Saturday, April 19, 2008

Best and Worst Covers for Hugo Winning Novels

Sometimes the covers of the Hugo winning novels is a nice piece of art and sometimes I'm just left scratching my head. For most of these books there have multiple editions so I'm just going with the images from my editions...

The Best

5. Gateway


How to do an interesting spaceship cover: using distinctive designs and present them against a background that isn't just empty space is a good start. Sure this doesn't really have anything to do with the book but it's an eyecatching design.

4. Startide Rising


This omnibus of Startide Rising and The Uplift War has a cover that features all three sentient species from Earth in an interesting way.

3. Left Hand of Darkness


This was a recent Barnes and Noble edition of the book and I like how it depicts one of the central portions of the book. The tiny figures against the start white really look great.

2. The Snow Queen

There's actually two different versions of the cover to this book that were available in short order. This is the one I like better with the unusual vertical composition that depicts most of the major characters in the book in a way that also reflects their relationships.

1. The Dispossessed

I really like the soft panorama that covers the entire story. I can't put my finger on exactly what I like about it, the use of color appeals to me and the blend of images stand out, but I like it better than any of the other covers.

The Worst

5. Stranger in a Strange Land


This is a stand in for those lazy covers where it takes a good work of art that isn't really related to the book and just puts it on the cover. Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang is similar but I chose Stranger because they went all out and selected Michaelangelo to do the cover. Good art, not a good cover.

4. Dune


This is the image from the first edition of Dune (my copy is the SF book club version) and it is ugly. The mottled red and green do nothing to attract the eye and it just makes the whole thing look like smeared fingerpaints.

3. The Forever War


This is a recent hard cover reissue of The Forever War and it is a hideous image. I can't even tell what it's supposed to be.

2. Downbelow Station


How not to do a space ship cover: have a use of perspective and lighting that rival that of medieval woodcuts. Does that right ring circle something or is it an homage to Escher? The speed lines used with the rockets just makes it worse. An ugly, terrible cover.

1. The Gods Themselves

I used to work in printing and when I saw this cover I honestly thought it was a color separation error. Plain text as a cover is bad; blurred text with weak colors is worse. This is a disaster of a book cover.

Hugo Winners of the 2000's

2000 Hugo Winners
Novel - A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
Novella - "The Winds of Marble Arch" by Connie Willis
Novelette - "10^16 to 1" by James Patrick Kelly
Short Story - "Scherzo with Tyrannosaur" by Michael Swanwick
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Dramatic Presentation - Galaxy Quest
Related Book - Science Fiction of the 20th Century by Fank M. Robinson
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - File 770
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Joe Mayhew

2001 Hugo Winners
Novel - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
Novella - "The Ultimate Earth" by Jack Williamson
Novelette - "Millennium Babies" by Krsitine Kathryn Rusch
Short Story - "Different Kinds of Darkness" by David Langford
Professional Artist - Bob Eggleton
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Dramatic Presentation - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Related Book - Greetings from Earth: The Art of Bob Eggleston by Bob Eggleston and Nigel Suckling
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - File 770
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Teddy Harvia

2002 Hugo Winners
Novel - American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Novella - "Fast Times at Fairmont High" by Vernor Vinge
Novelette - "Hell is the Absence of God" by Ted Chiant
Short Story - "The Dog Said Bow-Wow" by Michael Swanwick
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Ellen Datlow
Dramatic Presentation - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Related Book - The Art of Chesley Bonestell by Ron Miller and Frederick C. Durant III
Semiprozine - Locus
Web Site - Locus Online
Fanzine - Ansible
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Teddy Harvia

2003 Hugo Winners
Novel - Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer
Novella - Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Novelette - "Slow Life" by Michael Swanwick
Short Story - "Falling Onto Mars" by Geoffrey A. Landis
Professional Artist - Bob Eggleton
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) - Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Conversations with Dead People"
Related Book - Better to Have Loved: The Life of Judith Merril by Judith Merril and Emily Pohl-Weary
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Mimosa
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Sue Mason

