Best Novel
The only one of the novels I've read is the Corey but in the set of Hugo nominated books I read, it was clearly the best. There's not a hope in hell it will win (although fun book, go read it).
The only book I actively don't want to see win is the Martin because I'm hoping to see in my lifetime the death of the book-fragment of writing and at this point I don't actually think the series is going anywhere.
This could be Jo's year. I've only heard good things about her book and it seems to be the sort of inward facing material voters apparently like, given the makeup of the nominees.
Best Novella
If I read any of these, I think forgot them.
Best Novelette
Ditto.
Best Short Story
The only one of these I read and remember reading is the Yu, which struck me and I mean this in a positive sense, more as Prometheus Award fodder than Hugo fodder.
Presumably the Resnick is as horrible as his previous nominated stories. It better not win.
Best Related Work
The only one of these I looked at was the encyclopedia and unlike the previous editions, I don't find myself going back to it. A magnificant work in its day but I think its been superceded.
No opinion overall.
Best Graphic Story
I have not read any of them.
Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)
Saw the superhero one, the GoT and the Harry Potter. Potter's the second half of a story and I do not want to see the story-chunk model proved more viable than it already is so it's out. Game of Thrones also part of the story-chunk model and while I understand the limitations under which Martin works, way too rapey for me to want to see it get an award. Captain America it is: it did what it set out to do and it's not the makers fault they're facilitating a Joss Whedon film as a sequel.
Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)
As much as I enjoyed watching last year's Drink Tank's Hugo Acceptance Speech, giving it an award is way, way too incestious. Doctor Who obviously crap, so although I have not seen it clear either Source Code or No Award.
Best Semiprozine
No opinion
Best Fanzine
No opinion.
Best Fancast
No opinion.
Best Professional Editor - Long Form
I don't have enough information to decide.
Best Professional Editor - Short Form
In terms of number of award-winning stories bought, the front runner is clearly Sheila Williams.
Best Professional Artist
No opinion.
Best Fan Artist
Not Taral Wayne until such time as he never published a photo of Fred Pohl with a bullet hole in his forehead for the crime of having won despite Warne's preferences and then blamed Mike Glyer for not stopping Wayen from published a photo of Fred Pohl with a bullet hole in his forehead for the crime of having won despite Warne's preferences. Also, as I recall his objections to Pohl, a pro like Wayne shouldn't even be down in this section of the awards.
Best Fan Writer
I would just like to say even I was shocked at how quickly my sense of entitlement set in and I am me so am pretty familiar with how I think.
Anyway, gut feeling is leaning towards Hines although any of these people would be worthy winners.
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
E. Lily Yu, hands down.
Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are
2012-04-08 05:23 pm (UTC)
Most of the reviews have focused (almost exclusively) on the inward-looking aspects of the novel, which obscures the fact that apart from being about being an SF fan, it's also a brilliant multilayered fantasy novel about what happens after you defeat the Big Bad - sort of a "scouring of the Shire" novel. I read a lot of reviews of it while I was waiting for it to come out in paperback, and I cannot remember the last time I was given such a distorted perception of the nature of a book by reading reviews.
Which is a long-winded way of saying that it's not just, or even mostly, a novel about growing up as a fan of SF, although you'd never know that from the reviews.
2012-04-08 05:53 pm (UTC)
Or it's a fictional (non F/SF) novel about a traumatised, abused girl who suffers from psychotic delusions.
As you say, multi-layered.
2012-04-08 05:24 pm (UTC)
2012-04-08 05:36 pm (UTC)
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2012-04-08 05:31 pm (UTC)
2012-04-08 07:29 pm (UTC)
(Anonymous)
2012-04-08 10:42 pm (UTC)
William Hyde
2012-04-08 05:27 pm (UTC)
2012-04-08 06:14 pm (UTC)
2012-04-08 05:33 pm (UTC)
2012-04-08 05:49 pm (UTC)
Of the rest, I've seen only the Potter and the three Who episodes. I really liked The Doctor's Wife, and I'm about to head to a bookstore to get Among Others, if they have it, because your comment and glaurung_quena's comment makes it sound really good.
Is "book fragment" writing a reference to how some series go on and on with none of the books being able to stand on their own?
Edited at 2012-04-08 05:51 pm (UTC)
2012-04-08 05:58 pm (UTC)
2012-04-08 05:50 pm (UTC)
Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form): I fully expect GoT to win. It was very good -- I was never able to finish reading the first book, and I found the series quite engaging. Hugo (never seen it personally) sounds like it was quite good, and the name alone makes me think a lot of people may select it as 2nd or 3rd choice as a joke. Source Code was shockingly good, despite the horrible title; better than "the superhero one," I think.
Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form): That episode of Community was far from its best (I think the paint-ball war two-part episode from the previous season was). My prediction is that the Gaiman episode will win. Because it's Gaiman.
2012-04-08 05:55 pm (UTC)
Things, I am sad to say, get worse. The space captain in particular has a very special talent for sharing exactly the wrong information at the worst possible time.
Does it help if I say the moral turns out to be "being a sociopath who uses other people like spare machinery parts is wrong, even if you're doing in pursuit of a goal many people find laudable"?
2012-04-08 06:14 pm (UTC)
(Yes, the paintball two-parter was better - but it also didn't qualify for a Hugo. Remedial Chaos Theory was a sci-fi episode.)
I agree with the "Gaiman because Gaiman" prediction, but that doesn't mean it actually deserves to win.
2012-04-08 06:19 pm (UTC)
Hugo was beautifully shot, but cutesy and nostalgic and saccharine. I would not have finished watching it if we hadn't been with company.
2012-04-08 06:17 pm (UTC)
It turned out to be a really successful experiment!
2012-04-08 06:17 pm (UTC)
2012-04-08 06:25 pm (UTC)
2012-04-08 06:39 pm (UTC)
2012-04-08 06:45 pm (UTC)
Enjoy!
I am cross that you aren't in there.
What did I do in 2011 that was any more Hugo-worthy than whatever I did in 2009, another year in which I was not nominated?
2012-04-08 09:31 pm (UTC)
On the other hand, I'd enjoy seeing James nominated for Best Cat Related Blog or Most Unlikely Survivable Disaster or whatever...
2012-04-09 07:05 pm (UTC)
Superseded by?
2012-04-10 12:04 pm (UTC)