "2026-07-12T00:23:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/1 "2026-07-12T00:23:23Z")
I mentioned this in the vorkosigan thread, and thought it might be worth starting a new thread to discuss it. I bought the Hugo packet again this year. (Technically, i bought “voting-only” access to the Hugo convention, but it comes along with a packet of digital access to most of the items that will be voted on.) For $50 i got a fat pile of epubs, and a few links to borrow books on Net Gallery, which is mostly a site to read pre-release copies of books and review them, i think, but is being used by a few of the more popular authors as a way to lend, rather than give away, the works. You also get access to some movies and video games, but the video game links are limited and they ask people (like me) who won’t seriously use them to leave them for real voters. Anyway, it’s really a lot of reading material for $50, and all of it is good enough to have been nominated for a Hugo award. I did this last year and loved it, so i did it again this year. If anyone else is reading the Hugo packet, I’d love to discuss the books. (Or hey, if you want to discuss the movies, games, etc., go at it.) I’m going to ask that participants use spoilers, because i imagine if anyone joins me, people will read in different orders and at different paces. There are a lot of categories, but the ones I’m reading are: ### **Best Short Story** “10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days” by Samantha Mills (_Uncanny Magazine_, Issue 63) “In My Country” by Thomas Ha (_Clarkesworld_, Issue 223) “Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything” by Effie Seiberg (_Diabolical Plots_, May 16, 2025) “Missing Helen” by Tia Tashiro (_Clarkesworld_, Issue 226) “Six People to Revise You” by J.R. Dawson (_Uncanny Magazine_, Issue 62) “Wire Mother” by Isabel J. Kim (_Clarkesworld_, Issue 229) ### **Best Novelette** “Kaiju Agonistes” by Scott Lynch (_Uncanny Magazine_, Issue 62) “Never Eaten Vegetables” by H.H. Pak (_Clarkesworld_, Issue 220) “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy” by Martha Wells (_Reactor_, July 10, 2025) “The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For” by Cameron Reed (_Reactor_, April 2, 2025) “The Millay Illusion” by Sarah Pinsker (_Uncanny Magazine_, Issue 67) “When He Calls Your Name” by Catherynne M. Valente (_Uncanny Magazine_, Issue 65) ### **Best Novella** **Automatic Noodle** by Annalee Newitz (Tordotcom) **Cinder House** by Freya Marske (Tordotcom; Tor UK) **Murder by Memory** by Olivia Waite (Tordotcom) **The River Has Roots** by Amal El-Mohtar (Tordotcom; Arcadia UK) **The Summer War** by Naomi Novik (Del Rey US; Del Rey UK) **What Stalks the Deep** by T. Kingfisher (Nightfire; Titan UK) ### **Best Novel** **A Drop of Corruption** by Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey; Hodderscape) **Death of the Author** by Nnedi Okorafor (William Morrow; Gollancz) **Shroud** by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK; Orbit US) **The Everlasting** by Alix E. Harrow (Tor US; Tor UK) **The Incandescent** by Emily Tesh (Tor US; Orbit UK) **The Raven Scholar** by Antonia Hodgson (Orbit US; Hodderscape) At this point I’ve read all the shorter works, and if the novels i have read A drop of corruption Death of the author The incandescent The Raven scholar And about a third of The Everlasting ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/2 "2026-07-12T01:18:27Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy” by Martha Wells (_Reactor_, July 10, 2025) Is that a Murderbot story? > [@puzzlegal](#): > > **Death of the Author** by Nnedi Okorafor (William Morrow; Gollancz) That’s one of the authors I’ve been following lately, though I haven’t read that one. Is it science fiction or fantasy? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/3 "2026-07-12T01:35:10Z")
Yes, the first is a murderbot story. I’d call the second, hmm, soft science fiction. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/4 "2026-07-12T03:35:55Z")