2004 Hugo Winners
Novel - Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
Novella - "The Cookie Monster" by Vernor Vinge
Novelette - "Legions in Time" by Michael Swanwick
Short Story - "A Study in Emerald" by Neil Gaiman
Professional Artist - Bob Eggleton
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) - Gollum's Acceptance Speech at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards
Related Book - The Chesley Awards for Science Ficiton and Fantasy Art by John Grant, Elizabeth L. Humphrey, and Pamela D. Scoville
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Emerald City
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Frank Wu

2005 Hugo Winners
Novel - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Novella - "The Concrete Jungle" by Charles Stross
Novelette - "The Faery Handbag" by Kelly Link
Short Story - "Travels with My Cats" by Mike Resnick
Professional Artist - Jim Burns
Professional Editor - Ellen Datlow
Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) - The Incredibles
Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) - Battlestar Galactica: "33"
Related Book - The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction by Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn
Semiprozine - Ansible
Fanzine - Plotka
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Sue Mason
Web Site - SciFiction (www.scifi.com/scifiction)

2006 Hugo Winners
Novel - Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
Novella - "Inside Job" by Connie Willis
Novelette - "Two Hearts" by Peter S. Beagle
Short Story - "Tk'tk'tk" by David D. Levine
Professional Artist - Donato Giancola
Professional Editor - David G. Hartwell
Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) - Serenity
Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) - Doctor Who: "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" (two part episode; not a tie)
Related Book - Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers' Workshop by Kate Wilhelm
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Plokta
Fan Writer - David Langford
Fan Artist - Frank Wu

2007 Hugo Winners
Novel - Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge
Novella - "A Billion Eves" by Robert Reed
Novelette - "The Djinn's Wife" by Ian McDonald
Short Story - "Impossible Dreams" by Tim Pratt
Professional Artist - Donato Giancola
Editor (Long Form) - Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Editor (Short Form) - Gordon Van Gelder
Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) - Pan's Labyrinth
Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) - Doctor Who: "Girl in the Fireplace"
Related Book - James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Science-Fiction Five-Yearly
Fan Writer - David Langford
Fan Artist - Frank Wu

2008 Hugo Winners
Novel - The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Novella - "All Seated on the Ground" by Connie Willis
Novelette - "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang
Short Story - "Tideline" by Elizabeth Bear
Best Professional Artist - Stephan Martiniere
Editor (Long Form) - David Hartwell
Editor (Short Form) - Gordon Van Gelder
Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) - Stardust
Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) - Doctor Who: "Blink"
Best Related Book - Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction by Jeff Prucher
Best Semiprozine - Locus
Best Fanzine - File 770
Best Fan Writer - John Scalzi
Best Fan Artist - Brad Foster

2009 Hugo Winners
Novel - The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Novella - "The Erdmann Nexus" by Nancy Kress
Novelette - “Shoggoths in Bloom” by Elizabeth Bear
Short Story - “Exhalation” by Ted Chiang
Best Professional Artist - Donato Giancola
Editor (Long Form) - David Hartwell
Editor (Short Form) - Ellen Datlow
Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) - WALL-E
Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) - Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Best Related Book - Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008 by John Scalzi
Best Graphic Story - Girl Genius Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones by Kaja and Phil Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by Cheyenne Wright
Best Semiprozine - Weird Tales
Best Fanzine - Electric Velocipede
Best Fan Writer - Cheryl Morgan
Best Fan Artist - Frank Wu

Hugo Winners of the 1990's

1990 Hugo Winners
Novel - Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Novella - "The Mountains of Mourning" by Lois McMaster Bujold
Novelette - "Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another" by Robert Silverberg
Short Story - "Boobs" by Suzy McKee Charnas
Dramatic Presentation - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Original Artwork - The cover of Rimrunners by Don Maitz
Professional Artist - Don Maitz
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Non-Fiction Book - The World Beyond the Hill by Alexei and Cory Panshin
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - The Mad 3 Party
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Stu Shiffman

