Hey, Nerds!

David Weigel | March 29, 2007

The Nielsen Haydens have the list of Hugo nominees, which include a nod toward Vernor Vinge's Rainbows End. There's an interview with Vinge in the May issue of Reason, invading subscribers' mailboxes as we speak. Another nomination goes to Heinlein's Children: The Juveniles by Joseph Major, of obvious interest to all of those Heinlein Libertarians prowling the intertubes.

The major awards:

Novel
Michael F. Flynn, Eifelheim (Tor)
Naomi Novik, His Majesty’s Dragon (Del Rey; also, Voyager, 1/06, as Temeraire)
Charles Stross, Glasshouse (Ace)
Vernor Vinge, Rainbows End (Tor)
Peter Watts, Blindsight (Tor)

Novella
“The Walls of the Universe” by Paul Melko (Asimov’s, April/May 2006)
“A Billion Eyes” by Robert Reed (Asimov’s, October/November 2006)
“Inclination” by William Shunn (Asimov’s, April/May 2006)
“Lord Weary’s Empire” by Michael Swanwick (Asimov’s, December 2006)
Julian: A Christmas Story by Robert Charles Wilson (PS Publishing)

Novelette
“Yellow Card Man” by Paolo Bacigalupi (Asimov’s, December 2006)
“Dawn, and Sunset, and the Colours of the Earth” by Michael F. Flynn (Asimov’s, December 2006)
“The Djinn’s Wife” by Ian McDonald (Asimov’s, July 2006)
“All the Things You Are” by Mike Resnick (Jim Baen’s Universe, October 2006)
“Pol Pot’s Beautiful Daughter” by Geoff Ryman (F&SF, October/November 2006)

Short Story
“How to Talk to Girls at Parties” by Neil Gaiman (Fragile Things, William Morrow)
“Kin” by Bruce McAllister (Asimov’s, February 2006)
“Impossible Dreams” by Timothy Pratt (Asimov’s, July 2006)
“Eight Episodes” by Robert Reed (Asimov’s, June 2006)
“The House Beyond Your Sky” by Benjamin Rosenbaum (Strange Horizons, September 2006)

Related Book
Samuel R. Delany, About Writing: Seven Essays, Four Letters, and Five Interviews (Wesleyan University Press)
Joseph T. Major, Heinlein’s Children: The Juveniles (Advent: Publishing)
Julie Phillips, James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon (St. Martin’s Press)
John Picacio, Cover Story: The Art of John Picacio (MonkeyBrain Books)
Mike Resnick & Joe Siclari, eds., Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches (ISFiC Press)

Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Children of Men. Screenplay by Alfonso Cuaron and Timothy J. Sexton. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. (Universal Pictures)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Screenplay by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. Directed by Gore Verbinski. (Disney)
The Prestige. Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan. Directed by Christopher Nolan. (Warner Brothers / Touchstone Pictures)
A Scanner Darkly. Screenplay by Richard Linklater. Directed by Richard Linklater. (Warner Independent Pictures)
V for Vendetta. Screenplay by David Lloyd. Directed by James McTeigue. (Warner Brothers)

Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Battlestar Galactica, “Downloaded.” Writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle. Directed by Jeff Woolnough. (NBC Universal/British Sky)
Doctor Who, “Army of Ghosts” and “Doomsday.” Written by Russell T. Davies. Directed by Graeme Harper. (BBC Wales/BBC1)
Doctor Who, “Girl in the Fireplace.” Written by Steven Moffat. Directed by Euros Lyn. (BBC Wales/BBC1)
Doctor Who, “School Reunion.” Written by Toby Whithouse. Directed by James Hawes. (BBC Wales/BBC1)
Stargate SG-1, “200.” Written by Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie, Carl Binder, Martin Gero, and Alan McCullough. Directed by Martin Wood. (Double Secret Productions/NBC Universal)

I thought "School Reunion" was a weak episode, but maybe the reintroduction of Sarah Jane Smith and the acting chops of Tony Head were too much for judges to resist.

