Re: Hugo Shortlist 2008

David T. Bilek <davidbilek@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

>Best Novel
>
>The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins, Fourth
>Estate)
>Brasyl by Ian McDonald (Gollancz; Pyr)
>Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer (Tor; Analog Oct. 2006-Jan/Feb. 2007)
>The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Tor)
>Halting State by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit)

It'll probably be the Chabon.  Which is worthy but I'd prefer to see
McDonald get it since I'd rather reward people firmly in the genre
than those who don't really need the recognition.

Snipping a lot of the short form nominees because I haven't read quite
a few of them.  I hope they are put online like they have been the
last few years.

Who keeps nominating this Sawyer bull****?  Is it a joke?  Yeah,
Rollback is less vomit inducing that most Sawyer but that doesn't make
it Hugo worthy.  "Less undeserving than HOMINIDS" does not an
endorsement make.

Shame on you people.

>
>Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
>
>Enchanted 
>The Golden Compass
>Heroes, Season 1,
>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 
>Stardust 

The winner should clearly be either Heroes 1st season or, sadly,
Enchanted.  Not my cup of tea but well put together.

>Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
>
>Battlestar Galactica "Razor"
>Dr. Who "Blink" 
>Dr. Who "Human Nature" / "Family of Blood"
>Star Trek New Voyages "World Enough and Time"
>Torchwood "Captain Jack Harkness" 

Razor.

>
>Best Professional Editor, Long Form
>
>Lou Anders (Pyr)
>Ginjer Buchanan (Ace/Roc)
>David G. Hartwell (Tor/Forge)
>Beth Meacham (Tor)
>Patrick Nielsen Hayden (Tor)

I hate the long form editor category, not because they don't deserve
recognition (they do) but because I strongly suspect most voters have
no clue who edited what books and turn this into nothing more than a
popularity contest.  

I read a >lot< of SF and I couldn't tell you who edited most of it.
Oh, I recognize the editor's names and I could do better than random
chance on my guessing but certainly not enough to justify giving one
of them an award.  And I bet that's true of most Hugo voters.


>
>Best Locus
>
>Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen
>Trombi
>

>Best Langford
>
>David Langford
>

>
>John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Writer
>
>Joe Abercrombie (2nd year of eligibility)
>Jon Armstrong (1st year of eligibility)
>David Anthony Durham (1st year of eligibility)
>David Louis Edelman (2nd year of eligibility)
>Mary Robinette Kowal (2nd year of eligibility)
>Scott Lynch (2nd year of eligibility)

Lynch, by a country mile.  Should be the easiest category to decide
this year.  If he doesn't win then this category should probably just
be eliminated as irrelevant.

-David