The 2014 Hugos were awarded at LonCon3 this past weekend, and, out of an extremely strong field, we’re thrilled that several pieces of Tor.com original short fiction were honored.
Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and winners, in particular to Best Short Story Winner John Chu (“The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere”), Best Novelette Winner Mary Robinette Kowal (“The Lady Astronaut of Mars”), and Best Novella Winner Charles Stross (“Equoid”)! Learn more about each of the winning entries below, and check out more of Tor.com’s Original fiction!
John Chu’s “The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere” takes us to a future where water falls from the sky whenever someone lies. A light mist? Everyone knows you fibbed. A downpour? Everyone knows you’re hiding your heart. In a world like this, how can Matt be honest with his lover? How can he tell parents the truth, when they expect him to live up to their traditional Chinese ideals?
Mary Robinette Kowal’s wonderful punchcard-punk, “The Lady Astronaut of Mars,” was first published in audio format in 2012 as part of RIP-OFF, an original audiobook anthology from Audible.com. The author’s preferred text appeared on Tor.com in September 2013. Her heart-wrenching story offers us a choice: should Elma York, the famous Lady Astronaut of Mars, fulfill her dream of returning to space? Or should she remain on Earth and care for her husband?
Charles Stross’s “Equoid” belongs to his ongoing Laundry series of Lovecraftian secret-agent bureaucratic dark comedies. The series has grown to encompass four novels and several works of short fiction. The Laundry in this case refers to the secret British governmental agency whose remit is to guard the realm from occult threats from beyond spacetime. This particular story had an interesting genesis—feel free to check out John Scalzi’s Whatever blog for a hint of the NSFW debauchery that inspired it.
And as long as you’re reading wonderful stories, check out Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s Hogo-nominated short story “The Ink Readers of Doi Saket,” and Andy Duncan and Ellen Klages’ Hugo-nominated novella “Wakulla Springs.”
