Category Archives: Blogging the Hugos

Thoughts on Classic and Contemporary SF vs. Fantasy Hugo Best Novel Award Winners while Failing to Write a Review of a Great Book that was not Nominated

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb Series is a discovery from my stint as a Hugo Award panellist in 2020 and 2021–the years that Gideon the Ninth (book 1) and Harrow the Ninth (book 2) were nominated. As much as I loved these books–and … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging the Hugos, Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Reviews | Tagged A Canticle for Leibowitz, Alix E. Harrow, allegory, apocalyptic literature, Arthur C. Clarke, Dune, Ender's Game, Gene Wolfe, Gideon the Ninth, Harrow The Ninth, Hugo Awards, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Mary Doria Russell, N.K. Jemisin, Nona the Ninth, Science Fiction, speculative fiction, Tamsyn Muir, Ursula K. Le Guin | 6 Comments

The Heroic Gideon and Harrowing Features of Living in the Ninth: Thoughts on Tamsyn Muir’s Necromantic Dream Vision (Blogging the Hugos 2021)

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

In our 2020 Hugo Award roundtable, I was tasked with presenting Alix E. Harrow’s gorgeous gateway fantasy, The Ten Thousand Doors of January. Though I chose the book simply for its name and cover design, I came to love the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging the Hugos, Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Reviews | Tagged Alix E. Harrow, allegory, apocalyptic literature, Gene Wolfe, Gideon the Ninth, Harrow The Ninth, Hugo Awards, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Science Fiction, speculative fiction, Tamsyn Muir, Ten Thousand Doors of January | 4 Comments

Hugo Award 2021: Best Novel Signum Roundtable (Sat, Dec 18th, 6pm Eastern)

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

As I announced in my “Blogging the Hugos 2021” series launch, I am once again joining Signum University’s Hugo Award Best Novel Roundtable. In a gala zoom event that no doubt will rival the Worldcon ceremony in DC, I will … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging the Hugos, Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Reviews | Tagged Alix E. Harrow, allegory, apocalyptic literature, Gideon the Ninth, Harrow The Ninth, he Ten Thousand Doors of January, Hugo Awards, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Martha Wells, N.K. Jemisin, Network Effect, Science Fiction, speculative fiction, Susanna Clarke, Tamsyn Muir, The City We Became, urban fantasy, Ursula K. Le Guin | 13 Comments

N.K. Jemisin’s Super Strange Urban Apocalypse in The City We Became: Part 2: The City I Can’t Become (Blogging the Hugos 2021)

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

N.K. Jemisin is clearly one of the science fiction greats of the generation. Time will tell if she will stand with the all-time greats, like H.G. Wells, Robert A. Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Ursula … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging the Hugos, Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Reviews | Tagged allegory, apocalyptic literature, Frank Herbert, H.G. Wells, Hugo Awards, Isaac Asimov, N.K. Jemisin, New York City, Octavia E. Butler, Philip K. Dick, Postcolonial literature, racism, Ray Bradbury, Robert A. Heinlein, Science Fiction, speculative fiction, The City We Became, urban fantasy, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Gibson | 14 Comments

N.K. Jemisin’s Super Strange Urban Apocalypse in The City We Became: Part 1: The Allegory That is Born (Blogging the Hugos 2021)

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I first encountered N.K. Jemisin’s “Great City” series in her bracing, breakneck-speed short story, “The City Born Great,” which (in an edited form) is the prologue to The City We Became. Jemisin is one of this generation’s great speculative fiction … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging the Hugos, Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Reviews | Tagged allegory, apocalypse, apocalyptic literature, Hugo Awards, N.K. Jemisin, New York City, Postcolonial literature, racism, Science Fiction, speculative fiction, The City Born Great, The City We Became, urban fantasy | 8 Comments

A Time to Listen: Rebecca Roanhorse’s Astonishing Novel Black Sun (Blogging the Hugos 2021)

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

As part of my “Blogging the Hugos” series, I have just finished Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. Normally as I am reading a book, a theme or image or idea emerges that gives me a chance to write a review … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging the Hugos, Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Reviews | Tagged Black Sun, Epic Fantasy, fantasy, Hugo Awards, Indigenous Authors, Mesoamerican Culture, Postcolonial literature, Rebecca Roanhorse, Robert Jordan, speculative fiction, Wheel of Time | 12 Comments

Sarcastabots, The Wall-E Effect, and Finding the Human in Martha Wells’ Network Effect (Blogging the Hugos 2021)

Posted on November 17, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

In the googolplex of science fiction genres, is there a category called “sarcastatech?” My spelling bot wants to say “no” to this question, using a “no results found” notification. It is how spelling bots talk, after all, in their (ironically) … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging the Hugos, Reviews | Tagged Accelerando, Andy Weir, Charles Stross, Hugo Awards, J. G. Ballard, Martha Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Network Effect, Philip K. Dick, Ready Player One, Roger Zelazny, The Martian, The Matrix, WALL-E | 17 Comments

Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Relentless Moon and the Lady Astronaut Universe (Blogging the Hugos 2021)

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

If the history of Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut Universe were the same as the one that you and I share, I would be writing to you as a dead man. I suppose, even in terms of timeline, I might … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging the Hugos, Reviews | Tagged Black Sun, Hugo Awards, Lady Astronaut Universe, Martha Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, N.K. Jemisin, Network Effect, owen barfield, Piranesi, Rebecca Roanhorse, Susanna Clarke, Tamsyn Muir, The City We Became, The Relentless Moon | 16 Comments

Blogging the Hugos 2021 (Series Launch)

Posted on November 8, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

It isn’t often that I get a popular novel as it first finds its way into the world. I’m usually years behind in my TBR and motivated to find new books by book clubs and upcoming classes and film adaptations. … Continue reading →