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This year’s Hugo nominees are stirring up some controversy, which is nothing new, but it is even more than usual.


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This year's Hugo nominees are stirring up some controversy, which is nothing new, but it is even more than usual. http://t.co/AQtzL6wKXn


3 Comments

  1. Fascinating read about what’s going on these days with the Hugos. A sad state of affairs.

    My first ‘huh?’ moment came years ago when the Harry Potter novels started appearing. My reaction was exactly what you said; “Don’t these belong on a World Fantasy ballot somewhere?”

    But even before that I’d figured out that favoritism rather than actual merit factored into the Hugos. It became evident as I got more familiar with the many classic novels I read over the years and then comparing those to the lists of former winners and nominees. While some books to time to blossom and being skipped over could be explained to the fact that these books just did not get a wide enough distribution at the time, other nomination lapses could not be so easily explained.

    I also remember smiling back at the 2009 Anticipation Worldcon when you boldly declared that Gaiman’s Graveyard book would win at the outset of the con. You were right of course and it was yet another nick in the credibility of the Hugos.

    But all this crap happening this year goes way beyond favoritism. Sounds like a war we’ve really already lost.

    Thanks for the link though.

  2. I`ve been somewhat disappointed the past few years at some of the nominations for the Hugo Awards. I suspect certain fans are mobilizing to hijack the nomination process so that their favourites make it to the ballot. It`s nothing new, but social media is making it easier than ever.

    The idea that the entire Wheel of Time series can somehow make it to the best novels list just boggles my mind. And when I see volume 3 of some ongoing series get a nomination, I have to roll my eyes. Does the book stand alone or do you have to read the entire series before you can vote for it?

    I`ve also always had a pet peeve about the number of fantasy books that get nominated, but they do qualify within the rules. So why then are their World Fantasy Awards?

    Are the Hugos losing their relevancy?

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