Hiérarchie du Heinlein

For some reason I woke up thinking about Robert A. Heinlein’s body of work – his Hugo winners (novels) in particular.  Heinlein’s Hugo winners Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress were some of the first works of Science Fiction I ever read.  Not only were they fun to read, the conception of Earth and Humanity (in both) as weird and the pursuit of revolutionary social and political change (in both) resonated with me and inspired me to seek out more like them.  Strangely enough, in attempting a systematic approach to the genre through the Hugo Award, these two have become my least and most favorite of his five winners for best novel.  So this morning I decided that I couldn’t decide if I had ever formalized a complete Hierarchy of Heinlein’s Hugo Novels, so here they are.  I should make a graphic huh?

Opine away.

1.      The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

2.     Double Star

3.     Farmer in the Sky

4.     Starship Troopers

5.     Stranger in a Strange Land

Who's A Stupid, Fat Hobbit Now?

I've been a little remiss lately.  I haven't had time to get on the blog as often as I'd like and I've been a little disappointed with my reviews lately.  As I sat thinking about which books are in the running for The Gravity Well and whether I've missed anything, I realized I forgot to announce the 1960's Master of the Precious award for R. A. Heinlein's three Hugo Winners.  If you missed any of these reviews, here they are:

1960 - Starship Troopers

1962 - Stranger in a Strange Land

1967 - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

The best HEP Score came from TMHM, which was also one of the highest scores in general.  Really though, if you read my reviews, the choice is simple here.  Starship Troopers was good.  Not great, not terrible, and as I said in my recommendation -- his philosophy was rather limp and mostly fell flat.  SiaSL was amazing at first.  Mike's transition to Earth was captivating and hilarious.  I actually barked out laughing like an idiot quite a few times.  But then, the second half of the book becomes so preachy and most of the dialogue is just an excuse for Heinlein to lecture for pages at a time that it was very near unbearable.  

TMHM stood out in a league of it's own.  Even after reading this book just under a year ago, I still enjoyed just about every minute and it was easy to place in the as yet nearly uninhabited paragon list.  TMHM was so much better, I'm not even going to bother dragging this out.  You know it.  I know it.  

So there it is.  When it comes to Heinlein’s 1960’s Hugo Winners -- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is the true Master of the Precious.

Which also means Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land are the Frodo and Samwise of stupid, fat Hobitdom.  What's Tater's Precious?

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Love those robot arms!

Stats

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

1967 Hugo Award Winner

Published by If

302 Pages

In the near future, Earth has outlawed capital punishment.  The Moon, Luna, has become a penal colony, to which those would-be-executed criminals are sent.  Their warden couldn’t care less what one Loonie does to another so there are no laws, but they also have no rights either.  For the most part they are a colony of ice miners and grain farmers, most of which they must send to Earth to meet quotas.  It is because of this last fact that unrest has been building.

Double Star Redux

When it comes to calculated, organized political showdowns, Heinlein has done it before.  In his personal life too, he ran for public office, though he wasn’t as successful as his fictional counterparts.  I guess that is why both of his most political novels (Double Star and TMHM) begin and end with political newbies (sorry, I hate that word) making an end-run on an ambitious campaign.

While I certainly enjoyed Double Star, in the lunar revolution and the coming-to-personhood of a supercomputer of TMHM, Heinlein’s seemed willing to add a lot of complexity and the story was a hell of a lot more exciting, which is saying a lot.  TMHM combines the best of his philosophical/theological themes with his insanely good action sequences to place it way up there in my list of favorite novels, and certainly one, if not the, best Heinlein novel.

You may also recall that my favorite aspect of Double Star was not so much the excitement of the political campaign, but the theme of self-discovery through being placed in an altogether unfamiliar role.  Well I’ll be damned if Mike and Manuel aren’t both a rehash of The Great Lorenzo.  Mycroft Holmes (Mike) is a super computer who essentially controls and organizes all the disparate computers and processes across Luna.  One day, his network becomes so large that he “wakes up”.  Being a computer, he has no need for revolution.  Manuel, having no real ties to the government, other than that his family has been stealing from them for years, but no real desire to see the Authority leave, also has no real need for revolution.

