(no subject)
SFSignal lists the 2008 Hugo Award winners here.
I'm a bit disappointed that The Yiddish Policeman's Union won. It sounds very well written, and I may get around to reading it one day, but from what I've heard there's no real science fiction in it. IMO Alternate Histories or Alternate Universes don't necessarily equate to science fiction unless there's scientific explanation for the existence of the AU or travel between different worlds or something scientific rather than simply answering the question "what if history went a different route?".
I recently read Farthing by Jo Walton and loved it. I plan to read the rest of the series. I don't think of it as sci fi though. As far as I am concerned, I'd classify as a British WWII era mystery with a twist or simply an Alternate History.
I do wish The Last Colony had won. I like the series and loved that book. I would not have minded Stross winning either. I like him as a person (met him at ArmadilloCon 27 in 2005), and he's a well-respected author in the field, but personally I just can't get into most singularity SF so his works are not my cup of tea. Brasyl also didn't sound like my cup of tea. And Rollback was good, but not as good as TLC.
I do think the Doctor Who's "Blink", "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang, and "Tideline" by Elizabeth Bear are worthy winners. "Blink" scared the shit out me when I watched it and had a great sci fi premise to boot. "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" is an amazingly intricate time travel story with the point being the immutability of the past. And "Tideline" had me bawling in my office in Iraq. It is sad, lyrical story with good sci fi elements; it is a complete story in a short package. If you're interest both the "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" and "Tideline" are both available online or at least they were.
It is with much excitement that I'm headed to Austin this coming weekend for ArmadilloCon 30 where John Scalzi one of my favorite authors and bloggers is the GOH and Joe Haldeman (author of many novels including The Forever War and my favorite of his The Forever Peace) is a Special Guest.
I'm a bit disappointed that The Yiddish Policeman's Union won. It sounds very well written, and I may get around to reading it one day, but from what I've heard there's no real science fiction in it. IMO Alternate Histories or Alternate Universes don't necessarily equate to science fiction unless there's scientific explanation for the existence of the AU or travel between different worlds or something scientific rather than simply answering the question "what if history went a different route?".
I recently read Farthing by Jo Walton and loved it. I plan to read the rest of the series. I don't think of it as sci fi though. As far as I am concerned, I'd classify as a British WWII era mystery with a twist or simply an Alternate History.
I do wish The Last Colony had won. I like the series and loved that book. I would not have minded Stross winning either. I like him as a person (met him at ArmadilloCon 27 in 2005), and he's a well-respected author in the field, but personally I just can't get into most singularity SF so his works are not my cup of tea. Brasyl also didn't sound like my cup of tea. And Rollback was good, but not as good as TLC.
I do think the Doctor Who's "Blink", "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang, and "Tideline" by Elizabeth Bear are worthy winners. "Blink" scared the shit out me when I watched it and had a great sci fi premise to boot. "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" is an amazingly intricate time travel story with the point being the immutability of the past. And "Tideline" had me bawling in my office in Iraq. It is sad, lyrical story with good sci fi elements; it is a complete story in a short package. If you're interest both the "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" and "Tideline" are both available online or at least they were.
It is with much excitement that I'm headed to Austin this coming weekend for ArmadilloCon 30 where John Scalzi one of my favorite authors and bloggers is the GOH and Joe Haldeman (author of many novels including The Forever War and my favorite of his The Forever Peace) is a Special Guest.