Hugo, Girl!

Turn down the volume because we're Hugo finalists again so it's about to get loud!! Hear us drink champagne and talk for 5 minutes about the special rocket-shaped cakes Lori made without ever actually describing them! Yay!!

Congratulations to all the finalists! Check out the full list here.

This month we read T.H. White's retro Hugo winner for best novel, The Sword in the Stone. Digressions abound!

Haley is DM.

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In this special episode, we celebrate the midpoint between Life Day 2022 and Life Day 2023 (it's Halfway to Life Day!) with a review of the Star Wars Life Day Cookbook by Chef Strono Tuggs. We were joined by friend and writer Ann Harris for an eclectic feast from a galaxy far, far away.

This is a cookbook episode, so we're eating, and it sounds like we're eating. We even talk with our mouths full (especially Lori), so if that's gonna gross you out, skip this one.

LINKS:

Follow author Ann Harris on Twitter!

Hook, Line, and Sinker anthology, featuring Ann's short story "Changeling"

Good, easy bread recipe

Chewbacca speaking English

This month we discussed The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon. We swam in a sea of metaphors and similes so you don't have to. But you might want to, because in spite of itself, this storm of words is good!

DM: Amy

Big thanks to Lori's cousin Sarah, who did a sensitivity edit for us, and wrote us such a banger of an email that we asked her to turn it into a review! Heck, maybe we do written reviews now! Who knows!

Check out our new shop!

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Lots 'o Links:

NY Mag Review

NYT Review

Tor.com: Is Alternate History SF?

Keith Law's Review

This month we discussed Kate Wilhelm's 1977 Hugo winner, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang. This is the second book in our accidental 2023 Clone Duology (after Cyteen), and it's pretty weird! This episode covers some important topics, such as whether sex between clones is more like incest or more like masturbation.

DM: Lori

CW/TW: Lots of weird sex stuff. DON'T LISTEN WITH YOUR KID(S) IN THE CAR.

Thanks to Cody from the Hugonauts podcast for joining us! Each episode of Hugonauts dives into a single book or series in the sci-fi canon. They also do incredible author interviews, including a recent episode with Becky Chambers.

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BIG NEWS: We're dropping our very first ALBUM!! We've curated all your favorite Sci Fi hits in one exclusive mix: The Hugo, Girl! Sounds of Sci Fi!

Supplies are limited, so order yours now!

This month we discussed CJ Cherryh's hot em dash mess, Cyteen. Weighing in at 1 lb 10.7 ounces (or 757 grams), Cyteen is a whole lotta book, and we definitely read every page of it.

SPOILER WARNING: There's a pretty uninteresting spoiler for Cyteen's sequel Regenesis, around the 45-46 minute mark. If you don't want to know who killed Ari, skip that part.

DM: Haley

CW/TW: sexual assault

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Links:

Dragonflight and the Extinction of the Bodice Ripper

Cyteen. (meadowparty.com) - Review by Keith Law

nerds of a feather, flock together: The Hugo Initiative: Cyteen

Designing people and societies: C.J. Cherryh's Cyteen

John Mulaney's Happy Birthday Sketch

This month we read Doomsday Book, Connie Willis's 1993 Hugo Award for Best Novel. We had no idea it was going to be an eerily prescient pandemic story, with parallels to today, right down to the oft-mentioned toilet paper shortage. Necrotic!

Amy is DM.

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Links:

Doomsday Book, the 1992 time-travel novel that sheds light on today's pandemic. (slate.com)

New York Review of Science Fiction

This month we read Fritz Leiber's 1958 Hugo winner, The Big Time, which despite the cover art is not actually about a very tall lady. It was weird!

DM: Lori

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LINKS:

1958 Hugo Nominees by Jo Walton

Fritz Leiber's 1982 Introduction

Neil Gaiman's Review

This month we jacked into cyberpunk classic Neuromancer, by noted orange cat owner William Gibson. Neuromancer won the Philip K. Dick Award and the Nebula Award in 1984, and the Hugo for Best Novel in 1985. There's some fun stuff in there! We don't hate it!

Your console cowboy for this episode is Haley.

TW/CW: SA

Links:

Hard-Wired Traumas Scene from Johnny Mnemonic