Members of MidAmeriCon II can now cast their votes for the 2016 Hugo Awards and 1941 Retro Hugo Awards. Online voting and mail-in ballots are each available. The deadline to vote is Midnight PST, July 31, 2016.
The administrators also announced that the Hugo Voters Packet for 2015 works will be available Monday, May 23, with the Retro packet to follow soon after. These downloads are supplied free of charge by nominees to allow voters to make an informed choice.
Discover more from File 770
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
This was a test. Pay no attention to the fan behind the curtain.
This was a test.
Did I pass?
Fortunately, I just went to my library’s website and placed holds on Seveneves and The Aeronaut’s Windlass. There are a couple of people ahead of me, but if the deadline’s at the end of July, that should give me plenty of time to read them.
(Of course, some of the categories are going to be quick and easy votes anyway, wink wink)
Snowcrash: New avatar! Looks cool.
snowcrash: You passed. WordPress failed. I was testing whether, in the case of a post that was scheduled for a later appearance, a comment on that post would be published immediately. It was.
@Bonnie
Probably a good plan. Considering the publishers, I don’t know if we’ll get more than excerpts of any of the novels. The only one I had yet to read was Aeronaut’s Windlass. I put the ebook on hold at my library the day the finalists were announced and was able to download it a couple days ago. It was one I was planning to check out at some point anyway. So far it’s entertaining at least.
And if anyone is interested, I’m hosting discussions of all the works. Since each week there are 2-3 categories to discuss, I tried to mx it up some so that there is hopefully still something interesting to discuss when there are… less than exciting categories. 😉
This upcoming week is 2016 The John W. Campbell Award, 2016 Best Related Work, and 1941 Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form). Plus last week was 2016 Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form), and anyone can add to those discussions any time.
https://hugorecommend.wordpress.com/2016-schedule/
Clicky.
Till the end of July? WHEW! 😉
The only novels I haven’t read yet are Seveneves and The Fifth Season. Just put both on hold at the library and they should be in with enough time to read. From the length, I’ll probably need the full three weeks of borrowing time to get through the Stephenson. I’ll have to make sure that I manage my other library holds so that I’m not trying to juggle that one at the same time as anything else!
I’ll be relying on the packet for the shorter works I haven’t read yet.
Relatedly, I haven’t yet read any of Bujold’s Chalion series. Can I jump straight into Penric’s Demon, or should I really read one or more of the other books in the series first, in order to fully appreciate it?
In order to fully appreciate it, I’d say it would be a good idea to read The Curse of Chalion at the very least. It will give you a clearer idea of the world she’s writing about and it stands on its own very well. I’m not sure that I would have taken much away from Penric’s Demon without a bit of background knowledge.
Thanks, Katherine Jay! The Curse of Chalion‘s actually been hanging out on my Kindle for a few months now, waiting for me to stop focusing on other books, so I’ll just nudge it towards the front of the line.
On Penric’s Demon.
I haven’t read any of the Chalion stuff and I don’t intend to. So I will judge it as a standalone novella. If it works – good. If it doesn’t then it is going to get bumped down my voting ballot.
@andyl,
Also a valid choice! The primary motivation for my question was really to increase my own reading pleasure. I’m already a fan of Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga, so I have high hopes for her Chalion series, and I didn’t want to inadvertently spoil my reading experience by reading the books out of order, if that was a concern. (And Katherine Jay confirmed she thought it would be.)
I also evaluate finalists on “Hugo worthiness”–an amorphous quality that includes how well the work stands alone among other considerations–as well as on how much I personally enjoy the works, but I’m not so committed to that goal that I’ll ignore the ideal reading order for a series that I was already interested in. 🙂 If I hadn’t already had the series on my TBR list, though, I’d probably be doing the same as you.
I got a head start on re-reading Heinlein for the Retro Hugos, as we already owned them all. And…I find myself questioning them more. Everyone is smoking, and mumblety-peg? I’m working on getting past the datedness of the stories. Some of the stories stand up better than others–I still love “Requiem”. It is definitely interesting to revisit these stories and re-read them from the adult point of view who has been reading F&SF for many years, and read early Heinlein in my teens. Very different experience now.
I actually read Penric’s Demon without having read the Chalion series. Obviously I can’t say whether I would have gotten more out of it, but it stood very well on it’s own. In fact, it was one of my nominees.
Just did my first pass on voting. I’ve read a fair amount already. Combine that with knowing what I’m doing with Castilia House and active RP supporters on the slate and I’m in good shape. Looks like the votes took – emails and ballot look correct after saving and logging back in.
