For
those of you hop-ons who haven’t been a part
of a Master of the Precious ceremony yet, it’s pretty simple. Each decade (with the exception of the
2010’s, but they haven’t closed out yet), some author has one the Hugo Award
multiple times. Until now, SF has
suffered over the indecision regarding which of the author’s titles was the
better book.
After
reading through each decade, I alone have acted as the supreme arbiter of taste
and reason. Much as I do in the case of
the three Deathmatches, I bring the world the
most important answers.
After
that, I think I’ll throw in the Gravity Well too. Why not.
The
1980’s brought us a near-record number of repeat winners. Somehow I was able to procrastinate this long
without talking about any of these so here goes, the ultra-super-mega MoP
showdown featuring C.J. Cherryh, David Brin, and Orson Scott Card. Some of these comparisons will be easier than
others and I’ll start with the easiest.
C.J.
Cherryh:
This one is a no-brainer. Do I need to justify it?! Alright then…
Cyteen
is now one of my *all-time* favorites.
Cyteen
scored of the few perfect HEP scores of 25 that I have ever given out.
Cyteen
is a million times more compelling.
I actually cared about Cyteen’s characters whereas I can’t name very many from Downbelow Station anymore.
When it comes to C.J. Cherryh’s Hugo winners
from the 1980’s:
Cyteen
is clearly the Master of the Precious.
And while I still admit Downbelow deserves a re-read, I have to say it:
Downbelow
Station is just a stupid, fat Hobbit.
David
Brin:
This one is a bit harder.
The goofy factor is a tough one, but I think I
have to give it to the Dolphins of Startide
Rising.
Future-gadgetry, alien-ness, and all-around
coolness of stuff is really hard to call.
The Orca was pretty BA in Startide
Rising, but that’s about the only thing that clearly surpasses Uplift War. So I’m giving that non-category to The Uplift War.
HEP scores are tied!
The tie breaker has to go to The Uplift War for
the more intense depiction of another species struggling with the most horrific
and depressing aspects of the human condition, if you can call it that anymore.
I really hate to have to call this one, but you
know I must.
When it comes to David Brin’s Hugo winners from
the 1980’s:
The
Uplift War is the Master of the Precious.
Which of course means (and no one is allowed to
be mad at me for saying this):
Startide
Rising is just a stupid, fat Hobbit.
Orson
Scott Card:
And the hardest of all.
Ender’s
Game wins on HEP scores.
Speaker
for the Dead was clearly more intellectually stimulating.
One time when I was listening to Ender’s Game, I was so impressed that I
was pounding the passenger seat in the car.
Another time when I was listening to Speaker, I actually said, “wow” all extra breathy and reverentially
(to be fair, then I asked myself, “did I just say that?”).
This is starting to feel like comparing apples
and oranges.
I listened to both of these as audiobooks and while
both were pretty high quality, Ender’s
Game was the clear winner.
Ender’s
Game had more of a page-turner factor.
Speaker
for the Dead kept making me think of the Foundation series.
Speaker
for the Dead elicited very strong emotions.
Hey people.
I don’t know how to do this so I’m gonna call it like this: in the future, if I’m going to pick up a OSC
title to re-read, it is very unlikely that it will be Speaker for the Dead.
Before I say it, know that these are two very
different books and very hard to compare.
Nevertheless, I can’t have history waffling over this for centuries so
here goes.
When it comes to Orson Scott Card’s Hugo winners
from the 1980’s:
Ender’s
Game is the Master of the Precious.
Insert
frantic qualifier:
Speaker
for the Dead is just a stupid, fat Hobbit.
## ## ##
So,
I normally dedicate an entire post the Gravity Well Award, but this one is a little more clear cut than is usual. As you know, this can mean different things
in different decades but the winner of the 1980’s Gravity Well covers just
about any possible meaning.
There
were a number of titles that were pretty hard-hitting or gritty or depressing
or philosophical or depressingly philosophical or hard science or (what you might call) hard theology or just plain difficult to read.
Only
one title captured all of that.
Cyteen,
as you know, destroyed my precious reading schedule (though it may have had
help from my stupid training schedule and I think I might read it faster next
time). Maybe less theological discussion
than others, but certainly as emotionally draining as anything I’ve ever
read. There are few books that I can
confidently place within my top-5 of all time, but this is one of them.
I
still can’t get over the concept of tape sessions and deep sets. I actually regularly refer to really thorough
examinations/investigations of any kind as deep sets now (even if only to
myself).
Slavery,
cloning, sex crimes, murder, planetary sabotage, genetics, raising a horse, children
in live-ammo military training. I’m not sure
I can even think of everything that qualifies this one, but man. Just…man…
I’d
be happy to admit that there were actually quite a few titles from the 1980’s
that would have been fighting pretty hard for the Gravity Well. The 1980’s, apart from being the decade of
the 600+ page book, was also the decade of debilitating tension and
anxiety. SF was really livin in the 80’s.
Still,
Cyteen was really something else and I have no trouble naming it, The Gravity
Well.
