2009 Hugo Nominees
James Nicoll
http://anticipationsf.ca/English/Hugos
Best Novel
(639 Ballots / Bulletins)
Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK) . Free download
Saturn.s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
Zoe.s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)
Best Novella
(337 Ballots / Bulletins)
.The Erdmann Nexus. by Nancy Kress (Asimov.s Oct/Nov 2008)
.The Political Prisoner. by Charles Coleman Finlay (F&SF Aug 2008) . Read Online
.The Tear. by Ian McDonald (Galactic Empires)
.True Names. by Benjamin Rosenbaum & Cory Doctorow (Fast Forward 2) . Free download
.Truth. by Robert Reed (Asimov.s Oct/Nov 2008)
Best Novelette
(373 Ballots / Bulletins)
.Alastair Baffle.s Emporium of Wonders. by Mike Resnick (Asimov.s Jan 2008) . Read Online
.The Gambler. by Paolo Bacigalupi (Fast Forward 2) . Read Online
.Pride and Prometheus. by John Kessel (F&SF Jan 2008)
.The Ray-Gun: A Love Story. by James Alan Gardner (Asimov.s Feb 2008) . Read Online
.Shoggoths in Bloom. by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov.s Mar 2008) . Read Online
Best Short Story
(448 Ballots / Bulletins)
.26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss. by Kij Johnson (Asimov.s Jul 2008) . Read Online
.Article of Faith. by Mike Resnick (Baen.s Universe Oct 2008)
.Evil Robot Monkey. by Mary Robinette Kowal (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume Two)
.Exhalation. by Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
.From Babel.s Fall.n Glory We Fled. by Michael Swanwick (Asimov.s Feb 2008)
Best Related Book
(263 Ballots / Bulletins)
Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn (Wesleyan University Press)
Spectrum 15: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art by Cathy & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Underwood Books)
The Vorkosigan Companion: The Universe of Lois McMaster Bujold by Lillian Stewart Carl & John Helfers, eds. (Baen)
What It Is We Do When We Read Science Fiction by Paul Kincaid (Beccon Publications)
Your Hate Mail Will be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008 by John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)
Best Graphic Story
(212 Ballots / Bulletins)
The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle Written by Jim Butcher, art by Ardian Syaf (Del Rey/Dabel Brothers Publishing)
Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
Fables: War and Pieces Written by Bill Willingham, pencilled by Mark Buckingham, art by Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy, color by Lee Loughridge, letters by Todd Klein (DC/Vertigo Comics)
Schlock Mercenary: The Body Politic Story and art by Howard Tayler (The Tayler Corporation)
Serenity: Better Days Written by Joss Whedon & Brett Matthews, art by Will Conrad, color by Michelle Madsen, cover by Jo Chen (Dark Horse Comics)
Y: The Last Man, Volume 10: Whys and Wherefores Written/created by Brian K. Vaughan, pencilled/created by Pia Guerra, inked by Jose Marzan, Jr. (DC/Vertigo Comics)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
(436 Ballots / Bulletins)
The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer, story; Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, screenplay; based on characters created by Bob Kane; Christopher Nolan, director (Warner Brothers)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army Guillermo del Toro & Mike Mignola, story; Guillermo del Toro, screenplay; based on the comic by Mike Mignola; Guillermo del Toro, director (Dark Horse, Universal)
Iron Man Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, screenplay; based on characters created by Stan Lee & Don Heck & Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby; Jon Favreau, director (Paramount, Marvel Studios)
METAtropolis by John Scalzi, ed. Written by: Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell and Karl Schroeder (Audible Inc)
WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
(336 Ballots / Bulletins)
.The Constant. (Lost) Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof, writers; Jack Bender, director (Bad Robot, ABC studios)
Doctor Horrible.s Sing-Along Blog Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen , writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)
.Revelations. (Battlestar Galactica) Bradley Thompson & David Weddle, writers; Michael Rymer, director (NBC Universal)
.Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. (Doctor Who) Steven Moffat, writer; Euros Lyn, director (BBC Wales)
.Turn Left. (Doctor Who) Russell T. Davies, writer; Graeme Harper, director (BBC Wales)
