Parasite by Mira Grant - A Review & Hugo Potential

This is a bit of an expanded version of my review/Hugo Appreciation Post for Mira Grant's Parasite, which originally appeared on Tor.com on July 25, 2014.

Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire) has achieved a level of notoriety many authors would hope to achieve, she has many fans and her books can often be found on awards ballots, her 2013 novel Parasite is no exception. While her Newsflesh trilogy (FEED, DEADLINE, BLACKOUT) was published as mass market paperback, Grant was promoted to hardcover for Parasite.

Admittedly, the central conceit of Parasite is a large pill to swallow, faith while leaving some logic at the door. In Grant’s near future thriller, the majority of the world has ingested an Intestinal Bodyguard, a tapeworm parasites to help our weakened immune systems. On top of that, all the tapeworm parasites people have ingested are controlled by one company – SymboGen. So yeah, if you can get past those two large grains of salt for the plot’s conceit, I would suggest you hold on because Grant does unfurl a very briskly paced narrative in Parasite.

Grant seems very comfortable utilizing the first person narrative; she did so in her Newsflesh trilogy and here in Parasite employs the first person to tell the story through the voice and experience of Sally “Sal” Mitchell. Sal is a young woman who has miraculously recovered, thanks to her SymboGen implant, from a vehicular accident that left her in a coma. Parasite opens about six years after Sal awakens having relearned how to function in society. Simple things like talking, walking, and the basic tenets of living had to be relearned. She is also a ward of her parents (her father conveniently works as an epidemiologist for USAMRIID, the US Army’s Infectious Disease unit), who treat her like a child. Her sister, Joyce (also conveniently an epidemiologist like her father) seems to like the new Sal better than the previous incarnation of her sister. In a sense, Sal is only 6 years old, but she won’t hear any of that. She has a job at working with animals, a boyfriend (Nathan Kim, who conveniently is a doctor specializing in parasites), and she is required to report in with SymboGen, specifically the head of the company Dr. Steven Banks, and a psychiatrist so her mental and physical health can be monitored.

Sal yearns to be more independent, apart from her parents and not under such scrutiny from SymboGen. She begins to see strange things: people are becoming mindless sleepwalkers (NOT ZOMIBES); sometimes violent but definitely not themselves. First a young girl and her parent, then a man and his dog, at which time Sal’s affinity towards animals comes into play. She calls the dog, Beverly, away from its shambling (NOT A ZOMBIE) owner and effectively gains a four-legged companion. These transformations from people into (NOT ZOMBIES) “sleepwalkers” continues and escalates as the novels progresses.

In SymboGen, Grant has given us the requisite not-so-benign Medical MegaCorp. The majority of the chapters are prefaced with quotes from “interviews” with SymboGen’s Steven Banks and an unpublished autobiography of co-founder Dr. Shanti Cale who has disappeared. The third founder, Richard Jablonsky, committed suicide prior to the events of the novel. So yeah, that all makes for quite a shady organization. Many chapters are also prefaced with quotes from a fictional and very creepy children’s book Don’t Go Out Alone. (I for one would buy a fancy limited edition of Don’t Go Out Alone should it come into existence).

Grant unpacks a lot of the science behind the tapeworms through character dialogue and it mostly works, though the frenetic pacing before such scenes pushed me to read through those passages very quickly and to re-read them. I said earlier that there’s the leap of logic over a grain of salt required to fully absorb oneself in Parasite, and I would also suggest that that one stick the coincidences alongside that large grain of salt. There are quite a few conveniences with the characters; most prominently that Sal’s father is high up in the military division responsible for defensive / countermeasures against biological warfare where sister Joyce also works. Her boyfriend just happens to have a strong connection in the world of parasites and later familial connections which are revealed come across as very convenient.

There was one particular scene of (NOT ZOMBIES) sleepwalkers giving Sal some problems when she was home alone with her new dog Beverly that was very effective. Grant captures an extremely claustrophobic feel in that scene, which also highlighted just how helpful a loving, protective dog could be in such a situation. This was in the latter half of the book, and the emotional fallout, as well as the story fallout as a result of that scene ratcheted up the tension for the remainder of the novel.

