Rating the 2019 Dragon Ballot

The 2019 Dragon Award Ballot came out today, and it’s interesting to see that the nominees collectively have become more organic, even while the award instructions encourage writers to campaign (i.e., “it is perfectly acceptable for you to encourage your fans to vote for you.”)

One way to test “who has actually read this nominee?” is to look at the Goodreads ratings. Every category on the 2019 ballot except Best Fantasy Novel has at least one nominee with less than a hundred Goodreads ratings, however, those are generally books with release dates in June and July 2019. The five exceptions to that general rule are the nominees by Brad Torgersen, Jason Cordova, Chris Kennedy, David Mack, and David Guenther.

The Dragon Awards have 7 novel categories, with a total of 43 nominees. All three 2019 Hugo finalists published within the Dragon eligibility period (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019) are also up for a Dragon Award.  And Hugo finalist Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver has, by far, the highest number of Goodreads ratings of any book up for a Dragon Award.

Here is a list the 2019 Dragon Awards nominees with their date of publication and the number of Goodreads ratings in parentheses to the right:

Best Science Fiction Novel

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (pub. 3/19) (2,631)
A Star-Wheeled Sky by Brad R. Torgersen (pub 12/18) (58)
Europe at Dawn by Dave Hutchinson (pub 11/18) (249)
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers (pub. 7/18) (12,209)
Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson (pub. 10/18) (2,019)
Tiamat’s Wrath by James S.A. Corey (pub. 3/19) (14,392)

Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)

Deep Roots by Ruthanna Emrys (pub. 7/18) (520)
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett (pub 8/18) (10,237)
House of Assassins by Larry Correia (pub. 2/19) (1,382)
Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch (pub. 11/18) (9,805)
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (pub. 7/18) (42,885)
The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie (pub. 2/19) (5,433)

Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

Archenemies by Marissa Meyer (pub. 11/18) (15,480)
Armageddon Girls by Aaron Michael Ritchey (pub. 6/19) (3)
Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard (pub. 2/19) (4,249)
Imposters by Scott Westerfeld (pub. 9/18) (4,186)
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (pub. 10/18) (5,977)
The King’s Regret by Philip Ligon (pub. 6/19) (2)
The Pioneer by Bridget Tyler (pub. 3/19) (222)

Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel

A Pale Dawn by Chris Kennedy, Mark Wandrey (pub. 1/19) (153)
Order of the Centurion by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole (pub. 9/8) (425)
Marine by Joshua Dalzelle (pub. 12/18) (1,229)
Sons of the Lion by Jason Cordova (pub. 5/19) (87)
The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley (pub. 3/19) (2,023)
Uncompromising Honor by David Weber (pub. 10/18) (2,664)

Best Alternate History Novel

Black Chamber by S.M. Stirling (pub. 7/18) (403)
Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan (pub. 4/19) (5,852)
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (pub. 7/18) (8,975)
The Iron Codex by David Mack (pub. 1/19) (78)
The World Asunder by Kacey Ezell (pub. 6/19) (14)
Unholy Land by Lavie Tidhar (pub. 10/18) (461)

Best Media Tie-In Novel

Big Damn Hero by James Lovegrove, Nancy Holder (pub. 11/18) (1,455)
Darkness on the Edge of Town by Adam Christopher (pub. 5/19) (459)
Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray (pub. 4/19) (2,778)
The Replicant War by Chris Kennedy (pub. 7/18) (37)
The Way to the Stars by Una McCormack (pub. 1/19) (348)
Thrawn: Alliances by Timothy Zahn (pub. 7/18) (7,962)

Best Horror Novel

Cardinal Black by Robert McCammon (pub. 4/19) (398)
Little Darlings by Melanie Golding (pub. 4/19) (3,350)
Riddance by Shelley Jackson (pub. 10/18) (152)
We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix (pub. 11/19) (3,429)
Zombie Airman by David Guenther (pub. 7/18) (40)
100 Fathoms Below by Steven L. Kent, Nicholas Kaufmann (pub. 10/18) (193)

LEAST GOODREADS RATINGS BY CATEGORY

  • Best Science Fiction Novel: A Star-Wheeled Sky by Brad R. Torgersen (pub 12/18) (58)
  • Best Fantasy Novel: Deep Roots by Ruthanna Emrys (pub. 7/18) (520)
  • Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel: Armageddon Girls by Aaron Michael Ritchey (pub. 6/19) (3); and The King’s Regret by Philip Ligon (pub. 6/19) (2)
  • Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel : Sons of the Lion by Jason Cordova (pub. 5/19) (87)
  • Best Alternate History Novel: The World Asunder by Kacey Ezell (pub. 6/19) (14)
  • Best Media Tie-In Novel: The Replicant War by Chris Kennedy (pub. 7/18) (37)
  • Best Horror Novel: Zombie Airman by David Guenther (pub. 7/18) (40)

ENDNOTE. Publication date of 2019 Hugo nominees for Best Novel:

  • The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor) (7/18)
  • Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager) (7/18)
  • Revenant Gun, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris) (6/18)
  • Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente (Saga) (4/18)
  • Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik (Del Rey / Macmillan) (7/18)
  • Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga) (6/18)

6 thoughts on “Rating the 2019 Dragon Ballot

  1. Gonna admit the Dragon Awards aren’t really an award I care about too much, but kind of happy Deep Roots by Ruthanna Emrys got a nomination (and wow that’s definitely not a Puppy-type novel, so I’d be stunned if it was part of a campaign from that crowd lol – even if it does have the lowest goodreads reviews in that category).

  2. Pingback: The 2019 Dragon Award Finalists: Mainstream Respectability at Last? | Cora Buhlert

  3. Nice to see new Teddy Harvia artwork showing up as article toppers. Thanks!

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