I usually look to the nominee list to figure out what to read for the next year, but I’ve already read a bunch from that list. - _A Drop of Corruption_ I liked this one, and the preceding one in the series. If you haven’t read _A Tainted Cup_, then start with that. If you don’t like it, then no point in moving on. I don’t know if talking about sub-genre is a spoiler, so it’s fractured fairy tale. - _Shroud_ I also liked. It is harder sci-fi and heavy on the biology, because it’s an Adrian Tchaikovsky novel. If you like his stuff, this is an excellent example. Also believable characters (not all human) and emotion to go with the hard sci-fi. - The Incandescent\* I think I liked her earlier book _Some Desperate Glory_ more, but this was still very good. I’d rather talk about _Glory_, though. - _What Stalks the Deep_ I’ve only read the first one in this series, but I’ve added the second, and will get to this one. It’s a T. Kingfisher fantasy, so again fractured fairy tale related. Of what I’ve read, I’m not sure which I’d vote for, if I could vote. Maybe _Shroud_ if I had to pick, but that might be my genre preference showing. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/5 "2026-07-12T04:03:13Z")
Oh, interesting. I started Shroud and switched to another book after a few pages. But i guess i should try harder to get into it. I don’t think genre is a spoiler. I would not have called any of those “fractured fairly tales”, although there are a few fairly takes on the list. I would call _a drop of corruption_ sf-flavored fantasy, and _what stalks the deep_ horror. I liked _a drop of corruption_ a lot, but i thought the first in the series was better. (I bought this one before the nominations came out because i read the first last year and liked it enough to buy the sequel.) I certainly agree that you should try _a tainted cup_ first, and see if you like it. I was a little disappointed with _what stalks the deep_. It’s also in the middle of a series, and i thought the first was the best. I haven’t read _some desperate glory_, but i thoroughly enjoyed _the incandescent_, so I should probably buy _glory_. For those who haven’t read it, _The incandescent_ is a romance, with a nicely worked out magical system set in a magical boarding school, but the protagonist is a teacher, not a student. There’s danger, but I don’t think it’s a serious spoiler to say that it’s the kind of book where you expect the protagonist to survive. (Like, there’s danger in the Lord of the Rings, but Tolkien literally tells you in the prolog that Frodo wrote the story and that half a dozen of the main characters have copies of the book or their offspring are corresponding with each other. It’s not much of a spoiler to say that Sauron doesn’t conquer the world.) But i would say that it’s a major spoiler that the demon survives. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/6 "2026-07-12T05:53:17Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I haven’t read _some desperate glory_, but i thoroughly enjoyed _the incandescent_, so I should probably buy _glory_ It is also set in a boarding school, sort of. It’s a space station boarding school which contains the last of humanity. Not nearly as much romance as _Incandescent_, but the protagonists are teenagers, so if I recall there is age appropriate angsty romance. Not the focus of the book, more just how could a bunch of teenagers be locked on a space station without angsty romance? > [@puzzlegal](#): > > would not have called any of those “fractured fairly tales” You’re right, I was completely confusing it with another series, maybe by T. Kingfisher, that is a twist on Snow White, where the protagonist isn’t Snow White, but is investigating Snow White (for a brief and wrong description). _Tainted Cup_ and _Drop of Corruption_ are the kaiju stories. I read those, too, and liked them, possibly more than _Shroud_. The first few pages of _Shroud_ are not the main story, just setting it up. I guess you could call it a road story. If you don’t get to the part where they’re “on the road”, then you’re not into the heart of the book. Like I said, though, it is an AT book, and if you don’t care for his style, then you won’t like this one. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/7 "2026-07-12T08:36:58Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > You’re right, I was completely confusing it with another series, maybe by T. Kingfisher, that is a twist on Snow White, where the protagonist isn’t Snow White, but is investigating Snow White (for a brief and wrong description). Probably Naomi Novik. _Uprooted_ and _Spinning Silver_ both qualify. Although… T Kingfisher rewrote _the Goose Girl_. So maybe you are thinking of her. There is one twisted retelling of a fairly tale, and two stories that kinda could be, in this year’s crop. They are _Cinder House_, the _River Has Roots_, and the _Summer War_. I like many hard science fiction stories. I’ll give _Shroud_ another try. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/8 "2026-07-12T12:45:26Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > - _What Stalks the Deep_ I’ve only read the first one in this series, but I’ve added the second, and will get to this one. It’s a T. Kingfisher fantasy, so again fractured fairy tale related. The first one wasn’t a fractured fairy tale; it was a fractured “Fall of the House of Usher” (Poe). > [@puzzlegal](#): > > **The Summer War** by Naomi Novik (Del Rey US; Del Rey UK) I’ve read this. Very good. In the vein of her _Uprooted_ and _Spinning Silver_, but shorter, and pretty much structured as setup-\>payoff, but the “payoff” is very satisfying. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/9 "2026-07-12T12:48:01Z")
Yes, but i thought that was a minor spoiler. 😆 It’s a really effective and well written update of the story, too. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/10 "2026-07-12T12:52:06Z")
Just to be safe, I edited my post to “spoiler” that, although I think it’s pretty obvious and not much of a spoiler and is mentioned prominently in many descriptions of the book. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/11 "2026-07-12T12:54:19Z")
It’s certainly obvious pretty early in the story. Like the things i said above that probably didn’t need to be spoilered. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/12 "2026-07-12T15:06:39Z")
No, Hemlock and Silver by T. kingfisher is the Snow White one. I haven’t read that one. I read a whole bunch of Kingfisher, starting with _A Sorceress Comes to Call_, and including the paladin series (more romance, some are fluffy ish, others very much not.and needed a break. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/13 "2026-07-12T15:11:46Z")
Oh, i haven’t read hemlock and silver. I didn’t realize she literally had done a snow white rewrite. Now that i know, I’ll probably read that one, too. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/14 "2026-07-15T20:15:30Z")
Are all of these in the Hugo packet? Are they in a format where we can send them to our Kindle or other ereader? ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/15 "2026-07-15T20:37:37Z")
aw yeah Hugo reading! In order of my ballot rating highest to lowest: _Death of the Author_ is a strange one, because it was probably the least fun of the nominees for me to read but the one I’m ranking highest because I think it’s doing a lot of interesting Hugo-worthy kinds of things. I loved _Incandescent_, which I totally read as in conversation with the whole Harry Potter type magic school literature, and asking the question of, “What if the magical boarding school book narratively actually cared about pedagogy??” (Which the Harry Potter books manifestly Do Not.) I think it’s got its weaknesses, particularly near the ending, and I didn’t love it _as_ much as I love _Some Desperate Glory_, but SDG is one of my favorite books in the last… decade?.. so that was always going to be a super high bar. I also love both _Tainted Cup_ and _Drop of Corruption_. I probably loved _Tainted Cup_ better, as it introduced the world, but _Drop_ does extend it in interesting ways and I’ll definitely read any further books in the series. I feel like _Drop_ is probably the most well-written of the novel nominees but also playing things a little more straight, somehow? I can’t quite articulate what I mean, but it’s sort of a standard “OK, let’s worldbuild this thing with kaijus, and the worldbuilding is going to be meticulous and fascinating, and yes sometimes surprising, but nothing about the overall structure is going to be particularly surprising or groundbreaking,” if that makes any sense? _Raven Scholar_ was a mess, but an ambitious mess. _The Everlasting_ was a very weird book! Very, very tropey, and for that reason I actually enjoyed reading it a great deal, but seemingly unconcerned about anything but the tropes. There were only three actual characters; everyone else seemed like pieces moved around like scenery. The setting either seemed stolen from our world or also like it was a set design that probably didn’t exist when the characters weren’t moving through it. I haven’t read Shroud, but I’m glad others have and liked it – I’ll try it. ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/16 "2026-07-15T20:40:15Z")
