horrible unpleasant crap

I have now finished all of the short fiction on this year's Hugo Award ballot (links to most nominees are available here), and I have to say, the pickings here are pretty slim. The stories that aren't forgettable or preachy are deeply unpleasant, leaving me wanting to put a lot of stuff below "No Award." And there's one story that makes me want to bleach my frontal cortex. More detailed comments, category-by-category, below the fold: Best Novella “Act One”, Nancy Kress (Asimov’s 3/09) The God Engines, John Scalzi (Subterranean) “Palimpsest”, Charles Stross (Wireless; Ace, Orbit) Shambling…