1991 Hugo Winners
Novel - The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold
Novella - "The Hemingway Hoax" by Joe Haldeman
Novelette - "The Manamouki" by Mike Resnick
Short Story - "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Dramatic Presentation - Edward Scissorhands
Non-Fiction Book - How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Lan's Lantern
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Teddy Harvia

1992 Hugo Winners
Novel - Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
Novella - "Beggars in Spain" by Nancy Kress
Novelette - "Gold" by Isaac Asimov
Short Story - "A Walk in the Sun" by Geoffrey A. Landis
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Dramatic Presentation - Terminator 2
Non-Fiction Book - The World of Charles Addams by Charles Addams
Original Artwork - The cover of The Summer Queen by Michael Whelan
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Mimosa
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Brad W. Foster

1993 Hugo Winners
Novel - Tie between Doomsday Book by Connie Willis and A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernon Vinge
Novella - "Barnacle Bill the Spacer" by Lucius Shepard
Novelette - "The Nutcracker Coup" by Janet Kagan
Short Story - "Even the Queen" by Connie Willis
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Professional Artist - Don Maitz
Original Artwork - Dinotopia by James Gurney
Dramatic Presentation - Star Trek: The Next Generation: "The Inner Light"
Non-Fiction Book - A Wealth of Fable: An Informal History of Science Fiction in the 1950s by Harry Warner, Jr.
Semiprozine - Science Fiction Chronicle
Fanzine - Mimosa
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Peggy Ranson

1994 Hugo Winners
Novel - Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Novella - "Down in the Bottomlands" by Harry Turtledove
Novelette - "Georgia on My Mind" by Charles Sheffield
Short Story - "Death on the Nile" by Connie Willis
Non-Fiction Book - The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by John Clute and Peter Nichols
Dramatic Presentation - Jurassic Park
Professional Editor - Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Professional Artist - Bob Eggleton
Original Artwork - Space Fantasy Commemorative Stamp Booklet by Stephen Hickman
Semiprozine - Science Fiction Chronicle
Fanzine - Mimosa
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Brad W. Foster

1995 Hugo Winners
Novel - Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold
Novella - "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" by Mike Resnick
Novelette - "The Martian Child" by David Gerrold
Short Story - "None So Blind" by Joe Haldeman
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Professional Artist - Jim Burns
Original Artwork - Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book by Brian Froud
Dramatic Presentation - Star Trek: The Next Generation: "All Good Things"
Non-Fiction Book - I. Asimov: A Memoir by Isaac Asimov
Semiprozine - Interzone
Fanzine - Ansible
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Teddy Harvia

1996 Hugo Winners
Novel - The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
Novella - "The Death of Captain Future" by Allen Steele
Novelette - "Think Like a Dinosaur" by James Patrick Kelly
Short Story - "The Lincoln Train" by Maureen F. McHugh
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Professional Artist - Bob Eggleton
Original Artwork - Dinotopia: The World Beneath by James Gurney
Dramatic Presentation - Babylon 5: "The Coming of Shadows"
Non-Fiction Book - Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia by John Clute
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Ansible
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - William Rotsler

1997 Hugo Winners
Novel - Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Novella - "Blood of The Dragon" by George R. R. Martin
Novelette - "Bicycle Repairman" by Bruce Sterling
Short Story - "The Soul Selects Her Own Society..." by Connie Willis
Professional Artist - Bob Eggleton
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Dramatic Presentation - Babylon 5: "Severed Dreams"
Non-Fiction Book - Time & Chance by L. Sprague de Camp
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Mimosa
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - William Rotsler

1998 Hugo Winners
Novel - Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman
Novella - "...Where Angels Fear To Tread" by Allen Steele
Novelette - "We Will Drink A Fish Together" by Bill Johnson
Short Story - "The 43 Antarean Dynasties" by Mike Resnick
Professional Artist - Bob Eggleton
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Dramatic Presentation - Contact
Non-Fiction Book - The Encyclopedia of Fantasy edited by John Clute & John Grant
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Mimosa
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Joe Mayhew