Most of the novels are in the packet. I think one of them only has excerpts, but I forget which one. One of the ones I’d already read, which means Incandescent or Drop of Corruption, I think. I know Shroud isn’t available in kindle format (I think maybe PDF?) as I had to put it on hold at the library. I did send Death of the Author, Everlasting, and Raven Scholar to my kindle, so I definitely know about those! Most of the Related Works are too. I don’t know about the others as I generally got them from the library or read them online (for the short story and novelette sections). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/17 "2026-07-15T20:57:41Z")
I think _drop of corruption_ wasn’t included. That didn’t matter to me, as I’d purchased it last year, after reading _tainted cup_ The prequels and assorted other works by these authors aren’t included. A bunch of stuff that hasn’t been discussed _is_ included. There are some whole series that got included (and others that just give you excerpts), some children’s books, comic books… I’ll lost the whole list of what’s included a little later. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/18 "2026-07-15T21:11:43Z")
My order is going to be different. Yes, death of the author did some interesting things. But this ain’t the Nebulas, it’s the Hugos. And while it’s very ambitious, i felt it messed up a lot of things. > **death of the author spoilers** > > I didn’t think the twist at the end was very well done. I felt betrayed by the book instead of surprised, though I haven’t been able to put my finger on why. And I know this is a slightly absurd thing to say about sci-fi, but it didn’t feel very realistic. Like the science/technology was unrealistic, and that’s totally fine. But the people kept behaving in ways that didn’t really make sense for how they had been developed so far or behaving in ways that people just don’t behave. And i know this sounds nuts, but the robot behavior felt unrealistic to me too. It all really took me out of the story. I did keep reading it, but i have to down-rate it for those things. I must have liked the raven scholar more than you did. > **Raven scholar spoilers** > > I thought it was great until the last few chapters, where it went haywire. The characters are too powerful. There are too many people sharing an enormous secret. Also, i hadn’t realized it was book 1 of a trilogy, and felt a bit cheated by that. I agree with you about _Incandescent_ and _Drop of Corruption_. And i felt much the same about _Everlasting_ a you felt about _Death of the Author_. It did interesting things that i respect and that i feel should be recognized in awards. Yes, i agree with you in some of your criticisms, and also, i didn’t really get into it until ⅓ of the way through. But once i did, it grabbed me. Also, while there are only a few main characters, i think there are several other “actual characters” who have back story and character development. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/19 "2026-07-15T21:35:16Z")
This is fun to read! Maybe next year I’ll get the packet, too. Okorafor was one of my favorite authors for awhile. But I followed her on social media, which turned out to be a mistake: she comes across as really arrogant and kind of an asshole. Between that and really disliking the final _Akata_ book, I’ve lost enthusiasm for her. Maybe I’ll give this one a try, though. _Incandescent_ was one of my favorite reads of 2025. I really, really appreciated the protagonist’s teacherly perspective. How rare is it to read a book about a teacher that simultaneously cares about her craft and her students, and _also_ has an active private life, and establishes boundaries? Plus, y’know, magic and shit. _Drop of Corruption_ was super fun, but I agree: it doesn’t really break any new ground. That’s okay. It’s just entertaining. Robert Jackson Bennett knows how to tell a story. I’m looking forward to the remaining books! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616/20 "2026-07-15T21:38:14Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Okorafor was one of my favorite authors for awhile. But I followed her on social media, which turned out to be a mistake: she comes across as really arrogant and kind of an asshole. Between that and really disliking the final _Akata_ book, I’ve lost enthusiasm for her. Maybe I’ll give this one a try, though. My first exposure to Okorafor was “Binti”, which won a Hugo, but I thought was seriously flawed: It’s trying to be science fiction, but the science is all cargo-cult. But I thought that she’d be fine with fantasy, so I’ve been reading the Akata books, too, and have so far found the first two to be good (though I haven’t gotten the last one yet). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-the-hugo-packet/1031616.md?page=2)