Having read and enjoyed the Newsflesh trilogy there were quite a few familiar beats in the novel. Sal could be an analogue to George/Georgia (Newsflesh’s protagonist) and Tansy felt like a cousin to Becks. That said; the character whom Tansy felt most similar to on a larger comparative scale is Harley Quinn, the Joker’s girlfriend/sidekick. The other thing that I found frustrating is the lack of the word Zombie. The “sleepwalkers” exhibited all of the signs associated with zombies, from the shambling to the attacking. On the other hand, the great film 28 Days Later also eschewed such strict zombie classification. Lastly, this novel, more than any I can recall reading (at least recently) ends like a freight train zooming at high-speed into a gigantic wall. The pacing was moving along very quickly for much of the last half just before a Kick-WHAM reveal and the novel ends to the point where I wonder if this was one book awkwardly split into two.

I will say that Grant has a powerful narrative that managed to pull me through its twists and turns regardless those above-mentioned quibbles. Parasite is an at times fun, at others, frustrating read. It is equal parts horror, conspiracy thriller, and science fiction novel with a large influence of Stephen King in its text. (Grant/McGuire, like myself, is a big fan of Stephen King). I found myself reading the book very quickly, being absorbed in the story, and enjoying what I read as I read it, so on the whole I’d say Parasite was a successful book for me.

Is it worthy of a Hugo though? That’s an easier question, I don’t think so. Like Charles Stross (also on this year’s ballot), it seems Grant’s name is almost an automatic thing on awards ballots in recent years. Science/biology/parasitology is such a large component of the novel, so it fits the genre mode. But the size of the grain of salt in the adage of “take it with a grain of salt” as it relates to the central conceit (the majority of the world happily ingesting tapeworm parasites) in Parasite, I think, is far too large. The narrative pulled me along, but I’m not sure Parasite will stand with me for a long time afterwards. While an enjoyable novel, it isn’t one that to me says Award Winner.

                                                                                                                                                            

Review post-script/confession:  I really enjoyed Grant's Newsflesh trilogy when I read them, I found them gripping page turners in the truest sense. The narrative pull of the novels allowed me to overlook some of the quirks of the books.  I'll admit reading other people's reviews of Grant's work, as well as listening to some podcasts where her work was discussed, sort of put me off diving into Parasite immediately. Those reviews and podcasts pointed out some of those quirky elements I'd overlooked because the narrative pull of the books. I felt those reviews/podcasts called into judgement my (for lack of a better term) credibility as a reader and reviewer.  However, Parasite pulled me in quite quickly even despite some of the "quirks" I mentioned above (major coincidences and the fact that the word Zombie is not uttered in the novel). 

Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross - A Review & Hugo Potential

This is a bit of an expanded version of my review/Hugo Appreciation Post for Charlie Stross's Neptune's Brood,which originally appeared on Tor.com on July 17, 2014.

Charles Stross is a mainstay on genre award ballots every year; 2014 marks his seventh appearance on the short list for the Hugo Award for Best Novel. There’s good reason for these accolades because when it comes to plausible and well-thought out future scenarios, few can invent better scenarios than Stross. Neptune’s Brood, in this case, imagines a post-human, far future where we as humanity have become a thing of the past often referred to as Fragiles. The novel is many things, but a primary thrust is economics in the future and a supposed defrauding scam as it features Krina Alizond-118 on her journeys through the galaxy.

The first novel set in the far

future of Neptune's Brood

Neptune’s Brood is a "sort-of"* sequel to Stross’s 2006 novel, Saturn’s Children (also nominated for a Hugo) set thousands of years into the future of that novel (itself already far into humanity’s future).  Stross takes the post-human universe he created in the previous novel and builds a framework for the economics of the milieu while telling a story that has much in common with a mystery/thriller while also focusing on the notion of identity of the individual.  Heady stuff, no?

*Different characters and further in the future than Saturn's Children. but Neptune's Brood easily stands on its own.

