Hugo Thoughts, Novels
I have now completed reading all of the novels nominated for this year's Hugo awards. This was helped by me having purchased three of the books prior to the awards. Herewith, some thoughts.
2312, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit) The less said about this bloated non-action-filled novel the better. Definitely my last choice, but given my orthogonal relationship with the average Hugo voter, probably a contender for the shiny rocket.
Blackout, Mira Grant (Orbit) I found this a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, and I really like Seanan McGuire's take on the zombie apocalypse.
Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen) Although set in the Miles Vorkosigan world, and he makes a few brief appearances, it's effectively stand-alone. I found it a nice space opera.
Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas, John Scalzi (Tor) At the moment, Scalzi's hot. The guy could put his name to the Bradford, Ohio phone book and sell a truckload. Redshirts is a funny book, and the codas save it from trivia, but this isn't even his best funny novel (that would be Android's Dream.)
Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed (DAW) For the last few years, the Hugo awards have been "4 SF novels and a token fantasy" and this year's token is Crescent Moon. I have to say I really liked this book, largely because of interesting characters who don't always do what I expected them to and a non-European setting.
My vote:
1 - Crescent Moon
2 - Blackout
3 - Redshirts
4 - Captain V (I weigh Redshirts higher just because it's a different concept)
5 - 2312
My prediction:
1 - Redshirts (but it will be by a nose)
2 - 2312
3 - Crescent Moon
4 - Blackout
5 - Captain V
2312, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit) The less said about this bloated non-action-filled novel the better. Definitely my last choice, but given my orthogonal relationship with the average Hugo voter, probably a contender for the shiny rocket.
Blackout, Mira Grant (Orbit) I found this a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, and I really like Seanan McGuire's take on the zombie apocalypse.
Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen) Although set in the Miles Vorkosigan world, and he makes a few brief appearances, it's effectively stand-alone. I found it a nice space opera.
Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas, John Scalzi (Tor) At the moment, Scalzi's hot. The guy could put his name to the Bradford, Ohio phone book and sell a truckload. Redshirts is a funny book, and the codas save it from trivia, but this isn't even his best funny novel (that would be Android's Dream.)
Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed (DAW) For the last few years, the Hugo awards have been "4 SF novels and a token fantasy" and this year's token is Crescent Moon. I have to say I really liked this book, largely because of interesting characters who don't always do what I expected them to and a non-European setting.
My vote:
1 - Crescent Moon
2 - Blackout
3 - Redshirts
4 - Captain V (I weigh Redshirts higher just because it's a different concept)
5 - 2312
My prediction:
1 - Redshirts (but it will be by a nose)
2 - 2312
3 - Crescent Moon
4 - Blackout
5 - Captain V