Hugo Nominations: With Bits and pieces

A few quick announcements first.

One of my recently reviewed books is going to be made into a 10 episode adaptation of Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey to be aired on the SYFY channel. The series will be titled The Expanse. See the link below for all the information. This is an interesting series with a space opera flavor that combines a typical hard-nosed detective transposed onto a space station, mutating aliens, intergalactic war threats, big company politics and other juicy plot threads.

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/04/james-sa-corey-leviathan-wakes-the-expanse-syfy-adaptation

Also, Veronica Sicoe has done it again with a thought provoking blog on thirteen quantum leaps to consider for the future. The list is a goldmine for science fiction ideas and stories, starting with FTL travel. Check it out with this link:

http://www.Veronicasicoe.com

Next week I’ll talk about time travel and review Rysa Walker’s Timebound, an Amazon award winning novel on time travel. Get ready to transverse the timelines with me.

Then on to the Hugo Award Nominees. I also recently reviewed Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie and mentioned that whispers of a Hugo nomination were on the air.

I was right! (Mark it down. I’m keeping a record)

The Wheel of Time has been around for a long time, but still is rich writing that rather got overweighted in description and ran lean on the action part. Thank goodness Brandon Sanderson picked up the ball after Robert Jordan died and carried it to completion…finally. The other nominees may be good ideas for suggested reading for me. However, I notice the domination of large publishing houses and not very many Indie authors in the listing. Hmm. It helps to have a pr team behind you to throw around all that publishing weight.

I also notice there are some good best dramatic presentations (short form) I have been enjoying Game of Thrones…yes, in spite of my rant. And Orphan Black on the BBC.

Clones are my thing at the moment.

So here they are:

2014 Hugo Award Nominees

BEST NOVEL

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (Orbit)
Neptune’s Brood by Charles Stross (Ace / Orbit)
Parasite by Mira Grant (Orbit)
Warbound, Book III of the Grimnoir Chronicles by Larry Correia (Baen Books)
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (Tor Books)

BEST NOVELLA

The Butcher of Khardov by Dan Wells (Privateer Press)
“The Chaplain’s Legacy” by Brad Torgersen (Analog, Jul-Aug 2013)
“Equoid” by Charles Stross (Tor.com, 09-2013)
Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente (Subterranean Press)
“Wakulla Springs” by Andy Duncan and Ellen Klages (Tor.com, 10-2013)

BEST NOVELETTE

“Opera Vita Aeterna” by Vox Day (The Last Witchking, Marcher Lord Hinterlands)
“The Exchange Officers” by Brad Torgersen (Analog, Jan-Feb 2013)
“The Lady Astronaut of Mars” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor.com, 09-2013)
“The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling” by Ted Chiang (Subterranean Press Magazine, Fall 2013)
“The Waiting Stars” by Aliette de Bodard (The Other Half of the Sky, Candlemark & Gleam)

BEST SHORT STORY

“If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love” by Rachel Swirsky (Apex Magazine, Mar-2013)
“The Ink Readers of Doi Saket” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Tor.com, 04-2013)
“Selkie Stories Are for Losers” by Sofia Samatar (Strange Horizons, Jan-2013)
“The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere” by John Chu (Tor.com, 02-2013)

Note: 4 nominees due to a 5% minimum requirement.

BEST RELATED WORK

Queers Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the LGBTQ Fans Who Love It Edited by Sigrid Ellis & Michael Damien Thomas (Mad Norwegian Press)
Speculative Fiction 2012: The Best Online Reviews, Essays and Commentary by Justin Landon & Jared Shurin (Jurassic London)
We Have Always Fought: Challenging the Women, Cattle and Slaves Narrative by Kameron Hurley (A Dribble of Ink)
Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fictionby Jeff VanderMeer, with Jeremy Zerfoss (Abrams Image)
Writing Excuses Season 8 by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, Jordan Sanderson

