Ran

I don't think there's any Tristifer issue at all in the book, looking at it. The Hammer of Justice is Tristifer IV, aka Tristifer the Fourth, and his unlucky son Tristifer the Last is the Fifth/V.

I'd have gone with The Shape of Water over it. I do believe I put it on my nominating ballot, though.

There are a lot of things in the book intended to be evocative, mysterious, or even confounding because that's what history can be like, especially when you're seeing it told by someone in-universe who has a mish-mash of sources and knowledge, may make assumptions about references his audience (i.e. not us) will understand, and so on. We make no apologies for it, and I doubt George will, either. It was half the fun of writing the book.

Looking at winners from 2011 on, there's a pretty simple flow chart: Is it a decent adaptation of an SF/F work by an established writer within the community? If yes, it wins. If no, Is it a comic book film with a big box office? If yes, it wins. Pre-2011 was a lot more interesting, and winners were less obvious in advance.

Thank you. Is it so strange that George would have fun with the fact that there's a zillion Durrans?

A fan, Jonathan Grace -- possibly a member of the committe for the convention? -- who remarked on stage that Hollywood really needs to start sending people out to receive these awards. BTW, full ceremony is online at https://youtu.be/Pt4UI_te7bs

It definitely is by word-count, and is marketed as a novel, not a novella.

No, doesn't talk about Durran the Third.

There is some. None of it deals specifically with sellsword companies in Westeros, though.

I think a lot of "issue SF" of the 60s and 70s are kind of the same, really. They're still great works of fiction, even if issues they spoke of may now seem trite, unnuanced, or passé.

I would guess there were, but the histories we have are about kings and rarely get into just where all their soldiers came from.

She's also an NYT Bestseller and has received very positive reviews among a broad swath of reviewers, in and outside the genre. None of these things necessarily prove she is not overrated, but if she is, it's not just the WSFS membership doing so. Alternatively, it might just be your tastes that are at issue.

I don't know that pointing out two years of a very stark gender disparity is misogyny. The person who pointed it out suggested the opposite gender bias seemed indicated by results of a decade ago, so it's not like they are claiming one is good and the other is not. Unlike Contrarius, I don't think we need much more data. There is a bias when you consider the nominations as well as the winners these last two years. Your gender won't mean crap will Win awards, but it does mean your good work is going to get a bit of extra attention within the circles who are highly motivated in voting for reasons of representation. The hypothesis that this in part has to do with the Puppies is interesting, namely that the counter-correction to their efforts is in full swing even after they themselves have been beaten away by EPH, but moreso I think it's a matter of the historical moment and zeitgeist. Social media has done a lot to sharpen organizing efforts and to increase visibility of once-marginalized authors, and current events are certainly a factor given the cultural and political climate. It will be sad if this is the future of the Hugos, a regression to the bad old days (not so long ago, for that matter) where the equipment you were born with really mattered, but I doubt it's anything more than, essentially, a fad. I suspect the numbers will even out when it stops being historic and starts feeling predictable.

Here are the results, for those wondering, and the stats including the long lists of nominees. As noted at File 770, the Campbell Award was a pretty wild ride, with the final round being needed to determine the winner. In the Series category, I see Jemisin declined being nominated -- was that something she has previously noted, or is that news?

I don't think George has revealed his 2019 plans, but the Dublin Worldcon is pretty certain, and I think fingers are crossed that he'll stick around for the Eurocon in Belfast.