Category Archives: novellas

Novellas

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There’s not much happening in the literazry world today, at least as far as I can tell. So no news to report. The good part of that is I didn’t have to read that another favorite writer has died. Always a good thing. I’m recognizing fewer of the names on the new releases these days.

So I thought I would talk about novellas for a bit. I’m taking an online workhsop on novellas, with an assignment of writing one before it’s over. But that’s down the road.

I’ve not read much science fiction or fantasy for the last couple of years. I’ve been focusing on mystery and thrillers. So one of the assignments in this workshop, which is on science fiction novellas, was to discuss three novellas you couldn’t put down. This week’s assignment is to look for techniques that made the novellas compelling.

I had to reach back a little ways to do this, since any science fiction I’ve read has tended to be either short stories or the occasional novel. So, I’m going to throw two questions out there for discussion.

First, what are some science fiction or fantasy novellas you’ve read over the last few years that really stuck with you in a positive way? If you hated it, the novella stuck with you, but that’s not the kind of sticking with you I’m talking about.

Second, what was it about the novella that made it so memorable?

I’m not going to steal your answers for my assignments. I’ve already got my own selections. I’m curious about what I’ve missed since, say the COVID lockdowns ended.  I’m a little out of touch with the cutting edge of the science fiction and fantasy fields. I want to get back up to speed.

Thanks.

RIP, Lucius Shephard (1947-2014)

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lucius shepardLucius Shephard passed away at the age of 66 on March 18, 2014.  Shephard began writing in the early 1980s.  Many of his early works near future science fiction set in a Central American war that resembled Viet Nam, something that was a real possibility at the time.  I remember reading some of his early stories in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.  In recent years his movie reviews have graced the pages of that magazine.

Shephard wrote at all lengths, but in my opinion his strengths were at the novella length.  Over the course of his career he won the Nebula for “R&R”, the Hugo for “Barnacle Bill the Spacer”, and the Shirley Jackson Award for “Vacancy”.   I always found his style to be densely written, but his stories were worth the work they required.

The Best of Lucius ShepardShephard attended at least one Armadillocon in Austin in the early 00’s.  I had the privilege of meeting him.  He was very open and approachable, always willing to chat with fans.  I was disappointed that he didn’t attend some of the later Armadillocons.

The Best of Lucius Shephard is available in ebook format and contains many of his best known works.

The Alchemist and the Executioness: A Joint Review

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The Alchemist
Paolo Bacigalupi
Subterranean Press
Trade $20; Limited – sold out
96 pages

The Executioness
Tobias S. Buckell
Subterranean Press
Trade $20, Limited $45
104 pages

Here’s a pair of novellas that will definitely be worth your while.  The backstory behind them is that Tobias Buckell had an idea for a fantasy world and invited his friend Paolo Bacigalupi to join him in it.  Together they developed the settings, history, and characters.  What resulted from this collaboration was the pair of books you see above.  Hopefully, this is the first of many because they’ve created a fascinating world with an interesting magic system.

In this world, magic, as the publisher’s promotional copy says, has a price.  If magic is used, bramble grows.  Bramble is like kudzu, only with thorns.  It takes over everything.  Little magic, big magic, it doesn’t matter.  If you use magic, bramble will grow somewhere nearby.  It’s caused the downfall of an entire empire in the recent past and is well on its way to taking over the entire world.  (I told you it was like kudzu.)  To bet stuck by bramble is to risk falling into a deep sleep, one from which you won’t likely wake up.  It’s never stated when bramble first started, but The Alchemist implies that it wasn’t always around.  It can be burned out, but there are enough people who use magic (in small amounts, of course, not enough to really hurt anything you understand) that this is a losing battle.

I’ll start with The Alchemist only on the basis of the alphabet.  Paolo Bacigalupi is one of the hottest new writers working today, and after reading this book, it’s easy to see why.  Of course, if you’ve read any of his short stories or his novel The Windup Girl, you already know this about him.  The Aclchemist concerns, well, an alchemist.  One who has spent a literal fortune trying to find a way to successfully battle bramble.  He’s not doing this purely from altruistic reasons but because his daughter has a wasting lung disease. The only cure for it is through magic.  He is able to keep the disease at bay, but to do more will cost him is life.  The Mayor of the city of Khaim has declared that practicing magic is a death penalty offense.  The alshemist succeeds in his quest.  And that proves to be his undoing…

The ink on the book was barely dry when Bacigalupi picked up a Nebula Award nomination for it.  (Congratulations, Paolo, and good luck!)  It’s understandable when you read it.  The prose is moving and at times poetic.  While I found some of the villainy a little over the top, the story’s ending wasn’t as dark or nibilistic as I was expecting from the set up.  I definitely want to see more of this character.

The Executioness is the story of a middle aged woman, the mother of two boys, who takes up the axe in order to keep her family from starving when her father, an executioner himself, dies. This is not your typical fantasy heroine.  That’s a good thing.  Buckell does a fine job of developing her character, and anyone, male or female, who’s ever had children will relate to her motivation.  After her alcoholic husband is killed and her sons stolen by raiders, she takes off in pursuit of her boys.  The raiders are practicing what they call Culling, reducing the magic using population by kidnapping children and taking them away across the sea to be indoctrinated in the raiders’ religion.  She quickly catches up with them, only to be defeated and tossed in bramble.  Somehow she awakens, her wounds healed (this is never explained, something I hope is addressed in a later book), in a caravan, where she becomes one of the guards.  The caravan is heading to the city where her sons have been taken, so she has no problem riding along and earning her keep with her axe.  In the course of the story, she becomes something of a legend, as the number of raiders she fought grows with each retelling as well as the outcome of the fight changing.  In the end, she leads an army of some of the fiercest fighters you never want to tangle with:  an army of mothers who have had their children kidnapped. Whether they’re successful, well, that would be telling…

Buckell is the author of several well received novels and one short story collection, which can be ordered here.  I picked up a signed copy of Crystal Rain when it was up for a Nebula a few years ago and the awards ceremony was held in Austin.  I confess I haven’t read it simply because it is signed, and those books aren’t the ones I take with me to read when I travel and so tend to sit on the shelf longer than unsigned books.  It’s in the TBR stack, and after reading The Executioness, it will be moving up closer to the top.  Much closer.

These books might seem a bit pricey to some of you, especially in the current economy.  But if you can afford them, you should check them out.  The illustrations by J. K. Drummond are great.  I’m hoping these two glimpses into this shared world will be the first of many.