2009 Hugo Nominations Announced

[Werthead]

LINKAGE

2008 was not a fantastic year book-wise, although the absence of Daniel Abraham's AN AUTUMN WAR is unusual. Stephenson's ANATHEM is the most likely choice, although if Charles Stross winning would stop them nominating him EVERY FRICKING YEAR then I'd be down with that

Movie? THE DARK KNIGHT. Nothing else really seems likely to win.

TV has some surprisingly good choices. LOST's 'The Constant' is a great choice, as is BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S 'Revelations'. DOCTOR WHO will win, of course, despite the last season being weak. 'Turn Left' is a better choice than the two-parter in the library and would be a good note for producer Russell T. Davies to bow out on. Moffat doesn't really need a fourth Hugo in a row.

[Rob B]

Rob's Choice NOVEL: This is the first Novel Ballot where I've read the majority of the nominees. I'm torn between The Graveyard Book and Little Brother even though I enjoyed the other two I read in this category. They happened to be 2 of the 3 of my best reads from 2008.

I created a POLL for the Novel

Rob's GRAPHIC NOVEL Choice: Y: The Last Man, Volume 10: Whys and Wherefores - The ending was terrific to one of the landmark pieces of comic book/graphic novel fiction of the decade. This series was consistent, smart, entertaining and really cemented Vaughan as a premier writer of comics. I'm sure it also helped him get the Lost gig, which in turn, has helped to make the show as terrific as has been over the past season or two.

Rob's MOVIE Choice: It'll go to either WALL-E or The Dark Knight, but my choice is with the Bat. I thought WALL-E was good and over-rated, but nothing compares to The Dark Knight.

Rob's DRAMATIC SHORT Choice: This might be toughest of all, but I'm going with "The Constant." Each episode/Webisode was good on the list was very good, but "The Constant" might have been the strongest episode of Lost on the season that really put the show back on track.


Rob's LONG FORM EDITOR Choice: Without any other easy way to find out what books these fine folks edited/commissioned in the nomination year, this is a tough one, too. Patrick Nielsen Hayden edited two of the books on the novel short list and Pyr/Lou Anders published 4 of my favorite books of 2008. Ginjer Buchana, I think, was responsible for one of the better debut authors I read last year, Taylor Anderson, as well as Saturn’s Children on the short list. I think I’d lean towards Lou Anders, on this one but reserve the right to modify my choice in the future.

[Luke_B]

I think that Cloverfield should have been nominated. Up there with Dark Knight and Wall-E. Banks' Matter should be nominated. Have to say I prefer the Clarke shortlist over the Hugo novel nominees.

[phil_geo]

Don't they usually make the short story nominees available to read online?

[phil_geo]

For anyone that is interested, they once again made the nominees for Short Story available for free online. The following website has links for each story if you scroll down:

http://anticipationsf.ca/English/Hugos

I think this was a pretty good year for short stories. My opinions on them are:

“26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” by Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Jul 2008)
I think this one had a good concept, but didn't dwell enough on Aimee, and spent too much time on the monkeys. You never really felt her emotional angst, so the resolution at the end feels anti climactic.

“Article of Faith” by Mike Resnick (Baen’s Universe Oct 2008)
This was the weakest of the stories. It read like a 1950s Heinlein short story, and to see it today it feels very trite. The ending was very predictable.

“Evil Robot Monkey” by Mary Robinette Kowal
This was one of my favorites, for a couple of reasons. One is that she got so much feeling conveyed in a very, very short story. The other is I enjoyed reading about a character who felt so alien, yet so human. You really felt the hate.

“Exhalation” by Ted Chiang ( Eclipse Two)
This is a magnificent concept with a truly original take on life, consciousness and intelligence, but ultimately it left me a little flat. I loved how sweeping the world was, but the character was so (intentionally) emotionless that I couldn't get very caught up in the story.

“From Babel’s Fall’n Glory We Fled” by Michael Swanwick
I enjoyed this one as welll - it's a classic sci-fi tale of two unlikely comrades on a journey (the story even references itself as a classic tale). The world building is probably the strong point of this one. I really enjoyed reading about the planet and its system of economics. There is quite a bit of economic moralizing in this, but it is done in an interesting, sci-fi way.

Overall, I would give the nod to Evil Robot Monkey because I think I really enjoy characterization in short stories, but I wouldn't be disappointed if Exhalation or Babel won.

Anyone else have opinions on the short stories this year?

[jamieem]

if Charles Stross winning would stop them nominating him EVERY FRICKING YEAR then I'd be down with that

Wow, six years in a row now and none for Alastair Reynolds or Richard Morgan.

[phil_geo]

Booooo! Come on people! You love reading science fiction enough to post on a bulletin board about it, and now you have access to the best science fiction short stories of the year, but no one is reading them?!

[Seli]

I am cheating, not reading but listening to the stories - using the starship sofa and escape pod podcasts.

So far I liked “Exhalation” by Ted Chiang. some dragging moments but a nice tale anyway.

[Raule]

Finally, a few slow days at the office. Read the short stories, and I felt the three strongest were 26 Monkeys, Exhalation and From Babel’s Fall’n Glory We Fled, though I might prefer Exhalation slightly over the other two (but I really like how the narrative works in 26 Monkeys -- didn't find the ending anti-climactic -- and I liked the clever tie-in with Shelley's poem, Ozymandias, in Swanwick's story).

I'm now trying to read the Novelettes and Novellas... I may not be able to finish them all this week, because I do have to get a little bit of work done before the 4th (or at least pretend I'm working)!

[phil_geo]

Exhalation won short story! Good for Ted Chiang. I have to admit, since I wrote my post 4 months ago rating the stories, Exhalation stayed with me a lot more than Babel, showing its power. I still have a fondness for Evil Robot Monkey, but as I said earlier, I support Exhalation completely. It really is an example of how much a great author can pack into a short story.

[Ash]

Anathem didn't win? Are they kidding?