The Hugo Awards for 2015 were announced at Sasquan on the evening of 21 August. The ceremony, hosted by David Gerrold and Tananarive Due was entertaining, and the hosts managed for the most part to elegantly skirt the edges of the Puppy Elephant in the auditorium.
I was not surprised that 'No Award' was a major player. Whilst I thought the cheers from the audience were on those announcements unfortunate and posited a discordant note in an otherwise celebratory event, I'm not certain what the appropriate response might have been. Deathly Silence? Polite applause? Each might likewise have seemed 'awkward'.
I voted 'No Award' in all of the short fiction categories. This was done more in sorrow than anger. I cannot believe that the standard of works which are the capable of being loved by the Puppies can be as mediocre as those selections which were presented to Fandom. I read all of the fiction provided in the Hugo Packet. With some honourable exceptions (thank you Kary English, Gray Rinehart, Michael F Flynn and Tom Kratman for stories which were not entirely a waste of time), this was far from a rewarding experience. I could not in all good conscience, vote for an award in a category where it was very possible that more deserving works had been denied a place on the ballot by organised slate voting.
I did not vote in either of the editor awards.
I will be better prepared for 2016. I will read and rank as much short fiction as I can, using the resources and recommendations gleaned from the internet. My hope is to be able to make informed nominations in all of the fiction categories.
I was not surprised that 'No Award' was a major player. Whilst I thought the cheers from the audience were on those announcements unfortunate and posited a discordant note in an otherwise celebratory event, I'm not certain what the appropriate response might have been. Deathly Silence? Polite applause? Each might likewise have seemed 'awkward'.
I voted 'No Award' in all of the short fiction categories. This was done more in sorrow than anger. I cannot believe that the standard of works which are the capable of being loved by the Puppies can be as mediocre as those selections which were presented to Fandom. I read all of the fiction provided in the Hugo Packet. With some honourable exceptions (thank you Kary English, Gray Rinehart, Michael F Flynn and Tom Kratman for stories which were not entirely a waste of time), this was far from a rewarding experience. I could not in all good conscience, vote for an award in a category where it was very possible that more deserving works had been denied a place on the ballot by organised slate voting.
I did not vote in either of the editor awards.
I will be better prepared for 2016. I will read and rank as much short fiction as I can, using the resources and recommendations gleaned from the internet. My hope is to be able to make informed nominations in all of the fiction categories.