Best Editor, Short Form
(377 Ballots / Bulletins)
Ellen Datlow
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder
Sheila Williams
Best Editor, Long Form
(273 Ballots / Bulletins)
Lou Anders
Ginjer Buchanan
David G. Hartwell
Beth Meacham
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Best Professional Artist
(334 Ballots / Bulletins)
Daniel Dos Santos
Bob Eggleton
Donato Giancola
John Picacio
Shaun Tan
Best Semiprozine
(283 Ballots / Bulletins)
Clarkesworld Magazine edited by Neil Clarke, Nick Mamatas & Sean Wallace
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen Trombi
The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer, Kris Dikeman, David G. Hartwell, & Kevin J. Maroney
Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal
Best Fanzine
(257 Ballots / Bulletins)
Argentus edited by Steven H Silver
Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
Challenger edited by Guy H. Lillian III
The Drink Tank edited by Chris Garcia
Electric Velocipede edited by John Klima
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
Best Fan Writer
(291 Ballots / Bulletins)
Chris Garcia
John Hertz
Dave Langford
Cheryl Morgan
Steven H Silver
Best Fan Artist
(187 Ballots / Bulletins)
Alan F. Beck
Brad W. Foster
Sue Mason
Taral Wayne
Frank Wu
The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
(288 Ballots / Bulletins)
Aliette de Bodard*
David Anthony Durham*
Felix Gilman
Tony Pi*
Gord Sellar*
*(Second year of eligibility)
--
http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
http://www.cafepress.com/jdnicoll (For all your "The problem with
defending the English language [...]" T-shirt, cup and tote-bag needs)
Konrad Gaertner
So let's see how well-read I am this year... well, I haven't read any
of the novels, nor any of the short stories, nor seen any of the
dramatic presentations...
I have read these:
> Best Graphic Story
> The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle Written by Jim Butcher, art by Ardian Syaf (Del Rey/Dabel Brothers Publishing)
> Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
The Butcher was good, but not nearly as good as the novels.
GG of course I love and own all the collections (and got into an
argument elsewhere about nominating things that haven't been
published yet).
> The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
> Felix Gilman
_Thunderer_ was fairly good, but not quite the sort of thing I like
(it's part of the Big Weird City fantasy subgenre).
> Best Editor, Long Form
> Lou Anders
> Ginjer Buchanan
> David G. Hartwell
> Beth Meacham
> Patrick Nielsen Hayden
>
> Best Professional Artist
> Daniel Dos Santos
> Bob Eggleton
> Donato Giancola
> John Picacio
> Shaun Tan
I think I've seen examples from all of these, but in some cases those
examples may be a couple years old. Has anyone set up a website to
list [some of] the works that made each of them eligible?
Thinking a bit more, I remember that Dos Santos does the cover art
for Briggs' Mercy Thompson books, which is quite good for SF covers
(I'd prefer more clothes and fewer tattoos). And I did read Tan's
_Arrival_ (wasn't that nominated for last year's Hugos?) and thought
it was frighteningly detailed for such a trite story.
--
Konrad Gaertner - - - - - - - - - http://kgbooklog.livejournal.com/
"For Man has earned his right to hold this planet against all
comers, by virtue of occasionally producing someone totally batshit
insane." -- Randall Munroe
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
> The 2009 Hugo Nominees are as follows:
> Best Graphic Story
> (212 Ballots / Bulletins)
>
> Schlock Mercenary: The Body Politic Story and art by Howard Tayler (The Tayler Corporation)
Well GO HOWARD!
--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Live Journal: http://seawasp.livejournal.com
Andrew Plotkin
>
> Best Novel
> (639 Ballots / Bulletins)
>
> Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
> The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
> Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK) . Free download
> Saturn.s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
> Zoe.s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)
Three of those are YA or teen-oriented. How many such books have won
Best Novel? Looks like only _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_, out
of only a few nominations. (_Have Spacesuit Will Travel_, _Prisoner of
Azkaban_, and not much in between.)
I'll lay cookies on the outcome here. Fandom has a weakness for
Serious Books. (However, I've only read the Gaiman -- the rest are on
my "wait for paperback" list.)
> Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
> (436 Ballots / Bulletins)
>
> The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer, story; Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, screenplay; based on characters created by Bob Kane; Christopher Nolan, director (Warner Brothers)
> Hellboy II: The Golden Army Guillermo del Toro & Mike Mignola, story; Guillermo del Toro, screenplay; based on the comic by Mike Mignola; Guillermo del Toro, director (Dark Horse, Universal)
> Iron Man Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, screenplay; based on characters created by Stan Lee & Don Heck & Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby; Jon Favreau, director (Paramount, Marvel Studios)
> METAtropolis by John Scalzi, ed. Written by: Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell and Karl Schroeder (Audible Inc)
> WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)
I didn't expect an audiobook on this list. If it wins, will (audio)
podcast readings start showing up in the "short form" category? There
are a lot of them these days.
> The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
> (288 Ballots / Bulletins)
>
> Aliette de Bodard*
> David Anthony Durham*
> Felix Gilman
> Tony Pi*
> Gord Sellar*
Well, I recognize *one* name... (Gilman. I liked _Thunderer_.)
--Z
--
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
Evelyn Leeper
> Here, James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
>> Best Novel
>> (639 Ballots / Bulletins)
>>
>> Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
>> The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
>> Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK) . Free download
>> Saturn.s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
>> Zoe.s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)
>
> Three of those are YA or teen-oriented. How many such books have won
> Best Novel? Looks like only _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_, out
> of only a few nominations. (_Have Spacesuit Will Travel_, _Prisoner of
> Azkaban_, and not much in between.)
It's kind of hard to define YA for the 1950s, but some of the Retro
Hugos definitely verge in that direction.
STARSHIP TROOPERS is sometimes considered YA. Also WITCH WORLD, DAVY,
RITE OF PASSAGE, HARPIST IN THE WIND, ENDER'S GAME, SPEAKER FOR THE
DEAD, SEVENTH SON, RED PROPHET, and PRENTICE ALVIN, and possibly some of
McCaffrey's nominations as well.
>> Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
>> (436 Ballots / Bulletins)
>>
>> The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer, story; Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, screenplay; based on characters created by Bob Kane; Christopher Nolan, director (Warner Brothers)
>> Hellboy II: The Golden Army Guillermo del Toro & Mike Mignola, story; Guillermo del Toro, screenplay; based on the comic by Mike Mignola; Guillermo del Toro, director (Dark Horse, Universal)
>> Iron Man Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, screenplay; based on characters created by Stan Lee & Don Heck & Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby; Jon Favreau, director (Paramount, Marvel Studios)
>> METAtropolis by John Scalzi, ed. Written by: Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell and Karl Schroeder (Audible Inc)
>> WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)
>
> I didn't expect an audiobook on this list. If it wins, will (audio)
> podcast readings start showing up in the "short form" category? There
> are a lot of them these days.
Is it an audiobook (reading) or is it a dramatization?
--
Evelyn C. Leeper
One can pay back the loan of gold, but one
dies forever in debt to those who are kind.
Michael Stemper
>Here, James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
>> Best Novel
>Three of those are YA or teen-oriented. How many such books have won
>Best Novel? Looks like only _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_, out
That depends upon where you categorize _Starship Troopers_.
--
Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>
No animals were harmed in the composition of this message.
Andrew Plotkin
> Andrew Plotkin wrote:
> >
> > Three of those are YA or teen-oriented. How many such books have won
> > Best Novel? Looks like only _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_, out
> > of only a few nominations. (_Have Spacesuit Will Travel_, _Prisoner of
> > Azkaban_, and not much in between.)
>
> It's kind of hard to define YA for the 1950s, but some of the Retro
> Hugos definitely verge in that direction.
>
> STARSHIP TROOPERS is sometimes considered YA. Also WITCH WORLD, DAVY,
> RITE OF PASSAGE, HARPIST IN THE WIND, ENDER'S GAME, SPEAKER FOR THE
> DEAD, SEVENTH SON, RED PROPHET, and PRENTICE ALVIN, and possibly some of
> McCaffrey's nominations as well.
