“Histories,” Minith says, as though it’s a dirty word. “Apparently we have recruited a humanities student.”

Starts like a fantasy story about a world where ogres dominate humans... but over time, something different and more complicated slowly unspools. Good twists and turns, interesting ideas.

Torquell lives in a world that looks beautiful, but under the surface is quite grim. He's a young man, an ordinary human, the son of the headman of his village, and will almost certainly be the next headman himself.

The headman's responsibility is to keep order in the village, keep things running smoothly, and above all, to make sure the village makes a good impression and can pat the required taxes when the Landlord comes to visit. The required taxe are whatever the Landlord says they are.

The Landlord is an Ogre. Bigger, stronger, more powerful, reactive emotions. Those appetites include eating meat, which just makes ordinary humans sick. Ogres rule the world, and humans serve them. Torquell, though, there's a little bit of rebellion in him. He's a bit of a lovable rogue, who pulls pranks and commits minor acts of vandalism--most of which are in the interest of righting some wrong that can't or won't be set right by the ordinary system of law and order. One day, Torquell's spirit of justice and rebellion collides with the latest visit of the Landlord. This time, the Landlord has brought his son and heir

I don't want to say that the Landlord is a nice guy. He's not, at all. He is, however, a practical man, who does not have his son's sheer, unmotivated meanness. Torquell's meeting with Sir Peter's son, Gerald, is a disaster for both of them.

It's also the start of what the (second person, present tense) narrator tells us is Torquell's hero's journey. Torquell was never much interested in the book learning required of him as the headman's heir, but that's a matter of interest, not ability. He's smart, tough, and he really tries to do the right thing. In a twisted sort of way, things tend to work out for him. Yes, he becomes an outlaw, but he survives and learns new skills. Yes, he's caught by a bounty hunter, but that ultimately leads to him becoming part of the household of a very different ogre, where he is slowly prodded to become interested in book learning and big questions.

Big questions like, where did the ogres come from. The answer is fascinating, and horrifying, and, it turns out, this is actually the wrong question. When he figures out the right question, it's the start of Torquell becoming the surprisingly effective leader of a rebellion against the ogres.

But does he have the ability and the character to bring it to a successful conclusion?

This doesn't sound like all that grim a story, does it? For most of the novella, the tone doesn't sound grim. I could point you at books of overall grim tone that don't include the nasty features of this one. The tone doesn't match, for me, the fact that there are two prominent instances of cannibalism, ogres eating humans, and it's indicated to be a fairly common practice. And no, the reader isn't supposed to approve of or even accept it. It's one of the clues to what the world run by ogres is really like.

There's the peaceful, beautiful, bucolic world of the villages, and pre-OSHA, pre-union factories that exist that way because the ogres explicitly want them to.

I'm not sure I'm articulating well what creeped me out about this novella. There's also, of course, the fact that I don't like stories that, um, how to put this without spoilers. I don't like stories where the protagonist's character arc winds up where this one winds up.

It's well-written. It's just not written for me. And it doesn't have the characteristics that cause me to regard some other stories I don't personally like as worthy Hugo finalists. There's just none of that added value that makes me respect the story despite not enjoying it.

It's not even the political subtext, which is there, though not overly blatantly. On that basis, it actually winds up making a point I completely agree with. Nevertheless, the overall effect for me is just--icky.

I received this story as part of the 2023 Hugo Voters Packet. ( )

"We don't split hairs about who is a better slave master" - Minith, the unassuming Economic

This novella stayed with me for days after reading it. I would be busy attending to something in the office, take a break and think back on Torquell, and atavism. I'd be taking my puppies and border collie out for a spa day and a frolic in the vast fields beyond my backyard, and Sir Peter Grimes and his arrival at that small and green village would flash before my minds eye. I'd be air-frying succulent steaks and getting out salads on the plates before me, and I would find myself thinking of "defaulter's pie", (we know what that is) and Isadora eating it with gusto. I'd be watching the news and stories of private war mercenaries marching back into the the house of the Madman of Russia, loudly proclaiming they're leading a coup only to back down just as fast as they announced it (seriously, who publicizes their desired coup to the "coupee", Wagner fools) and I found myself re-imagining Torquell's Revolution, past the murder of that Ogre - his real Rubicon and all the way up to his dinner with Isadora. So the crux of it right there on the table between glasses of wine and cooked meats - atavism gave way to the ogre and in the end, the ogre is as all the other ogres were before.

What a tale of excess, gluttony, power and the never ending vicious cycle. In the end, the human race is the ouboros ( )

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/bsfa-short-fiction-5/

Dystopian agricultural future where an elite minority of big people (the ‘ogres’ of the title) holds the majority of humanity in brutal slavery, and our protagonist discovers the awful truth and begins the overthrow of the system. Enjoyed it, but it didn’t quite convince me. ( )

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Torquell lives in the land of Ogres. Oh, some may call them Masters, God’s Chosen, or Landlords, but there is no doubt that they are monsters. They come into the human villages, take their best, and leave the rest for the people to barely survive on. It’s just the way life is. Ogres rule and humans serve.

That is until one-day Torquell turns the natural order upside down. Soon he is on the run. Dodging Ogre hunters, human servants, and giant dogs, Torquell has to answer an important question: Which is more important, survival or the truth?

This novella by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a fast-paced, engaging look at a world that is strange but familiar. "Ogres" seeks to look at the nature of being human. Here, specifically, the main focus is on classism. Is the upper class naturally better? Do the working class deserve what they get? What does a class revolution look like?

I loved the twists and the turns the novella takes. Yes, it is short, but every chapter has a moment that catches you off guard. Yet, the story does not rely on twists alone. The world-building is great, the prose is beautiful, and the characters are interesting.

Though be warned, the entire story is told in the second person. There is an in-universe reason why that is, but at first, it can be a little jarring. I found it added to the story overall, however, but I recognize there are readers that shy away from stories told in such a way.

If you can get used to that narration style, then you will find a great novella filled with twists and mystery. The social commentary is insightful and thought-provoking without feeling preachy or ham-fisted. A great weekend read or an all-nighter. ( )