So, How's your Hugo Reading Going?

[Regina]

Well, I just finished reading Learning the World. I almost put it down without finishing it as the beginning seemed to drag for me. But I gave it a second chance, and the pace improved, imo. Then, ironically, the end felt rushed as everything was suddenly resolved in a matter of pages.

Other than the pacing issue, my biggest complaint was that it took far too long for me to get a clear picture of some of the characters and settings involved. While I don't expect or desire an "info-dump" at the beginning of a story, a bit more description at times would be helpful, particularly regarding advanced technology and any aliens.

[Mr. X]

I'm still waiting for Learning The World to show up at the library. I have a hold on it, but I've heard nothing.

In the meantime, my short fiction picks:

Best novella:

1. The Little Goddess by Ian McDonald (having now read River of Gods, I can appreciate Xray's comment below, but I'll vote for this not only because it's my favorite, but also as a make-up vote for River of Gods not being a choice for best novel.)

2. Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link

3. Inside Job by Connie Willis

4. Burn by James Patrick Kelly

Best novelette: (I'm pretty much right with Stego on this one.)

1. The King of Where-I-Go by Howard Waldrop

2. The Calorie Man by Paolo Bacigalupi

3. Two Hearts by Peter S. Beagle

Best short story:

1. Singing My Sister Down by Margo Lanagan

2. The Clockwork Atom Bomb by Dominic Green

3. Tk,tk,tk by David D. Levine

[Xray the Enforcer]

Almost done with my reading. And now I have to figure out which titles I liked and where they belong in the taxonomy of the Hugos. 2005 must have been an especially shitty year (or people were just smoking a lot of crack) because the short(er) stories are just as underwhelming as the novels. The only one that left any kind of OMG impression was "Singing My Sister Down." ("The Clockwork Atom Bomb," while a bit clunky, was fun to read and the central SF plot device was pretty cool.)

First impressions (although I'll review the stories again to make sure I wasn't just in a bad mood when I read each story):

I liked Calorie Man's central idea, but Bacigalupi has written better.

Magic for Beginners, while well-crafted, reminded me of the Wonder Years -- not in a good way. The twist does not redeem the gauzy maunderings. It'll win the Mike Resnick Age's Lament award, though.

Burn had a great central premise that was totally kneecapped by a subpar delivery.

Inside Job would have made an awesome short story if she'd stopped at the plot twist. Talk about an extra dimension overstaying its welcome.

Little Goddess -- read this one too soon after River of Gods (had the "I've read this all before" feeling once we got past the girl's childhood). Need to think more on this one.

[Marcelo Rebelo Firqoralas]

Finished Accelerando yesterday and was not impressed. The writing was annoying and unfunny and the characterization, which mainly seemed to consist of assigning various sexual kinks and extreme ideologies to people, was plain bad. Still, I admired his ambivalent portrayal of the singularity and there were some really intresting ideas (mainly about economic and legal matters) even if alot of stuff felt kind of old (nanotechnology and uploaded minds etc).

So with only Learning the World and Old Man's War to go, I find to my suprise that AFFC is still number one on my list. I haven't seen anyone placing MacLeod and Scalzi as winners yet, so it seems like Martin might be it, but we'll have to see.

[Regina]

Well, my Hugo reading is done at last. Old Man's War was better than I'd expected, especially as it hadn't generated much discussion in this thread. If nothing else, I loved the fact that the main character was, as the title suggests, an old man. But that may just be a backlash against too many stories in which the main character is some combo of the following: farmboy, kitchen scullion, blacksmith apprentice, child prodigy and/or hidden heir to the kingdom.

Now that I've finished all the novels, I can say Feast is still getting my vote.

[felice]

Also whats wrong with Macleod?

Having read Engines of Light, I'd say he has great ideas, but not much idea of how to craft a story around them. To me, the trilogy seemed to consist of a series of events just happening for no particular point.

[williamjm]

Having read Engines of Light, I'd say he has great ideas, but not much idea of how to craft a story around them. To me, the trilogy seemed to consist of a series of events just happening for no particular point.

I did read an interview with Macleod where he admitted he didn't really handle the writing of a whole trilogy very well (it did feel a bit disjointed at times), and intends to stick to stand-alone books from now on.

