Murmuration

Among this year's Nebula nominees, I was happy to see Alyssa Wong's "The Fisher Queen." I kind of feel like we've reached peak mythology reworking, so I was surprised to discover how easily that story drew me in and started swinging me around.

... Most of the mermaids tangled in the nets are pale, with silvery tails and lithe bodies. This one is dark brown, its lower body thick, blobby, and inelegant, tapering to a blunt point instead of a single fin. Its entire body is glazed with a slimy coating, covered in spines and frondlike appendages. Rounded, skeletal pods hang from its waist, each about the size of an infant ...

One of the things I like about the story is its origin story:

I wrote “The Fisher Queen” as a wedding present for my friend, Katie. Since her favorite fairytale is “The Little Mermaid,” I really wanted to write her a mermaid story.