Yet both Mike and Manuel find themselves a part of a revolution/political campaign to run the Authority straight of the face of the Moon.  Not a small undertaking.  In my opinion, Mike’s path to personhood was beautiful and poetic and if I could go out and buy a new computer right now, I’d be looking for one like Mike.  Well, maybe an updated version.  I’m not sure if Mike could stream Netflix?  Manuel too, went through a very subtle transformation which to be totally honest, I’m still thinking about and trying to understand better.

Future History

I first picked up this book about six months ago because I had read a different book about a year ago.  In The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, there is a pretty elaborate mission through time to save Adam Selene, Mike’s public persona.  Based on that reference, I hoped TMHM would be worthwhile.  Time travel and augmented life spans play an important role in a number of Heinlein’s other books and a great many characters exist in numerous books, even when there is no other connection between the two.  Heinlein’s cumulative timeline(s) are called his future history and I would hazard a guess that it is probably one of his most significant and enduring contributions to the genre.

Sadly, I can’t really speak to how much of an impact his future history has had on the genre as a whole.  I also don’t know it myself well enough to say whether it is very consistent or if on the whole it is very well done.  I don’t know exactly how thoroughly his universe has been created and detailed.  I do know that whenever an author takes a chance to add to a pretty fun character by stringing them through multiple books, I’m probably gonna love it.  I also know that, whatever the future history’s larger effect on SF in general, as someone who has been reading SF for probably less than 10 years, the events and people that have made up parts of that timeline have been influential in the extreme on me personally.

Of course, his future history doesn’t actually make its way into TMHM, but the events and people are placed firmly within the timeline(s).

Recommendation

Reading TMHM is a lot like watching Mad Men; you have to go at it expecting some horrendously offensive garbage in there (i.e. “Lenore is a sensible fem and knows when to keep quiet”).  And if you can do that, everything else is great!  Yes, his politics are probably a little disjointed and Manuel’s voice wasn’t always consistent, but I found it all palatable enough to enjoy the rest.

HEP SCORE

Universe 4/5 (big props for a newspaper called The Daily Lunatic…NICE!)

Social/Political Climate 5/5

Dialogue 4/5

Scientific Wonders 5/5 (CREEPY cyborgs)

Characters 5/5 (I want so badly for Mycroft Holmes to be real)

Overall 23/25

The die being cast

This week’s book is A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.  Another post nuclear war novel.  I hope it actually adds something to the theme.

Next week’s book is Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny.  Author of This Immortal, which I loved.  Told it’s even better.  Can’t wait!

Verb: To Grok

Harshaw thought the interview was over and felt relieved.  He had not been so embarrassed since a day long gone when his father had explained the birds and the bees and the flowers-much too late.

            But the Man from Mars was not yet done.  “Jubal my brother, you were ask me, ‘Who made the World?’ and I did not have words why I did not grok it rightly to be a question.  I have been thinking words.”

            “So?”

            “You told me ‘God made the World.’”

            “No, no!” Harshaw said.  “I told you that, while religions said many things, most of them said, ‘God made the World.’  I told you that I did not grok the fullness, but that ‘God’ was the word that was used.”

            “Yes, Jubal,” Mike agreed.  “Word is ‘God.’”  He added, “You grok.”

            “I must admit I don’t grok.”

            “You grok,” Smith repeated firmly.  “I am explain.  I did not have the word.  You grok.  Anne groks.  I grok.  The grasses under my feet grok in happy beauty.  But I needed the word.  The word is God.”

            “Go ahead.”

            Mike pointed triumphantly at Jubal.  “Thou art God!”

