my hugo nominations
Mar. 14th, 2011 07:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormsewerI've been reading a lot of short fiction the last six months or so, thus I'm now going a step further and actually nominating things for the Hugo Awards this year. (Since I paid the money but missed the voting deadline for the Hugo Awards last year, I thought might as well get some of my money's worth and take advantage of the accompanying right to nominate for this year.)
So, my nominees will be:
Novel:
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald.
Istanbul 2027. It follows six people with some relationship to an old dervish house that has been converted to apartments and businesses. It takes place over the course of five days, with eccentric terrorist schemes and lucrative business deals of various types being the main plot elements. Admittedly, this was the only SF book published in 2010 that I actually read, but I thought it was very well done. Excellent characters, intricate, well-designed plot (though a little slow in getting moving after the initial bang), and obviously the product of ridiculous amounts of research into Turkish history and culture, which oozes out of every page.
Novella:
[I never read a 2010 novella I thought was worthy of an award.]
Novelette:
"The Literomancer" by Ken Liu. Fantasy and Science Fiction, Oct/Sep 2010.
A heartbreaker set in Taiwan in the 1960s. The speculative fiction element is light, but this story really stuck with me.
Short Story:
I did find a lot to like here.
"The Ghost of a Girl Who Never Lived" by Keffy R. M. Kehrli. Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, Issue 19.
Heart-wrenching tale of a young girl who is resurrected by futuristic medtech, but doesn't come back as the same person.
"Ponies" by Kij Johnson. Tor.com.
Vicious, brutal story about adolescence. Bravo.
"Teen Love Science Club" by Terry Bisson. Fantasy and Science Fiction, Nov/Dec 2010.
Completely charming in its utter weirdness. (Not freely available online, unfortunately.)
"The Secret of Pogopolis" by Matthew Bey. Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 42.
Local guy. It'd be hard to come up with a more awesome and original setting than this.
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Inception.
Naysayers be darned, I thought this movie was awesome.
Best Editor, Short Form
Neil Clarke.
Though I didn't nominate any of the stories, I find Clarkesworld overall has the highest caliber of stories you'll find anywhere.
Best Professional Artist
Stephan Martinière.
Did the cover art for The Dervish House and a number of others that I'm rather fond of. I guess he won in 2008, but oh well.
Best Semiprozine
Space Squid.
Run by Matthew Bey. Ridiculous and juvenile, but fun.
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
I just nominated those eligible among the authors from above: Keffy R. M. Kehrli and Matthew Bey.
So, my nominees will be:
Novel:
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald.
Istanbul 2027. It follows six people with some relationship to an old dervish house that has been converted to apartments and businesses. It takes place over the course of five days, with eccentric terrorist schemes and lucrative business deals of various types being the main plot elements. Admittedly, this was the only SF book published in 2010 that I actually read, but I thought it was very well done. Excellent characters, intricate, well-designed plot (though a little slow in getting moving after the initial bang), and obviously the product of ridiculous amounts of research into Turkish history and culture, which oozes out of every page.
Novella:
[I never read a 2010 novella I thought was worthy of an award.]
Novelette:
"The Literomancer" by Ken Liu. Fantasy and Science Fiction, Oct/Sep 2010.
A heartbreaker set in Taiwan in the 1960s. The speculative fiction element is light, but this story really stuck with me.
Short Story:
I did find a lot to like here.
"The Ghost of a Girl Who Never Lived" by Keffy R. M. Kehrli. Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, Issue 19.
Heart-wrenching tale of a young girl who is resurrected by futuristic medtech, but doesn't come back as the same person.
"Ponies" by Kij Johnson. Tor.com.
Vicious, brutal story about adolescence. Bravo.
"Teen Love Science Club" by Terry Bisson. Fantasy and Science Fiction, Nov/Dec 2010.
Completely charming in its utter weirdness. (Not freely available online, unfortunately.)
"The Secret of Pogopolis" by Matthew Bey. Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 42.
Local guy. It'd be hard to come up with a more awesome and original setting than this.
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Inception.
Naysayers be darned, I thought this movie was awesome.
Best Editor, Short Form
Neil Clarke.
Though I didn't nominate any of the stories, I find Clarkesworld overall has the highest caliber of stories you'll find anywhere.
Best Professional Artist
Stephan Martinière.
Did the cover art for The Dervish House and a number of others that I'm rather fond of. I guess he won in 2008, but oh well.
Best Semiprozine
Space Squid.
Run by Matthew Bey. Ridiculous and juvenile, but fun.
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
I just nominated those eligible among the authors from above: Keffy R. M. Kehrli and Matthew Bey.
