Everyone makes Hugo recommendations at this time of year and that’s rarely newsworthy. But after my January exchange with Larry Correia about his campaign to get his novel nominated I should report he has now extended it to a slate of endorsements.
Larry would hate to see fans who’ve decided to help “combat puppy sadness” — by joining Loncon 3 and nominating him for a Hugo — waste the opportunity by leaving the rest of their ballots blank.
Correia, in addition to his own novel, is recommending fiction by Sarah Hoyt, Dan Wells, Vox Day and Brad Torgerson. In the two Best Editor categories he endorses Toni Weisskopf and Bryan Thomas Schmidt. His only recommendation in the fan categories is for Best Fanzine, Steve Diamond’s Elitist Book Reviews.
How well have Correia’s endorsements fared in the past? A couple of his 2012 picks made the final ballot but not his own work. In 2013 the puppies were really sad because almost everybody he pushed (including Elitist Book Reviews) made the ballot – but not his own novel which, again, had been the whole point of the exercise.
That would bring a tear even to this puppy’s eye — if I didn’t altogether loathe the idea of campaigning for Hugos.
Correia styles his appeal as a populist uprising, so I could have pleased everyone involved if I’d headlined this post “Barbarians at the Gates!” But everyone would think I meant it. Hopefully Correia read the works he’s picked and fans will, too, before they write them down. So long as you’ve read the work you’re nominating and think it’s one of the best of the year – well, that’s doing it right. The trouble with most campaigns, Correia’s included, is the way they neglect to encourage some of these steps.
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Vox Day was nominated for political reasons, not for any literary quality. Just so you know.
What next? Paid lobbeyists harrassng the voters outside the Hugo Ceremonies? No … I guess that would be too late. Otherwise I’m sure there’d be some opportunist doing it.
Correia is spoofing the politicization of the Hugos in his brazen campaign. It is a send-up of the scalzification of the always controversial but once truly proud award. His nominations seem worthy of those I have read. Opera Vita Aeterna is undoubtedly one of the best of the year. Simply beautiful.
Did you only read one book this year?
No. In the fantasy genre, I have read about 40-50 eligible shorts (including novellas) from 2013.
Luscinia, you obviously haven’t read the story.
However long his list of negative character traits, Vox Day (AKA Theodore Beale) is a very good author who tells excellent stories. This is one of his best.
It’s a dialogue between an elf and a monk, the two worst things in the universe.
Actually Larry recommended a bunch of Authors that he liked even some moderates that he felt wrote a really some good literature.
Watching the liberals freak has been interesting. One woman stated she refused to vote for a single mother who was Jewish that was nominated for a Hugo, because she was recommended by a Hispanic/Portuguese man.