Over the Easter weekend, Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention, announced the ballot for the 2012 Hugo Awards. Mary Robinette Kowal’s Kiss Me Twice (Asimov’s June 2011) is a finalist in the novella category!
More details here. Congratulations to all the finalists.
Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
This is a wonderful book. Kowal has taken such care grounding her story in the time and place in which it’s set that the addition of magic is truly seamless. Jane is a superb heroine and her insistence that her marriage truly be between equals is a real highlight.
Newly married, Jane and Vincent head to France and Belgium for their honeymoon. With Napoleon exiled to Elba, it is now safe for British citizens to travel to the continent. Jane and Vincent head to the Belgian town of Binché to stay with Vincent’s glamourist colleague, M. Chastain. Once there, Vincent confers with M. Chastain about glamour and Jane starts to work on how to capture a glamour in glass. Jane’s study, however, is mostly theoretical as she finds herself in a delicate condition and can no longer actively work glamour. Their pleasant interlude is interrupted by Napoleon’s escape from Elba and subsequent march to Belgium. When Vincent is captured as a potential spy it falls to Jane, alone and with nearly no resources, to devise a plan to save her husband and her marriage. — Romantic Times, 4 1/2 Stars
Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear
After the death of Mongke Khagan, the heirs to the Khaganate of the steppes went to war. Defeated by his cousin, the rightful heir Temur flees, joining a caravan of refugees headed toward mountains known as the Range of Ghosts. Adopted into the Tsareg tribe, Temur plans revenge while avoiding sorcerous attempts on his own life. When his path crosses that of the wizard Samarkar, a former princess who seeks her independence, Temur realizes that they can help each other-and perhaps save the world from dark forces that could tear it apart. Bear, winner of the 2005 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, a 2006 Locus Award for Hammered, and two Hugo Awards for short fiction, creates a vivid, multicultural world reminiscent of Eurasia during the 12th and 13th centuries, after the death of Genghis Khan dissolved an empire that included the Mongols, Tatars, and Chinese. Her characters possess depth of feeling as well as political acumen, bringing a personal element to a broad-scale epic fantasy.
VERDICT Fans of George R.R. Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire” series should welcome this gracefully told tale of war, political intrigue, and personal drama. Highly recommended. –Library Journal
Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
At the start of 1815, newly married and eager to explore her gifts as a glamourist, Jane Vincent (Shades of Milk and Honey) is pleased with life. A recent glamural, commissioned by the Prince Regent, has provided the Vincents with the funds and status to travel abroad. Their destination is Binché, near Brussels, and the workshop of artisan M. Chastain, where they secretly attempt the groundbreaking work of containing a glamour within glass. But soon Jane’s husband’s erratic behavior and misleading communication leave her feeling unsure of her future.
VERDICT This sequel to Kowal’s Nebula Award–nominated debut continues to build a historically recognizable world made anew by the addition of “glamour.” The focus remains on Jane’s internal struggle to find a satisfying balance between society’s restrictions and the person she’d like to be, endearing her further to series fans. Espionage and tangled feelings over family create a nice sense of mystery and provide great action and drama. Prepare to settle in and snuggle up in your comfiest chair; once you start reading, you won’t want to stop. –Library Journal
Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear
Bear (Ad Eternum) launches a trilogy in a fantastic new world with this compelling tale. Temur, nephew to the now-dead khan of khans, is a survivor on the losing side of a war between his relatives for the rule of the empire. Fleeing with other refugees, Temur becomes involved with a young woman named Edene, and when she is taken by blood ghosts, he swears he will stop at nothing to get her back. With the help of Samarkar, newly made wizard and Once-Princess of the land of Rasa, and Hrahima, a tiger-woman at odds with her god, Temur has a chance to win his revenge against those who took Edene and murdered an entire city, and perhaps even restore balance to the empire. Bear creates a vivid world where wizards must sacrifice their ability to procreate in order to control magic and the sky changes to reflect the gods of the land’s rulers. The strong setting and engaging characters will have readers eager for the second installment. –Publishers Weekly