Yeah, I can see the fuzzy border but... no, I don't consider those YA.
(And when I saw _Ender's Game_ repackaged in the YA section, several
years ago, I said "Huh?")
> >> Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
> >> (436 Ballots / Bulletins)
> >>
> >> The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer, story; Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, screenplay; based on characters created by Bob Kane; Christopher Nolan, director (Warner Brothers)
> >> Hellboy II: The Golden Army Guillermo del Toro & Mike Mignola, story; Guillermo del Toro, screenplay; based on the comic by Mike Mignola; Guillermo del Toro, director (Dark Horse, Universal)
> >> Iron Man Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, screenplay; based on characters created by Stan Lee & Don Heck & Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby; Jon Favreau, director (Paramount, Marvel Studios)
> >> METAtropolis by John Scalzi, ed. Written by: Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell and Karl Schroeder (Audible Inc)
> >> WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)
> >
> > I didn't expect an audiobook on this list. If it wins, will (audio)
> > podcast readings start showing up in the "short form" category? There
> > are a lot of them these days.
>
> Is it an audiobook (reading) or is it a dramatization?
The former. _Metatropolis_ is an audio anthology of five stories
(Bear, Schroeder, Scalzi, Buckell, Lake). Subterranean is putting it
out in print form (hardcover) in July.
David Bilek
> The 2009 Hugo Nominees are as follows:
>
>Best Novel
>(639 Ballots / Bulletins)
>
>Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
>The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
>Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK) . Free download
>Saturn.s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
>Zoe.s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)
>
This is a boring, safe list. I don't mean the books themselves are
boring; I quite liked most of them. There are no real clunkers here
but nothing really daring or noteworthy either. But while not
clunkers, I don't think LITTLE BROTHER or ZOES TALE belong on the list
although, again, they aren't HOMINIDS bad or anything, particularly
ZOES TALE which is competent but unnecessary.
But it leaves off several books which are superior to all but perhaps
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. I'm not a big YA fan so its tough for me to judge
that one.
Like I said, a boring inoffensive list.
>
>The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
>(288 Ballots / Bulletins)
>
>Aliette de Bodard*
>David Anthony Durham*
>Felix Gilman
>Tony Pi*
>Gord Sellar*
>
wat
-David
Joseph Nebus
> The 2009 Hugo Nominees are as follows:
>
>http://anticipationsf.ca/English/Hugos
Well, I haven't read any of the written stuff, although I did
see _Saturn's Children_ in the bookstores around here for roughly ten
minutes before it disappeared again. I had the same problem with the
collections of the Harvey comics characters and still haven't been
able to buy the Richie Rich collection.
>Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
>(336 Ballots / Bulletins)
>.Turn Left. (Doctor Who) Russell T. Davies, writer; Graeme Harper, director (BBC Wales)
Here's my vote for Hugo Nomination To Be Disproportionately,
Comically, and Futilely Outraged About. The whole story here was fanfic
holding down the audience and pummelling it with the message ``you better
love Donna Noble *OR ELSE*'', and even without the gleeful madness of the
series conclusion. If you need a second New Who nomination how about the
one where the angry mob that wants to throw the possessed woman out to
die turns out to be right and the Doctor doesn't know anything useful?
Unfortunately that's about as outraged as I can get, which is not
so very much at all.
--
Joseph Nebus
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Plotkin
> jdni...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
>
> > The 2009 Hugo Nominees are as follows:
> >
> >Best Novel
> >(639 Ballots / Bulletins)
> >
> >Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
> >The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
> >Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK) . Free download
> >Saturn.s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
> >Zoe.s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)
> >
>
> This is a boring, safe list. I don't mean the books themselves are
> boring; I quite liked most of them. There are no real clunkers here
> but nothing really daring or noteworthy either.
Well, come on, fork 'em over. :) What was daring in 2008?
My reading hasn't been especially adventurous recently. The only book
on my 2008 list which was both daring *and* really impressive was
Swanwick's _The Dragons of Babel_. (Well, and _Blindsight_, but that
got its Hugo nom when it came out.)
Sean O'Hara
declared:
>
>> I didn't expect an audiobook on this list. If it wins, will (audio)
>> podcast readings start showing up in the "short form" category? There
>> are a lot of them these days.
