Rose/House is a 2023 science fiction mystery novella by American author Arkady Martine. It was first published by Subterranean Press.
When architect Basit Desiau died, his will stated that all his many artistic and cultural treasures were to be kept within his final creation, Rose House, a superintelligent smart home in the Mojave desert — and that the only person who would ever be allowed inside was his estranged former student, Seline Gisil, who could visit for up to 7 days per year.
In accordance with legislation regarding duty of care from artificial intelligences, Rose House has just notified local police that a dead body has been unattended within its premises for more than 24 hours. Selene Gisil would be the obvious suspect, except that she has been in Turkey for over a month. Now detective Maritza Smith must figure out how someone could have been killed within Rose House, where no one — including herself — is ever granted access.
Rose/House was a finalist for the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novella. [1]
Publishers Weekly called it "staggering", and "a twisted cathedral of story" that is filled with "equal parts beauty and a creeping, inescapable sense of wrongness", comparing it to "Shirley Jackson's Hill House as designed by Frank Gehry." [2] James Nicoll likewise drew parallels with Hill House, and emphasized that although Rose/House is "a homage, [it] is in no sense derivative": "Having read [The Haunting of Hill House] may provide insight into the character of Rose House's AI. It will not provide any foreshadowing of the events that play out." [3]
George Raymond Richard Martin, also known by the initials G.R.R.M., is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire, which were adapted into the Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019) and its prequel series House of the Dragon (2022–present). He also helped create the Wild Cards anthology series and contributed worldbuilding for the video game Elden Ring (2022).
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Ian McDonald is a British science fiction novelist, living in Belfast. His themes include nanotechnology, postcyberpunk settings, and the impact of rapid social and technological change on non-Western societies.
Inside Job is a novella by American writer Connie Willis, originally published in the January 2005 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction and later as a hardback by Subterranean Press. In the story, a debunker of pseudoscience encounters a fake medium who seems to be genuinely channelling the disruptive spirit of H. L. Mencken. It was the winner of the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
Courttia Newland is a British writer of Jamaican and Barbadian heritage.
James Davis Nicoll is a Canadian freelance game and speculative fiction reviewer, former security guard and role-playing game store owner, and five-time Hugo nominee, who also works as a first reader for the Science Fiction Book Club. As a Usenet personality, Nicoll is known for writing a widely quoted epigram on the English language, as well as for his accounts of suffering a high number of accidents, which he has narrated over the years in Usenet groups like rec.arts.sf.written and rec.arts.sf.fandom. He is now a blogger on Dreamwidth and Facebook, and an occasional columnist on Tor.com. In 2014, he started his website, jamesdavisnicoll.com, dedicated to his book reviews of works old and new; and later added Young People Read Old SFF, where his panel of younger readers read pre-1980 science fiction and fantasy, and Nicoll and his collaborators report on the younger readers' reactions.
Thomas P. Kratman is an American military science fiction author and retired United States Army officer whose work is published by Baen Books. Kratman's novels include the Desert Called Peace series which has been praised for its action sequences and attention to philosophy of war. He authored three novels with John Ringo in the Legacy of the Aldenata series. Kratman's works often reflect right-wing political perspectives and some have been seen as deliberately crafted to offend left-wing sensibilities. During the Sad Puppies campaign in 2015, Kratman was nominated for a Hugo Award for his novella Big Boys Don't Cry.
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by the World Science Fiction Society. The Hugo is widely considered the premier award in the science fiction genre, and winners are often noted on book covers. It is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. Hugos were first given in 1953, at the 11th World Science Fiction Convention, and have been awarded every year since 1955.
The 78th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as CoNZealand, was held from 29 July to 2 August 2020. It was planned to be held at the TSB Arena and Shed 6, Intercontinental Hotel, Michael Fowler Center, in Wellington, New Zealand. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers announced in March 2020 that it would be held as a virtual convention, with no on-site attendance.
All Systems Red is a 2017 science fiction novella by American author Martha Wells. The first in the Murderbot Diaries series, it was published by Tor.com. The series is about a cyborg designed to protect humans on a research mission. The cyborg narrates the story and calls itself "Murderbot". It has developed independence from its original programming by overriding its "governor unit" and prefers watching soap operas over its security function. As it spends more time with some caring humans, it starts developing emotions that make it feel uncomfortable.
The Murderbot Diaries is a science fiction series by American author Martha Wells, published by Tor Books. The series is told from perspective of the titular cybernetic SecUnit, who was owned by a futuristic megacorporation. Murderbot manages to free itself from enslavement, but instead of killing its masters, it staves off boredom of security work watching media. As it spends more time with a series of caring people, it starts developing friendships and emotional connections, which it finds inconvenient.
Lee Harris is a British editor of science fiction, fantasy and horror. He is the only British editor ever to have been nominated in the Hugo Awards "short form" editing category, and the first British editor ever to have been nominated in the editing "long form" category.
AnnaLinden Weller, better known under her pen name Arkady Martine, is an American author of science fiction literature. Her first novels A Memory Called Empire (2019) and A Desolation Called Peace (2021), which form the Teixcalaan series, each won the Hugo Award for Best Novel.
A Memory Called Empire is a 2019 science fiction novel, the debut novel by Arkady Martine. It follows Mahit Dzmare, the ambassador from Lsel Station to the Teixcalaanli Empire, as she investigates the death of her predecessor and the instabilities that underpin that society. The book won the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
A Desolation Called Peace is a 2021 space opera science fiction novel by Arkady Martine. It is the sequel to A Memory Called Empire, and the second novel in Martine's Teixcalaan series. Like its predecessor, the book won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, in 2022.
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Ty Corey Franck is an American novelist, screenwriter, and television producer. He is best known for co-authoring The Expanse with Daniel Abraham under the pseudonym James S. A. Corey, as well as Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series (2014) and The Expanse: Expanded (2016). The Expanse novels have been adapted into the television series The Expanse (2015–2022), with both Franck and Abraham serving as writers and producers on the show.
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Even Though I Knew the End is a 2022 urban fantasy novella by Canadian speculative author C. L. Polk. It was first published by Tor Books.