"Mono No Aware" wins 2013 Hugo award for best short story

[imabuddha]

I'm kind of surprised no one has mentioned this short story by Ken Liu from the anthology The Future Is Japanese. While the story isn't about go, the game does play an important part.



It's currently freely available online here (with the author's permission): http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/ficti ... -no-aware/

[Joaz Banbeck]

Warning: contains spoilers

I'm impressed by the interweaving of theme and plot. It is very skillfully done. The theme of 'one for many' motivates the actions at the major plot points.

On the down side, the characters could have been done a bit better. The father, in particular, was wooden, and spoke like a sociology professor.

Also, the background was not well thought out. ( And this is where I lost the proverbial suspension of disbelief ) Who builds a spaceship - or anything that big - without thinking about maintenance? The examples are boundless: my car has ports where a computer can be plugged in. It also has a spare tire. The pony express had extra stations in case of a hobbled horse. Even the tunnel in Stalag 17 had a side cubby where spare parts were kept. Every military ship from frigates on up has a tool room.
I don't see a multi-kilometer object being build with no facilities for repair. It wouldn't take much: just a stash of extra air, food, water, and tools every few kilometers. Even if there are structural reasons why they could not be attached, the designers would have had something for maintenance, like a small one-man spaceship that could get to the furthest edge of the sail.
The sail is mission-critical. There have to be better planned maintenance facilities and procedures, or I don't believe the story.

[illluck]

I felt the story was well-written and impactful enough to suspend my disbelief for about a minute, but then I considered the below:

Dr. Hamilton: NOOOOOO! Why did he push off rather than use his remaining fuel to come closer so that we can arrange for someone to deliver enough air? He would have had considerably more than 72 hours of air left for his return trip which would have surely been slower than his sleepless initial trip - very likely sufficient time for someone to go and meet him at a midway point even if they are not as familiar with the pattern...

Edit: Oo, 1000th post!

[jts]

Warning: contains spoilers

I'm impressed by the interweaving of theme and plot. It is very skillfully done. The theme of 'one for many' motivates the actions at the major plot points.

On the down side, the characters could have been done a bit better. The father, in particular, was wooden, and spoke like a sociology professor.

Also, the background was not well thought out. ( And this is where I lost the proverbial suspension of disbelief ) Who builds a spaceship - or anything that big - without thinking about maintenance? The examples are boundless: my car has ports where a computer can be plugged in. It also has a spare tire. The pony express had extra stations in case of a hobbled horse. Even the tunnel in Stalag 17 had a side cubby where spare parts were kept. Every military ship from frigates on up has a tool room.
I don't see a multi-kilometer object being build with no facilities for repair. It wouldn't take much: just a stash of extra air, food, water, and tools every few kilometers. Even if there are structural reasons why they could not be attached, the designers would have had something for maintenance, like a small one-man spaceship that could get to the furthest edge of the sail.
The sail is mission-critical. There have to be better planned maintenance facilities and procedures, or I don't believe the story.

Yeah, it's a ridiculous premise. I can't imagine NASA launching any vessel without having a plan to fix minor structural damage sustained en route.

[Joaz Banbeck]

The sad part is that the story is fixable, and an editor should have caught it and told the author to fix it. All it takes it designing a reasonable maintenance system, and then having it fail. THEN the central character can indulge in sacrificial heroics. ( Much of the failure could be blamed on hurried design and construction. )

If this is all that it takes to win a Hugo, I may start writing SF again.

[wineandgolover]

I thought it was very good and Hugo worthy. Liu seems to like pulling on the heart-strings. This wonderful story was the first to win Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards.

[xed_over]

Yeah, it's a ridiculous premise. I can't imagine NASA launching any vessel without having a plan to fix minor structural damage sustained en route.

Apollo 13

[jts]

Yeah, it's a ridiculous premise. I can't imagine NASA launching any vessel without having a plan to fix minor structural damage sustained en route.

Apollo 13

Columbia...

[skydyr]

Unfortunately, they don't even have to get to space before there are preventable catastrophic issues, as with the Apollo 1 training and Challenger.