Brief thoughts on the 2014 Locus Awards finalists

Locus Magazine has just announced the finalists in several categories for their annual Locus Awards.  The bolded titles are ones that I've read and the ones in italics are ones that I own but haven't yet finished reading.  Brief commentaries on the shortlists at the end of each category.

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

• MaddAddam, Margaret Atwood (McClelland & Stewart; Bloomsbury; Talese)
• Abaddon’s Gate, James S.A. Corey (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• The Best of All Possible Worlds, Karen Lord (Del Rey; Jo Fletcher UK)
• Shaman, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• Neptune’s Brood, Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)

I've only read the Lord, which I found to be mediocre, and my previous experiences with "Corey" and Stross have soured me on ever reading anything of theirs, so while I might read the Atwood and Robinson (both authors' previous works I've enjoyed in the past), this does not strike me as a shortlist that would interest me.
 
FANTASY NOVEL

• The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman (Morrow; Headline Review)
• NOS4A2, Joe Hill (Morrow; Gollancz as NOS4R2)
• River of Stars, Guy Gavriel Kay (Roc; Viking Canada; HarperCollins UK)
• Doctor Sleep, Stephen King (Scribner; Hodder & Stoughton)
• The Republic of Thieves, Scott Lynch (Del Rey; Gollancz)

  I liked, but did not love, the Gaiman novel.  I eventually will get around to buying/reading the Lynch.  Doubtful for the Kay, as I did not like his previous quasi-China novel, and I'm uncertain if I'll get around to read the father and son stories.  Slightly better than the Science Fiction shortlist, but not by much.

YOUNG ADULT BOOK

• Zombie Baseball Beatdown, Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown)
• The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Holly Black (Little, Brown; Indigo)
• Homeland, Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; Titan)
• The Summer Prince, Alaya Dawn Johnson (Levine)
• The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, Catherynne M. Valente (Feiwel and Friends)

  The Johnson was longlist last year for the National Book Awards and while I had some problems with its setting and characterizations, it was a decent enough YA novel.  The Valente I'll buy in the near future.  The Doctorow I have no interest in reading.  Might get the Black sometime.  Doubtful for the Bacigalupi, as zombies are beyond clichéd for me now.  Mixed bag here.

FIRST NOVEL

• The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic, Emily Croy Barker (Dorman)
• The Golden City, J. Kathleen Cheney (Roc)
• Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• A Stranger in Olondria, Sofia Samatar (Small Beer)
• The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker (Harper)

  The Wecker was one of my Top 25 2013 Releases selection, so I am very pleased to see it make this shortlist.  The Samatar was also quite good.  I seem to be in the minority in finding the Leckie to be a mediocre story dressed with nice baubles.  Uncertain if I'll read the other two finalists.  Probably the best of the three "adult" novel-length shortlists, though.

NOVELLA

• “Wakulla Springs”, Andy Duncan & Ellen Klages (Tor.com 10/2/13)
• “Black Helicopters”, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Subterranean)
• “The Princess and the Queen”, George R.R. Martin (Dangerous Women)
• “Precious Mental”, Robert Reed (Asimov’s 6/13)
• “Six-Gun Snow White”, Catherynne M. Valente (Subterranean)

  Haven't read any yet, so no opinion other than at least three of the finalists have produced similar-length stories that I enjoyed in the past.

NOVELETTE

• “The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling”, Ted Chiang (Subterranean Fall ’13)
• “The Waiting Stars”, Aliette de Bodard (The Other Half of the Sky)
• “A Terror”, Jeffrey Ford (Tor.com 7/24/13)
• “The Sleeper and the Spindle”, Neil Gaiman (Rags and Bones)
• “The Prayer of Ninety Cats”, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Subterranean Spring ’13)

  Again, haven't read any of these stories, but each of these authors has written stories that I loved in the past.

SHORT STORY

• “Some Desperado”, Joe Abercrombie (Dangerous Women)
• “The Science of Herself”, Karen Joy Fowler (The Science of Herself)
• “The Road of Needles”, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales)
• “A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel”, Ken Liu (F&SF 1-2/13)
• “The Dead Sea-Bottom Scrolls”, Howard Waldrop (Old Mars)

  See what I said above, minus the Abercrombie, which is a taste I still haven't quite acquired.