1999 Hugo Winners
Novel - To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Novella - "Oceanic" by Greg Egan
Novelette - "Taklamakan" by Bruce Sterling
Short Story - "The Very Pulse of the Machine" by Michael Swanwick
Professional Artist - Bob Eggleton
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Dramatic Presentation - The Truman Show
Related Book - The Dreams Our Stuff is Made Of: How Science Fiction Conquered the World by Thomas M. Disch
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Ansible
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Ian Gunn

Friday, April 18, 2008

Hugo Winning First Line Quiz!

Below I have the first line of every Hugo winning novel (with some leeway in trimming quotes and skipping recap prologues for some of them). How many can you identify? Answers below posted as the first comment.

Know the character?
There's a character named in each of these lines, sometimes the main character and sometimes someone else...

1. "I don't believe it, of course," said Golan Trevize, standing on the wide steps of Seldon Hall and looking out over the city as it sparkled in the sunlight.

2. Rooter was at once the most difficult and the most helpful of the pequeninos.

3. There were five of us - Carruthers and the new recruit and myself, and Mr. Spivens and the verger.

4. My name is Greta Forzane.

5. What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there.

6. "No good!" said Lamont, sharply.

7. His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god.

8. In the week before their departure to Arrakis, when all the final scurrying about had reached a nearly unbearable frenzy, an old crone came to visit the mother of the boy, Paul.

9. My name is Robinette Broadhead, in spite of which I am male.

10. Brother Francis Gerard of Utah might never have discovered the blessed documents, had it not been for the pilgrim with girded loins who appeared during that young novice's Lenten fast in the desert.

11. For a week Mr. R. Childan had been anxiously watching the mail.

12. "Ship duty!" chortled the ensign four ahead of Miles in line.

13. Once upon a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith.

14. In the nighttime heart of Beirut, in one of a row of general-address transfer booths, Louis Wu flicked into reality.

15. Mr. Dunworthy opened the door to the laboratory and his spectacles promptly steamed up.

16. The bells of St. Mark's were ringing changes up on the mountain when Bud skated over to the mod parlor to upgrade his skull gun.

17. The Hegemony Consul sat on the balcony of his ebony spaceship and played Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp Minor on an ancient but well-maintained Steinway while great, green, saurian things surged and bellowed in the swamps below.

18. Shadow had done three years in prison.

Know the book?
The first line of these books says something about the book itself which you might recognize...

19. Just ahead, on Third Street, the massive facade of San Francisco's Southern Pacific depot loomed.

20. The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.

21. The door swung shut silently behind them, cutting off the light, music, and wild celebration of the ballroom.

22. Streaker is limping like a dog on three legs.

23. The row of comconsole booths lining the passenger concourse of Escobar's largest commercial orbital transfer station had mirrored doors, divided into diagonal sections by rainbow-colored lines of lights.

24. "I've watched through his eyes, I've lisented through his ears, and I tell you he's the one."

25. Ista leaned forward between the crenellations atop the gate tower, the stone gritty between her pale hands, and watched in numb exhaustion as the final mourning party cleared the castle gate below.

26. The crown grew heavier with each passing year.

27. His wife had held him in her arms as if she could keep death away from him.

28. I always get the shakes before a drop.

29. Stock cue SOUND: "Presenting SCANALYZER, Engrelay Satelserv's unique thrice-per-day study of the big big scene, the INdepth INdependent INmediate INterface between you and your world!"

30. The villagers of Little Hangleton still called it "the Riddle House," even though it had been many years since the Riddle family had lived there.

31. The first bit of dumb luck came disguised as a public embarrassment for the European Center for Defense Against Disease.

32. Mars is free now. We're on our own. No one tells us what to do.

33. I see in Lunaya Pravda that Luna City Council has passed on first reading a bill to examine, license, inspect - and tax - public food vendors operating inside municipal pressure.

34. Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians.

35. "You are a kallikanzaros," she announced suddenly.

36. The manhunt extended across more than one hundred light-years and eight centuries.

The Challenging Ones...
These offer little to no clue. Good luck.

37. The stone door slammed.

38. It was from the air that the rawness of the land showed most: vast tracts where humanity had as yet made no difference, deserts unclaimed, stark as moons, scrag and woolwood thickets unexplored except by orbiting radar.

39. Some stories of terror and the supernormal start with a moonlit face at a diamond-paned window, or an old document in spidery handwriting, or the baying of a hound across lonely moores.

40. Sooner or later, it was bound to happen.

41. One day the sky fell.

42. Everybody falls, and we all land somewhere.

43. There was a wall. It did not look important.

44. How strange, that such an insignificant little world should come to matter so much.

45. "Tonight we're going to show you eight silent ways to kill a man."

46. The blackness was absolute.

47. If a man walks in dressed like a hick and acting as if he owned the place, he's a spaceman.

48. How to explain? How to describe? Even the omniscient viewpoint quails.

49. The little boy was frightened.

50. Explosion! Concussion! The vault doors burst open.

51. I am afraid.

52. It was not quite completely dark, thin blue moonlight threading down through the canopy of leaves.

53. The noise was ended now.

54. The stars, like all man's other ventures, were an obvious impracticality, as rash and improbable an ambition as the first venture of man onto Earth's own great oceans, or into the air, or into space.

55. I'll make my report as if I told a story, for I was taught as a child on my homeworld that Truth is a matter of the imagination.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Bottom Five Hugo Winning Novels

Top Ten Best? Who cares? It's the bottom five that's interesting!

5. Speaker for the Dead - Riding off the popularity of Ender's Game is this much worse sequel. Ender takes his abilities from the first novel straight into the realm of magic healer as he makes people better and consequences magically vanish just by showing up. Capping that the novel is dependent on one of my least favorite plot holes: exceptionally clueless professionals. A biologist performing genetic engineering on a species and not understanding its life cycle isn't just stupid, it's insanely stupid.

4. Dreamsnake - All of the same problems as Speaker for the Dead but without the saving grace of being a sequel to a better book. A protagonist who fixes emotionally unbalanced people just by showing up? Check. Effortless success at everything by that protagonist as they wallow in self-pity? Check. Group of genetic engineers who couldn't find DNA if it was spat at them? Check.

3. Green Mars/Blue Mars - My other major science fiction pet peeve is bad economics and Robinson's Mars series is built on it. An economy built on extremely scarce resources requiring highly skilled professionals to maintain even basic services, a population distributed over the face of a planet, and high technology cannot run on people just giving things away. That doesn't stop Robinson from preaching quite a bit about how much better that is than modern day people. So it's annoying to begin with but then the story is built on the most unlikable cast of characters I've ever read about and three generations that cover 250 years.

2. They'd Rather Be Right - For the first Hugo winner they selected one of the best, for the second they selected one of the worst. The gist of the story was that Ayn Rand style objectivism when merged with the Scientology would turn someone into a superman. Coming at the height of the dianetics controverse in science fiction it's not surprising that this book got the attention it did but that doesn't make it any less preachy or philosophically creepy.

1. Hominids - It's like a stew of everything I hated from the above novels with the final topper that it is also very poorly written. Not just weak prose like They'd Rather Be Right which was at the average standards of science fiction magazines at the time, but painfully bad plotting, characterization, and structure. I've read juvenile novels that are written to a higher standard than this.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Top Ten Hugo Winning Novels

I'm not one for compiling top ten lists. Inevitably when I encounter them I'm left wondering if the person who compiled it wasn't really familiar with the subject they're creating the list for between missing items, misrepresented subjects, and choices built more on renown rather than how they fit. Still I've actually read all of the Hugo Winners, my opinions went against popular decisions a full third of the time, and it would be fun so why not? So here's my selection for the ten Hugo winning novels that are must reads.