>
> Is it an audiobook (reading) or is it a dramatization?
METAtropolis is a plain vanilla audiobook comprising short stories
in a shared-universe. It made a big splash because (A) it's not
available in print, (B) it's read by the stars of Battlestar
Galactica, and (C) Audible gave the first story away free.
Frankly, I was extremely underwhelmed by the writing, and while the
readings were okay they aren't the best I've ever heard.
--
Sean O'Hara <http://www.diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com>
New audio book: As Long as You Wish by John O'Keefe
<http://librivox.org/short-science-fiction-collection-010/>
Evelyn Leeper
> In the Year of the Earth Ox, the Great and Powerful Evelyn Leeper declared:
>>
>>> I didn't expect an audiobook on this list. If it wins, will (audio)
>>> podcast readings start showing up in the "short form" category? There
>>> are a lot of them these days.
>>
>> Is it an audiobook (reading) or is it a dramatization?
>
> METAtropolis is a plain vanilla audiobook comprising short stories in a
> shared-universe. It made a big splash because (A) it's not available in
> print, (B) it's read by the stars of Battlestar Galactica, and (C)
> Audible gave the first story away free.
>
> Frankly, I was extremely underwhelmed by the writing, and while the
> readings were okay they aren't the best I've ever heard.
>
I guess my question is whether this means that all audiobooks are now
eligible as Dramatic Presentations.
Tim McDaniel
in the history of the Hugos in which Analog / Astounding has no
nominees other than editor?
--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com
David Bilek
I just went back over the SF published in 2008 and, honestly, nothing
strikes me as particularly daring. There were a lot of good books
published last year but not a lot of great ones. Solid books but not
brilliant.
Still, I think THE JANUARY DANCER, HOUSE OF SUNS, and THE QUIET WAR
were all better choices than a bunch of what made it. LITTLE BROTHER
is interesting but not particularly well-written. ZOES TALE is
goodish but, as I said, I think it was rather unecessary and didn't
accomplish a lot for what it was. As I said I'm not a big YA guy so
I'd have been fine with leaving the Gaiman off (he already got a
Newbury which is worth a heck of a lot more $$$ than a Hugo). ANATHEM
can stay even if I wasn't as enamored as some people.
So while the final ballot we got really isn't all that exciting I have
to conclude it is because 2008 was a year without any one truly
groundbreaking standout novel.
Given the novels on the ballot, I'd probably give it to Stross.
SATURNS CHILDREN is at least as good as the other books that made the
ballot and Charlie deserves some formal recognition.
-David
Thomas Womack
Andrew Plotkin <erky...@eblong.com> wrote:
>Here, David Bilek <david...@att.net> wrote:
>> jdni...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
>>
>> > The 2009 Hugo Nominees are as follows:
>> >
>> >Best Novel
>> >(639 Ballots / Bulletins)
>> >
>> >Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
>> >The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
>> >Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK) . Free download
>> >Saturn.s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
>> >Zoe.s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)
>> >
>>
>> This is a boring, safe list. I don't mean the books themselves are
>> boring; I quite liked most of them. There are no real clunkers here
>> but nothing really daring or noteworthy either.
>
>Well, come on, fork 'em over. :) What was daring in 2008?
Nick Harkaway's _Gone-Away World_ is closer to Pynchon than a lot of
SF gets.
Ekaterina Sedia's excellent (though I read it too late to nominate)
_The Alchemy of Stone_ manages to be a tragedy, not a travelogue, and
to have the building of a giant cog-based artificial intelligence as a
minor background detail. KJParker's _The Company_ is again a tragedy.
It's a bit embarrassing that simply concluding without Glorious Success
might be enough to contemplate labelling an SF book as daring.
Tom
Jacey Bedford
<david...@att.net> writes
>LITTLE BROTHER is interesting but not particularly well-written.
I just read it today - and found it extremely compelling. I especially
thought that, for a novel with explanations of complex subjects such as
cryptography, Doctorow managed the necessary infodumps remarkably well,
keeping readers up to speed with the technology that fuelled the plot.
