So it's awards time again...

A few weeks ago, the nominees for the 2007 World Fantasy Awards were announced, while in the next 10 days, the winner for the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Novel shall be announced at the 2007 Nippon WorldCon being held August 30-September 3. Since I am uncertain as to whether or not I'll have the time to read the novellas and the novelettes (while praying that my just-ordered copies of Eifelheim and Glasshouse will arrive in the next week), I do hope to have reviews of at least three of the finalists for Best Novel, Temeraire: Her Majesty's Dragon (Naomi Novik), Rainbow's End (Vernor Vinge), and Blindsight (Peter Watts) by the end of the month.

After I've read all of the finalists, I'll weigh in with my personal ranking of them all, with perhaps a future post or three about the novellas and novelettes (provided that all are still available for free online). I figure that now that I have some disposable money again (hurray for new teaching positions that pay me over $40K/year!), it is only fair that I read the best of what's been nominated and give an informed opinion as to their merits/weaknesses, rather than just bitching from the sidelines.

I'll be doing the same with the World Fantasy Awards in September and October, leading up to the November 1-4 convention in Saratoga Springs, NY. Although I have read three of the five finalists (Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, Catherynne M. Valente's The Orphan's Tale: In the Night Garden, and Gene Wolfe's Soldier of Sidon), I already have and do plan on reading Ellen Kushner's The Privilege of the Sword and Stephen King's Lisey's Story as well as re-reading the previous three in weekly reviews that also perhaps (time permitting) will include reviews of other fields (I know there'll be a review of Margo Lanagan's Red Spikes in the next day or so here, perhaps other collections and anthologies shall be reviewed as well, time/money permitting).

And after that, I shall try to keep abreast of some of the more intriguing 2007 releases, so on the last day of the year, I can have a very comprehensive Best of 2007 post highlighting all sorts of fiction that I've read this year that is worthy of consideration (although some of this will end up being posted on my personal, non spec fic blog, Vaguely Borgesian). Looking forward to this and I hope there shall be other bloggers out there doing much the same (send me a link if you are, so I can make sure to mention your posts on occasion).