Hugo Nomination Pool for 2025

Novel

Novella

Ghost of a Neon God by T.R. Napper - Napper is the underappreciated modern master of cyberpunk.  This novella examines our relationship with technology and considers the morality of dealing with a truly sentient AI.

Fancast

The Cinema Stories Podcast - Thus far this year, author/podcaster Paul Hale has surveyed Disney's Frozen and the Hanna-Barbera version of Charlotte's Web.  Paul routinely provides an entertaining and educated comparison between written stories and the movies they have inspired.

Series

Arcana Imperii series by Miles Cameron.  MilSF inspired by the the trading ships of old Europe as well as the great naval battles of WWII.

Review: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a 5-star review. He earned every drop of it.

Two star-crossed lovers. Separated by space? Time? Who knows. Yet joined by spirits in an attempt to free themselves. What has the spirits in chains? Read the story.

Yumi and Painter are in conflict with one another when they meet. He must abide by the social structures of her world. Structures that make no sense to him. She is terrified every time Painter violates her cultural protocols.

She then finds herself in his world where there aren't as many cultural protocols. And she slowly learns that Painter has made many mistakes in his life and hurt his friends. He does his best to hide the truth about himself for as long as possible.

Eventually, they discover the ability to see beyond the superficial and appreciate one another's perspective. Their strengths end up covering for each other's weaknesses in ways that ultimately make them better.

And there are spirits to be freed. So there is a mystery that needs to be unraveled. A mystery that impacts both of their worlds once it is fully revealed.

The narrative takes place in an obviously Japanese-inspired setting. Painter's world is akin to a neon-lit modern Japanese city while Yumi's world is more traditional and rural. The process of and inspiration for creating art is at the forefront of the tale.

Just go read the book. It is worth the time. There are moments of great humor as well as great sorrow. There is sympathy for those who are perceived as being least worthy of it. The ending is so well-earned.

This will be on my nomination list for the Hugo Awards in 2024

View all my reviews

Potential Hugo Nominees - 2022

 To be updated as the year progresses.

Best Related Work

THE PUNK IN CYBERPUNK: A CYBERPUNK MANIFESTO by T.R. Napper

Hugo 2021 - Nomination Pool

It's that time of year when genre readers nominate their favorite works for the annual Hugo Awards.  My nominees follow.  Updates to be made as circumstances require.  I have one or two other properties that I might nominate for the Dramatic Presentation (Long) category.

If you love science fiction/fantasy works and want to see the best of those works be acknowledged, then please participate.  You can purchase a membership at the Discon III website.  Supporting members still get a chance to vote on this year's finalists and will be eligible to nominate for the 2022 awards.  Members generally get access to a great range of fiction in the voter's packets.

As always, please don't nominate anything that you haven't personally experienced.  

Novel

The Last Campaign - Martin L. Shoemaker - 47North

Scarlet Odyssey - C.T. Rwiz Rwizi - 47North

Short Story

I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter  — by ISABEL FALL — Clarkesworld Jan. 2020
Martial Arts Master - by Alan Baxter - Twitter

Novella

The Weight of the Air, The Weight of the World by T.R. Napper - from Neon Leviathan ~23,000 words

Dramatic Presentation (Long)

Locke & Key - Netflix
Warrior Nun - Netflix
October Faction - Netflix

Dracula - Netflix

The Mandolorian - Disney+ *

Editor - Short Fiction

Adrian Collins

Editor - Long Fiction

Adrian Collins

Semiprozine

Cirsova

Grimdark Magazine

Graphic Novel/Comic

XKCD

Fancast

Sincast by CinemaSins

The Disney Story Origins Podcast

Series

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

The Empires Corps by Christopher Nuttall

* In light of Disney Studios' canceling of Gina Carano, I feel disinclined to support their products.  I am uncomfortable with the larger changes to our society over the last 20 years.  Where once tolerance for diversity was perceived as a laudable benefit to advancing the human condition, we are no longer able to appreciate a diversity of opinion.

With respect to Science Fiction/Fantasy, I would prefer to appreciate a diversity of works while largely ignoring the personal behaviors of creators.  Ms. Carano's statements might be worthy of a critical response.  They are unworthy of terminating a creative relationship.

Should The Mandolorian make it to the final round, it would surely go below "no award" on my ballot.

Review: A Little Hatred

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a solid 5-star review.

Joe Abercrombie returns to his First Law world with the next generation of characters. As usual, this is a tour de force of fantasy that manages to present several POV characters in various situations; ranging from political intrigue to the hack-and-slash of combat.

Added into the plot this time are class elements unfolding within the context of a developing technologically driving industrial movement. Lives are inexorably altered as changing technology alters the basis of power; lifting some while others find their traditional existence to no longer be viable.

All of the subplots are told through the actions of a broad range of multi-motivated characters. Joe is a master of the grimdark subgenre requirement of creating characters that are neither purely good nor purely evil. They simply have motivations that are, at times, at cross purposes. When you are enthusiastically cheering for a character on one page and lustily cursing them a few pages later, then you know that you are in the grip of a masterful author.

