I’ve plotted out my Hugo-reading in order that I might vote fairly when the time comes. Of course, if I kept up with the magazines better than I do, I shouldn’t have to “cram”. I’ve decided to read in the order of increasing length categories. In theory, once I’ve completed all the items in a category, I should have a pretty good idea of which I want to vote for, and how I’d rank them (as ranking them in order of preference is apparently how the voting works). Much of this fiction is available free online, and so I’ve provided links, where possible, in case non-subscribers want to read any.
BEST SHORT STORY
- “Distant Replay” by Mike Resnick (Asimov’s April/May 2007)
- “A Small Room in Koboldtown” by Michael Swanwick (Asimov’s April/May 2007)
- “Tideline” by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s, June 2007)
- “Who’s Afraid of Wolf 359?” by Ken MacLeod (The New Space Opera, ed. by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan, HarperCollins/Eos)
BEST NOVELETTE
- “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” by Ted Chiang (F&SF, Sep 2007)
- “Dark Integers” by Greg Egan (Asimov’s, Oct/Nov 2007)
- “Finisterra” by David Moles (F&SF, Dec 2007)
- “Glory” by Greg Egan (The New Space Opera, ed. by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan, HarperCollins/Eos)
BEST NOVELLA
- “Recovering Apollo 8” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Asimov’s, Feb 2007)
- “Memorare” by Gene Wolfe (F&SF, Apr 2007)
- “Fountain of Age by Nancy Kress (Asimov’s, July 2007)
- “Stars Seen Through Stone” by Lucius Shepard (F&SF, July 2007)
- “All Seated on the Ground” by Connie Willis (Asimov’s, Dec 2007) 1
BEST NOVEL
The Yiddish Policemen’s Unionby Michael Chabon (HarperCollins, Fourth Estate)- Brasyl by Ian McDonald (Gollancz; Pyr)
- Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer (Tor; Analog Oct. 2006-Jan/Feb. 2007) 2
- The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Tor)
- Halting State by Charles Stross (Ace)
A few notes:
I rate these stories using my usual rating system, which is a scale of 0-5 with 1/2 point increments. Those items that appear in bold are items I’ve already read. Their rating appears in brackets at the end of the line. Items that are struck-through are items that I attempted to read, but just couldn’t get through. Sorry, Michael Chabon, it’s not you, it’s me, I’m sure.
Naturally, I’ll keep you posted on progress and I will post my final tally and the order in which I will vote in each category.
Incidentally, there are two categories in which I already know my votes:
Best Related Book: Breakfast In the Ruins: Science Fiction in the Last Millennium by Barry N. Malzberg.
Best Professional Editor, Short Form:
Stanley Schmidt
Sheila Williams
Ellen Datlow
Gordon Van Gelder
Jonathan Strahan
(Stan is long overdo for a win in this category, but that’s not why I’m voting for him. He’s recently published some great serials including: Rob Sawyer’s Rollback which is up for a Hugo.)