I haven't read Saturn's Children yet, but it's on my list.
Jacey
--
Jacey Bedford
jacey at artisan hyphen harmony dot com
posting via usenet and not googlegroups, ourdebate
or any other forum that reprints usenet posts as
though they were the forum's own
Gene
@reader1.panix.com:
> My reading hasn't been especially adventurous recently. The only book
> on my 2008 list which was both daring *and* really impressive was
> Swanwick's _The Dragons of Babel_. (Well, and _Blindsight_, but that
* got its Hugo nom when it came out.)
So does this mean I should avoid reading The Dragons of Babel, or does the
fact that Saturn's Children is safe and boring mean I am stuck either way?
--
"It's not like there is much that is universal among economists." -- Shawn
Wilson
Gene
news:pn38s45fv7gjf0jfq...@4ax.com:
> Given the novels on the ballot, I'd probably give it to Stross.
> SATURNS CHILDREN is at least as good as the other books that made the
> ballot and Charlie deserves some formal recognition.
Which should already have been given to some other book; the man has been
nominated enough times after all. This is his first stinker. Of course,
arguably the same is true of Starship Troopers, but Heinlein had gotten his
Hugo by then already.
It also bites that The Atrocity Archives wasn't even nominated.
Joshua Kreitzer
> A question for someone with a very large tuit:
I hope this is a pun on the phrase "get around to it" and not
something more insidious ...
>is this the first time
> in the history of the Hugos in which Analog / Astounding has no
> nominees other than editor?
It looks like Analog had no nominees other than editor in 2007, also.
Also, they appear to have missed out in 1986 and 1993.
http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Hugo2007.html
http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Hugo1993.html
http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Hugo1986.html
Joshua Kreitzer
grom...@hotmail.com
Rich Horton
<erky...@eblong.com> wrote:
>Three of those are YA or teen-oriented. How many such books have won
>Best Novel? Looks like only _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_, out
>of only a few nominations. (_Have Spacesuit Will Travel_, _Prisoner of
>Azkaban_, and not much in between.)
_Starship Troopers_ as well.
Plus the Nebula winner _Rite of Passage_ (and arguably perhaps
_Tehanu_, not to mention Le Guin's current Nebula nominee _Powers_).
Note also that _Ender's Game_ has been since reissued as a YA book.
Rich Horton
<grom...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>On Mar 20, 4:55 pm, t...@panix.com (Tim McDaniel) wrote:
>> A question for someone with a very large tuit:
>
>I hope this is a pun on the phrase "get around to it" and not
>something more insidious ...
>
Unless he's hoping someone who is in the tuit could intuit the answer.
>>is this the first time
>> in the history of the Hugos in which Analog / Astounding has no
>> nominees other than editor?
>
>It looks like Analog had no nominees other than editor in 2007, also.
>Also, they appear to have missed out in 1986 and 1993.
>http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Hugo2007.html
>http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Hugo1993.html
>http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Hugo1986.html
>
The sad thing is that there was an Analog story last year that was
clearly among the best five novellas -- I would say among the best two
novellas, second only to "The Tear": Dean McLaughlin's "Tenbrook of
Mars". I admit astonishment that it didn't get nominated.
Joyce Haslam
> Yeah, I can see the fuzzy border but... no, I don't consider
> those YA. (And when I saw _Ender's Game_ repackaged in the YA
> section, several years ago, I said "Huh?")
Jane Duncan aka Janet Sandison (non-SF author) said in _Letter from
Reachfar_ that children like books where the adults disappeared
quickly so that the children could have adult adventures. I think
_Ender's Game_ could be dragged into that category - the adults are
definitely imho background figures.
Joyce.
--
"The spear in the Other's heart is in your own: you are he." - Surak
tkma...@yahoo.co.uk
> clearly among the best five novellas -- I would say among the best two
I daresay opinions on "The Tear" vary.
--
"Defensive systems were expensive compared to attack rockets. It was
cheaper to build a deterrent than to defend against it."
- "The Next Logical Step" by Ben Bova
<http://variety-sf.blogspot.com/2009/02/ben-bova-next-logical-step-short-story.html>