ANTHOLOGY

• Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, eds. (Tor)
• The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirtieth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin’s Griffin; Robinson as The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 26)
• Unnatural Creatures, Neil Gaiman & Maria Dahvana Headley, eds. (Harper; Bloomsbury)
• Old Mars, George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois, eds. (Bantam)
• The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Seven, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Night Shade)

Seems like a retread shortlist, to be honest.  It'd be nice if more original fiction anthologies were nominated each year.
 
COLLECTION

• The Best of Joe Haldeman, Joe Haldeman (Subterranean)
• The Ape’s Wife and Other Stories, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Subterranean)
• Kabu Kabu, Nnedi Okorafor (Prime)
• The Bread We Eat in Dreams, Catherynne M. Valente (Subterranean)
• The Best of Connie Willis, Connie Willis (Del Rey)

  The Kiernan, Okorafor, and Valente interest me the most out of this shortlist.

MAGAZINE

• Asimov’s
• Clarkesworld
• F&SF
• Subterranean
• Tor.com

  I probably should read more Tor.com and Clarkesworld stories.  Asimov's and F&SF do not interest me much.  Not familiar with Subterranean's output.

PUBLISHER

• Angry Robot
• Orbit
• Small Beer
• Subterranean
• Tor Books

  If I bother to vote, it'd probably be for Small Beer, as I seem to read/enjoy a higher percentage of their recent releases.

EDITOR

• John Joseph Adams
• Ellen Datlow
• Gardner Dozois
• Jonathan Strahan
• Ann & Jeff VanderMeer

  Some very good people on this list.

ARTIST

• Bob Eggleton
• John Picacio
• Shaun Tan
• Charles Vess
• Michael Whelan

  Same as above, although I am most familiar with Shaun Tan's work as an illustrated novelist.

NON-FICTION

• Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings, Stefan Ekman (Wesleyan)
• Strange Matings: Science Fiction, Feminism, African American Voices, and Octavia E. Butler, Rebecca J. Holden & Nisi Shawl, eds. (Aqueduct)
• The Man From Mars: Ray Palmer’s Amazing Pulp Journey, Fred Nadis (Tarcher)
• Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, Jeff VanderMeer (Abrams Image)
• Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture, Ytasha L. Womack (Lawrence Hill)

  I'm still slowly reading Wonderbook, but it's very good.  Unlikely to read the others.

ART BOOK

• Hannes Bok, Hannes Bok: A Life in Illustration, Joseph Wrzos, ed. (Centipede)
• Margaret Brundage, The Alluring Art of Margaret Brundage, Stephen D. Korshak & J. David Spurlock, eds. (Vanguard)
• Spectrum 20: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Cathy Fenner & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Underwood)
• Maurice Sendak, Maurice Sendak: A Celebration of the Artist and His Work, Justin G. Schiller, Dennis M.V. David & Leonard S. Marcus, eds. (Abrams)
• Shaun Tan, Rules of Summer (Hachette Australia; Hodder Children’s; Levine ’14)

I would most like to read Spectrum 20 and the Tan out of this shortlist.

As for the lists as a whole, they seem to be more middle-of-the-road, containing "safer" choices, but ones that will not as easily raise the ire of those for "political" reasons. 

2009 Locus Award winners announced

Taken from the Locus Online site, with commentary to follow:

Science Fiction Novel: Anathem, Neal Stephenson (Atlantic UK, Morrow)

Solid, unsurprising choice. I enjoyed reading this back in January, although it wasn't Stephenson's strongest work, in my opinion.

Fantasy Novel: Lavinia, Ursula K. Le Guin (Harcourt)

One of my favorite 2008 reads and a novel that I gave up trying to write a review of, due to how many layers of connection and interpretation there are between this and Vergil's epic poem.

First Novel: Singularity's Ring, Paul Melko (Tor)

Have this book, but for some reason, never got around to reading it.

Young-Adult Book: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins, Bloomsbury)

Enjoyed it when I read it earlier this year, but it wasn't as good as several other YA novels from 2008 that I've read so far.

Novella: "Pretty Monsters", Kelly Link (Pretty Monsters)

Fitting win. Enjoy almost all of Link's writings.

Novelette: "Pump Six", Paolo Bacigalupi (Pump Six and Other Stories)

Not surprised it won, as it was a strong story.

Short Story: "Exhalation", Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)

See above. It's Chiang. Anyone surprised?

