#Hugo2026Finalist Novelette
Reviews and Comments
Mostly reading sci-fi, fantasy, and comics/graphic novels, but occasionally some other stuff too.
This link opens in a pop-up window
Barbarius rated Never Eaten Vegetables: 4 stars
H. H. Pak: Never Eaten Vegetables (EBook)
Never Eaten Vegetables by H. H. Pak
Originally published in Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue #220
Barbarius finished reading Never Eaten Vegetables by H. H. Pak
Originally published in Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue #220
Barbarius reviewed The Power Fantasy Volume 1: The Superpowers by Kieron Gillen (The Power Fantasy, #1)
It’s 1999. Six indescribably powerful people each have the destructive capability of America’s nuclear arsenal.
…If mutually assured destruction were people
4 stars
I had no idea what this was about when I started reading this, but I really enjoyed it.
It's probably easiest to consider the idea of mutually assured destruction: the idea that because a bunch of countries have nukes and could destroy each other, so therefore no one uses nukes. This only exists however due to a delicate balance that needs to be maintained constantly. Now imagine that that destructive power resides in people. People, with all their emotions, flaws, ego, and issues... And still that delicate balance needs to be maintained... along with all their emotions, flaws, ego, and issues...
So then, who gets to make the rules and maintain the balance?
I had no idea what this was about when I started reading this, but I really enjoyed it.
It's probably easiest to consider the idea of mutually assured destruction: the idea that because a bunch of countries have nukes and could destroy each other, so therefore no one uses nukes. This only exists however due to a delicate balance that needs to be maintained constantly. Now imagine that that destructive power resides in people. People, with all their emotions, flaws, ego, and issues... And still that delicate balance needs to be maintained... along with all their emotions, flaws, ego, and issues...
So then, who gets to make the rules and maintain the balance?
Barbarius finished reading The Power Fantasy Volume 1: The Superpowers by Kieron Gillen (The Power Fantasy, #1)
It’s 1999. Six indescribably powerful people each have the destructive capability of America’s nuclear arsenal.
…OOhh, that was really good!
Barbarius started reading The Power Fantasy Volume 1: The Superpowers by Kieron Gillen (The Power Fantasy, #1)
It’s 1999. Six indescribably powerful people each have the destructive capability of America’s nuclear arsenal.
…Barbarius commented on A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea, #1)
Ursula K. Le Guin's timeless and beloved A Wizard of Earthsea reimagined for the first …
Barbarius finished reading The Space Cat by Nnedi Okorafor
Life for a cat doesn’t get much better than Periwinkle’s. By day, his loving humans …
Barbarius reviewed The Invisible Parade by Leigh Bardugo
Everyone in the neighborhood was getting ready for the party. Everyone knew somebody on the …
Wonderful
5 stars
The Invisible Parade is a truly beautiful picture book about Día de Muertos and a little girl grieving her recently passed grandfather. The artwork is phenomenally beautiful and touching, and the story provides a message of hope and humanity.
Barbarius finished reading The Invisible Parade by Leigh Bardugo
Everyone in the neighborhood was getting ready for the party. Everyone knew somebody on the …
Oh wow... That was very good. And now I'm emotional.
Oh wow... That was very good. And now I'm emotional.
Barbarius started reading The Invisible Parade by Leigh Bardugo
Everyone in the neighborhood was getting ready for the party. Everyone knew somebody on the …
Barbarius reviewed Absolute Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 by Kelly Thompson (Absolute Wonder Woman, Vol. 1)
Without the island paradise, without the sisterhood that shaped her, without a mission of peace…she’s …
Wonder Woman meet Hellboy
5 stars
What if Wonder Woman was raised in hell by a witch? That's the premise here, and it doesn't disappoint. There's still all the regular Greek god stuff going on, but it's all been covered with a veneer of darkness, without minimising on the (capital-H) Hope Wonder Woman so naturally brings as a part of her character. A great, gritty re-imagining!
What if Wonder Woman was raised in hell by a witch? That's the premise here, and it doesn't disappoint. There's still all the regular Greek god stuff going on, but it's all been covered with a veneer of darkness, without minimising on the (capital-H) Hope Wonder Woman so naturally brings as a part of her character. A great, gritty re-imagining!
Barbarius finished reading Absolute Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 by Kelly Thompson (Absolute Wonder Woman, Vol. 1)
Without the island paradise, without the sisterhood that shaped her, without a mission of peace…she’s …
Oh yeah, that was sick.
Barbarius started reading Absolute Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 by Kelly Thompson (Absolute Wonder Woman, Vol. 1)
Without the island paradise, without the sisterhood that shaped her, without a mission of peace…she’s …
I'm participating in the voting for the Hugo Awards this year, and the voter pack was released the other day! So I'm going to try and tear though as much excellent scifi and fantasy as I can in the next two months! #Hugo2026Finalist
I'm participating in the voting for the Hugo Awards this year, and the voter pack was released the other day! So I'm going to try and tear though as much excellent scifi and fantasy as I can in the next two months! #Hugo2026Finalist
Barbarius rated The Sunbird: 5 stars
The Sunbird by Sara Haddad, Baraa Awoor
Adapted for young readers from her critically acclaimed adult novel, Sara Haddad's middle-grade story about a child's experience of the …