            Jubal slapped a hand to his face.  “Oh, Jesus H.- what have I done?...”

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

I’m happy to report that thus far, I am thoroughly enjoying Mike trying to learn to be a man and talk to earthlings.  Sometimes it is just too funny for words.  I had a hard time deciding which quote to use but chose this one for obvious reasons.  I can't wait for this week's review.

Also, To Grok is an actual word in actual dictionaries.  Coined by R.A.H. and probably my very favorite of his inventions.

Starship Troopers

Stats

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

1960 Hugo Award Winner

Published by The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

279 Pages

After graduating high school, James Rico decides to follow his friend into the Navy.  He never really intended to join up, and although the only way to become a voting citizen is through the armed forces, he doesn’t really seem all that motivated by anything other than the fact that no one really believes him that he will.  As it turns out, the Navy doesn’t want him but he is accepted into the Army’s Mobile Infantry by default.  He almost never makes it out of boot camp and when he does, he finds himself in the middle of the galaxy-wide “Bug War” with an even worse chance of survival.

The Template

For me, reading Starship Troopers was like a fan of vampire movies finally getting around to seeing Nosferatu and finding out where so many of the tropes that are now so common and loveable originally came from.

I very recently read, Old Man’s War by John Scalzi; probably the most obvious descendant of ST.  Had I known exactly how similar the two books were I probably would have waited to read OMW.  That being said, I’m kind of glad I read them in the order I did.  If I had read them in the other direction, I’m curious whether I would have thought of Scalzi’s as a rip-off.  The thing is, OMW is so freaking good, it’s hard to care one way or another.  And this is the case with a number of other Military SF that I could name off the top of my head.

In the end, I think it might be like how every vampire movie borrows something from Interview with the Vampire and it probably says more about the quality of the original than anything about plagiarism.  Starship Troopers is one of those books that, as they say, “started it all”.

The Flatness

I wouldn’t say Heinlein wrote poorly, I’d just say ST falls a little flat.  It’s difficult to understand what exactly is motivating Rico and as a result, it takes quite a long time before there is any reason to care about him at all.  The prose is straightforward and bland and there’s none of the personality that I’m accustomed to from Heinlein, anywhere.  It’s like someone went through and ripped out the crucial chapter and I was just left wondering, “okay, who cares?”  We don’t actually get to know our main character very well at all and it’s a little difficult to separate Heinlein’s lectures from what Rico actually thinks so here we have a case of an author committing a crime against wordsmithery.  He commits the crime of telling so egregiously that it actually confused me about where the main character stood.  Not okay!

And then there are The Bugs.  They are “The Other” straight out of any war propaganda, and other than learning a little of their physiology, we don’t really know where they come from, what they are doing or where they fit in the universe and neither does anyone in the book, try as they might.  I’ll admit, this could be an opportunity for greatness, but how does humanity respond?  Terror.  They are physically unable to associate in any way with the actual thinking members of Bug society and even hardened army vets are terrified just at the sight of them.  In the end there was no reflection whatsoever about the Bugs or humanity’s approach to them.  Bummer.

Public Service (The Flatness II)

It’s funny; the cover of my book claims ST is the “Controversial military classic”.  Having read some of his others I was pretty curious and excited.  What I experienced was just more flatness.  Okay, I understand people don’t often appreciate their freedom, people don’t often work for it or understand what it takes to maintain it, but what Heinlein has created is some kind of pseudo caste system.  Instead he glorifies military service and vastly undervalues the role and importance of all kinds of public service which doesn’t involve killing.  And I think we all know what happens when you force people to appreciate anything, they stop caring anyway!  C’mon!  This was really disappointing and such a puerile idea that I’m not sure what was so controversial.

The fact that he wasn’t even able to convey this little bit half-thought out philosophical muck without just straight-up lecturing his readers is just the nasty cherry on top of this mediocre sundae.

