Pretty Terrible
Pop Culture Criticism by Natalie Luhrs
2017 Hugo Reading:A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

2017 Hugo Reading:
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

Jul 4, 2017 |

A Closed and Common Orbit may be the sequel to Becky Chambers’s first novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, but its scope and cast of characters is much smaller. Instead of a full complement of characters, this time Chambers focuses on two secondary characters from the first novel: Lovelace, the ship’s AI, and Pepper, an engineer. At the end of The...

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2017 Hugo Reading: Novelettes

2017 Hugo Reading: Novelettes

Jun 29, 2017 |

I think the novelette finalists are a bit more of a mixed bag. Some of them I think are outstanding, one fell flat for me, and then there's that other one. You know the one. The novelette finalists are: "The Tomato Thief" by Ursula Vernon (Apex Magazine) "You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay" by Alyssa Wong (Uncanny Magazine) "The Jewel and Her Lapidary"...

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2017 Hugo Reading:The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

2017 Hugo Reading:
The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

Jun 27, 2017 |

I read this book over a year ago—I was lucky enough to get an advance copy—so my memory of specific plot points is a bit on the blurry side, so you’ll have to excuse any inaccuracies on that front. What I do remember, though, is finding The Obelisk Gate completely riveting and I had a hard time putting it down to do things like sleep, eat, and talk to...

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2017 Hugo Reading: Novelettes

2017 Hugo Reading: Short Stories

Jun 22, 2017 |

With one obvious exception, all the Hugo short story finalists are stellar and it's going to be extremely difficult to rank them on my ballot. Extremely difficult. In case you've forgotten, the finalists are: “A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers” by Alyssa Wong (Tor.com, March 2016) “That Game We Played During the War” by Carrie Vaughn...

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2017 Hugo Reading:All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

2017 Hugo Reading:
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

Jun 20, 2017 |

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders had been on my list since it came out, but I’d been putting off reading it because I found the plot summary on the blurb to be off-putting. Yes, this is a story about a witch and a technologist who are childhood friends and often diametrically opposite in worldview, but for me, that describes a level of...

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Hello! I'm Natalie Luhrs.

I write about books, culture, disability, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I have many opinions.

I am a two-time Hugo Award finalist, in 2017 for Best Fan Writer and in 2021 for my essay “George R.R. Martin Can Fuck Off Into the Sun, Or: The 2020 Hugo Awards Ceremony (Rageblog Edition)” in the Best Related Work category.

Please do not offer me medical advice. I have something like 10 doctors and it’s already pretty challenging to keep up with what they want me to do. I do not have the bandwidth to process any advice that doesn’t come from one of my doctors, no matter how well meant the advice may be. Thank you!

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Readercon – August 13-15, 2021 (virtual)

Capclave – October 1-3, 2021 (in person)

DisCon III, the 79th World Science Fiction Convention – December 15-19, 2021 (in person)

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Look, I know it’s crass, but I’m unemployed and not going to have an income until my SSDI goes through and who knows when that’ll be, so here’s some wishlists in case you want to buy me something. I try to keep them reasonably up to date.

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"It's chaos, be kind."
Michelle McNamara