The novel focuses primarily on Krina Alizond-118 as she searches for her missing “sister” Ana Graulle-90 (which in this sense indicates they are cloned from the same being). Krina, with her deep knowledge of the history of accounting and banking, manages to get passage on a space vessel after being convinced to offer her services as a banker. It isn’t long before Krina becomes involved with interstellar pirate bankers, learns more about her sister, and receives body modification to become a mermaid on the water world of Shin-Tethys to find her missing or perhaps dead sister.  On top of all of that, Krin tells us, in her first person narrative, she has a stalker and discovers what amounts to a 2,000-year old money laundering scam which hinges on an object which might be in the possession of her sister. So yeah, lots of stuff going on here.

For my tastes; however, I didn’t fully connect with a lot of the story.  There were multiple info-dumps throughout the story, many of which begin with Krina stating that she was going to tell us a story. In one such instance Krina even says “I am now going to bore you to death with the political economy of Shin-Tethys.” I realize there’s a heavy dose of snark in that statement, but t it still niggles at me that a character would tell us she is going to bore us to death and is almost an invitation to skip ahead. A lot of the info-dumps relay the minutia of the future banking system (slow, medium, and fast money) and how Krina is able to circumvent the system as well as the two-thousand year old FTL-scam which brings Krina more focused on finding her sister. While the concept is quite intriguing, at times I felt lectured at and that I was reading an academic piece rather than a piece of fiction. All of that having been said, in the end, I can see why the novel would work for so many people, while realizing it didn’t fully work for me.  But this is only half the discussion since…

In terms of its worthiness/chances on winning the Hugo Award for best novel, Neptune’s Brood does indeed seem like the type of novel that should be at least short-listed. Aside from the fact that Stross is the author and seems to appear on these lists regularly, the novel takes a rather unexplored concept – economics, and couches the discussion of that concept in a (relatively) familiar setting for Science Fiction – that of the far future while also checking off the post-human, body-modification, and adventure boxes in the novel. From a superficial level, then, Stross strikes a good balance between new approach and familiar elements.

So where does this rank against the other Hugo nominees? It is hard to argue against Ancillary Justice winning because the book has won nearly every award for which it was short-listed.  The Wheel of Time is also hard to ignore as a nominee considering the size of its fan base, but it is difficult to know how much of those fans will be casting final ballots.  Parasite by Mira Grant marks her fourth consecutive nomination. I haven’t (yet) read the book, but seems to hit the same spot as it did for readers of her entertaining Newsflesh trilogy, so seeing her name here is not much of a surprise.  This, at last, brings us to Larry Correia’s Warbound, the third book in his Grimnoir Chronicles, again, one I haven’t read though I have enjoyed the Monster Hunter books he’s written. Larry clearly has his fans, too.

That said and simply judging Neptune’s Brood against its competitors, I’ve got to think Stross will eventually receive the award for Best Novel.  Though Neptune’s Brood has received the same kind of praise previous works by Stross have, I’m not sure this is Charlie’s year considering his competition. On the other hand, this convention is as close to his own backyard for Stross so there may be some support from potentially local attendees to push Neptune’s Brood to the top.

Hugo Awards Shortlist 2012 - My Contribution to the Genre Meme

I was going to respond to Larry’s post about the Hugo Awards, but I figured I’d just write up a blog post myself.

I already made some brief comments on Justin's excellent blog post (and really, I’m sure many of the folks who read my blog read his blog, but if you aren’t go right now add it to your blog roll or RSS Feed). So I might as well join the fun and run down my thoughts on the just released Hugo Nominations even if I didn’t plunk down the $50 just to vote.

I'm sort of in tune with the voters this time 'round, at least in terms of what I read compared to what made the short list. The last time I read as many as four out of the five (like this year’s list) was 2009 whose novel short list follows: Anathem by Neal Stephenson, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross, and Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi.

Having written that, here's the rundown of the 2012 Hugo Awards (courtesy of Tor.com). I’ll comment on each category, at least briefly:

Novels

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

Among Others was a great book and when I read it, I predicted it would at the very least make a few short lists. I think it has a very good chance of winning the Hugo. The novel hits a lot of good nostalgic notes, the protagonist has a wonderfully engaging voice, and like films about films, books about books tend to get critical (i.e. awards) recognition. I’d have no problem with this one winning

A Dance With Dragons, though excellent was not as strong as the first three books in the series. Not to damn it with faint praise, but I found it to be far stronger than A Feast for Crows because I enjoyed the book a great deal. However had I nominated, I wouldn't have added this book to the shortlist. I wouldn’t be surprised to see A Dance With Dragons be Martin’s The Departed, though.

