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illegible_scribble

Posted 2015-01-15 7:01 PM (#9299)
Subject: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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Nominations for the 2015 Hugo Awards will open at midnight (PDT).

Nominations from eligible Worldcon members can be made here until midnight (PDT), March 16, 2015.

Categories are:

Best Novel
Best Novella
Best Novelette
Best Short Story
Best Related Work
Best Graphic Story
Best Dramatic Presentation (Long and Short Forms)
Best Semiprozine
Best Fanzine
Best Professional Editor (Long and Short Forms)
Best Professional Artist
Best Fan Artist
Best Fan Writer
Best Fancast

So, what 2014-published entries are you considering for nomination? Share your favorites here; there's still time for us to read them before nominations close.

Administrator

Posted 2015-01-16 8:30 AM (#9302 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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Bump.

daxxh

Posted 2015-01-16 11:01 AM (#9305 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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I'm still reading books published in 2014, but so far, Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer and Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie are at the top of my list.

I don't read enough shorter fiction to really nominate anything. I didn't really like Scale Bright, so I wouldn't nominate it for anything. The Mothers of Voorhisville was decent enough. (still have visions of fat little cherubs flying around with bloody little fangs when I think about that story). If anyone can recommend any shorter fiction to read, that would be great.

justifiedsinner

Posted 2015-01-16 11:29 AM (#9307 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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I'm behind the eight ball on 2014 books. Given the number of positive reviews I think The Martian is going to be a shoo-in.

Rhondak101

Posted 2015-01-16 1:32 PM (#9308 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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I just finished The Martian last weekend. I thought it was very good--with a nice mixture of humor, science and drama. I hope it is nominated for a lot of awards. I have The Quick, Station Eleven and The Bone Clocks on my shelf. I'm going to try to get to one of them very soon.

DrNefario

Posted 2015-01-16 2:13 PM (#9309 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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I see Annihilation getting a lot of nominations. Or will people go for the whole series? I've only read the first one so far.

I enjoyed The Martian, but maybe not as much as some. I think it probably has its best chance in the Hugo.

I'd like to see Adam Roberts' Bete pick up some nominations.

I don't have much to say about the other categories. I'd be happy to see What Makes This Book So Great? By Jo Walton get nominated for related work.

Edited by DrNefario 2015-01-16 2:14 PM

illegible_scribble

Posted 2015-01-17 12:35 AM (#9310 - in reply to #9309)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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DrNefario - 2015-01-17 7:13 AM I see Annihilation getting a lot of nominations. Or will people go for the whole series?

I suspect people should nominate the Southern Reach trilogy as a series as they were all published in 2014, so that they don't compete with each other. The WoT nomination last year would set a precedent for this.

I loved The Martian, Ancillary Sword, Lock In, Defenders, and The Chaplain's War. Trial By Fire was really good. The Mirror Empire was really good -- but I had a tough time keeping it all straight, which hardly ever happens to me. Cibola Burn was good but not in the same league as the previous entries in the series. I liked, but was very disappointed with My Real Children and The Three, as I was hoping to love them. I'm 2/3 done with Lagoon and I strongly suspect it's going to fall into the same category.

I've still got at least a dozen or more I hope to get read before nominations close.

illegible_scribble

Posted 2015-01-17 12:37 AM (#9311 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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For those looking for possible nominees, check:

Books Published in 2014 Challenge

Books Published in 2014 Thread with lots of lists and links to lists

Jain

Posted 2015-01-17 10:00 AM (#9315 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison and Maplecroft by Cherie Priest were both very good--though not perfect--and I'd be happy to see either of them nominated. The Girls of the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine was even better, but that one I wouldn't want to see nominated, since despite the fact that it's a fairy tale retelling, it's not SFF in the slightest: just a really awesome historical fiction novel. For a flawed but interesting work I'll also mention The Bees by Laline Paull, which has a fascinating premise but an uneven execution.

I've read shockingly little short fiction from 2014, so I can't comment on those categories. Best graphic stories, though: Loki: Agent of Asgard vol. 1: Trust Me by Al Ewing is clever and funny and emotionally affecting. I doubt it'll actually make the ballot, since not only is it criminally under-read, but out of the thirty-ish graphic story Hugo nominations in the past six years there's been exactly one Marvel comic (and one DC comic). I'd love to be proven wrong, though. Slightly less amazing but still great were Avengers Assemble: The Forgeries of Jealousy by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Warren Ellis, Ms. Marvel vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson, Red Sonja vol. 1: Queen of Plagues by Gail Simone, and Lazarus vol. 2: Lift by Greg Rucka.

DrNefario

Posted 2015-01-17 1:58 PM (#9316 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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I nominated Lazarus vol 1 last year. I haven't actually read the second collection yet, but it would be nice to see it make the ballot.

Jain

Posted 2015-01-17 11:11 PM (#9318 - in reply to #9316)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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DrNefario - I nominated Lazarus vol 1 last year. I haven't actually read the second collection yet, but it would be nice to see it make the ballot.

It's practically as good as the first volume, in my opinion. I think you'll enjoy it.

