Hugo Awards: An open letter to Brad Torgersen
I'm pretty sure Brad won't see this. And if he does, I'm pretty sure he won't care.
However, Brad Torgersen, you are a fuckhead.
I know you feel slighted by my community. You wrote something and didn't win an award. Boo-fucking-hoo. I'm glad you feel it was award-worthy. I think it would be a shame to have artists and writers produce and release anything they didn't think worthy of note.
That's not why I'm angry with you. You are a horrible person because you are trying to take away the prestige others have earned - yes, EARNED - with awards for the merit of their work. If you are going to claim "The Water that Falls on You from Nowhere" or ANCILLARY JUSTICE didn't deserve the awards they won, you are flat out wrong. WRONG WRONG WRONG. Not simply because you can't write half as good. But because you are disrespecting the entire award process, and the fans - such as me - who engage in this process.
It is not my job to only like what you like. It is not my job to only award what you pick. And you've proved - since you don't read anyway, including what you stuffed the ballot box with - that the only thing you have to contribute is ugly, scheming, and dishonest. You are, I will repeat, a horrible person.
I hope that one day you will actually read some SF. Start with, say, THE FOREVER WAR. Maybe try CHILDHOOD'S END next. Then THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS. Perhaps ENDER'S GAME, although it fails on your checklist of "good fiction." Gerrold's "The Martian Child" is also good. The very fact that you liked the cover art for ANCILLARY JUSTICE, but hated the book is proof you are no judge of story, art, literature, or awards. And bad at following axioms ("don't judge a book by its cover") that every school kid knows.
My community likes books. We give awards to some of them. Your intrusion into this process is not welcome.
However, Brad Torgersen, you are a fuckhead.
I know you feel slighted by my community. You wrote something and didn't win an award. Boo-fucking-hoo. I'm glad you feel it was award-worthy. I think it would be a shame to have artists and writers produce and release anything they didn't think worthy of note.
That's not why I'm angry with you. You are a horrible person because you are trying to take away the prestige others have earned - yes, EARNED - with awards for the merit of their work. If you are going to claim "The Water that Falls on You from Nowhere" or ANCILLARY JUSTICE didn't deserve the awards they won, you are flat out wrong. WRONG WRONG WRONG. Not simply because you can't write half as good. But because you are disrespecting the entire award process, and the fans - such as me - who engage in this process.
It is not my job to only like what you like. It is not my job to only award what you pick. And you've proved - since you don't read anyway, including what you stuffed the ballot box with - that the only thing you have to contribute is ugly, scheming, and dishonest. You are, I will repeat, a horrible person.
I hope that one day you will actually read some SF. Start with, say, THE FOREVER WAR. Maybe try CHILDHOOD'S END next. Then THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS. Perhaps ENDER'S GAME, although it fails on your checklist of "good fiction." Gerrold's "The Martian Child" is also good. The very fact that you liked the cover art for ANCILLARY JUSTICE, but hated the book is proof you are no judge of story, art, literature, or awards. And bad at following axioms ("don't judge a book by its cover") that every school kid knows.
My community likes books. We give awards to some of them. Your intrusion into this process is not welcome.