I am a big fan of Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy (at least the two books thus far). I find the books to be several notches above what might be considered typical Zombie fiction. Both books had me thinking long after I finished them about some of the science involved, about the characters, and how the impact of what the ‘science gone awry’ has drastically changed the world. Many people seem to be down on this book being on the list because it is a middle book of a series, but it can stand on its own. Will it win? I doubt it. Should it win? Not sure.

The last Miéville novel I read was Un Lun Dun, which was good and though I enjoyed it and Iron Council, I haven’t felt overly compelled to read more by him. I wouldn’t be surprised to see his first true SF novel take away the award.

Leviathan Wakes was old-school Space Opera and a novel I thought was a blast. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it wins. However there’ve been some relatively divisive thoughts on the novel.

One novel I would have liked to see on the short list is The Kings of Eternity by Eric Brown but I wonder if being a lesser known author (despite publishing novel length fiction for many years) coupled with a relatively small imprint allowed this excellent novel to fly on the radar.

BOTTOM LINE: In the end, I think it comes down to Among Others and A Dance with Dragons

Best Novella

• Countdown by Mira Grant (Orbit)
• “The Ice Owl” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction November/December 2011)
• “Kiss Me Twice” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s June 2011)
• “The Man Who Bridged the Mist” by Kij Johnson (Asimov’s September/October 2011)
• “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary” by Ken Liu (Panverse 3)
• Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente (WSFA)

I’ve not read any of these, I tend not to read much short fiction. That said, I see/read nothing but praise for Ken Liu and it’s nice to see Grant get a double nomination for fiction set in a milieu I really enjoy.

Best Novelette

• “The Copenhagen Interpretation” by Paul Cornell (Asimov’s July 2011)
• “Fields of Gold” by Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse Four)
• “Ray of Light” by Brad R. Torgersen (Analog December 2011)
• “Six Months, Three Days” by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com)
• “What We Found” by Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction March/April 2011)

Even shorter fiction that I don’t read. I’m happy to see Paul Cornell nominated since his work in the relaunched DC “New 52” and DC Comics/Vertigo has been very solid. I need to read Charlie Jane Anders’s story and based on everything I’ve seen on the blogoverse/geekly intarwebs the story is as the kids once said “the bee’s knees.”

Best Short Story

• “The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld April 2011)
• “The Homecoming” by Mike Resnick (Asimov’s April/May 2011)
• “Movement” by Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s March 2011)
• “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction March/April 2011)
• “Shadow War of the Night Dragons: Book One: The Dead City: Prologue” by John Scalzi (Tor.com)

Even shorter-shorter fiction I tend not to read. My roll of the dice has John Scalzi or Mike Resnick winning this one.

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 by 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 by Jeff VanderMeer and S. J. Chambers (Abrams Image)
• Wicked Girls by Seanan McGuire
• Writing Excuses, Season 6 by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Jordan Sanderson

I’ve listened to a few episodes of Writing Excuses but shouldn’t it be in the fancast category? That said, I expect The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition to win here.

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)

I consider Fables to consistently be the best monthly comic on the shelves though Locke & Key is quite good, too. I’d be happy to see either of those titles win.

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)

I think if Game of Thrones doesn’t win, there will be some kind of revolt and violence. I haven’t seen Hugo and want to see it. I enjoyed Captain America: The First Avenger but even by superhero movie standards, it was not the strongest superhero film last year (and I doubt I’d put any of them on a shortlist).

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

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

Apparently the only SF show on TV is Doctor Who and that seems to be the case for the past few years. I’ll echo other thoughts, why wasn’t an episode of Game of Thrones on this list? Specifically, Baelor? Odd that an acceptance speech would be on this list. If they’re going the sitcom route, what about Big Bang Theory? I know SyFy is chastised quite often, but they produced Eureka which is quite entertaining. I would like to think shows like Once Upon a Time and Grimm might get consideration next year. 

