The Hugo Award shortlist is out, and it has some good stuff on it. In the best novel category, I’m torn between Ancillary Mercy (that whole series has been a revelation) and The Fifth Season, while among the novellas I’ve been generally impressed with Nnedi Okorafor, who has been waking me up to a fresh perspective.
So there’s no shortage of good writing in the list, but at the same time, the Rabid Puppies have injected a lot of crap in there, too. It’s as if they can’t make up their minds: do they want to build credibility by nominating already popular works, taking credit for promoting well-written material, as Scalzi points out, or do they want to make a mockery of the whole process, since they know they’re not going to win? It’s a weird game they’re trying to play.
So they simultaneously promoted a Neil Gaiman graphic story, and a Chuck Tingle short story. Which is it going to be, guys? Are you making a play to see your point of view seriously represented, or are you just playing games with the nominations?
I think the joker strategy won out, given the large number of nominations from the publisher Castalia House, Vox Day’s little dreck mill. I wonder when they’re going to give Chuck Tingle a contract?
Bonus! I can read Space Raptor Butt Invasion for free through Kindle Unlimited, so I ordered a copy. Look what Amazon tells me are recommended now, based on that purchase: John Wright and Vox Day. Such perfect bedfellows.
AIUI, the Sads took last year’s criticism to heart and came out with a large recommended reading list this year. So good on them for that. I still don’t think much of their rhetoric, but they deserve props for doing the right thing (as opposed to the Rabids, who can just fuck all the way off).
I wish they’d stay away from Sandman: Overture, because it’s really, really good.
The reviews on Amazon gave the game away. They recommended Chuck Tingle’s parvum opus as a direct slap at “If You Were A Dinosaur, My Love.”
Because dinosaurs and buttsecks. See? Get it? See what they did there?
The Fifth Season was fabulous, and I loved Okorafor’s Binti.
Are you sure they don’t just admire Tingle’s work?
I am unfamiliar with it, but the tone, content and quality seem (entirely superficially) to be exactly the kind of thing I’d expect these tragic individuals to be drawn to.
whenever the Hugo’s get mentioned, I will always advocate voting for my current favorite author and the book she recently published. Charlie Jane Anders, author of “All the Birds in the Sky” {nota bene the acronym, AT BITS. *smile*}. This advocacy is for her nomination for a Hugo for 2017, as ATBITS was released early in 2016, so ineligible for 2016Hugo. Part of my fandom is that she was also a founder of my other favorite sfwebsite: io9.com [check it out…]
Sad Puppies are doing their “best” to ruin the Hugo’s value, but CJA deserves recognition for a wonderful attempt at blending sci-fi and magic into a single story, illustrating the conflict between them in a very subtle way. Best if SadPuppies could just be ignored out of existence.
sorry for the interruption… carry on…
I see Inverse published an interview with Chuck Tingle today, and as always it was rather interesting.
Also, he already has a new book out on Amazon, Slammed In The Butt By My Hugo Award Nomination
Beale is a glutton for punishment, isn’t he?
I am 100% positive that Beale and his minions–rabid homophobes all–did not nominate this short story because of their abiding love of poorly written man/dinosaur gay porn. Yes. I’m equally (that is, again 100%) certain that they thought this was a brilliantly satirical move, in that they regard LGBTQ-inclusive literature to be itself nothing but porn, as well as an abomination unto the Lord.
I really hope that the Amazon recommendations work the other way around as well, so that everyone who’s bought anything by John Wright or Vox Day is now being recommended everything Chuck Tingle ever wrote.
I am like 75% sure I’m going to write “If You Were a Butt My Butt” and put it on Amazon as Sachel Rwirsky or something.
There is an actual book called “Cuckservative” and is published and available for sale? I did not think any of the alt right clowns would actually say cuck or any derivations outside the internet. That is some pretty cringey shit right here.
Well, to be fair, Neil Gaiman is massively under-represented in literature these days. If those guys didn’t nominate him, who ever would? Poor, obscure, unheard of Neil Gaiman.
In case the dripping sarcasm implies otherwise, I would like to state for the record that I adore the man, and would happily dedicate my life to heralding his approach. I just don’t see much sign that he’s wanting for recognition. Which is the right and natural way of things.
The thing that really cheeses me off is that they nominated a webcomic I like, Full Frontal Nerdity. FFN is funny, if you’re into geeky stuff, but it really doesn’t have a plot beyond making fun of role playing game rules so there’s really no way that it’s actually worth a Hugo.
re 13:
I wish this site would allow the application of recommendation stars to previous comments.
I too am a “Gaimanite” so I bestow 1000 stars (virtually).
^^ actually “Gaimaniac” is more representational
Yeah, Gaiman has previously asked for one of his Hugo nominations (Anansi Boys in 2006) to be withdrawn, on the basis that he doesn’t really need them any more and he’d rather see someone else get a chance. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he does the same again. It’s not like Sandman: Overture didn’t get noticed.
As ever, the mighty Chuck Tingle isn’t slow to publish a topical story: SlammedIn The Butt By My Hugo Award Nomination
“When Tuck Bingle receives and email explaining that he’s been nominated for science fiction literature’s most prestigious award, he’s left utterly confused. On one hand, Tuck is a successful writer of gay, science fiction erotic, but on the other, this email is addressed to someone by the name of Chuck Tingle.”
With any luck, the E Pluribus Hugo protocol for counting nominations will be implemented this year (changes in the Hugo Awards rules need to be voted for in two separate years, and last year EPH won its first vote). If that happens, VD & Co. will lose the ability to stuff the Hugo nominations full of dreck, as their voting-slate tactic will be defused.