And since were on the subject of weak sauce.  You may remember I ended the 1950’s with a request of the 1960’s winners to step up their game and include some women at all.  Well Heinlein did, in typical Heinlein fashion.  What he sees as inherent differences between men and women are over-emphasized and of course women are highly and mostly sexualized.  He does this thing where women in his novels are the only people who can perform certain, highly specialized and necessary jobs which seems like an expression of respect but also seems like just another way of objectifying them.  I’ve stood up for Heinlein’s women in the past because there are some who are just so cool but ST makes it hard to keep defending him.  Erg.

Recommendation

If I had to characterize my appreciation for Heinlein I’d say I was in the Waxing Gibbous phase as I began this blog (maybe actually full moon after The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, but that’s coming later).  With a little more SF under my belt I think it may be safe to say that I’m entering the Waning Gibbous or even just Third Quarter phase (Yay random moon phase analogy).  I think ST might represent his most limp philosophizing, hollow characterization and his most weak sauce…ever.  Starship Troopers was fun but if I’m in the mood for military SF, I’m going somewhere else.

HEP SCORE

Universe 3/5

Social/Political Climate 3/5 (I don't know, this could have easily been a ‘2’)

Dialogue 3/5

Scientific Wonders 4/5 (There were few, but they were good)

Characters 2/5 (Who are these people again?)

Overall 15/25

Let the Grudgematch begin!

This week’s book is …And Call Me Conrad (This Immortal) by Roger Zelazny.

Next week’s book is Dune by Frank Herbert.  This will also be my second re-read of the project.

Master of the Precious

Okay, it’s time to hand out the most important unofficial title in the world:  The Master of the Precious.  This probably shouldn’t require any explanation, but there are a number of occasions throughout this challenge in which one author received two awards in the same decade.  Clearly the interweb not only needs but desires that I exercise my authority as supreme arbiter and make a final determination as to which of those titles is the real Master of the Precious.

Let’s take a closer look at the HEP SCOREs.

Here, DS apparently won by exactly one point.  In fact, every score is actually the same except DS received one more point (‘5/5’) for the Social/Political Climate than FITS.  The nature of the looming political collapse, the kidnapping by rival political factions and the difficulty everyone had adjusting to Lorenzo’s presence all justified the higher score.

Every other HEP SCORE was identical, even the scientific wonders, which was kind of surprising.  There was one category though in which one book clearly outshone the other.  I have remarked before that one of Heinlein’s crowning achievements is his ability to create characters that I want to marry, so it’s only fitting that the characters should be the category to really tip the scales.  Both books received ‘5/5’ scores, but if my feet were really put to the fire (or whatever that saying is), I’d have to say DS had the more solid ‘5’.  This is a clear win because The Great Lorenzo was a wildly more dynamic character than Bill, who is really kind of flat (but still a fun guy to read about).  Also DS’s Martians were pretty awesome dudes.

DS: M of the P

 So there it is.  When it comes to Heinlein’s 1950’s Hugo Winners, Double Star is the true Master of the Precious and Farmer in the Sky is just a stupid, fat Hobbit.

Farmer In The Sky

Stats

Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein

1951 Hugo Award Winner

First published in Boys’ Life

RETRO Hugo Awarded in 2001

167 Pages

I’ll answer your most burning question right now.  I don’t know which Heinlein title is the real Master of the Precious…yet.  They were too evenly matched so I’m going to have to work it out in another post tomorrow.  Hey, it’s a very serious unofficial award to confer and I want to make sure it gets done properly.

Back to business.

This is a YA title, of which Heinlein wrote over a dozen, and this was my first.  Here, Bill Lermer and his father, George have applied for permission to emigrate to Ganymede, the third moon of Jupiter.  We follow them on their trip out and as they navigate the hardships of colonizing and farming the harsh moon’s lava-encrusted landscape and also deal with the occasional life-threatening disaster millions of miles from Earth.

