2012 Hugo Awards Nominations: Preliminary Thoughts

Last year, I ranted about the Hugo Awards (here and here) after they were announced.  This year, I’m switching things up to offer some preliminary thoughts before they are announced, and after.  If you’d like to put me in my place, the comments are yours.  These are preliminary thoughts, so I expect to be proven wrong on many counts.

(Note:  Some categories will get a slight pass, as I don’t want to comment too much about areas about which I have little reading experience.  I will make guesses about winners based solely on what information I have in my arsenal, which means that most of my guesses are not educated whatsoever.)

Here goes:

Best Novel
Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)
A Dance With Dragons, George R. R. Martin (Bantam Spectra)
Deadline, Mira Grant (Orbit)
Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan / Del Rey)
Leviathan Wakes, James S. A. Corey (Orbit)

I’m not terribly disappointed in these choices.  One of my professors has told me that Among Others is brilliant, and I’ve had a love affair with Mieville for a while now.  Martin is an obvious choice, what with his enormous fanbase.  I don’t know enough about James S. A. Corey or Leviathan Wakes to offer any opinions whatsoever, though one of my friends liked the book enough to give me a copy, so I suspect it’s not bad.  The Grant, sadly, doesn’t interest me at all, but if someone wants to send me both books in that series to prove me wrong, go for it.

I would have preferred to see Of Bloody and Honey by Stina Leicht and Osama by Lavie Tidhar here, but that might be asking too much.  I am sad that no small press titles are on this list, though.

Overall feeling:  *un-enthused, slightly disappointed shrug*
Who will win?  Mieville

Best Novella
Countdown, Mira Grant (Orbit)
“The Ice Owl”, Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
“Kiss Me Twice”, Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s)
“The Man Who Bridged the Mist”, Kij Johnson (Asimov’s)
“The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary”, Ken Liu (Panverse 3)
Silently and Very Fast, Catherynne M. Valente (WSFA)
Note: 6 nominees due to tie for final position.

Some of the same names again.  This could be a good thing, or it could be bad.  I am pleased to see Ken Liu on the list, though.  I’ve talked with him on Google+ and he seems like a nice guy.  But the Novella category is always one of those “hey, I haven’t read enough” categories.

Overall feeling:  *okay*
Who will win?  Kowal

Best Novelette
“The Copenhagen Interpretation”, Paul Cornell (Asimov’s)
“Fields of Gold”, Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse Four)
“Ray of Light”, Brad R. Torgersen (Analog)
“Six Months, Three Days”, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com)
“What We Found”, Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)

Geoff Ryman is a genius.  Swirsky is pretty damned good too.  Haven’t read the others.  That is all.

Overall feeling:  *hmm, interesting*
Who will win?  Swirsky

Best Short Story
“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees”, E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld)
“The Homecoming”, Mike Resnick (Asimov’s)
“Movement”, Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s)
“The Paper Menagerie”, Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)
“Shadow War of the Night Dragons: Book One: The Dead City: Prologue”, John Scalzi (Tor.com)

Oh, hey, look, the same magazines over and over.  No Interzone selections?  No Weird Tales?  No *insert one of the dozen other pro and semi-pro mags with great stories in them here*?

But the crown jewel of utter stupidity here is Scalzi’s April Fool’s joke.  Yeah, that story was written for April Fool’s Day last year.  Not serious.  If anything could destroy the credibility of this award, it is that fact.  Don’t get me wrong.  I like Scalzi.  He’s even a pretty good writer.  But this is a new low for the Hugos.  I will refer to them as the Joke Hugos from now on.

Overall feeling:  *annoyed*
Who will win?  Scalzi (because that would make the Joke Hugos perfectly Jokey, no?)

Best Related Work
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition, edited by John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls, and Graham Sleight (Gollancz)
Jar Jar Binks Must Die…and other Observations about Science Fiction Movies, Daniel M. Kimmel (Fantastic Books)
The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature, Jeff VanderMeer and S. J. Chambers (Abrams Image)
Wicked Girls (CD), Seanan McGuire
Writing Excuses, Season 6 (podcast series), Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Jordan Sanderson

You know what?  There are some good choices here.  I suspect ESF (Clute) will take it, but I wouldn’t ignore The Steampunk Bible (I would marry VanderMeer’s editing side) or Writing Excuses here (a great podcast).  I don’t know much about the Kimmel, but it seems like an interesting book.  Award-worthy?  No idea.