Best Editor, Short Form

• John Joseph Adams
• Neil Clarke
• Stanley Schmidt
• Jonathan Strahan
• Sheila Williams

No problems here, between JJA (in addition to Lightspeed) and Strahan I think they’ve published a combined 483 anthologies last year

Best Editor, Long Form

• Lou Anders
• Liz Gorinsky
• Anne Lesley Groell
• Patrick Nielsen Hayden
• Betsy Wollheim

Now here’s a MAJOR disconnect but should NOT be construed as a knock to Lou Anders (who I think has done an incredible job with Pyr, keeping up with and ahead of genre trends) or Betsy Wollheim (who publishes some of my very favorite authors) but… Pyr published a lot of good novels in 2011, novels I enjoyed a great deal but none of them made the short list. DAW has no books on the shortlist though is responsible for the juggernaut that is Patrick Rothfuss’s The Wise Man’s Fear. On the other hand, two Orbit titles are on the Novels short list but none of their editors are on this list of Long Form editors.

Best Professional Artist

• Dan dos Santos
• Bob Eggleton
• Michael Komarck
• Stephan Martiniere
• John Picacio

I feel like at least three artists appear on a rotating basis every year. Don’t get me wrong, I like the work all five of these men have done, but I haven’t seen very many covers from Bob Eggleton while somebody like Raymond Swanland is doing great work and his art appears on many, many books. All that said, I’d love to see John Picacio win here.

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

I never quite understood the term Semiprozine, do the people running these thing get paid only half a normal rate? I read locusmag.com every day and think JJA is doing good stuff with Lightspeed (and hey, look at this, he was nominated for editor short form and the thing he edits on a regular basis was nominated). Other than, I have nothing else to say about this batch.

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

SF Signal is the only one I visit regularly (and before reading this list the only one about which I was aware beside File 770), probably my MUST visit general genre spot on teh intarwebs. I suppose Fanzine means the people running it are fans and don’t get paid.

On a more personal note, I'm wondering if SFFWorld is eligible or how to get it nominated for such an award. SFFWorld has been a very active fan community for the genre for over a decade, we have several official reviewers, and have been publishing between 50 and 75 reviews per year.

Best Fan Writer

• James Bacon
• Claire Brialey
• Christopher J Garcia
• Jim C. Hines
• Steven H. Silver

No knock against him, but isn’t Jim C. Hines a professional writer? Aside from him, I’m only familiar with Silver but I'm thinking maybe one of the folks from SF Signal should have received a nod.

Best Fan Artist

• Brad W. Foster
• Randall Munroe
• Spring Schoenhuth
• Maurine Starkey
• Steve Stiles
• Taral Wayne

Not sure about the criteria for this award nor do those names look familiar to me.

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, produced by Patrick Hester
• SF Squeecast, Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, and Catherynne M. Valente
• StarShipSofa, Tony C. Smith

SF Signal Podcast is the one I listen to most regularly so that would get my vote although I enjoy SF Squeecast a great deal.

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer WHICH IS NOT A HUGO

• Mur Lafferty
• Stina Leicht
• Karen Lord
• Brad R. Torgersen
• E. Lily Yu

I’ve not read any of these folks but do know of Lafferty, Leicht, and Lord.

OK, so that's what I've got to say for the moment.

Genre Awards, For What Are They Good?

How important are genre awards? Every year when the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award nominations are announced, there always seems to be something “wrong” with the list of nominees with a certain segment of the genre reading public. At the very least, discussion of some sort is generated. The Philip K. Dick Award, which has a more specific criteria, doesn’t seem to suffer from that annual “the nominators just don’t get it.”

Aidan has an interesting post, which to be honest, inspired this very post you are reading right now. The thing I agree with the most, perhaps obviously, is Aidan’s point that these awards all but ignore the online community. Something the members of SFFWorld have bemoaned in the past.

The purpose of this post isn’t about any award nominees for this year, but awards in general. I've never voted on any of these three major awards, so I am putting that disclaimer of possible ignorance right up front. The other disclaimer is that this post is VERY stream of conscience.

