Nebula Finalists 2021

 Some I agree with, a couple I don't, and some I haven't got around to reading yet:

Novel

1. The Unbroken, C.L. Clark.

2. A Master of Djinn, P. Djèlí Clark

3. Machinehood, S.B. Divya

4. A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine.

5. Plague Birds, Jason Sanford

My pick: Plague Birds, although this might well change after I read A Desolation Called Peace given my love of Martine's work. The Unbroken is also exciting. Haven't read A Master of Djinn either. So, very tentative pick.

Novella

1. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

2. Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

3. And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed

4. Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters by Aimee Ogden

5. Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn

6. The Necessity of Stars by E. Catherine Tobler

7. "The Giants of the Violet Sea" by Eugenia Triantafyllou.

No pick because I somehow have managed not to have read any of these.

Novelette

1. "O2 Arena" by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

2. "Just Enough Rain" by PH Lee

3. "(emet)" by Lauren Ring

4. "That Story Isn't the Story" by John Wiswell

5. "Colors of the Immortal Palette" by Caroline M. Yoachim

My pick: "That Story Isn't the Story." Not at all tentative, I have read all of these and while I might read them again to check recency bias, I'm fairly strongly leaning towards the Wiswell. That said, any of these deserve it.

Short Story

1. "Mr. Death" by Alix E. Harrow

2. "Proof by Induction" by José Pablo Iriarte

3. "Let All the Children Boogie" by Sam J. Miller.

4. "Laughter Among the Trees" by Suzan Palumbo

5. "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather" by Sarah Pinsker

6. "For Lack of a Bed" yb John Wiswell

My pick: "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather", but this is likely to change as I've only read that one and "Proof by Induction"

Andre Norton

1. Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders

2. Thornwood by Leah Cypess

3. Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko

4. A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

5. Root Magic by Eden Royce

6. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

My pick: Uh...yeah...uh...YA reading, what's that? My guess is it will probably be Redemptor because I loved the first book, but...yeah. I'll let you know after the package comes out.

Ray Bradbury

1. Encanto

2. The Green Knight

3. Loki: Season 1

4. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

5. Space Sweepers

6. WandaVision: Season 1

7. What We Do in the Shadows: Season 3

No pick because COVID has kept me out of movie theaters and I haven't seen any of those streaming series either. Probably not going to be able to vote.

Game Writing

1. Coyote & Crow

2. Granma's Hand

3. Thirsty Sword Lesbians

4. Wanderhome

5. Wildernyth

My pick: Uncertain. The only ones I've looked at (Wildermyth is a video game) are Granma's Hand and Wilderhome. I didn't much care for Granma's Hand and Wanderhome is a wonderfully written game I have no interest in playing. I actually suspect it will end up being Thirsty Sword Lesbians but I need to actually read it.