10. Neuromancer - It suffers a bit from the changes in technology since it was written and from being copied so many times but Neuromancer is one of the most influential science fiction novels of all time and features some superior prose. Neuromancer is the story of a hacker being recruited to pull of a major heist but what is really important to the story is how humanity and machines are becoming closer together.

9. Gateway - There's a large portion of science fiction that deals with humanity trying to manage strange alien technology and its well represented in the Hugos. Gateway is the best example of that and the story of people plunging into the unknown on the hope of riches rings true.

8. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Magical realism has become a major force in modern fantasy and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell throws that together with the style of an early nineteenth century British novel. It is written as a the history of the revival of magic in England through the work of two magicians who start out as master and apprentice but become rivals.

7. Ender's Game - Inevitably a popular choice for best science fiction work of all time this is one of the few times that I fall somewhat close to popular opinion. The key to making it work is that it is the story of a child being abused in order to save the world and the moral complexities involved.

6. Demolished Man - The first Hugo winner was also one of the best. How do you get away with murder in a world where the police have telepaths on their side? Bester builds a distinct view of telepathy and defines it for science fiction.

5. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Heinlein won quite a few Hugo awards for his novels and this was the best of them. This tale of a revolution on the moon contains everything that is best about Heinlein and little of his weaknesses so it is also my favorite of his books.

4. A Canticle for Leibowitz - There are three books that I consider the definitive works of post-nuclear war societies and Leibowitz heads that list. The three linked novellas give the reader a wide view of the revival of civilization.

3. The Dispossessed - One of the biggest things to break my suspension of disbelief is poorly thought out economics. It's the reason I don't like Dune, for example. The Dispossessed is one of the rare times where I found a radical set of economics that I didn't feel like it was forced into place for the purpose of the novel and at the same time wasn't an excuse for the author to condemn modern American and European society. Somehow it still fits nicely into the narrative.

2. Lord of Light - Neil Gaiman may have made a career of putting old myths in new places but Zelazny did it decades before with this book that places Hinduism, Buddhism, and even a touch of Christianity in a new setting. Lord of Light also features Zelazny at his peak before he descended into self-parody.

1. The Forever War - It's a transparent Viet Nam parallel but it never gets heavy handed. A man returns to war time and time again over a span of a thousand years whiles dealing with changes that society goes through in that time. The combat descriptions are vivid but the rest of novel is just as strong.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Hugo Winners of the 1980's

1980 Hugo Winners
Novel - The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
Novella - "Enemy Mine" by Barry B. Longyear
Novelette - "Sandkings" by George R. R. Martin
Short Story -"The Way of Cross and Dragon" by George R. R. Martin
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Dramatic Presentation - Alien
Non-Fiction Book - The Science Fiction Encyclopedia
Professional Editor - George H. Scithers
Fanzine - Locus
Fan Writer - Bob Shaw
Fan Artist - Alexis Gilliland

1981 Hugo Winners
Novel - The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
Novella - "Lost Dorsai" by Gordon R. Dickson
Novelette - "The Cloak and the Staff" by Gordon R. Dickson
Short Story - "Grotto of the Dancing Deer" by Clifford D. Simak
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Edward L. Ferman
Non-Fiction Book - Cosmos by Carl Sagan
Dramatic Presentation - The Empire Strikes Back
Fanzine - Locus
Fan Writer - Susan Wood
Fan Artist - Victoria Poyser

1982 Hugo Winners
Novel - Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh
Novella - "The Saturn Game" by Poul Anderson
Novelette - "Unicorn Variation" by Roger Zelazny
Short Story - "The Pusher" by John Varley
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Edward L. Ferman
Non-Fiction Book - Danse Macabre by Stephen King
Dramatic Presentation - Raiders of the Lost Ark
Fanzine - Locus
Fan Writer - Richard E. Geis
Fan Artist - Victoria Poyser