Here’s the rundown on the three awards alphabetically, for those not in the know:

Hugo Awards

Nominations are open to members of the current year’s Worldcon and to members of the past year’s Worldcon. The final ballot is open only to members of the current year’s Worldcon. You do not have to attend the Worldcon in order to vote. A special category of Supporting Membership is available for people who wish to vote but cannot afford to attend the convention. Supporting Membership also entitles you to all of the official Worldcon publications for that year, and entitles you to participate in the vote to select the site for the Worldcon to be held two years hence. You can find details of the current Worldcon’s membership rates by following this link.

…

Voting for the Hugos is a two-stage process. In the first stage voters may nominate up to five entries in each category. All nominations carry equal weight. The five entries that get the most nominations in each category go forward to the final ballot. In the final ballot voting is preferential. Voters rank the candidates in order of preference. The system for counting the votes is quite complicated but it is designed to ensure that the winner has support from the majority of voters. There is a full description of the counting procedure here.

…

Generally speaking, works are eligible if they were published in the calendar year preceding the year in which the vote takes place. Some Awards are given for a body of work rather than for a single item, in which case it is all work produced in the calendar year in question that is considered. See the list of Award categories for full details of eligibility rules.

Nebula Awards

The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year. There is no cash prize associated with the award, instead the award itself being a transparent block with an embedded glitter spiral nebula with gemstones cut to resemble planets.

All Active and Associate members of SFWA in good standing are eligible to make nominations during the NOMINATION PERIOD.

World Fantasy Awards

World Fantasy Award winners are chosen by a panel of judges, which differs every year. Andrew Wheeler was a past judge and blogged extensively about his experience

So, do these awards mean anything to readers? I realize that’s a naïve question, but a certain segment of fandom sees these awards as one of the most important parts of publishing in Speculative Fiction, others think the awards are narrow-minded and don’t really speak to the genre as a whole. Of course the answer is likely somewhere in the middle.

For example, from what I understand of the Hugos, you basically have to pay a not so slim chunk of change just to vote on the awards. I think the Nebula is the same, since you have to be a member of the SFWA. In my opinion, the awards are more or less a barometer of what is going on in Speculative Fiction on a year-to-year basis. With the WFAs, you only have five people really judging the awards, from what I can see, so that’s something of a narrow view. Conversely, those five people change every year, so the flavor of the voting could change every year, which is interesting.

In terms of awards upon which anybody can cast their vote, the Locus Awards are probably the longest running and may give a more clear indication of what fandom as a whole is reading. The recently instituted David Gemmell Award, which focuses primarily on Fantasy of the secondary world variety, opens up voting to the entire world. I’ve voted the past few years for both of these awards, the Gemmell especially speaks to my subgenre of preference. Of course, when you open the gates so wide, there’s a chance of vote-loading, much like the MLB All Star game.

This post is by no means exhaustive nor should it be judged for any sense of completeness. Though I’ve been reading SF for over 20 years, I’ve only become heavily involved in the past ten years through SFFWorld, so by no means am I an expert on these, just a fan asking questions.

Feel free to discuss in the comments and let me know where I’m wrong.

Hugo Awards 2009

This is the first Novel Ballot where I've read the majority of the nominees. Links on the novels, obviously, point to my reviews and for the shorter lengths, links point to the my review of the anthology in which I the story appeared. Locus gives a brief, and helpful analysis.

For all others, I've bolded the books I have, but haven't yet read, and italicized in orange in those I have read but not reviewed. Where I can, I've listed my selection under each category

Best Novel
(639 Ballots)


Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK)
Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)

Rob's Choice: I'm torn between The Graveyard Book and Little Brother even though I enjoyed the other two I read in this category. They happened to be 2 of the 3 of my best reads from 2008.

