<$BlogRSDUrl$>


Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Hugos Reaction 

I'm generally pleased with the results of the Hugo Awards. (As it turned out, the results were out on the web before I could even check my e-mail, very early last Saturday morning.) Especially for Robert Reed, an exceptional and under-recognized author, in spite of his prolificity, for a story that happened to be my favorite in the category anyway. I did manage to finish reading not only all the Hugo nominated novels before the results were announced, but also all the stories in the short fiction categories, the last few of which I only read last week. Reed was my favorite novella; and McDonald my favorite novelette (though Ryman was close). I'm afraid I also liked Reed in the short story category, though I liked Tim Pratt's story a lot too and am pleased to see him snatch the award from the obvious favorite Neil Gaiman (whose story I also liked). It was a decent ballot this year; the only fiction nomination that made my furrow my eyebrow being Mike Resnick's novelette, which struck as a completely competent story that could have appeared in a 1950s issue of Galaxy Magazine. (Really, was there anything in it that couldn't have been written 50 years ago?)

I'm gathering from a couple email tipsters that the Hugo boffins have submitted an amendment to establish the Best Website category as a permanent one, subject to some sort of constraint that eligible sites must archive contents in their original forms, so that voters can fairly judge the website etc etc. It will be fascinating to see how this plays out...

It's been HOT here in Southern California, especially in my neck of the woods, that is Woodland Hills, which had the honor of being singled out in an article last week in the Los Angeles Times about micro-climates, how the temperature can be 75 F along the coast at Malibu, and fully 40 degrees higher (yes, that would be 115 F) just 12 miles north in... Woodland Hills. (But it's -- really, it is -- a dry heat.)
Comments:
That's pretty close to my reaction to the Hugos too -- it was such a good ballot, with only the Resnick story (and I suppose the Novik novel, which however I did enjoy a great deal) questionable choices -- and as you point out the Resnick piece was at least competent, if hardly brilliant.

None of my favorites won, mind you --I preferred the Ryman to the McDonald and the Wilson to the Reed (that quite narrowly however) -- and I much preferred Watts's novel and Rosenbaum's short story -- but those two finished LAST, alas. But even so all the winners are worthy. And I'm thrilled that Reed finally has his Hugo -- thrilled for Tim, too; and for Ian McDonald, who also much deserved a win -- three first time winners in the fiction categories, all people you'd have figured as people who ought to get one someday. (Now maybe Ares Express, a totally wonderful novel, can get published in the US.)
 
Post a Comment


king under the dome

doctorow makers

banks transition

kress steal sky

atwood year flood

roberts yellow blue tibia

wilson julian comstock

 ness ask and answer

collins catching fire

collins hunger games

sawyer flashforward

baker hotel

disch proteus

tan tales

mazzucchelli asterios

zebrowski empties

morrow shambling

hamilton cpt future

beckett genesis

meller evo rx

bsg2

kurzweil transcend

sawyer wake

ness knife never letting go

barzak love we share

mcewan cement garden

holland sci-fi art

gladwell outliers

bittman food matters

baggini what's it all about

Still in progress:

ross rest is noise

aldiss billion year spree

pollan omnivore's dilemma



Mark R. Kelly
Profile
Email

The opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of Mark R. Kelly, and do not reflect the editorial position of Locus Magazine.
Locus
Links
Latest Posts
Archives

  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • May 2006
  • April 2006
  • March 2006
  • February 2006
  • January 2006
  • December 2005
  • November 2005
  • October 2005
  • September 2005
  • August 2005
  • July 2005
  • June 2005
  • May 2005
  • April 2005
  • March 2005
  • February 2005
  • January 2005
  • December 2004
  • November 2004
  • October 2004
  • September 2004
  • August 2004
  • July 2004
  • June 2004
  • May 2004
  • April 2004
  • March 2004
  • February 2004
  • January 2004
  • December 2003
  • November 2003
  • October 2003

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?