The Hugo Awards

For those of you who aren't cool enough to be in the know, the Hugo awards are annual awards for science fiction/fantasy literature. It turns out that all the stories nominated for best short story, best novella and best novellete can be found online. I read the candidates for best short story (it was a slow day at work) and I thought two of them were pretty good.

'The Tale of the Golden Eagle' by David D. Levine is a sad love story, which is not the sort of thing I'd normally like, but I highly recommend it. I can't really describe what it's about without giving away the plot, but it's a very evocative, romantic piece of writing.

'Four Short Novels' by Joe Haldeman is another good one, although in a much more light hearted vein. Each of the four stories starts with 'Eventually it came to pass that no one ever had to die', and goes on to describe some science fictional scenario. Naturally they all have a twist, especially the last one. It won't take you long to read, so I recommend giving it a try.

Kate Nepveu's booklog has a list of the nominees for best short story, novella, and novellete, with links to places you can read them online, so have a look if you're interested in that sort of thing. I've only read a few of the short stories, so I can't tell you if any of the others are any good.