1983 Hugo Winners
Novel - Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov
Novella - "Souls" by Joanna Russ
Novelette - "Fire Watch" by Connie Willis
Short Story - "Melancholy Elephants" by Spider Robinson
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Edward L. Ferman
Non-Fiction Book - Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction by James E. Gunn
Dramatic Presentation - Blade Runner
Fanzine - Locus
Fan Writer - Richard E. Geis
Fan Artist - Alexis Gilliland

1984 Hugo Winners
Novel - Startide Rising by David Brin
Novella - "Cascade Point" by Timothy Zahn
Novelette - "Blood Music" by Greg Bear
Short Story - "Speech Sounds" by Octavia Butler
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Shawna McCarthy
Non-Fiction Book - Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, vol. III, by Donald Tuck
Dramatic Presentation - Return of the Jedi
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - File 770
Fan Writer - Mike Glyer
Fan Artist - Alexis Gilliland

1985 Hugo Winners
Novel - Neuromancer by William Gibson
Novella - "Press Enter g" by John Varley
Novelette - "Bloodchild" by Octavia Butler
Short Story - "The Crystal Spheres" by David Brin
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Terry Carr
Non-Fiction Book - Wonder's Child: My Life in Science Fiction by Jack Williamson
Dramatic Presentation - 2010
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - File 770
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Alexis Gilliland

1986 Hugo Winners
Novel - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Novella - "Twenty-four Views of Mount Fuji, by Hokusai" by Roger Zelazny
Novelette - "Paladin of the Lost Hour" by Harlan Ellison
Short Story - "Fermi and Frost" by Frederik Pohl
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Judy-Lynn del Rey
Non-Fiction Book - Science Made Stupid by Tom Weller
Dramatic Presentation - Back to the Future
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Lan's Lantern
Fan Writer - Mike Glyer
Fan Artist - Joan Hanke-Woods

1987 Hugo Winners
Novel - Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Novella - "Gilgamesh in the Outback" by Robert Silverberg
Novelette - "Permafrost" by Roger Zelazny
Short Story - "Tangents" by Greg Bear
Professional Artist - Jim Burns
Professional Editor - Terry Carr
Non-Fiction Book - Trillion Year Spree by Brian Aldiss with David Wingrove
Dramatic Presentation - Aliens
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Ansible
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Brad Foster

1988 Hugo Winners
Novel - The Uplift War by David Brin
Novella - "Eye for Eye" by Orson Scott Card
Novelette - "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Short Story - "Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers" by Lawrence Watt-Evans
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
Non-Fiction Book - Michael Whelan's Works of Wonder by Michael Whelan
Other Forms - Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Dramatic Presentation - The Princess Bride
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - Texas SF Inquirer
Fan Writer - Mike Glyer
Fan Artist - Brad Foster

1989 Hugo Winners
Novel - Cyteen by C. J. Cherryh
Novella - "The Last of the Winnebagos" by Connie Willis
Novelette - "Schrödinger's Kitten" by George Alec Effinger
Short Story - "Kirinyaga" by Mike Resnick
Professional Artist - Michael Whelan
Non-Fiction Book - The Motion of Light in Water by Samuel R. Delany
Dramatic Presentation - Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Semiprozine - Locus
Fanzine - File 770
Fan Writer - Dave Langford
Fan Artist - Tie between Brad Foster and Diana Gallagher Wu

Hugo Winners of the 1970's

1970 Hugo Winners
Novel - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Novella - "Ship of Shadows" by Fritz Leiber
Short Story - "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones" by Samuel R. Delany
Professional Artist - Frank Kelly Freas
Dramatic Presentation - News coverage of Apollo XI
Professional Magazine - The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Fanzine - Science Fiction Review
Fan Writer - Bob Tucker
Fan Artist - Tim Kirk