Overall feeling:  *okay*
Who will win?  Clute (too perfectly historical for its own good)

Best Graphic Story
Digger, by Ursula Vernon (Sofawolf Press)
Fables Vol 15: Rose Red, by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham (Vertigo)
Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys To The Kingdom, written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
Schlock Mercenary: Force Multiplication, written and illustrated by Howard Tayler, colors by Travis Walton (The Tayler Corporation)
The Unwritten (Volume 4): Leviathan, created by Mike Carey and Peter Gross, written by Mike Carey, illustrated by Peter Gross (Vertigo)

You know what?  I have no idea.  I don’t read graphic novels.  So I’ll let the folks in the comments handle this one.

Overall feeling:  *umm, what?*
Who will win?  No idea.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Captain America: The First Avenger, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephan McFeely; directed by Joe Johnston (Marvel)
Game of Thrones (Season 1), created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss;
written by David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, and George R. R. Martin; directed by Brian Kirk, Daniel Minahan, Tim van Patten, and Alan Taylor (HBO)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, screenplay by Steve Kloves; directed by David Yates (Warner Bros.)
Hugo, screenplay by John Logan; directed by Martin Scorsese (Paramount)
Source Code, screenplay by Ben Ripley; directed by Duncan Jones (Vendome Pictures)

Umm, Game of Thrones is a television series.  Yes, it’s all part of one long narrative, but it is not a “Long Form Dramatic Presentation.”  So it doesn’t belong here.  Someone in admin needs to make a correction ASAP.

As for the rest:  Some decent films.  Captain America was okay, but I wouldn’t give it an award.  I haven’t seen Source Code, though I’m told it’s pretty good.  HP7P2 was also pretty good, and might have won this if not for the ten-ton elephant in the room:  Hugo.  If Hugo does not win, then the Joke Hugos will receive more Jokey points.

Overall feeling:  *approval (almost)*
Who will win?  Hugo (or I will kill someone)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Doctor Who, ”The Doctor’s Wife”, written by Neil Gaiman; directed by Richard Clark (BBC Wales)
“The Drink Tank’s Hugo Acceptance Speech”, Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon (Renovation)
Doctor Who, ”The Girl Who Waited”, written by Tom MacRae; directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Wales)
Doctor Who, ”A Good Man Goes to War”, written by Steven Moffat; directed by Peter Hoar (BBC Wales)
Community, ”Remedial Chaos Theory”, written by Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna; directed by Jeff Melman (NBC)

I’ve not seen Community, so I can’t comment on it.  The only Doctor Who episode worth its salt here is “The Girl Who Waited.”  The others were essentially 2-3 episode arcs shoved into 45 minutes.  The Gaiman episode should have been split into two, because there is far too much awesome going on there to justify a 45 minute presentation.  “A Good Man Goes to War” suffers from one of the most ridiculous plot points I’ve seen in a long time:  namely, magically discovering that your good friend, River Song, is actually Amy and Rory’s kidnapped baby, and suddenly not giving a shit that your baby was kidnapped.  What?  My mother is a recovering alcoholic and she’d probably destroy half the planet to find me if I was kidnapped by an evil brainwashing organization…  Calling B.S. here.

But then the Joke Hugos put on the Super Jokey Mask with the inclusion of Garcia’s Hugo speech last year. Wait, what?  Correct me if I’m mistaken, but his speech was not part of a performance; it was genuine.  I would personally be quite offended if my emotional response to receiving recognition from my peers was reduced to a performance.  And even if that weren’t the problem, this is again a new low for the Joke Hugos.  I suppose we should just hand out Joke Hugos for any public display of emotion.  When I’m at a convention in the next few years, please remember this, because I’m going to have an emotional breakdown in front of everyone, and I expect to win a Joke Hugo for my effort.

Overall feeling:  *bitter meh*
Who will win?  Gaiman

Best Semiprozine
Apex Magazine, edited by Catherynne M. Valente, Lynne M. Thomas, and Jason Sizemore
Interzone, edited by Andy Cox
Lightspeed, edited by John Joseph Adams
Locus, edited by Liza Groen Trombi, Kirsten Gong-Wong, et al.
New York Review of Science Fiction, edited by David G. Hartwell, Kevin J. Maroney, Kris Dikeman, and Avram Grumer

Yup.  Lots of tasty here.  Some are obvious, of course, but I can’t say I would complain if one of these won.  Granted, I think Interzone deserves the award, but that’s me.

