The last major fiction award I still need to talk about: the best novella. A bit of a mixed bag this category, with stories that are in that awkward stage halfway between novel and short story. Indeed, at least one could’ve been published as a short novel in its own right. As with some other categories, the two struck through candidates I haven’t considered due to reasons described in my first post.
To be honest, the remaining three stories were good but not spectacularly so, not nearly as good as some of the entries in the short story and novelette categories.
- Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente (Subterranean Press)
As the title indicates, this is a Wild West retelling of the Snow White fairy tale. Well done. - “Wakulla Springs” by Andy Duncan and Ellen Klages (Tor.com, 10-2013)
This is a great story about several generations of an African-American family living near the lake used to film Tarzan movies and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but the fantastical element is minimal. - “Equoid” by Charles Stross (Tor.com, 09-2013)
A typically fun, manic Laundry story about unicorns. The Butcher of Khardov by Dan Wells (Privateer Press)“The Chaplain’s Legacy” by Brad Torgersen (Analog, Jul-Aug 2013)
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