The 73rd World Science Fiction Convention.

In August the World Science Fiction Society will present the Hugo Awards in Sasquan, Washington. This is an award for science fiction fans by science fiction fans as the nominations and voting is open. This year is notable for the Hugo Awards due to the intense controversy surrounding the ballot. A group of science fiction writers and fans calling themselves the Sad Puppies instituted a “hacking” of the voting process by using slate voting. This sort of thing isn’t against the rules and might not have even been a big deal except that they are doing it under the claim that the Hugo Awards, and the science fiction fandom, has been corrupted by left-wing political-correctness and social justice warriors. It’s a little ridiculous and I’m not really interested in getting into my own thoughts on it right now. Instead, I want to talk about the nominees and who I predict (or rather hope) will win in four of the categories. Best Novel, Best Novelette, Best Novella, and Best Short Story.

Best Novel

• Ancillary Sword, Ann Leckie
• The Dark Between the Stars, Kevin J. Anderson
• The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison
• Skin Game, Jim Butcher
• The Three Body Problem, Cixin Liu, Ken Liu translator

My prediction...

 The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

Best Novella

• Big Boys Don’t Cry, Tom Kratman
• “Flow”, Arlan Andrews, Sr.
• One Bright Star to Guide Them, John C. Wright
• “Pale Realms of Shade”, John C. Wright
•  “The Plural of Helen of Troy”, John C. Wright

My prediction... 

 “Flow” by Arlan Andrews, Sr.

Best Novelette

• “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Earth to Alluvium”, Gray Rinehart
• “Championship B’tok”, Edward M. Lerner
• “The Day the World Turned Upside Down”, Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Lia Belt translator
•  “The Journeyman: In the Stone House”, Michael F. Flynn
•  “The Triple Sun: A Golden Age Tale”, Rajnar Vajra

My prediction...

 “The Day the World Turned Upside Down” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Best Short Story

• “On A Spiritual Plain”, Lou Antonelli
• “The Parliament of Beasts and Birds”, John C. Wright
• “A Single Samurai”, Steven Diamond
• “Totaled”, Kary English
• “Turncoat”, Steve Rzasa

My Prediction...

  “On A Spiritual Plain” by Lou Antonelli

When I was reading I made a point of not looking into anything about the authors or who they were nominated by. I wanted to enjoy the works for themselves and not be tainted by outside information. I guess I have to wait until August to see how well my predictions turn out!