I love “Curse of Chalion,” and “Paladin of Souls” may be my absolute favorite book of all time. I liked “Penric’s Demon” a lot and it was on my nominating ballot, but I honestly have no idea how it stands on its own. My enjoyment was definitely enhanced by having read “Paladin of Souls.”
andyl: I haven’t read any of the Chalion stuff and I don’t intend to. So I will judge it as a standalone novella. If it works – good. If it doesn’t then it is going to get bumped down my voting ballot.
It’s been 5 or 6 years since I read the Chalion books, which are really three standalone books set in the same universe (though 1 and 2 are slightly linked). If you’re going to read any of them for scene-setting and to enhance your appreciation for Penric’s Demon, I think it should be the second one, Paladin of Souls.
However, I think Penric’s Demon stands well on its own. I did not expect it to make my Top 5 novellas — but after reading it, I thought it stood well on its own and was quite satisfying in relation to the other 30 novellas I read from 2015, and it was on my nomination ballot.
I, too, tend to mark down series entry books a bit for Hugo judging, if they don’t stand well on their own.
I love Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Retrieval Artist and Diving Universe stories, but apart from the initial entries in the series, I regretfully don’t think they stand on their own enough to be on my Hugo ballot.
@Laura & @JJ: Good to hear “Penric’s Demon” stands well on its own, as I’m not going to (have time to) read other items first. Although, this makes me wonder: If I like it a lot and go read the other entries in the series, will I be bummed by spoilers? 😉
ETA: What I mean is, does “Penric’s Demon” majorly spoil the earlier books (“darn I wish I’d read them in order, etc.”)? Am I making sense? It’s not a big deal – just curious.
@Tasha Turner: Yay! After the issues you’ve had with the voting stuff not working, I’m happy to hear it seems to be working now.
Kendall: If I like it a lot and go read the other entries in the series, will I be bummed by spoilers?
Nope. Penric’s Demon is set in the same universe as the previous books, but they are all separate stories (though 1 and 2 are slightly linked, I think you could even read them in reverse order, and not be spoiled).
Penric’s Demon stands very well on its own. There are a couple of small bits that look like random worldbuilding tossed in that actually refer to things the novels covered in more detail, but it has everything it needs to be an excellent introduction to the world of the Five Gods.
It occurs between Hallowed Hunt and Curse of Chalion, timewise, and in a different part of the continent than either. There is a tiny spoiler for HH of the “So that’s how that situation eventually worked itself out” type.
Like Naomi upthread, Paladin of Souls may be my favorite book ever. I’ve already made one convert to the LMB army by giving someone a copy of PD; I’m awaiting the reaction of another.
@JJ & @Rail: Excellent, thanks! ::bows::
Has anyone else gotten very far into Aeronaut’s Windlass yet? I’ve bounced off a couple of things in the first 220 pages and am wondering if they’re characterization or authorial ignorance.
Jr unir na KB ba na nvefuvc jub qbrfa’g xabj gur pncnovyvgvrf bs gur fuvc. V erernq gung frpgvba frireny gvzrf naq fgvyy pna’g svther bhg jung V’z fhccbfrq gb pbapyhqr sebz guvf. Vf gur pncgnva gbb cnenabvq gb yrg gur KB xabj qrgnvyf bs gur fuvc, unf gur KB bayl orra n cneg bs gur perj sbe n pbhcyr bs qnlf, vf gur KB gbb ynml gb trg hc gb fcrrq ba gur qrgnvyf, vf guvf fvtanyyvat gung na KB’f wbo vf irel qvssrerag va guvf jbeyq, be qbrf gur nhgube fvzcyl abg xabj gung na KB vf fhccbfrq gb xabj fhpu guvatf nf jryy nf orvat noyr gb fgrc va ba nal wbo ba gur fuvc?
Jr unir n punenpgre zhfvat gung fbzrbar jub pna qrqhpr yvxryl gnetrg bs n envq juvyr va gur zvqfg bs fnvq fhecevfr nggnpx zhfg or gur gnpgvpny rdhny bs n yrtraqnel nqzveny. V pna’g qrpvqr vs guvf vf vagragvbany gb fvtany gur punenpgre’f varkcrevrapr be whfg n zvfgnxr.
And there’s the odd digression on qrzbpenpl nf evghnyvmrq pbzong.
There are some positives so far, including n jbaqreshyyl znq jvmneq, n qryvtugshyyl frafvoyr zbanepu, naq uhzna-png pbairefngvbaf.
I loved Penric’s Demon and nominated it, having read none of the rest of the 5-god series. I’ve read them now, though! I liked all of them, though The Hallowed Hunt was my least favorite. The mentioned tiny spoiler didn’t get remembered by the time I got to HH. I think it’s fine to read PD with or without reading the rest first.
It was a nice Easter Egg for something that had to be left unresolved at the end of HH.
Which is to say, reread PD after HH. *g*