[Marcelo Rebelo Firqoralas]

I've read Learning the World now and as I expected, it wasn't good enough to knock AFFC off the first spot. Learning the World was a quick read and I found it more entertaining than both Accelerando and Spin, but in the end it felt a bit light weight to be considered a Hugo winning novel. A fun read though.

[Regina]

Just reminding everyone to vote soon, if you haven't already!

[Relic]

I know we're on a GRRM message board and all but...do you guys really think AFfC deserves a hugo? I havent read any of the other books Xray mentioned in her opening post but if Feast was the best 2005 had to offer it musta been a thin year.

[Xray the Enforcer]

I know we're on a GRRM message board and all but...do you guys really think AFfC deserves a hugo? I havent read any of the other books Xray mentioned in her opening post but if Feast was the best 2005 had to offer it musta been a thin year.

I am of the opinion that the best books of 2005 didn't even get to the nomination stage: Princess of Roumania; The Warrior-Prophet; Vellum. They just don't have the readership required to get past the idiot masses. :cry:

[Relic]

I am of the opinion that the best books of 2005 didn't even get to the nomination stage: Princess of Roumania; The Warrior-Prophet; Vellum. They just don't have the readership required to get past the idiot masses. :cry:

Well, TWP totally pwned AFFC but it came out in 2004. I heard mixed things of Vellum. Im guessing you recommend it Xray?

[Xray the Enforcer]

IIRC, US release date for TWP was January 2005. (but you know, i could be totally wrong on that. I got River of Gods in teh wrong year, too)

Vellum -- I would only recommend it to those with a high tolerance for experimentation. It's an interesting book, and Duncan is clearly a talented writer, but it doesn't have much of a story arc or narrative...not in the traditional sense, anyway. It's basically the same story told from many points of view, refracted through alternate realities, etc... It reminded Mr. X of House of Leaves.

Maybe borrow it so you're not out the cash?

[Relic]

Maybe borrow it so you're not out the cash?

It's out in paperback now, so shouldnt be much of a problem. Stego WAS gonna lend it to me, but since i kept Thousand-fold Thought 5 months longer then i was supposed to i guess he reconsidered I'm gonna give it a shot and pray im not to dumb to get it.

[Xray the Enforcer]

There are some people who just plain hated the book (Happy Ent being one of the more vocal ones on this board) -- it's definitely going to be a love or hate, stylistically.

[Zadok]

Vellum nearly lost me towards the middle of the book. The narrative and story arc all but disappears for a fair number of pages. Or maybe I'm just dense and didn't get it, I don't know. I do think that Duncan managed to pull it all together after this point and the last 3rd or so of the novel was quite enjoyable.

I'm looking forward to Ink, and hoping that Duncan can keep a tighter focus throughout the entire novel, as the man certainly can write.

[Padraig]

I know we're on a GRRM message board and all but...do you guys really think AFfC deserves a hugo?.

I imagine a lot of people here will say yes. Presumably because they like aFfC more than you do. Even for some of those who are negative about it, its only because they compare it with one or more of the previous aSoIaF books. When I read these sort of threads, it seems to hold up a lot better compared to other published books in 2005. (I have only read 1 other published book in 2005, so I can't say myself).

Furthermore, while people may not believe aFfC is the best novel in 2005, generally speaking the better books weren't nominated at all apparently. So it may come down to voting for aFfC even though one is not incredibly fond of it but one does prefer it to the other nominees. (Never mind that GRRM has never won a Best Novel Hugo and who knows what will be nominated in future years).

[Relic]

(Never mind that GRRM has never won a Best Novel Hugo and who knows what will be nominated in future years).

Aye Pod, makes sense.

He should won for aSoS, but that's how it goes i guess.

I love GRRM, of course, but yeah didnt like AFFC much. really WANTED to like it, but it wasnt happening for me.

[MeanMrMustard]

Frustratingly, the minor catastrophe of AFFC was oh-so-predictable.

[tepawn]

I vote for Spin as best novel. I really liked the concept and idea behind it. The general criticism seems to be that there is a general lack of emotions in the characters and especially in the main character. For me this lack of emotion reflects living in the face of the near end of mankind and the felt futility of everything. I thought it was fitting and intended.

The 2nd half of the book is much weaker than the first. As soon as the unresolved questions get solved and the mysteries are replaced by fairly commonplace scifi concepts, the story suffers for me. But compared to the other choices for this year's best novel, Spin is my favorite.