Opowiadania nominowane do Nagrody im. Janusza A Zajdla. Rok 2025 in Zew Zajdla

Jun 27, 2025 Bartek Żak rated it liked it

Shelves: zajdle

I nagle wracam wspomnieniami do zielonej szkoły w Jastrzębiej Górze, która to była klasa - piąta czy czwarta? I mam dzikie poczucie odwetu za coś, o czym wczoraj nawet nie pamiętałem. Oj wyzwala emocje literatura, wyzwala.

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Jun 28, 2025 Oleksandr Zholud rated it really liked it

Shelves: polish, zajdel

This is a collection of shorter SFF works, which were nominated in 2025 for the Polish analogue of the Hugo Award – the main SFF fan-voted award Nagroda Fandomu Polskiego im. Janusza A. Zajdla / Janusz A. Zajdel Award of Polish Fandom. For the last few years, I have taken part in voting, so I try to read all the nominees. This time, there are four nominees and their size is somewhere between a novelette and a novella.

Contents:
– Dlaczego nie ma klanu Kruka (Why is there no Raven clan?) by Aleksan This is a collection of shorter SFF works, which were nominated in 2025 for the Polish analogue of the Hugo Award – the main SFF fan-voted award Nagroda Fandomu Polskiego im. Janusza A. Zajdla / Janusz A. Zajdel Award of Polish Fandom. For the last few years, I have taken part in voting, so I try to read all the nominees. This time, there are four nominees and their size is somewhere between a novelette and a novella.

Contents:
– Dlaczego nie ma klanu Kruka (Why is there no Raven clan?) by Aleksandra Janusz, the story set either in a prehistoric past or a far post-apoc future, for it is narrated by a leader (born female but raised as a man) of one of nomadic clans as they meet during a usual annual gathering and while the narrator mentions ‘errors of the people long ago’ there is no mention of any artifacts from the period. Each clan has its god/goddess – an abnormal person (mentally and/or physically), like the narrator’s brother Rain, who is mentally underdeveloped (in our modern view, not in the view of clan members). This time, someone murdered the narrator’s friend, who recently told him about a change further north, where people remain in one place for the whole year, burn nearby forests and use pig manure to grow crops. The murder is only a start, for someone kidnaps clans’ gods… 4.25*
– Zimne dzieci (Cold Children) by Anna Kańtoch - in this anthology only a fragment is presented, I’ve read the whole in Frostpunk. Antologia and here is my review from there: a diary of a son of the local colony’s leader. To prove his worth, he took part in an expedition that discovered a dead colony, but for a few children (from 4-year-olds to teens). These children are not bothered by the cold, and the inhabitants of the surrounding settlement try to find out why and how. The problem is that they are unable/unwilling to communicate. The story goes into mystic, but then (seemingly?) returns to scientific explanations. 3.5*
– Lekcje obrony przed nowymi technologiami (Lessons in defending against new technologies) by Radek Rak - a story I’m still thinking over. It starts with the death of Noe Skrzydlewski. It turns out that the story is narrated by his teacher, and he was an 8th-grade pupil. The story takes place in a near future and the teacher is a specialist in a future version of protection against internet bullying and the like. She suspects that another boy, Gus, is connected to Noe’s death – a few months back, the class was on an excursion and it was suspected that Gus was attempting to watch girls undressing and Noe made a fake video about Gus to protect the girls. It is a text that very skillfully combines contemporary fears of AI and the problems of incelism. The only problem that SF here is unnecessary… 4*
Supły (Knots) by Paula Wanarska, the only story I’ve read before, so my review from Nowa Fantastyka 504 : a middle-aged woman with multiple old traumas took an orphan boy from a convent. She creates unparalleled embroideries and some stunning tapestries, despite her limitations, like smashed fingers at one hand. The boy sees himself as ‘cursed’ because his dad was one of Red mages who burned the city long ago, hurting the woman among many others, he constantly prays, visits churches and doesn’t even eat red-colored food, fearing that he had Red magic as well. The woman’s story is told in flashbacks – actually, she was captured during a fire by White mages, who tortured her (smashing fingers among other things). She knew nothing, but pain led her to speak about a man who just felt pity and gave his cloak to cover her. This man was the boy’s father, so he is just brainwashed about his family's guilt. The final reveal is that actually (view spoiler) 3.5*
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Jun 22, 2025 Strzygucha rated it really liked it

1.“Dlaczego nie ma klanu kruka” Aleksandra Janusz - 4
2.”Zimne dzieci” Anna Kańtoch - 4,5
3.”Lekcja obrony przed nowymi technologiami” Radek Rak - 3,5
4.”Supły” Paula Wanarska - 3,75

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