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by Elliotte Rusty Harold.
Original Post: Hugo Nominations 2015
Feed Title: Mokka mit Schlag
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Feed Description: Ranting and Raving
I’m eligible to nominate for the Hugo this year, but I don’t think I’m going to nominate much. Although I read every issue of Analog and Asimov’s in 2015, various issues of Galaxy’s Edge, Apex, and other magazines, and many stories online, only two stories have stuck with me.
The first is “Toward the Back” by Jake Teen. In a publishing universe filled with grimdark epic fantasy, this story stands out as the single funniest thing I’ve read all year. It probably isn’t eligible because the Abbreviated Epics anthology it was published in is semipro, but what the hell, I’ll nominate it anyway and let the judges sort it out.
The second is “Only the End of the World Again” by Neil Gaiman, which was the lead story in Lovecraft’s Monsters. This is an almost perfect story. It’s a compelling plot, compelling characters, and funny to boot. The prose is clear and direct, absolutely unaffected, almost Hemingway-like despite the subject matter. It was originally a comic book over a decade ago, but I think this is its first publication as prose.
I’m sure there were some great novels this year, and I hope other people’s nominations will point them out to me. The odds on favorite seems to be The Martian by Andy Weir. Other possibilities include The Goblin King by Katherine Addison, Robert Jackson Bennett’s City of Stairs, Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie, Lock In by John Scalzi, and Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern reach trilogy, absolutely none of which I’ve read. However I haven’t gotten around to reading any novels published in 2014. I only just finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane from the 2013 list.
For drama long form, I wasn’t a huge fan of anything I saw this year. I suppose Captain America: The Winter Soldier wasn’t bad. Mockingjay was OK, probably better than the weak source material. As usual, drama long form is a pretty weak category overall though.
For short form, I’m having trouble thinking of anything. Doctor Who has simply fallen apart over the last few seasons, and is not worthy if even a single nomination IMHO. Orphan Black’s second season was much weaker than its first. They’re stretching the story out way too long, and it’s falling victim to the X-Files effect where the show runners keep piling up one absurdity on top of the next without a clear plot in mind. Penny Dreadful was, well, dreadful. And there’s a whole list of shows I could barely stomach more than an episode of. I think I’ll vote No Award for this.
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