The winners of the 2016 Sidewise Awards for Alternate History have been announced.
Short Form
(Tie)
- Daniel Bensen, “Treasure Fleet,” Tales from Alternate Earths, Inkling Press
- Adam Rovner, “What If the Jewish State Had Been Established in East Africa,” What Ifs of Jewish History
Long Form
- Ben Winters, Underground Airlines, Mulholland
This year’s award judges were Stephen Baxter, Karen Hellekson, Matt Mitrovich, Jim Rittenhouse, Kurt Sidaway, and Steven H Silver.
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I suppose I should bump Underground Airlines up the TBR queue.
Oh, glad to hear that Underground Airlines won. I thought it was pretty terrific. Personally, I enjoyed it more than Underground Railroad (I know, I’m in the minority on that one!)
@Contrarius: I’m not sure I’d say “enjoy” over either, but I found Airlines more plausible. I don’t know whether Railroad intended plausibility in all facets, or deliberately ignored the tech in order to be true to the social behavior.
I found Underground Airlines both plausible and heart-wrenchingly honest in its portrayal of racism (of the sort which is still hugely prevalent in the U.S.). I was just disappointed in the low speculative content apart from the alternate history part — but that’s just down to my preference for more science fictional content. The book itself is well-written — though (and it’s been some months since I read it) I remember being a bit let down by the ending, which is a bit of a deus ex machina.
I haven’t read Underground Railroad yet, so I can’t offer a perspective on that.