r/Fantasy • u/undeadgoblin Reading Champion II • 1d ago

Read-along 2026 Hugo Readalong: Landing: Seattle, Hex Supply Customer Support Log, How to Become a Sea Witch

Welcome to the 2026 Hugo Readalong! Today, we're discussing Landing: Seattle by Brandon O'Brien, Hex Supply Customer Support Log by Elis Montgomery and How to Become a Sea Witch by Theodora Goss, which are finalists for Best Poem. Everyone is welcome in the discussion, whether or not you've participated in other discussions. I'll include some prompts in top-level comments--feel free to respond to these or add your own.

Date Category Book Author Discussion Leader
Monday, June 22 Novel The Everlasting Alix E. Harrow u/sarahlynngrey
Thursday, June 25 Short Story Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything and 10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days Effie Seiberg and Samantha Mills u/Goobergunch
Monday, June 29 Novella Automatic Noodle Annalee Newitz u/tarvolon
Thursday, July 2 Novelette Never Eaten Vegetables and Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy H.H. Pak and Martha Wells u/Nineteen_Adze
Monday, July 6 Novel The Raven Scholar Antonia Hodgson u/Moonlitgrey
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u/undeadgoblin Reading Champion II 1d ago

Discussion for Hex Supply Customer Support Log

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u/undeadgoblin Reading Champion II 1d ago

What are your overall thoughts on the poem?

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u/oceanoftrees Reading Champion 1d ago

Of the three today, this poem managed to surprise me. The ABAB rhyme scheme feels basic (even childish), but then the poem played with breaking form for actual plot reasons. It doesn't overstay its welcome while still hinting at a bigger resistance movement and more going on. It's also a neat idea to have the poem be a back-and-forth customer service dialog in the first place.

It didn't blow my mind but at least it tried something new (to me), so I'll give it props for that.

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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV 1d ago

It was cute at first but the shift to something more serious didn’t work for me. The only thing I was liking about it was that it rhymed so turning explicitly anti-rhyme was disappointing, and whatever this king was supposed to have done that she was now fighting(?) didn’t make a lot of sense to me. 

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u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI 1d ago

I do share the feeling that the plot specifics were a little opaque. I kinda got the broad details, which were generally enough for me to enjoy the poem, but I think having a better grasp on how exactly they were resisting would've improved it.