Reading for Hugos

[grrm]

In my copious spare time (hoo-hah), I am continuing to work my way through the ballot for this years's Hugo Awards

Comments

[ext_2119687]

I'm about halfway through it, and it's a mix right now for me. I find it intriguing and it has kept my interest, but I get the feeling I'm missing a lot. I thought it might be a cultural/language difference but I *think* some characters have shown up in previous stories and I wonder if I might have more of an attachment to them if I had read these? There are some some glorious images for the mind-scape, and also some poignant images too. I feel like I'm learning a bit more about the culture of China and it's politics, and haven't decided how much of it is pertinent to the story. Bottom line: I'm enjoying it, just hope it pays off in the end.

U r right!

[ext_3139148]

There are several characters, i.e. LUO Ji, appeared in previous stories by Cixin Liu. But the stories are discontinued so it should not affect the reading. The book came to my mind was Ball Lightning. But I don't think this book will be translated because it is in the background of China-U.S. world war..

Three Body Problem

[ext_2665757]

I must say I loved both "The Goblin Emperor" and "The Three Body Problem", different as they are. I think Liu's novel may be more accessible for somebody from a post-communist country. I noticed certain cultural/linguistic aspects that seem to irritate native English readers but seemed quite natural to me (born and bred in Poland in the 70s/80s).

[mecurtin]

I, too, felt that it sagged in the middle. And toward the end my suspension of disbelief started to run into trouble, though that may be cleared up in subsequent volumes.

Overall, it's a really interesting reading experience, because the historical, real life chapters are about a culture so different from my experience that it's almost like reading C.J. Cherryh. Even with the footnotes, I was aware that what I was reading about is (nearly) *alien*.

I've read "The Goblin Emperor" twice so far, and I love it to a possibly uncritical degree. The combination of a hero who's what I call heroic, with wonderful and interesting use of language, with thinking about culture and change, just makes me so happy. And they have ears that move with their emotions!

I hope people give Marco Kloos a chance despite being on the puppies slate

[iwinulose2]

I read Terms of Enlistment, and it was a quick and fun read. I wouldn't call it an award worthy book, but it doesn't need to be to be entertaining.

Re: I hope people give Marco Kloos a chance despite being on the puppies slate

[grrm]

Kloos is no longer on the ballot, so people can't "give him a chance" in that sense, but his principled stand did earn him a lot of admirers. I have his book here, and will get to it soon.

Re: I hope people give Marco Kloos a chance despite being on the puppies slate

[skunkboy]

I grabbed a copy of the first book in his series, and found it to be fun MilSF, not the best I've read, but good enough that I've added the second book to my TBR stack.

Re: I hope people give Marco Kloos a chance despite being on the puppies slate

[walkerscrown]

I've read the entire series that Terms of Enlistment touches off, and I have to say that, while I don't consider the books particularly Hugo-worthy (in terms of how they advance SF), I find them to be captivating and thoughtful instances of the milSF sub genre. There's some interesting social stuff being done in the books with the politics of the NAC and the military's relationship to civilian life. Also, Kloos has a nice, clean style. I'm definitely a fan of his now and eagerly await the next book in the series.

So ... I guess something good did come out of this mess.

Who would get the Hugo?

[ext_2587046]

I can't figure out how the rules work with translated works. Do the original author AND the translator both get Hugos if The Three-Body Problem wins? They're both listed on the nomination at the Hugo Awards website, so I'm assuming Ken Liu would share the award with Cixin Liu, but I don't see anything in the rules about translated works.

Re: Who would get the Hugo?

[grrm]

Interesting question.

I don't know the answer. Not sure a translation has ever won a Hugo.

Re: Who would get the Hugo?

[eeanm]

Both Lius have their name on the ballot so they both get an award. Apparently that's what Sasquan decided. I mean I can't imagine someone with their name on the ballot not getting a Hugo if their work wins.

Re: Who would get the Hugo?

[brgibbons]

Is that how it works? It's not uncommon for some categories (fanzines, semiprozines or fancasts, for example) to have half-a-dozen or so names attached to a nominee.

I would have assumed that it's one trophy per winner, and they work it amongst themselves as to who actually gets it. Otherwise, the con would end up wasting a lot of money on awards they might not need, since they'd be ordering them long before they knew the winners.