Overall feeling:  *yes*
Who will win?  JJA

Best Fanzine
Banana Wings, edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
The Drink Tank, edited by James Bacon and Christopher J Garcia
File 770, edited by Mike Glyer
Journey Planet, edited by James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, et al.
SF Signal, edited by John DeNardo

The same problem as last year:  a bunch of fanzines I’ve only become familiar with because of the awards because they almost never appear in the hundreds of discussions going on in the community around me.  Except SF Signal, of course, which I hope will pick up the award.  I don’t care about “proper fanzine” arguments.  SF Signal is good and it isn’t lost in the background.  People know about it.  People read it.  People comment on it.  And people talk about it.  That’s good enough for me.

Overall feeling:  *eh, with a side of hmm*
Who will win?  SF Signal

Best Fancast
The Coode Street Podcast, Jonathan Strahan & Gary K. Wolfe
Galactic Suburbia Podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts (presenters) and Andrew Finch (producer)
SF Signal Podcast, John DeNardo and JP Frantz (presenters), Patrick Hester (producer)
SF Squeecast, Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, and Catherynne M. Valente
StarShipSofa, Tony C. Smith

StarShipSofa is not a fancast.  It is an audio fiction magazine like EscapePod, etc.  It does not produce fan content.  It produces magazine content.  Stop putting it alongside podcasts which actually produce fan content…

As for the rest:  some good choices, some meh choices, and some choices that make me wonder whether quality is on the mind of the community.  I am still surprised that The Agony Column never makes the list, since it is one of the few podcasts out there that actually takes its interviews seriously (i.e., the interviewer actually reads the book, or tries, or at least reads the cover blurb).

I’m happy the category exists, though, and I suppose I will give some podcasts here a second chance.

Overall feeling:  *eh, whatever*
Who will win?  Coode Street (or I will break something*

Best Editor, Long Form
Lou Anders
Liz Gorinsky
Anne Lesley Groell
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Betsy Wollheim

What?  No Jason Williams/Jeremy Lassen or Nick Mamatas?  Expect me to be very disappointed, then.  And I don’t mean to imply that Anders, Gorinsky or Hayden don’t deserve to be up there.  They do.  I just think some new names need to make this list (or at least names that are up to new things).

Of course, Groell and Wollheim are up there, which makes me happy.

Overall feeling:  *eh*
Who will win?  Gorinsky (I’m not really sure; it’s a tie with Groell…)

Best Editor, Short Form
John Joseph Adams
Neil Clarke
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Sheila Williams

No surprises here.  Good editors all.  Schmidt probably should win just because he’s never won, but I suspect Adams will steal the show, or Williams.  Who knows?

Overall feeling:  *okay*
Who will win?  JJA

Best Professional Artist
Dan dos Santos
Bob Eggleton
Michael Komarck
Stephan Martiniere
John Picacio

It’s a tie between Martiniere and Picacio for me, but I will, as always, lean towards the former because I love his work.  There are some great names here, of course, so I’m not disappointed in the slightest.

Overall feeling:  *smiles*
Who will win?  Picacio

Best Fan Artist
Brad W. Foster
Randall Munroe
Spring Schoenhuth
Maurine Starkey
Steve Stiles
Taral Wayne
Note: 6 nominees due to tie for final position.

I know nothing about these selections.  You all can argue about them in the comments.

Overall feeling:  *umm, what?*
Who will win?  No idea.

Best Fan Writer
James Bacon
Claire Brialey
Christopher J. Garcia
Jim C. Hines
Steven H Silver

The same names as before.  Except there is a new one here:  Jim C. Hines.  Can you guess who I hope will win?  If you guessed Hines, you are correct!  I think he contributes a lot of amazing thoughts to the community, even more so than Scalzi, who has been on this list before.  He certainly deserves to be there.  And he better win…

Overall feeling:  *eh, with a side of hmm*
Who will win?  Hines.

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Mur Lafferty
Stina Leicht
Karen Lord
Brad R. Torgersen
E. Lily Yu

I’m not sure Lafferty counts as a new writer, unless by “new” we mean “new professionally published writer,” which I’m not convinced she is either.  Not that I dislike Lafferty or anything; this is more me being confused.

But the list is otherwise damned good.  Stina Leicht!  Karen Lord!  Holy hell, they are amazing authors.  And that means I have a big problem:  who do I root for?  I want them both to win.  They’re both great.  I can’t choose.  Don’t make me.  Please.  PLEASE.  GAH!

Overall feeling:  *super smile*
Who will win?  Leicht.  LORD!  LEICHT!  LORDDDDDD!  LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEICHT!  Shut up.  No.  Yes.

Both of you shut up…

The comments are yours.  Feel free to rip me a new one.