Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

So note: because of the page counts in this and short stories, I am super confused.   What makes a novelette versus a short story?

Anyway, here's the novelettes: 

Best Novelette

• √ “Extracurricular Activities,” (#1)
• √“A Series of Steaks,” (#2) 
• √“The Secret Life of Bots,”(#3)
• √“Wind Will Rove,” (#4)
• √“Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time,” (#5)
• √“Children of Thorns, Children of Water,” (DNV)

Extracurricular Activities: Young Jedao - whom I love from Ninefox Gambit and Raven Stratagem.   Watching him blush as another dude flirts with him openly - and he's flustered because he can't sleep with another Kel, particularly someone who is his subordinate.   (Before formation instinct, so he won't get executed for it, but still...   He should not be doing these things  and he knows it.   I remember him being all about the girls, so I was a little surprised by his going for the dudes - and he was so into this dude - but then I remembered that people have multiple people marriages with multiple wives and husbands, so it's a little more fluid.)  Anyway, this was funnier, more lighthearted, but that made sense: the situation is far worse in the novels, and going back this far takes us back to a time before all that heaviness sets in and allows it to be so much lighter.  

I loved this.  I probably wouldn't have loved this as much if I hadn't read the first two novels, but I had.  My number one choice, no doubt. 

A Series of Steaks: Fascinating take on 3D printing and falsifying foods, like beef.   The character interaction was one reason that this was so compelling, too.   Just a lot more fun than I expected.   

The Secret Life of Bots: So, shocker here. I was predisposed to give this number two because bots, but it fell flat for me.   The writing felt a little flat, a little lifeless, to me, and none of the character interaction between the humans particularly compelled me.   Instead, I'd say it felt a little flat to me, too.   However much I loved the bots, they didn't have all that much personality, and nor did the Ship - the ships AI.   So all in all, nothing worked out for this to me put it above my first and second choice.   The ending?   Pretty spectacular, though.

Wind Will Rove: So, another low scoring one by the author of my fifth choice for novellas, And Then There Were N(one).   I think she's got a good style and some good ideas, and it's more a 'if not for these better choices' type of scenario.   The whole fiddler angle didn't catch my attention all that much, either.

Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time: So this story made me sad, and I couldn't understand the main character when they just rolled over and accepted certain things or came to peace with them more quickly than I thought possible.   Especially given how he agonized over them.   I didn't buy a lot of it, but I appreciated the ideas.  I've been toying with DNV (Do Not Vote)-ing this one and swapping it out with Children of Thrones, Children of Water.   May or may not happen.

Children of Thrones, Children of Water: Felt that it dragged a little, and had a hard time getting into the high fantasy concepts.  Would have appreciated more explanation of how the angel magic worked, although it was hard to do since it was from one of her enemies point of view.    (Second person point of view, but focusing/from her enemies point of view, too.)   Another case of beautiful writing, but didn't like it enough to place one two four and as I said before, I keep waffling on the fourth and fifth positions.  I'll change it on my main Hugo list if this changes.