1971 Hugo Winners
Novel - Ringworld by Larry Niven
Novella - "Ill Met in Lankhmar" by Fritz Leiber
Short Story - "Slow Sculpture" by Theodore Sturgeon
Professional Artist - Leo and Diane Dillon
Professional Magazine - The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Fanzine - Locus
Fan Writer - Richard E. Geis
Fan Artist - Alicia Austin

1972 Hugo Winners
Novel - To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer
Novella - "The Queen of Air and Darkness" by Poul Anderson
Short Story - "Inconstant Moon" by Larry Niven
Professional Artist - Frank Kelly Freas
Dramatic Presentation - A Clockwork Orange
Professional Magazine - The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Amateur Magazine - Locus
Fan Writer - Harry Warner, Jr.
Fan Artist - Tim Kirk

1973 Hugo Winners
Novel - The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
Novella - "The Word for World Is Forest" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Novelette - "Goat Song" by Poul Anderson
Short Story - Tie between "Eurema's Dam" by R. A Lafferty and "The Meeting" by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth
Professional Artist - Frank Kelly Freas
Professional Editor - Ben Bova
Dramatic Presentation - Slaughterhouse-Five
Amateur Magazine - Energumen
Fan Writer - Terry Carr
Fan Artist - Tim Kirk

1974 Hugo Winners
Novel - Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Novella - "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" by James Tiptree, Jr.
Novelette - "The Deathbird" by Harlan Ellison
Short Story - "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Professional Artist - Frank Kelly Freas
Professional Editor - Ben Bova
Dramatic Presentation - Sleeper
Amateur Magazine - Tie between Algol and The Alien Critic
Fan Writer - Susan Wood
Fan Artist - Tim Kirk

1975 Hugo Winners
Novel - The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Novella - "A Song for Lya" by George R. R. Martin
Novelette - "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W"" by Harlan Ellison
Short Story - "The Hole Man" by Larry Niven
Professional Artist - Frank Kelly Freas
Dramatic Presentation - Young Frankenstein
Professional Editor - Ben Bova
Amateur Magazine - The Alien Critic
Fan Writer - Richard E. Geis
Fan Artist - Bill Rotsler

1976 Hugo Winners
Novel - The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Novella - "Home Is the Hangman" by Roger Zelazny
Novelette - "The Borderland of Sol" by Larry Niven
Short Story - "Catch That Zeppelin!" by Fritz Leiber
Professional Artist - Frank Kelly Freas
Dramatic Presentation - A Boy and His Dog
Professional Editor - Ben Bova
Fanzine - Locus
Fan Writer - Richard E. Geis
Fan Artist - Tim Kirk

1977 Hugo Winners
Novel - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
Novella - Tie between "By Any Other Name" by Spider Robinson and "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" by James Tiptree, Jr.
Novelette - "The Bicentennial Man" by Isaac Asimov
Short Story - "Tricentennial" by Joe Haldeman
Professional Artist - Rick Sternbach
Professional Editor - Ben Bova
Amateur Magazine - Science Fiction Review
Fan Writer - Tie between Susan Wood and Richard E. Geis
Fan Artist - Phil Foglio

1978 Hugo Winners
Novel - Gateway by Frederik Pohl
Novella - "Stardance" by Spider and Jeanne Robinson
Novelette - "Eyes of Amber" by Joan D. Vinge
Short Story - "Jeffty Is Five" by Harlan Ellison
Professional Artist - Rick Sternbach
Professional Editor - George H. Scithers
Dramatic Presentation - Star Wars
Amateur Magazine - Locus
Fan Writer - Richard E. Geis
Fan Artist - Phil Foglio

1979 Hugo Winner
Novel - Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre
Novella - "The Persistence of Vision" by John Varley
Novelette - "Hunter's Moon" by Poul Anderson
Short Story - "Cassandra" by C. J. Cherryh
Professional Artist - Vincent DiFate
Dramatic Presentation - Superman
Professional Editor - Ben Bova
Fanzine - Science Fiction Review
Fan Writer - Bob Shaw
Fan Artist - Bill Rotsler