So (not) Heinlein

This is Heinlein’s second Hugo winner of the 1950’s (first technically, but it was a retro) and if there is anything similar about these two novels, it is the characters.  They are the kind of people that no one really is, but everyone identifies as the kind of person they are or would like to be.  Bill is just one of those characters (George too, but who cares about George really).  I was sorry I didn’t read this book at a younger age because Bill was totally one of those characters who I would have tried so hard to emulate…and would have been so sad when I didn’t.

Apart from the characters, the style of the rest of the book was rather dry and straightforward and generally subdued compared to any of Heinlein’s other titles I’ve read.  Somehow it seemed fitting considering younger the audience and it’s never dry to the point of boring, but it is a noticeable departure from I have become accustomed to in his later works (even Double Star).

Heinlein has also been credited through the years with a number of predictions of future technologies (though some, like GPS in The Mark of the Beast, are debatable).  It is always fun when a SF author predicts some crazy contraption and this is another of those situations.  In Farmer in the Sky, Heinlein is said to have predicted the microwave oven.  The story first appeared in Boys’ Life in 1950 and I’m not entirely clear on when microwave ovens were invented for home use so I can’t really add anything to that discussion other than continued mystery and intrigue.  Nevertheless, if that’s your thing, then you may be interested.

Emigration

Bill’s Earth is overcrowded and seeing animals like mountain lions is rare, if there’s even any left.  Aliens exist on Mars and Venus, which as we all know, I love to see and humans have already begun colonizing the solar system as far out as Jupiter’s moons.  Back on earth, food has been rationed and with Bill’s mother dead, Bill cooks for his father and makes sure their meager rations are accounted for.

Things don’t seem to have reached Malthusian proportions yet, but life has definitely grown uncomfortable for the people on Earth.  So when another ship is commissioned to send emigrants to Ganymede it is easy to understand Bill’s sudden interest without having to be told everything he ever thought about settling on another planet.

Heinlein actually does a pretty spectacular job of painting an extremely subtle picture of what life and Earth was like and allows the reader to fill in the gaps, which I also love.  There are some times that the book is more Hard SF, but those are really just the parts of space travel and astronomy that Bill is interested in so it’s kind of fun that the book slips in and out of different styles.   

Back to the point though, the reasons for emigrating at this point in the story are ostensibly just to alleviate the population pressures on Earth, but we come to understand that everyone really has their own reasons for leaving and a real sense of adventure pervades the first eight or nine chapters.  Reading from a teenager’s perspective only added to the excitement and I had a lot of fun with it.  Thinking about it now though, it is a little strange (in a good way) to think of how dangerous the journey out was but how light-hearted the book felt in the face of a lot of unknowns about what life would really be like on one of Jupiter’s moons.

And now for something completely different…

That is, until they actually reach the surface of Ganymede.  Heinlein has let us have our fun and now he makes us pay up.  From this point forward, everything is the worst and the universe sucks so I hope you weren’t too attached to the fun of getting out here.  The material completely changes and entire pace of the book slows down, in a really good way… Bill grows up.

Of course, settling and attempting to farm a lifeless, freezing, lava-encrusted moonscape is going to be difficult and I guess you could expect this to happen, but then Heinlein piles on more.  Disaster strikes the entire moon and nearly kills everyone and just as soon as we recover, Bill has a discussion with another settler/scientist who completely rocks his worldview.  And right after that Bill stumbles on a discovery that changes everything he knows about the universe.  I don’t want to give this away, but it gets pretty grim…and Bill handles it!  Not handles it like some technology saves the day and “oh what a happy ending,” but he struggles with it internally and then consciously chooses to face a suddenly very foreboding future.  How cool is that?!  I thought it was great to see a young man deal with a problem in a way that most adults don’t.  Read this kids!

