Tuesday 7 February 2023

Open Discussion — What's worth considering for the ballot in 2024?

The following list will be updated over the next few months as we read, watch, and listen to Hugo-eligible works for 2024. These are not necessarily what we plan to nominate, but rather works that at least one member of the Edmonton Hugo Book Club has enjoyed and believes to be worth consideration. We appreciate any additional suggestions in the comments.

Updated on March 8, 2024 

Items marked with a “*” are ones for which there was significant disagreement within the book club. 

Novel
The Surviving Sky — Kritika H. Rao
The Blue, Beautiful World — Karen Lord
Julia — Sandra Newman
House of Open Wounds — Adrian Tchaikovsky
Moon of the Turning Leaves — Waubgeshig Rice

Novella
Emergent Properties — Aimee Ogden
To Sail Beyond The Botnet — Suzanne Palmer
And Put Away Childish Things — Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Keeper's Six — Kate Elliott
The Tinker In The Timestream —Carolyn Ives Gillman

Novelette
The Year Without Sunshine — Naomi Kritzer
I Am AI — Ai Jiang
What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon — P. Djèlí Clark 

Short Story
Jamais Vue — Tochi Onyebuchi
The Spoil Heap — Fiona Moore
Bad Doors — John Wiswell
Zero Percent — Andrew Dana Hudson
To Carry You Inside You — Tia Tashiro

Best Series
The Final Architecture — Adrian Tchaikovsky
Time Police — Jodi Taylor
Quantum Evolution / Venus Ascendant Novels — Derek Künsken
Universe of Xuya — Aliette de Bodard

Graphic Story
Black Cloak — Written by Kelly Thompson, art by Meredith McLaren
Bea Wolf — Written by Zach Weinersmith, art by Boulet
What’s The Furthest Place From Here — Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss

The Prosecution of Professor Chandler Davis — Steve Batterson
The Spice Must Flow — Ryan Britt

Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) 
The Last of Us S01E03 "Long Long Time"
Silo S01E03 "Machines"
Ms. Davis S01E05 "A Great Place to Drink to Gain Control of Your Drink"
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S02E07 "Those Old Scientists."
My Adventures with Superman S01E01 "Adventures of a Normal Man"

Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) 
Barbie — Directed by Greta Gerwig, written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach
Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves — Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 — Written and directed by James Gunn
Asteroid City — Written and directed by Wes Anderson
The Creator —  Written and directed by Gareth Edwards
Godzilla Minus One — Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki

Lodestar
Speculation — Nisi Shawl
Liberty's Daughter — Naomi Kritzer

Astounding Award

Best Editor

Fan Artist

Fan Writer
Phoebe Wagner
Paul Weimer
Alasdair Stuart
RiverFlow 河流
Bonnie McDaniel

Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog
Journey Planet
Galactic Journey


13 comments:

  1. For Short Form I'm putting this in front of as many people's faces as possible: "Fixing a Hole," the second episode of animator Matthew Gafford's Star Fox fanwork web series, "A Fox in Space." This was in the making for seven whole years before release. For my money, Gafford's way of writing space opera is entirely singular and pushes his work beyond any dismissal of it due to being fanwork.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJM1JtZ8lmQ

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    1. We would never be dismissive of fan works. And I'll watch this ASAP.

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  2. Agree with you on Surviving Sky. I have a panoply of possibilities in Novel already including WITCH KING and THE JINN-BOT OF SHANTIPORT

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  3. The Liaden Universe by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller for Best Series

    Lord of a Shattered Land by Howard Andrew Jones

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  4. Scavengers Reign, Scavengers Reign, Scavengers Reign. Not sure what episode to single out, with the level it's been at for six of its twelve episodes, the first season may very well be a Long Form contender.

    Speaking of animated sci-fi shows, Pantheon, the series based on Ken Liu's short stories that AMC+ cancelled after a single season and Amazon resurrected for a final bow, may very well deserve to be in Hugo consideration...the only issue is that there's currently no real way to watch it outside of Australia and New Zealand, as Amazon has only released the second season in those territories - possibly because the first season was a tax write-off and Amazon is literally unable to screen the second anywhere else. Which is an absolute shame, as the series finale, "Deep Time," is one of the finest episodes of anything in 2023 and deserves to be seen by any means possible.

    In the realm of movies, Poor Things from director Yorgos Lanthimos (based on Alasdair Gray's novel) is still set for a December 2023 released, armed with a Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival and ongoing heaps of praise. It looks to be one to see whenever it comes to a theater near you.

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    1. I've cancelled all my streaming services until the end of the strikes.

      Plan to watch Scavenger's Reign the moment I can (might even bend my rules a little to watch it at a friend's house.).

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    2. While you're at it, put a pin in the anime series "PLUTO" on Netflix (based on the Naoki Urasawa manga). 2023 may very well be a banner year for mature sci-fi animation (if a few of it takes some extra leg work to watch).

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    3. I'm about 2/3rds of the way through Pluto (I watch very little newer SF but can delude myself into giving a few shows a try when I work out) and I'm enjoying it so far!

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  5. Best Game or Interactive Work was ratified in Chengdu, so it looks like the category is a go starting in Glasgow. What games are worth considering for the ballot in 2024. The list on the Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom already looks pretty hefty:

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13nJN6c8oo6CSTaotXM5EYqQdEa-3b7JPEDPeuhrI2UA/edit#gid=1803303100

    Out of what's on here so far, I'd single out Alan Wake 2, Baldur's Gate 3, The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Dave the Diver, Dredge, Final Fantasy XVI, Hi-Fi Rush, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo, Pizza Tower, A Space for the Unbound, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical.

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  6. Hi! I would like to mention that my Dune history book, THE SPICE MUST FLOW (Dutton/Plume Penguin Random House, 2023), is totally eligible for Best Related Work. I would also love to personally send a copy of the book to ANYONE thinking of voting for the Hugos. My book is the only Dune nonfiction work to start from the 1950s and end up in the present. It includes new interviews with all three Pauls, Frank Herbert's widow Theresa Shackelford, and so much more! Please get in touch if you'd like a copy of the book!

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    Replies
    1. Several folks in our book club are now reading it (thank you!) and I've added it to the list.

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  7. Hi,

    I was wondering if you'd consider checking out my short story The Insignificance of Time Travel, which is available to read on my website? You’ll also find a homemade audio of the story posted there as well:

    https://jimalexanderwriting.com/?page_id=702

    The main reason behind this request is that I’m attending WorldCon 2024 in Glasgow in August. I'm trying to get the story out there with a nod to nomination for Best Short Story at the 2024 Hugo Awards. Wish me luck on that one :-) Thanks so much for your time.

    Best,
    Jim Alexander



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  8. Thanks so much for this list, and all the comments: gave me a head start on my Hugo reading, which meant I could do some nominations for a change! I really appreciate the work that went into writing this up and posting it: it's the only 'full guide' to the Hugos I could find! Brilliant work everyone.

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