Comments

|3.29.07 @ 10:05AM|#

BSG!

|3.29.07 @ 10:09AM|#

At least they got "Girl in the Fireplace". Best Doctor Who I have seen in decades. Not sure it can compete with BSG though.

|3.29.07 @ 10:10AM|#

Speaking of BSG, I've missed the last few episodes (I hadn't missed any until then--this Sunday night crap is for the birds). What the heck is going on? Is the season over? Is Starbuck dead, undead, a Cylon, a goddess, what?

I feel like Michael Douglas in Romancing the Stone--"Oh, man, the Doobies broke up?"

|3.29.07 @ 10:13AM|#

I'd imagine the presence of three DW episodes will split the vote and help BSG, yeah. Although I'm not sure why "Downloaded" was nominated and not the season two finale.

|3.29.07 @ 10:13AM|#

I like sci fi a lot. My bookshelves are packed with it. Until this season, I was a huge BSG fan.

I say this by way of lead in to my thesis:

There are two types of people on this planet - people who see anything appealing about Doctor Who and people who don't. I'm in the latter camp. I just don't get it. It isn't particularly clever. It is absurd but not absurd enough to be really funny. The acting is consistently bad. Is it something where the writing is better than I'm giving it credit for? Am I stumbling so much on the kitsch that I can't see it for the genious it really is?

|3.29.07 @ 10:15AM|#

Nothing better than misspelling genius to make a point ...

|3.29.07 @ 11:12AM|#

None of the novella and short story were from Analog, and nearly all were from Asimov's. I may have the wrong subscription.

|3.29.07 @ 11:12AM|#

What jumped out at me is that Analog was completely shut out, and that Asimov's has nearly cornered the market on nominations. I used to subscribe to Analog, but haven't read either magazine in years.

Is Asimov's really that much better? What gives?

|3.29.07 @ 11:40AM|#

Three DW episodes were nominated for 2005, and that didn't stop the World War II arc from walking away with the Hugo. This one might be closer because of the nostalgia factor of School Reunion (which I liked), but if there's justice in the world The Girl In The Fireplace still wins it.

Anyway, why didn't anybody tell me Vernor Vinge had a new book out? I know what I'm doing this weekend.

Rhywun|3.29.07 @ 12:19PM|#

There are two types of people on this planet - people who see anything appealing about Doctor Who and people who don't. I'm in the latter camp. I just don't get it.

Kind of like sports ;)

Wow, I didn't know all these Doctor Who episodes were getting nominated for Hugos. (To be honest, I didn't know Hugos were given out for television shows at all...) Anyway, "Girl in the Fireplace" was certainly one of the more clever episodes, but for some reason I liked "New Earth" more. Maybe it was the creepy cat-nurses. But whatever one's opinion, one has to agree that the current run of the show is miles above the earlier 26 seasons (and I say that as a big fan). Although I could stand for Davies to pull on the heartstrings a bit less.

As for BSG... I keep trying and trying to watch but it's really hard to get into if you don't follow every single minute. I watched a couple episodes this season and invariably wound up scratching my head.

|3.29.07 @ 2:09PM|#

I'm shocked SG-1's "200" is on there. It was a funny episode, but it was basically a gift to the fans.

|3.29.07 @ 2:16PM|#

...people who [don't] see anything appealing about Doctor Who...

Doctor Who has, or had (I haven't seen it in years) great theme music. I wish (Meddle era) Pink Floyd had done a cover of it.

|3.29.07 @ 2:26PM|#

Hrrm,
Seems like I need to turn in my Geek/Nerd badge. I haven't read, umm, anything on the list and I have only seen 4 of the mentioned movies/episodes. I feel so mundane.

|3.29.07 @ 2:36PM|#

Much as I would love Doctor Who to bag another Hugo, I don't think any of the nominated episodes are as strong as last year's "The Empty Child" two-parter. In particular, while "The Girl in the Fireplace" is a gorgous, compelling episode, it has enough plot holes and logical lapses to disqualify it in my mind.

I've always loved Doctor Who, but I think this new version of it is by far the best iteration. Most everybody I know enjoys it (even "normal" people!) except for those who are very into the "guns & angst" school of science fiction. Doctor Who's entire ethos is different - it's about an individual and his friends knocking around the universe for fun, rather than a military team out on official business. I like BSG but I think people sometimes mistake an overly solemn tone for "seriousness." Doctor Who tackles some very big issues, but with a light touch. It's worth remembering that it's intended as "family" viewing and airs at 7pm Saturdays.