Anthology: The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin's)

Haven't read.

Collection: Pump Six and Other Stories, Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books)

Good, strong collection. Trying to think of any that would be a strong alternate, but failing at the moment.

Non-Fiction/Art Book: P. Craig Russell, Coraline: The Graphic Novel, Neil Gaiman, adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell (HarperCollins)

Haven't read yet.

Editor: Ellen Datlow

Good.

Artist: Michael Whelan

Also good.

Magazine: F&SF

Good, when I read print mags, that is...

Publisher: Tor

And in the David Langford territory for wins...

2009 Locus Award Finalists

It seems April is the awards season, as this time, the Locus Award finalists are named. Pretty good selection here, as I've read a good percentage of books and stories in these categories. Winners will be announced the weekend of June 26-27. Books/stories that I've read are bolded. Books I own but haven't read are italicized.

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

* Matter, Iain M. Banks (Orbit UK)
* City at the End of Time, Greg Bear (Gollancz, Del Rey)
* Marsbound, Joe Haldeman (Ace)
* Anathem, Neal Stephenson (Atlantic UK, Morrow)
* Saturn's Children, Charles Stross (Orbit, Ace)

FANTASY NOVEL

* The Shadow Year, Jeffrey Ford (Morrow)
* Lavinia, Ursula K. Le Guin (Harcourt)
* The Bell at Sealey Head, Patricia A. McKillip (Ace)
* The Dragons of Babel, Michael Swanwick (Tor)
* An Evil Guest, Gene Wolfe (Tor)

FIRST NOVEL

* Thunderer, Felix Gilman (Bantam Spectra)
* Black Ships, Jo Graham (Orbit US)
* Pandemonium, Daryl Gregory (Ballantine Del Rey)
* The Gone-Away World, Nick Harkaway (William Heinemann, Knopf)
* Singularity's Ring, Paul Melko (Tor)

YOUNG-ADULT NOVEL

* Little Brother, Cory Doctorow (Tor)
* The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins, Bloomsbury)
* Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan (Knopf)
* Nation, Terry Pratchett (Doubleday UK, HarperCollins)
* Zoe's Tale, John Scalzi (Tor)

NOVELLA

* "The Erdmann Nexus", Nancy Kress (Asimov’s 10-11/08)
* "Pretty Monsters", Kelly Link (Pretty Monsters)
* "The Tear", Ian McDonald (Galactic Empires)
* Once Upon a Time in the North, Philip Pullman (Knopf)
* "True Names", Benjamin Rosenbaum & Cory Doctorow (Fast Forward 2)

NOVELETTE

* "Pump Six", Paolo Bacigalupi (Pump Six and Other Stories)
* "The Ice War", Stephen Baxter (Asimov’s 9/08)
* "Shoggoths in Bloom"Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s 3/08)
* "The Things that Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away", Cory Doctorow (Tor.com 8/08)
* "Pride and Prometheus", John Kessel (F&SF 1/08)

SHORT STORY

* "King Pelles the Sure", Peter S. Beagle (Strange Roads)
* "Boojum", Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette (Fast Ships, Black Sails)
* "Exhalation", Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
* "The Kindness of Strangers", Nancy Kress (Fast Forward 2)
* "After the Coup", John Scalzi (Tor.com 7/08)

MAGAZINE

* Analog
* Asimov's
* F&SF
* Realms of Fantasy
* Subterranean

PUBLISHER

* Ace
* Baen
* Night Shade Books
* Subterranean Press
* Tor

ANTHOLOGY

* The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: 21st Annual Collection, Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link & Gavin Grant, eds. (St. Martin's Griffin)
* Galactic Empires, Gardner Dozois, ed. (SFBC)
* The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin's)
* Eclipse Two, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Night Shade Books)
* The Starry Rift, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Viking)

COLLECTION

* Pump Six and Other Stories, Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books)
* The Drowned Life, Jeffrey Ford (HarperPerennial)
* Pretty Monsters, Kelly Link (Viking)
* The Best of Lucius Shepard, Lucius Shepard (Subterranean Press)
* The Best of Michael Swanwick, Michael Swanwick (Subterranean Press)

EDITOR

* Ellen Datlow
* Gardner Dozois
* David G. Hartwell
* Jonathan Strahan
* Gordon Van Gelder

ARTIST

* Bob Eggleton
* John Picacio
* Shaun Tan
* Charles Vess
* Michael Whelan

NON-FICTION/ART BOOK

* Spectrum 15: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Cathy Fenner & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Underwood Books)
* What It Is We Do When We Read Science Fiction, Paul Kincaid (Beccon)
* Rhetorics of Fantasy, Farah Mendlesohn (Wesleyan University Press)
* P. Craig Russell, Coraline: The Graphic Novel, Neil Gaiman, adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell (HarperCollins)
* Shaun Tan, Tales From Outer Suburbia (Allen & Unwin; Scholastic '09)

If I have time, in a month or so, I'll weigh in on this (wish I had had the time to do the same with the Nebula Awards, but Joe Sherry did a very good job with it at his blog, Adventures in Reading).

Mugabe and SF Awards

Almost two weeks ago, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe won yet another turn...months after finishing second in the polls. The current issue of Locus Magazine reveals certain winners in their annual Locus Awards poll actually received fewer overall and first-place votes than the runner-ups. In both cases, irregularities have been reported. In Mugabe's case, it was widespread voter fraud and intimidation that drove his opponents to quit the runoff election, leaving him to run unopposed. In the Locus Awards case, subscriber votes were counted twice compared to nonsubscriber ones...after the votes were in, with nothing stating this on the voting ballots.

Predictably, there have been responses to both. In the case of Mugabe, he's facing sanctions, which is but the fair and popular thing to do. In the case of the Locus Awards, there are a few people commenting about how this has skewed the awards, fan participation, and have made hollow Locus's claims that its awards most accurately reflect fan opinion on the previous year's best stories. While I do sympathize with those comments and I do agree that this was a very maladroit handling of matters by Locus, I found myself thinking of something a bit different when reading about it. Here I am, sitting at my computer on a warm summer's day, enjoying a month-long vacation before the school year begins again in August. It is so easy, getting frustrated over something about a matter regarding a hobby, but it's much more difficult it seems to be as passionate, be as eager for change, when it is a matter of another nation's political mismanagement and the brutal mistreatment of its citizens over the past two decades. Kind of puts things in perspective, perhaps. Still doesn't mean that I'm thrilled by this news, however, only that I am not ready to storm the barricades...yet.

2008 Locus Awards winners announced

Taken from Locus Online, of course! Now for some commentary:

SF NOVEL

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon (HarperCollins)

I plan on writing a review of this in the next few weeks, but I can say that I did enjoy this one quite a bit. While it wasn't my favorite 2007 (that belongs to another Locus Award winner), this one would have made a strong push for my Final 12 if I had read it in 2007.

FANTASY NOVEL

Making Money, Terry Pratchett (Doubleday UK; HarperCollins)

I've yet to make it all of the way through a Pratchett book (a mood thing and not an indictment on his literary qualities), so I have little interest in reading this one.

YOUNG ADULT BOOK

Un Lun Dun, China Miéville (Ballantine Del Rey; Macmillan UK)

Excellent YA novel that I enjoyed when I first read it in February 2007. Improved even more on a re-read earlier this year.

FIRST NOVEL

Heart-Shaped Box, Joe Hill (Morrow; Gollancz)

Haven't read it yet, but I might in the near future.

NOVELLA

"After the Siege", Cory Doctorow (The Infinite Matrix Jan 2007)

Haven't read it yet, again maybe in the near future.

NOVELETTE

"The Witch's Headstone", Neil Gaiman (Wizards)

Good story, but not my favorite from that anthology. Surprised that Chiang didn't win this.

SHORT STORY

"A Small Room in Koboldtown", Michael Swanwick (Asimov's Apr/May 2007)

Haven't read it, but perhaps soon.

COLLECTION

The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories, Connie Willis (Subterranean)

Haven't read it, don't know when I'll get around to purchasing it.

ANTHOLOGY

The New Space Opera, Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan, eds. (Eos)

See above.

NON-FICTION

Breakfast in the Ruins, Barry N. Malzberg (Baen)

Hadn't heard of this book until now.

ART BOOK

The Arrival, Shaun Tan (Lothian 2006; Scholastic)

My favorite 2007 read.

EDITOR

Ellen Datlow

MAGAZINE

F&SF

PUBLISHER

Tor

ARTIST

Charles Vess