2013 Hugo Nominees

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by dansigal, Jul 29, 2013.

  1. dansigal

    dansigal Captain Captain

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    Is anyone following the Hugo nominees for best novel in 2012?

    I'm trying to get through all of them before the winner is announced at the end of August. So far I have been slightly underwhelmed:

    Redshirts - I actually enjoyed this book a ton for most of it. Very tongue in cheek, very funny for any Star Trek fan. It was a little short though and I disliked the way it ended, which kind of left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I thought it could have been a bit more developed.

    Throne of the Crescent Moon - Solid book but didn't really blow me away. I like Arab fantasy, though I admit I don't read much of it. It's the first in a series, and while I like the world and I see the potential, it felt more like set up for a bigger story than a story in itself.

    2312 - Reading this book has been agony. It is hard hard science fiction, with often long drawn out explanations of the speculative science which I simply do not care about. To be fair, I haven't finished it yet, I've made it through 400/560 pages before I had to take a break and move on to something else. But I've found the characters and plot completely uninteresting and dull.

    Deadline - This book is the third in a zombie trilogy which I had not read. I haven't gotten to it yet, but I'm about half way through the second book. However, if Deadline is anywhere near the quality of the first two, its a runaway winner for my favorite of the lot. Fast paced plotting and story. A very interesting and well developed zombie scenario. Plus fun and interesting characters.

    Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance - Opted not to read this one because its like the 15th book in a series, and that's not a commitment I was prepared to take on, so I can't speak to its quality.
     
  2. theenglish

    theenglish Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I would be curious in hearing other peoples opinions if they have read any of these books.
     
  3. Snaploud

    Snaploud Admiral Admiral

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    I just looked up this series. Blackout (book three) is the novel that got nominated for a Hugo in 2013. Deadline is the second book in the trilogy.
     
  4. Pavonis

    Pavonis Commodore Commodore

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    I'm looking forward to 2312 but won't be getting to it for a few months. I've always enjoyed hard sci-fi, especially KSR's stuff. I've read other reviews callin it tedious and boring, but that just tells me I'll love it.
     
  5. dansigal

    dansigal Captain Captain

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    Yes, I continue to mix those two up even though I am literally reading Deadline right now. Blackout is the third book
     
  6. Kegg

    Kegg Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I've read all the Vorkosigan books besides Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, but I keep meaning to get to that.

    Although as far as books from long-running series go, I'm surprised Hydrogen Sonata didn't make the cut. It's a very solid novel and obviously the last Culture book Banks will ever write.
     
  7. Snaploud

    Snaploud Admiral Admiral

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    Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is a good book. It's certainly worthy of the series. Redshirts was fun but tended have trouble near the end. I haven't read the others yet.
     
  8. Mistral

    Mistral Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Redshirts was a disappointment and shouldn't even be up for the award. Sadly, it will probably fight Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance for the top spot just because science fiction is so over-saturated with sequels and hack novels by popular authors. Was Osama a 2012 release? Because if not, it deserved a nod.
     
  9. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    I loved 2312 from cover to cover. I'm sure it helps that I love the hard science-fiction aspect of it, but it also had a gorgeous story surrounding a fascinating and mysterious character. I loved the "globetrotting" around the solar system and the miniscule connections to Robinson's Mars trilogy (although I don't think I spot any references to Galileo's Dreams which has a couple of connections to the trilogy as well). I think it also helped that I often listened to the Blade Runner score while reading the novel which I found to be a beautiful backdrop to Robinson's little universe.
     
  10. Starbreaker

    Starbreaker Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Redshirts was a letdown after the wait. The Star Trek parody stuff is great, but it kind of meanders away from the plot several times. I've been trying to get ahold of the novel After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, but I'm not paying full price for a novella.
     
  11. Kegg

    Kegg Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I think so. But it's already won the World Fantasy Award, so cry not for Lavie Tidhar.

    Even with the presence of Crescent Moon though Hugo does seem to be weighted towards SF titles, which is fine given its history.
     
  12. dansigal

    dansigal Captain Captain

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  13. Mistral

    Mistral Vice Admiral Admiral

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  14. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, the concept itself was fun, but its execution was terrible, almost as if he didn't know what to do with it. And the ending was rather abrupt. The codas themselves were technically fine, but as a whole, they really went against the flow of the rest of the story and felt rather disjointed.
     
  15. dansigal

    dansigal Captain Captain

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    Well I finally finished 2312. The best thing I can say is that the last 150 pages were better than the first 400, but it was still my least favorite of the nominees. The book is clearly well researched and well written, and I can certainly credit KSR for imaginative world building, but the problem is that plot and character take a back seat to all of that, and at the end of the day, plot and character are the things that I care about in a book.
     
  16. dansigal

    dansigal Captain Captain

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    Winners announced over the holiday weekend. Here is the link for the full list.

    http://www.thehugoawards.org/

    I'm ok with Red Shirts taking the prize. Blackout was my favorite of the nominees this year, but Red Shirts was a great concept and for the most part a very fun read. It was probably my second favorite of the bunch. It has def motivated me to read more Scalzi. I'm also just glad 2312 didn't win. I understand why some like it, but I just hated reading that book.
     
  17. theenglish

    theenglish Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Well, it already won the Nebula anyway: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula_Award_for_Best_Novel