The Hugos

Changing gears from my “all pirates, all the time” kick, I wanted to talk about the 2008 Hugo Awards. I decided to spend the $50 for a supporting membership so I could vote for Mary Robinette Kowal for the Campbell award. Having done that, I figured I might as well make a semi-informed decision on the rest of the ballot. This is my first Hugo to vote in, but as I understand it, we basically rank all of the nominees from 1 to 5, 1 being best.

I’ve pretty well figured out my “Best Novel” pick (Scalzi’s The Last Colony) but the novellas and shorts were new to me. So I read them. For what it’s worth, here are my thoughts. This is not a prediction, just what I’m going to do. Please note – you can go here and read most of these online for free.

Best Novella

1) Memorare – Gene Wolfe
2) The Fountain of Age – Nancy Kress
3) Recovering Apollo 8 – Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

Best Novelette
1) Glory – Greg Egan (in The New Space Opera)
2) The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate – Ted Chiang
I really felt this was a weak list. Most of the rest of it I just couldn’t get into.

Best Short Story
1) Tideline – Elizabeth Bear. (Wow!)
2) Who’s Afraid of Wolf 359? – Ken McLeod (in The New Space Opera)
3) Distant Replay – Mike Resnick.

I think that The New Space Opera is going on my “to buy” list. I’m not voting in the Best Related Book or Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form). In the Short Form, Battlestar Galactica gets the #1, and the fan-produced Star Trek episode gets a sentimental #2. In the interests of space, I’ll just list the other categories that I plan to vote in.

Best Pro Editor – Short
1) Jonathan Strahan – The New Space Opera
2) Gordon Van Gelder – F & SF

Best Fanzine
1) Argentus – Steven Silver (shsilver)
2) Drink Tank – Chris Garcia

Best Fan Writer
1) Steven H. Silver
2) Chris Garcia

John W. Campbell Award
1) Mary Robinette Kowal