Best Novella
(337 Ballots)

“The Erdmann Nexus” by Nancy Kress (Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2008)
“The Political Prisoner” by Charles Coleman Finlay (F&SF Aug 2008)
“The Tear” by Ian McDonald (Galactic Empires)
“True Names” by Benjamin Rosenbaum & Cory Doctorow (Fast Forward 2)
“Truth” by Robert Reed (Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2008)

Best Novelette
(373 Ballots)

“Alastair Baffle’s Emporium of Wonders” by Mike Resnick (Asimov’s Jan 2008)
“The Gambler” by Paolo Bacigalupi (Fast Forward 2)
“Pride and Prometheus” by John Kessel (F&SF Jan 2008)
“The Ray-Gun: A Love Story” by James Alan Gardner (Asimov’s Feb 2008)
“Shoggoths in Bloom” by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s Mar 2008)

Best Short Story
(448 Ballots)

“26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” by Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Jul 2008)
“Article of Faith” by Mike Resnick (Baen’s Universe Oct 2008)
“Evil Robot Monkey” by Mary Robinette Kowal (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume Two)
“Exhalation” by Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
“From Babel’s Fall’n Glory We Fled” by Michael Swanwick (Asimov’s Feb 2008)

Best Related Book
(263 Ballots)

Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn (Wesleyan University Press)
Spectrum 15: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art by Cathy & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Underwood Books)
The Vorkosigan Companion: The Universe of Lois McMaster Bujold by Lillian Stewart Carl & John Helfers, eds. (Baen)
What It Is We Do When We Read Science Fiction by Paul Kincaid (Beccon Publications)
Your Hate Mail Will be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008 by John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)

Best Graphic Story
(212 Ballots)

The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle Written by Jim Butcher, art by Ardian Syaf (Del Rey/Dabel Brothers Publishing)
Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
Fables: War and Pieces Written by Bill Willingham, pencilled by Mark Buckingham, art by Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy, color by Lee Loughridge, letters by Todd Klein (DC/Vertigo Comics)
Schlock Mercenary: The Body Politic Story and art by Howard Tayler (The Tayler Corporation)
Serenity: Better Days Written by Joss Whedon & Brett Matthews, art by Will Conrad, color by Michelle Madsen, cover by Jo Chen (Dark Horse Comics)
Y: The Last Man, Volume 10: Whys and Wherefores Written/created by Brian K. Vaughan, penciled/created by Pia Guerra, inked by Jose Marzan, Jr. (DC/Vertigo Comics)

Rob's Choice: Y: The Last Man, Volume 10: Whys and Wherefores - The ending was terrific to one of the landmark pieces of comic book/graphic novel fiction of the decade. This series was consistent, smart, entertaining and really cemented Vaughan as a premier writer of comics. I'm sure it also helped him get the Lost gig, which in turn, has helped to make the show as terrific as has been over the past season or two.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
(436 Ballots)

The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer, story; Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, screenplay; based on characters created by Bob Kane; Christopher Nolan, director (Warner Brothers)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army Guillermo del Toro & Mike Mignola, story; Guillermo del Toro, screenplay; based on the comic by Mike Mignola; Guillermo del Toro, director (Dark Horse, Universal)
Iron Man Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, screenplay; based on characters created by Stan Lee & Don Heck & Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby; Jon Favreau, director (Paramount, Marvel Studios)
METAtropolis by John Scalzi, ed. Written by: Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell and Karl Schroeder (Audible Inc)
WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)

Rob's Choice: It'll go to either WALL-E or The Dark Knight, but my choice is with the Bat. I thought WALL-E was good, but nothing compares to The Dark Knight.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
(336 Ballots)

“The Constant” (Lost) Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof, writers; Jack Bender, director (Bad Robot, ABC studios)
Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen , writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)
“Revelations” (Battlestar Galactica) Bradley Thompson & David Weddle, writers; Michael Rymer, director (NBC Universal)
“Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead” (Doctor Who) Steven Moffat, writer; Euros Lyn, director (BBC Wales)
“Turn Left” (Doctor Who) Russell T. Davies, writer; Graeme Harper, director (BBC Wales)

Rob's Choice: This might be toughest of all, but I'm going with "The Constant." Each episode/Webisode was good on the list was very good, but "The Constant" might have been the strongest episode of Lost on the season that really put the show back on track.

Best Editor, Short Form
(377 Ballots)

Ellen Datlow
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder
Sheila Williams


Rob's Choice: I've read more Strahan-edited fiction last year than the others, so he's my choice.