And a point of discussion: is The Martian even eligible for this year's Hugo? Weir self-published it a few years ago; it just wasn't sold by a traditional publisher until 2014.

Jain

Posted 2015-01-18 10:22 PM (#9321 - in reply to #9318)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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Answering my own question from above, I found this analysis of The Martian's eligibility that seems pretty persuasive to me and that concludes that the book is most likely ineligible for the Hugo.

illegible_scribble

Posted 2015-01-18 10:43 PM (#9322 - in reply to #9321)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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Jain - 2015-01-19 3:22 PM Answering my own question from above, I found this analysis of The Martian's eligibility that seems pretty persuasive to me and that concludes that the book is most likely ineligible for the Hugo.

Oh! Thanks for that link! It leads to a couple of really good other posts:

Chaos Horizon's 2015 Hugo Predictions 3.0

Chaos Horizon's 2015 Nebula Predictions 3.0

It would be a shame to see The Martian deprived of the chance for a Hugo nomination. If it had only been serialized on Weir's website, it would be a clone of Old Man's War and probably eligible. But sadly, the fact that it was self-published as an e-book on Amazon and sold 35,000 copies likely means that it will be declared ineligible. But I expect to see it highly-nominated anyway -- both from ignorance of the situation, and from protest that it's ineligible.

Edited by illegible_scribble 2015-01-18 10:44 PM

illegible_scribble

Posted 2015-01-20 1:22 AM (#9330 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: RE: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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Those desiring a review copy of the Writing Excuses podcast gang's mini-anthology Shadows Beneath, with stories by Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Brandon Sanderson, can request a copy from the link on Brandon Sanderson's blog.

illegible_scribble

Posted 2015-01-20 1:25 AM (#9331 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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And Ken Liu is offering, upon request, a review copy of any of his eligible works which is not freely available online.

illegible_scribble

Posted 2015-01-20 1:32 AM (#9332 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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Jim Hines is offering a free review copy of Invisible, his related-work anthology of guest blog posts on Representation in SFF (by authors including Mark Oshiro, Katharine Kerr, Michi Trota, and others) upon request to jchines@sff.net -- or most of the essays can be read online for free here.

illegible_scribble

Posted 2015-01-20 1:48 AM (#9333 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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The 2014 Some of the Best from Tor.com short fiction anthology is available for free right now.

spoltz

Posted 2015-01-21 1:19 PM (#9344 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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I really liked The Martian as well. If it's eligible, I think it's a shoo-in as well. I usually don't read too many current books, since I'm mostly a library and used book store geek, but I did read The Bone Clocks and The Dark Defiles. I think the former is a shoo-in for the Nebula, but probably too literary for the Hugos, though judging from the author appearance I went to, David Mitchell has quite a cult following. The Dark Defiles was a really good ending to the trilogy, but not as good as the first.. Richard K Morgan also seems to have a cult following, but judging from the comments on his website, his fantasy wasn't as well received as his SF usually is. I don't think it's a contender.

valashain

Posted 2015-01-23 5:02 AM (#9347 - in reply to #9344)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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One book that I think should definitely make the shortlist is Liu Cixin's The Three Body Problem. It was first published in English last year so it should be eligible.

Jain

Posted 2015-01-25 3:45 PM (#9361 - in reply to #9347)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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Another worthy book is City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. Urban fantasy/mystery in an otherworld setting, with great characters and very interesting worldbuilding.

illegible_scribble

Posted 2015-01-25 9:02 PM (#9364 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: RE: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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Gardner Dozois' The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-second Annual Collection containing stories published in 2014 will, unfortunately, not be released until 7 July, 2015.

However, he has already announced the Table of Contents, and here are links to entries which are available to read for free online.

illegible_scribble

Posted 2015-02-02 2:44 AM (#9465 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: RE: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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Locus Magazine has released their 2014 Recommended Reading list.

Unfortunately, they haven't provided links to the shorter fiction entries which are available online for free but I recommend searching for them, if you're interested. Free SF Online will often have links to novellas, novelettes, and short stories which are available online.

Edited by illegible_scribble 2015-02-02 2:49 AM

daxxh

Posted 2015-02-16 2:25 PM (#9654 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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@valashain - I agree with The Three Body Problem making the short list. I am halfway through it and it is excellent. I also recently read Defenders by Wil MacIntosh, Lock In by John Scalzi and The Chaplain's War by Brad Torgersen all of which are also worthy of making the Hugo short list.

Edited by daxxh 2015-02-16 2:26 PM

illegible_scribble

Posted 2015-02-22 4:21 AM (#9689 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: RE: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion

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Wow. I just got done reading Robert Jackson Bennett's City of Stairs. It's an absolutely fantastic blend of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery.

It's definitely going to be on my Top 5 list for Hugo Best Novel -- possibly THE top. I encourage you to get hold of a copy and read it, if you haven't already.

Dlw28

Posted 2015-02-22 6:32 AM (#9690 - in reply to #9299)
Subject: Re: 2015 Hugo Awards Discussion