By the way, BakedPenguin, Pink Floyd DID cover the Doctor Who theme tune, in a roundabout way - they throw in a snatch of it during "One of These Days" on the live album "Delicate Sound of Thunder." Keep an eye out for the new show on SciFi this summer.

|3.29.07 @ 2:50PM|#

Or, if you can get your mitts on BBC1, this Saturday.

|3.29.07 @ 5:23PM|#

Clearing up two misconceptions;

In the article "judges" are mentioned. There are no judges per se for the Hugos; the initial nominations are done by members of last year's and this year's World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), and the voting on these nominations will be done by members of this year's Worldcon. Potential nominating population of 5000+ people, roughly the same for voting most years (this year's Worldcon will be the first ever held in Japan, so I suspect attendance will be a bit below average).

As for the three Who episodes hurting each other in the voting, Hugo voting is done by Australian preferential ballot, meaning for each category you put a 1 by your favorite choice, a 2 by your next favorite, and so on. Round 1 of vote counting counts all the 1 votes, and the nominee with the lowest number of 1s is eliminated and its votes distributed to what its ballots had marked with 2s. And so on. So even if the three Who episodes are evenly divided in terms of 1s, it's likely that when one of them is eliminated, the majority of its votes will go to another Who episode. If anything, having three of five slots on the ballot almost certainly means that a Who episode will win, unless one of the other two is considered *very* strong in general.

|3.29.07 @ 5:34PM|#

Ted Barlow | March 29, 2007, 11:12am | #
What jumped out at me is that Analog was completely shut out, and that Asimov's has nearly cornered the market on nominations. I used to subscribe to Analog, but haven't read either magazine in years.

Is Asimov's really that much better? What gives?

Asimov's tend to have better stories and Analog better articles. I'm surprised that Fantasy & Science Fiction didn't get any nominations.

The Neil Gaiman story that's up for the Short Story award is hilarious.

|3.29.07 @ 6:19PM|#

Is Starbuck dead, undead, a Cylon, a goddess, what?

Hmm lets see...for like 5 min her ship was out of contact with galactica and out of sight of Apollo...then just when Apollo found her you see her ship and a second ship flying away...then BOOM you see Starbuck's ship blow up....

Gee IDK is starbuck alive or is she dead...the mind is filled with worry and uncertianty...bleh

|3.30.07 @ 9:32AM|#

Speaking of BSG, I've missed the last few episodes (I hadn't missed any until then--this Sunday night crap is for the birds). What the heck is going on? Is the season over? Is Starbuck dead, undead, a Cylon, a goddess, what?

Yeah, I miss the Friday night line-up too....gave a parent something to do on those nights.

Comcast On Demnad should have them, if you have Comcast and digital cable.

You won't be disapointed, if you liked this season, which I did. Exodus Pt 2 should have been nominated, just for sheer delight and ass-kicking. Predicatable in the end, but well handled just the same.

Anyone else think the Starbuck dies ep was like watching an ep of Lost?

And I have to turn in my badge too. I haven't read much in the past couple years and I never cared much for Vernor Vinge. Who's a good read these days? Someone less pedantic than Greg Bear and OSC please.

Hmm lets see...for like 5 min her ship was out of contact with galactica and out of sight of Apollo...then just when Apollo found her you see her ship and a second ship flying away...then BOOM you see Starbuck's ship blow up....

(Insert SF geek nasalish noise here--I can't do it justice) No, doofus, she's a Cylon. Duh! My arduous frame-by-frame review CLEARLY shows there is no other ship. Grk!

GEEK RUMBLE!

Sandy|3.30.07 @ 4:09PM|#

Bah, humbug, Jeff:

The lit-crit snobs always go for the Azimov's stuff, much of which is good, much of which is navel-gazing crap that bears only a passing resemblance to SF.

Seriously, at some point it's just magical realism. At that point, I go read Analog, because while their writers aren't as good with character and dialog, they are all science fiction and most are quite interesting.

|3.31.07 @ 3:00AM|#

If anyone would like to read my Hugo-nominated novelette, it's been posted, free of charge, by Jim Baen's Universe:

http://www.baens-universe.com/articles/All_the_Things_You_Are

-- Mike Resnick