Recommendation

I really, really liked that Heinlein respected his younger readers enough to trust them to deal with some difficult topics.  I’m a firm believer that adults expect too little of our younglings and while I’m not sure how I would have handled this in my early teens, I appreciated it now.  Overall, if you’re in the mood for some juvenile fiction, Farmer in the Sky is definitely the way to go. 

HEP SCORE

Universe 3/5

Social/Political Climate 4/5

Dialogue 4/5

Scientific Wonders 2/5 (very functional, nothing existed that didn’t need to)

Characters 5/5

Overall 18/25

This week’s book is A Case of Conscience by James Blish.  This is the only title by James Blish that won a Hugo, so I hope it has a good showing!

Next week’s book is They’d Rather Be Right by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley.  AKA The Forever Machine.  AKA The Worst Hugo Ever (perhaps I’ll have something to say about this).  AKA The Last Remaining Book of the 1950’s!  Once this one is done there will be awards to hand out and musings to be floated about the Hugo Award’s first decade.

Double Star

My copy from our library

Stats

Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein

Published in 1956 in Astounding Science Fiction

243 pages

Normal book format

When I began this project, I told myself that I would avoid giving a synopsis of every book I read.  I don’t need to reproduce something that is already available on the interweb.  Instead I try to write about topics that are less frequently discussed, to get below the surface.  So far, I think I’ve probably failed at both of these goals.  I promise I’ll try harder.

In any case, because I’ve focused on issues or topics that are mostly overlooked, you might have a wildly different opinion of some of these books than I have.  When you do, I want to hear about it.

In this week’s book, there is really only one topic that I want to bring up and unfortunately any discussion of it will necessitate giving away the ending.  Though I will do my best to artfully dance around giving out too many details, if this is one you want to read, skip to the bottom for my recommendation.

Secrets Are Back

It makes no sense that this book was so good.  The premise of this book has been done so many times, though this book predates all the iterations I’m aware of.  The basic idea is pretty identifiable; a politician goes missing at a critical juncture his campaign.  The closest confidants of said politician find an uncanny replacement who ends up doing an amazing job of impersonating the politician and fools everyone.  I’ve never really cared much for this story before, but there were some differences this time.  First, this story really reminded me of Mad Men. ‘Nuff said.  ‘Nuff.

The Great Lorenzo

Early in the book, as Lorenzo (the main character and impersonator) describes his father, he describes him as a severe man who was a stern teacher of the dramatic arts.  References to his father are peppered throughout the rest of the book.  In the beginning he mentions in passing that his father was not very forgiving or complimentary but it is clear that most of his attitudes, opinions and decisions are informed by his father’s influence.  In each instance though, reference to his father usually just serves to give context to something he’s done and never gives the feeling that there is anything deeper going on.

At first, Lorenzo resents having taken the job.  As the book progresses though, he finds himself falling into his role, even when he had no need to be in character.  Then toward the end, after he had come to believe in what he was doing, he is given the opportunity to visit the man he is impersonating (John Joseph Bonforte) and refuses.  He justifies himself by saying that he didn’t want his only memory of the man to be one of a weak, sick old man when he was supposed to think of him as a powerful political figure.  He goes on to explain that this is the very reason he didn’t attend his Father’s funeral; he didn’t want his memory of his father to be that of a corpse.

His excuse is believable though so I was still caught off guard (so was Lorenzo) when Lorenzo finally does meet the ‘real’ Bonforte at the party following their political campaign.  Bonforte looked exactly like Lorenzo’s father!  Bonforte though is kind, gentle and is genuinely stunned by the quality of Lorenzo’s “performance.”  When Lorenzo is shortly thereafter asked to remain in his role for the rest of his life, he immediately answers negatively, but in Bonforte’s voice.  Wow.

There was no internal discussion about Lorenzo having some realization about his father or his childhood or anything, it was just there for people to pick up on it or miss it entirely.  The most forthright discussion of the topic Lorenzo has came in his concluding remarks and they represent the reflection of a tired man who has spent his life pretending to be someone else.

