Still wandering plotless: Florence, 2026, vol. II

I read 41 books in the first half year, which feels like a lot, but many of them were pretty short. I count everything as a book that is not a short story, and there are quite a few novellas and novelettes in the mix, partly due to the Hugo packet, which I am still working my way through.

Talking about the Hugos, here are two short stories and a novelette.

Through These Moments, Darkly: Clarkesworld Magazine
By Samantha Murray
Another near future dystopia, I guess. Intriguing.

The Temporary Murder of Thomas Monroe : Clarkesworld Magazine
Tia Tashiro
Not ground breaking, but a nice story.

And this concludes Neil Clarke's selection for the category Best editor, short form. I don't think I will vote for this category, but I do intend to read all the stories provided. The Clarkesworld selection is pretty good, there was only one story I actually disliked. Some, of course, I liked more than others. I should probably subscribe to Clarkesworld, and actually check the site for new stories.

The novelette is:
When He Calls Your Name
Catherynne M. Valente

Very nice! Didn’t go where I expected it to at all. And the Hugo packet adds an interview of the author at the end, where I found out I had completely missed the reference to Dolly Parton.