Best Editor, Long Form
(273 Ballots)

Lou Anders
Ginjer Buchanan
David G. Hartwell
Beth Meacham
Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Rob's Choice: Without any other easy way to find out what books these fine folks edited/commissioned in the nomination year, this is a tough one, too. Patrick Nielsen Hayden edited two of the books on the novel short list and Pyr/Lou Anders published 4 of my favorite books of 2008. Ginjer Buchana, I think, was responsible for one of the better debut authors I read last year, Taylor Anderson, as well as Saturn’s Children on the short list. I think I’d lean towards Lou Anders, on this one but reserve the right to modify my choice in the future.

Best Professional Artist
(334 Ballots)

Daniel Dos Santos
Bob Eggleton
Donato Giancola
John Picacio
Shaun Tan

I'll go with Picacio, followed closely by Dos Santos.


Best Semiprozine
(283 Ballots)

Clarkesworld Magazine edited by Neil Clarke, Nick Mamatas & Sean Wallace
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, &; Liza Groen Trombi
The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer, Kris Dikeman, David G. Hartwell, & Kevin J. Maroney
Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer &; Stephen H. Segal

Rob's Choice: Clarkesworld gets my nod here.

Best Fanzine
(257 Ballots)

Argentus edited by Steven H Silver
Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
Challenger edited by Guy H. Lillian III
The Drink Tank edited by Chris Garcia
Electric Velocipede edited by John Klima
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer

Best Fan Writer
(291 Ballots)

Chris Garcia
John Hertz
Dave Langford
Cheryl Morgan
Steven H Silver

Best Fan Artist
(187 Ballots)

Alan F. Beck
Brad W. Foster
Sue Mason
Taral Wayne
Frank Wu

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
(288 Ballots)

Aliette de Bodard*
David Anthony Durham*
Felix Gilman
Tony Pi*
Gord Sellar*

*(Second year of eligibility)

Rob's Choice: Only having read Gilman and Durham, my nod would definitely go to Durham.
A total of 799 nomination ballots were cast.

SFFWorld's 2007 Reader's Poll & Spin

Over at SFFWorld.com, we are running our annual member poll for favorite reads of 2007.

Hobbit also posted the first part of SFFWorld's annual review., wherein we discuss the books, authors, films, and events in Speculative Fiction. In the past, it was just Hobbit and I who put this thing together. This year we invited some of the regular visitors/bloggers from the forum: Adam/Werthead (http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/), Deornoth/Graeme (http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.com/), Robert/Cervantor (http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/), and Aidan/'al Kael (http://www.aidanmoher.com/blog/).

I finished Robert Charles Wilson's Spin a couple of days ago, and had it fit the eligibility rules we set in place, I might have given it one of my top spots. This book was as good as everybody said it was, not the least of whom are Stephen King and the people who awarded it the Hugo award.

This was an epic book filled with human, well drawn characters who had to deal with earth-shattering (or rather earth-encompassing) events. Diane (the primary female character) seemed to get a bit of the short end of the stick, compared to the other two characters. I think that is mainly due to the smaller amount of screen time given to her character compared to Jase (her brother) and Tyler (narrator/protagonist). That being said, her character in its absences, still exhibited a certain power that neither Jase or Tyler did.

I think the title was a metaphor of sorts, and maybe an inverse metaphor. People are constantly told to stop and not let the world pass by them. In this case the world was stopped and the life, the universe, and everything nearly passed by us. Or so it seemed for much of the novel. I also saw the metaphor of how the story began and ended, for the most part, at the same location.

The political climate RCW depicted seemed very accurately presented. However, we didn't quite get to see the everyman's point of view of what happened. I suppose Tyler was intended to fit this role to a degree, but being the best friend of one of the most powerful men on the planet isn't so everyman.

On the whole, I really REALLY enjoyed this book. I thought it was an extremely human look at a near future where people were confronted with a technological event far beyond anything people in the world are capable of doing. I am not surprised it received the Hugo and think it will be considered a top SF book for a while. The ending was a little frustrating because I wanted to see what would happen next, but I also consider the ending to be appropriate.

The only other novel I've read by RCW is Darwinia, which I also enjoyed. The ending "event" reminded me of that novel. I will be picking up Axis, as well as some of his other backlist titles, as if I don't have enough unread books on the shelf.