I have never regretted my lost profession.  In a way, I have not lost it; Willem was right.  There is other applause besides handclapping and there is always the warm glow of a good performance.  I have tried, I suppose, to create the perfect work of art.  Perhaps I have not fully succeeded—but I think my father would rate it as a “good performance.”

Chapter 10

This was easily the saddest (or happiest, I suppose) moment as well as the most emotionally subtle and complex part of the book.  I love when an author pulls off subtlety so it was pretty much speaking directly to me.  I finished the book with a smile.

Recommendation

Double star is really amazing for its ability to deal with an issue that is done often and often done poorly.  Even for Heinlein, it is pretty uncommon to not be force-fed whatever he feels is the moral of the story.  For the most part, I think the book is just a short and fun book to read.  I enjoyed it quite a bit and finished it pretty quickly too, but it was also, for everything that was good about it, exceedingly forgettable.

I use the HEP score so that I don’t just constantly compare each new book to all the rest.  I try to judge the book on its own merits.  With that in mind, I feel compelled to note that this was the most fun book of the first three.  In the words of Lloyd Christmas, “I like it a lot.”

HEP SCORE

Universe: 3/5 (He describes Martians just enough to kick start your imagination)

Social/Political Climate: 5/5

Dialogue: 4/5 (Heinlein’s characters are always witty and fun)

Scientific Wonders: 2/5 (There were a few mentions, but they took a back seat)

Characters: 5/5

Overall 19/25

This week’s book is The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester.  I know nothing about it and I’ve never read anything by this author so it should be fun.

Next week’s book is Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  This time it is definitely not a false alarm.  I’m actually going to be reading it next week.  This will be my first re-reading and I’m not sure if that will work in the book’s favor or not.

Orange Juice, French Toast, Eggs & Bacon

How To Rule The Solar System

In the last few bars he came in from behind and took his throne-Willem, Prince of Orange, Duke of Nassau, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Knight Commander of the Holy Roman Empire, Admiral General of the Imperial Forces, Adviser to the Martian Nests, Protector of the Poor, and, by the Grace of God, King of the Lowlands and Emperor of the Planets and the Spaces Between. 

Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein

First, get yourself a good title.

The Hugo Awards

1956 Hugo Award Trophy

Well, I got sick this week so instead of running tonight, I think I’ll talk a little bit about The Hugo Awards.   

The Hugo’s are given out at the World Science Fiction Convention (WSFC) and anyone who is a member can nominate and vote.  Essentially this means the Hugo’s are chosen by fans.  This contrasts with some other literary awards, like The Nebula Awards which are awarded by the Science Fiction Writers of America, in which winners are chosen by their peers.  It’s up for debate which is more indicative of excellence, but in my opinion they both have their own value and it’s important that they each exist.

The results of this difference over time are pretty interesting.  For instance, this week’s author, Robert A. Heinlein, has won the Hugo Award for best novel 4 times, but has never won the Nebula Award (though he has been nominated).  Of course, this kind of phenomenon works both ways and then, there are those books which have won both.

Once nominations have been made, free versions are occasionally made available to the public (or at least members) through various sources, especially for the other categories.  There are even awards for Best Dramatic Presentation (for both short and long forms).  This year, Doctor Who dominates the short form nominations.  Who knows though, maybe “Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury” will pull out an upset win (obviously, you don’t follow the link expecting something other than what is advertised!).  Currently a new category, best graphic story, is undergoing a trial period until 2012, which is pretty boss.

Some criticisms of the Hugo Awards include that it is voted on by too few people (limited to paying members of WSFC), the winners tend to be populist picks, or establishment picks.  I’m too new to really have an opinion on any of this yet, but I hope that as I near the end of this project, I will have something quasi-intelligent to say about it.  For now…back to my book.


EDIT: "FM,RB" was actually a nominee last year and didn't win.  That's just me paying attention to what I'm doing.