View all my reviews

Hugo 2020 - Nomination Pool

My personal "short list" of works to be nominated in 2020

Novel -
Mark Lawrence - Holy Sister
Damien Black - Pilgrim's Storm Brooding??
Joe Abercrombie - A Little Hatred
Martin L. Shoemaker - The Last Dance

Series -
Mark Lawrence - Book of the Ancestor
Mark Lawrence - Impossible Times
Damien Black - Broken Stone Chronicle
Dave Duncan - King's Blades

Semi-Prozine -
Cirsova

Editor Short -
P. Alexander - Cirsova
Adrian Collins - Grimdark Magazine

Fancast -
SinCast by Cinema Sins
The Disney Story Origins Podcast
The Horror Show with Brian Keene

Fan Writer -
Colleen McMahon - Wandering Through The Public Domain Series - hosted by File770

Long Format
Witcher Season 1
Carnival Row Season 1
The Mandalorian Season 1
[Per the rules, you can nominate works of shorter than 90 minutes in the short format category; i.e. single episodes of longer series.  Alternatively, you can nominate an entire season under the long format category.  Both series told larger story arcs across their respective series.  Both are worthy of consideration against more traditional movies that will be nominated in the long format category.]

Hugo Awards Nominations - 2018

Nomination season for this year's Hugo Awards has opened.  The Hugos are the annual award presented by the WSFS for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy.  Nominations will continue until March 16, 2018.  Shortly thereafter, the short list of nominees will be released on March 31, 2018, with voting in the final round continuing over the first half of the summer.  The awards will be presented at the WSFS Worldcon.  This year's Worldcon will take place in San Jose, CA.  Information on participating in the Hugo Awards is at the Worldcon website.

Should you choose to participate, please only nominate works that you have directly experienced.  Don't nominate something just because I (or someone else) recommends it.

There are several categories where I do not expect to have a nomination.  I just do not believe that I have either experienced something that is noteworthy or that I have a broad enough experience to make an informed nomination in those categories.

My list of nominations will be updated as I go through the process.

I hope to have nominations in most of the following categories:

Your nominations for Best Novel:

• All Good Things  - Emma Newman  - Diversion Books
• The Core  - Peter V. Brett  - Del Rey
• Tyrant's Throne - Sebastien de Castell - Jo Fletcher Books
• Wizard's Sun Rising - Damien Black - Amazon Digital Services LLC

Your nominations for Best Short Story:

• Empty Nest - Brian Keene - Aliens - Bug Hunt / Titan Books 
• Chance Encounter - Paul Kupperberg - Aliens - Bug Hunt / Titan Books 
• The Divine Death of Jirella Martigore - Alex Marshall - Evil is a Matter of Perspective / Grimdark Magazine

Your nominations for Best Series:

While not a requirement according to WSFS rules, I will not be nominating a series unless it has been completed.  I might vote for an incomplete series in the final round, but I do not expect to nominate an incomplete series.

• The Split World - Emma Newman - All Good Things - Diversion Books
• The Demon Cycle - Peter V. Brett - The Core - Del Rey
• Great Coats - Sebastien de Castell - Tyrant's Throne - Jo Fletcher Books

Your nominations for Best Related Work:


Your nominations for Best Graphic Story:


Your nominations for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form):

• Bright - David Ayer - Netflix
• Logan  - Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, and The Donners' Company
• Stranger Things Season 2  - Netflix

Your nominations for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form):

• The Mission - Styx (band) - Blackbird Studios

    Styx is one of my favorite bands.  This album tells the story of a mission to the planet Mars.  I think it that is worthy of consideration from both a musical and story-telling perspective.


Your nominations for Best Professional Editor (Short Form):

• Jonathan Maberry - Alien: Bug Hunt (anthology)
• Adrian Collins - Evil is a Matter of Perspective (anthology); Grim Dark Magazine

Your nominations for Best Fanzine:


Your nominations for Best Fancast:

• SinCast - by Cinema Sins - Chris Atkinson, Jeremy Scott, Barrett Share
• The Sarcastic Voyage - Ron "Algar" Watt, Matt Rowbotham, & cast
• The Grim Tidings Podcast - Philip Overby and Rob Matheny Ron "Algar" Watt, Matt Rowbotham
• The Horror Show with Brian Keene - Brian Keene, Dave Thomas. Geoff Cooper, Mary SanGiovanni, Mike Lombardo, Phoebe, Dungeonmaster 77.1
• Tea & Jeopardy - Emma & Peter Newman

I changed my ballot at the last minute to include The Grim Tidings Podcast.  As a result, The Post Atomic Horror Podcast with Ron "Algar" Watt & Matt Rowbotham got bumped off the list.  PAH has become a bit repetitive in their discussions of more recent Star Trek properties while GTP had some outstanding author interviews last year.  And there are only 5 nomination slots to be filled. The edit of this blog entry reflects that change.

Your nominations for Best Fan Writer:


Your nominations for Award for Best Young Adult Book (not a Hugo):


Your nominations for The John W. Campbell Award (not a Hugo):

• Damien Black - Devil's Night Dawning 2016/Wizard's Sun Rising 2017
• Nicholas Eames - Kings of the Wyld 2017
• JR Handley - The Legion Awakes 2016