BEST GRAPHIC STORY

Girl Genius Vol 13: Agatha Heterodyne & The Sleeping City written by Phil and Kaja Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
“The Girl Who Loved Doctor Who” Written by Paul Cornell, Illustrated by Jimmy Broxton (Doctor Who Special 2013, IDW)
The Meathouse Man Adapted from the story by George R.R. Martin and Illustrated by Raya Golden (Jet City Comics)
Saga Vol 2 Written by Brian K. Vaughn, Illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics )
Time by Randall Munroe (XKCD)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION (LONG FORM)

Frozen Screenplay by Jennifer Lee; Directed by Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee (Walt Disney Studios)
Gravity Written by Alfonso Cuarón & Jonás Cuarón; Directed by Alfonso Cuarón (Esperanto Filmoj; Heyday Films; Warner Bros.)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy & Michael Arndt; Directed by Francis Lawrence (Color Force; Lionsgate)
Iron Man 3 Screenplay by Drew Pearce & Shane Black; Directed by Shane Black (Marvel Studios; DMG Entertainment; Paramount Pictures)
Pacific Rim Screenplay by Travis Beacham & Guillermo del Toro; Directed by Guillermo del Toro (Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros., Disney Double Dare You)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION (SHORT FORM)

An Adventure in Space and Time Written by Mark Gatiss; Directed by Terry McDonough (BBC Television)
Doctor Who: “The Day of the Doctor” Written by Steven Moffat, Directed by Nick Hurran (BBC)
Doctor Who: “The Name of the Doctor” Written by Steven Moffat, Directed by Saul Metzstein (BBC)
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot Written & Directed by Peter Davison (BBC Television)
Game of Thrones: “The Rains of Castamere” Written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss; Directed by David Nutter (HBO Entertainment)
Orphan Black: “Variations under Domestication” Written by Will Pascoe; Directed by John Fawcett (Temple Street Productions; Space/BBC America)

Note: 6 nominees due to a tie for 5th place.

BEST EDITOR – SHORT FORM

John Joseph Adams
Neil Clarke
Ellen Datlow
Jonathan Strahan
Sheila Williams

BEST EDITOR – LONG FORM

Ginjer Buchanan
Sheila Gilbert
Liz Gorinsky
Lee Harris
Toni Weisskopf

BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST

Galen Dara
Julie Dillon
Daniel Dos Santos
John Harris
John Picacio
Fiona Staples

Note: category has 6 nominees due to a tie for 5th place.

BEST SEMIPROZINE

Apex Magazine edited by Lynne M. Thomas, Jason Sizemore and Michael Damian Thomas
Beneath Ceaseless Skies edited by Scott H. Andrews
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Lightspeed Magazine edited by John Joseph Adams, Rich Horton and Stefan Rudnicki
Strange Horizons edited by Niall Harrison, Brit Mandelo, An Owomoyela, Julia Rios, Sonya Taaffe, Abigail Nussbaum, Rebecca Cross, Anaea Lay and Shane Gavin

BEST FANZINE

The Book Smugglers edited by Ana Grilo and Thea James
A Dribble of Ink edited by Aidan Moher
Elitist Book Reviews edited by Steven Diamond
Journey Planet edited by James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, Lynda E. Rucker, Pete Young, Colin Harris and Helen J. Montgomery
Pornokitsch edited by Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin

BEST FANCAST

The Coode Street Podcast, Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
Doctor Who: Verity! Deborah Stanish, Erika Ensign, Katrina Griffiths, L.M. Myles, Lynne M. Thomas and Tansy Rayner Roberts
Galactic Suburbia Podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Presenters) and Andrew Finch (Producer)
SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester
The Skiffy and Fanty Show, Shaun Duke, Jen Zink, Julia Rios, Paul Weimer, David Annandale, Mike Underwood and Stina Leicht
Tea and Jeopardy, Emma Newman
The Writer and the Critic, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond