Hugo Award Nominee Recommendations

I'd like to put Liberty by Alasdair Shaw out there. Yes, it feels weird listing my own book, but nothing ventured...

The novel deals with the rights and responsibilities of sentient beings, be they human or AI. The two main characters are The Indescribable Joy of Destruction, a warship that accidentally becomes the first sentient artificial intelligence, and Commander Olivia Johnson, the enemy officer who almost killed it. Johnson struggles against her personal daemons, depression and survivor guilt. The Indescribable Joy of Destruction struggles with its identity as a being with free will. Together they uncover a plot to wipe out the civilian population of a whole planet.
It will be published on 1 August 2016: http://lrd.to/xZJGd4yPXo

It's never too early, right?

People are already scrambling recs together, so be sure to check out these hotspots:

Worldcon 75 Spreadsheet: Once again, 2016 Hugo Nominee for Best Fanzine "Lady Business" maintains a spreadsheet containing potential nominees for every category. This year, edits are being allowed early. If you have a suggestion, add it. If you need a suggestion, pay close attention to every addition, even categories you don't normally nominate for. You might find something that would've slipped by you otherwise.

Hugo 2017 Eligible Works: Also up is a list on Goodreads keeping track of every eligible work published in 2016. Good stuff here for Novel, Novella, Graphic Story, and Related Work

Hey folks.

I have always enjoyed The Big Bang Theory. The writing has always been good and amusing, the characters have depth and development and the acting has great comedic timing. It has also made being a science fiction or comic book fans fashionable.


As soon as I saw "The Skywalker Incursion" episode last year, I've been thinking of nominating it for a Hugo. The question is, which category? It really isn't science fiction, so it doesn't seem appropriate the Dramatic Presentation--Short Form where it will take away from the shows that are. I'm thinking it's more appropriate in the Best Related Work category. A few years back, that category was modified to include work other than the printed word.

When I asked Kevin Standlee to add it to the BASFA Hugo Recommendation List, he believed it belonged in DP-SF category.

So, I guess I'm going to be challenging the Hugo system. (As if it hasn't dealt with enough during the past couple of years.) I'm not doing it to be mean-spirited, the Best Related category just seems the most appropriate place for it. The worst that can happen is the Hugo admin will move it to DP-SF.

For anyone who agrees with me that The Big Bang Theory deserves a nomination, please join me by adding it to your nominating ballot, whereever you believe it belongs.

I was scrounging around trying to think of good short form dramatic presentation and realised that "All This and Gargantua-2" (Venture Brothers, special, single episode and story) was January 2015, so eligible. And it was hilarious and awesome so you should consider nominating it. ^_^

There are two philosophies regarding how to nominate for works that are 75 years old and that many modern readers are not familiar with. First, try to guess what voters in 1941 would have nominated, or second, nominate works that have stood the test of time. From previous Retro Hugos, it is clear that the second method dominates. In my recommendations I have tried to strike a balance between the two philosophies. If you don’t know where to start, I strongly suggest using the reprint anthology The Great Science Fiction Stories Volume 2, 1940, edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg, as a guide. I left non-U.S. works off my lists, as I assumed readers in 1940-41 would have limited access to them.
I have no idea if the Puppies will take any interest in the Retro Hugos, but I can foresee that Scientologists will. L. Ron Hubbard was still a decade away from publishing Dianetics, and in 1940 he was a popular and prolific science fiction writer. Several of his works are legitimate contenders for the Retro Hugo ballot, but I am fearful that his bloc will nominate all of his works regardless of quality, pushing worthier works off the final ballot. Just as with the regular Hugos, if there is a large amount of participation, the influence of special interests will be minimized.

It looks like many “novels” of the time were really novellas. The following are the few that have stood the test of time. The only two sure-things are The Ill-Made Knight (later incorporated into The Once and Future King) and Slan.

- Final Blackout, L. Ron Hubbard, Astounding Science-Fiction, April, May, June 1940
- Gray Lensman, E. E. Smith, Ph.D., Astounding Science-Fiction, October, November, December 1939, January 1940
- The Ill-Made Knight, T. H. White, G. P. Putnam's Sons
- The Reign of Wizardry, Jack Williamson, Unknown Fantasy Fiction, March, April, May 1940
- Slan, A. E. van Vogt, Astounding Science-Fiction, September, October, November, December 1940
- Typewriter in the Sky, L. Ron Hubbard, Unknown Fantasy Fiction, November, December 1940

This was not a popular length, it seems, although many “complete novel in this issue” (Captain Future, Doc Savage, The Shadow, etc.) were really novellas. The Roaring Trumpet and The Mathematics of Magic were later merged into The Incomplete Enchanter.

- Captain Future and the Space Emperor, Edmond Hamilton, Captain Future, Winter 1940
- Coventry, Robert A. Heinlein, Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1940
- Darker Than You Think, Jack Williamson, Unknown Fantasy Fiction, December 1940
- The Devil Makes the Law (aka Magic, Inc.), Robert A. Heinlein, Unknown Fantasy Fiction, September 1940
- If This Goes On ..., Robert A. Heinlein, Astounding Science-Fiction, February, March 1940
- The Indigestible Triton, René Lafayette (aka L. Ron Hubbard), Unknown Fantasy Fiction, April 1940
- The Mathematics of Magic, L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, Unknown, August 1940
- The Roaring Trumpet, L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, Unknown Fantasy Fiction, May 1940
- The Sun Maker, Jack Williamson, Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1940
- Tunnel Terror, Kenneth Robeson (aka William G. Bogart), Doc Savage Magazine, August 1940

Probably the best story of any length published in 1940 is Farewell to the Master (later adapted to film as The Day the Earth Stood Still, one of the all-time classic SF movies). Into the Darkness may not have gotten much traction with 1941 voters because it was so much ahead of its time – it would not have been out of place had it been published in Dangerous Visions – but it is perhaps the most literate story of the bunch.
Stories included in The Great Science Fiction Stories Volume 2, 1940, edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg, are marked with an asterisk.

- *Blowups Happen, Robert A. Heinlein, Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1940
- *Butyl and the Breather, Theodore Sturgeon, Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1940
- Cargo, Theodore Sturgeon, Unknown Fantasy Fiction, November 1940
- *The Exalted, L. Sprague de Camp, Astounding Science-Fiction, November 1940
- *Farewell to the Master, Harry Bates, Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1940
- The Girl in the Bottle, Jack Williamson, Super Science Stories, September 1940
- The Gryb (aka Repetition), A. E. van Vogt, Astounding Science-Fiction, April 1940
- Half-Breed (aka The Tweenie), Isaac Asimov, Astonishing Stories, February 1940
- Half-Breeds on Venus, Isaac Asimov, Astonishing Stories, December 1940
- The Hardwood Pile, L. Sprague de Camp, Unknown Fantasy Fiction, September 1940
- *Into the Darkness, Ross Rocklynne, Astonishing Stories, June 1940
- Invisible Monster, John Beynon (aka John Wyndham), Tales of Wonder #11, July 1940
- *It, Theodore Sturgeon, Unknown, August 1940
- John Carter of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs (and John Coleman Burroughs), Whitman Publishing Company
- The Man from Earth, John Beynon Harris (aka John Wyndham), Tales of Wonder, Spring 1940
- The Mound, Z.B. Bishop (aka H. P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop), Weird Tales, November 1940
- *Old Man Mulligan, P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1940
- Paul Revere and the Time Machine, A. W. Bernal (Arthur William Bernal), Amazing Stories, March 1940
- Racketeers in the Sky, Jack Williamson, Argosy, October 12, 1940
- Reincarnate, Lester del Rey, Astounding Science-Fiction, April 1940
- Rim of the Deep, Clifford D. Simak, Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1940
- *The Roads Must Roll, Robert A. Heinlein, Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1940
- The Space-Beasts, Clifford D. Simak, Astonishing Stories, April 1940
- Terror Out of the Past, Raymond Z. Gallun, Amazing Stories, March 1940
- *Vault of the Beast, A. E. van Vogt, Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1940
- The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years, Don Wilcox, Amazing Stories, October 1940
- Voyage to Nowhere, Alfred Bester, Thrilling Wonder Stories, July 1940
- Warlords of Mars, Festus Pragnell, Amazing Stories, June 1940

The short story length was by far the most popular in 1940, so there’s a lot to choose from. Don’t be fooled into nominating anything by Ray Bradbury or Arthur C. Clarke – they were still amateur writers publishing in fanzines.
Stories included in The Great Science Fiction Stories Volume 2, 1940, edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg, are marked with an asterisk.

- *The Automatic Pistol, Fritz Leiber, Weird Tales, May 1940
- The Callistan Menace, Isaac Asimov, Astonishing Stories, April 1940
- Clerical Error, Clifford D. Simak, Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1940
- *Dark Mission, Lester del Rey, Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1940
- Derm Fool, Theodore Sturgeon, Unknown Fantasy Fiction, March 1940
- *The Dwindling Sphere, Willard Hawkins, Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1940
- Emergency Refueling, James Blish, Super Science Stories, March 1940
- The Fiddler's Fee, Robert Bloch, Weird Tales, July 1940
- The Gods Gil Made, Ross Rocklynne, Unknown Fantasy Fiction, November 1940
- Guinea Pig, Ph.D., Alfred Bester, Startling Stories, March 1940
- He Shuttles, Theodore Sturgeon, Unknown Fantasy Fiction, April 1940
- *Hindsight, Jack Williamson, Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1940
- Homo Sol, Isaac Asimov, Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1940
- *The Impossible Highway, Oscar J. Friend, Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1940
- Martian Quest, Leigh Brackett, Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1940
- *Postmarked for Paradise (aka Postpaid to Paradise), Robert Arthur, Argosy, June 15, 1940
- Queen of the Metal Men, Robert Bloch, Fantastic Adventures, April 1940
- *Quietus, Ross Rocklynne, Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1940
- *Requiem, Robert A. Heinlein, Astounding Science-Fiction, January 1940
- Revolt of the Ants, Milton Kaletsky, Amazing Stories, April 1940
- The Sea Thing, A. E. van Vogt, Unknown, January 1940
- *Strange Playfellow (aka Robbie), Isaac Asimov, Super Science Stories, September 1940
- Sunspot Purge, Clifford D. Simak, Astounding Science-Fiction, November 1940
- *The Warrior Race, L. Sprague de Camp, Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1940
- Wine of the Sabbat, Robert Bloch, Weird Tales, November 1940

• Fantasia, Dir: Norman Ferguson, et al, 125 mins., Walt Disney Productions
• Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, Dir: Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor, 220 mins., Universal Pictures
• The Ghost Breakers, Dir: George Marshall, 85 mins., Paramount Pictures
• Mysterious Doctor Satan, Dir: John English, William Witney, 267 mins., Republic Pictures
• Pinocchio, Dir: Hamilton Luske, et al, 88 mins., Walt Disney Productions
• The Thief of Bagdad, Dir: Ludwig Berger, et al, 106 mins., United Artists