2025 Hugo Ballot

 

I meant to post a bunch of reviews along the way as I did this year's Hugo reading, but the summer sort of got in the way. Oh, well. I still may write longer reviews for some of these and post them here (I did get to some of the novels in June), but since Hugo voting was due last night, I figured I'd just post my full ballot with a few general explanations while it's fresh in my mind. You can find short reviews for most of these on my 2025 Hugo Goodreads shelf.

Note that I didn't vote in all the categories. It's just too much (it's like taking on a part-time job!), and I don't feel all that qualified to judge some of the categories. Still, I managed to vote in most of the categories this year. See the Hugo website for the full list of categories and nominees.

As usual, I'm loosely following my principles of Hugo voting that I'm most interested in works that somehow break new ground in the genre, have some philosophical element, and/or are just plain enjoyable. Maybe other Hugo voters go on vibes, which are impossible to entirely eliminate, but I try reward things that are on the whole doing something new and interesting.

I'm thrilled to be attending Worldcon this year where I'll be on a panel and doing an academic track presentation as part of the Science Fiction and Philosophy Society. Maybe I will see you in Seattle at this year's Hugo ceremony on August 16!

2025 Hugo Novels, Part 1: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

It's that time of year again: I'm reading the Hugo nominees! This year I'm lucky to be once again attending Worldcon (this year in Seattle), so I will not only be voting, but I plan to attend the ceremony in person.

As has become tradition, I've waited way too long to get started, but the good news is that I'm halfway through the novels. So, here's what I thought so far about The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher. I will review the other three novels soon in Part 2, and, of course, there are novellas and many more categories as well. Stay tuned!

Double Review: The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter/The Orphaned Worlds by Michael Cobley

I have gotten behind on my reviews again. D'oh! Part of the blame is a trip I took last month, a trip on which I read these two books! So, maybe this is a good excuse for a double review post for The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter and The Orphaned Worlds by Michael Cobley.

Meanwhile, my annual reading of the Hugo finalists has begun, so look for those reviews soon! (I also will be at Worldcon again this year!)

Review of Reviews: December 2023

 

It's the week between Christmas and New Year's, that blank time filled with cheese, sugar, and not knowing what day of the week it is. I've been having fun reading, but I have been somewhat remiss when it comes to writing reviews. Lest I disappoint the small handful of humans and bots who will read this, here are my reviews of some of what I've been reading lately: Transcendent by Stephen Baxter, The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee, and Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. I also recently finished A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers, but I need more time to process how much I loved everything about it. I'm also returning to an old favorite, The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks, which I'm loving just as much if not more than I did when I first read it ten years ago. Anyway, on to this Review of Reviews: December 2023!

Movie and TV Mini-Reviews: The Boogeyman, Yellowjackets, Star Trek: Picard, Beavis & Butt-Head, and More

As the prophecy of a recent post foretold, I'm back with some short reviews of movies and TV I've been watching lately. I'm including The Boogeyman, Yellowjackets, Star Trek: Picard, Beavis & Butt-Head, John Wick 4, Sinister, Insidious, and X. These reviews get weirdly impressionistic, so if you're looking for elaborate plot summaries and the like, you may be disappointed. Just the mood I'm in these days, I guess. Enjoy!

Christmas Horror 2022

 

As has become something of a tradition in recent years, I tried to watch a few Christmas horror movies recently. Some people love classics like White Christmas. Some love comedies like Scrooged (I'll watch it soon...). Others mount complex legal arguments for and against the proposition that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Many delve into that vast vanilla land of Hallmark and its imitators. 

But lately it has seemed to me that the perfect genre for the solstice-adjacent holiday season is horror.

It's not that I hate Christmas. Really, I don't. It's fine. It can be fun, although not as fun as Halloween. I like the quiet darkness of solstice time, but I find that we kind of just overdo the whole thing these days, at least here in the US. 

I'm not sure the traditional Christmas story that forms the core of Christianity ever made much sense to me. And the rampant capitalist commercialization of the season, the pressure to have a perfect experience and spend money we don't have on gifts that few of us really need, cheesy versions of the same nine Christmas songs ... all of that really does horrify me, I guess.

So I think Christmas horror movies appeal to me as a way to deal with my conflicted feelings about this holiday season. See also Weird Al's magnificent, "The Night Santa Went Crazy" and "Christmas at Ground Zero."

Or maybe it's just fun and funny to mix a jolly holiday with some blood and guts?

Here's what was on my agenda this year: Violent Night, Christmas Bloody Christmas, Don't Open Till Christmas, Await Further Instructions, and A Nasty Piece of Work.

Violent Night (2022)

What if you could solve the is-Die Hard-a-Christmas-movie? debate by remaking Die Hard, only with David Harbour as a burnt-out Santa instead of John McClane and John Leguizamo at his Leguizamiest instead of Hans Gruber? That's kind of what happened here, only with a dash of Home Alone and plenty of delightful horror kills. I went to see this at the theater with a friend who appreciates over-the-top horror as much as I do. We were both entertained.

Violent Night may not win any Oscars, but I think it will be making a lot of present and future lists of bonkers fun Christmas horror movies.

Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022)

What if The Terminator were a Christmas movie? Okay, that's not exactly what's going on in this movie, but there is a robot Santa made from a repurposed military death bot. Our main character, Tori, is a record store owner who just wants to get drunk and meet up with her Tinder date on Christmas Eve, but her employee convinces her to hang out with him instead, which includes a visit to their friends' toy store, which has one of the Robo-Santas. And wouldn't you know it? Santa-tron 2000 goes on a homicidal rampage around the small town, leaving Tori to take up the mantle of Final Girl.

This is a fun one, too. I maybe got a bit more character background scenes than I wanted in a movie about a murderous Santa-bot, but once The Sant-inator shows up and the kills get more and more ridiculous, I was having a great time. I caught this one on Shudder.

Don't Open Till Christmas (1984)

I saw this one on Shudder's Joe Bob's Ghoultide Get-Together, which is always an educational way to watch a movie like this. Although now I'm not sure what I mean by "like this"? Rambling movies about the seedy side of London with a serial killer murdering anyone in a Santa suit, one victim while patronizing a stripper booth?

It makes a little more sense when Joe Bob Briggs explains how this movie came about, but it's still the kind of thing where you have to just relax and enjoy some amusing horror nonsense.

Await Further Instructions (2018)

Another British entry on Shudder! But a really different kind. Whatever Don't Open Till Christmas may be, Await Further Instructions could easily be classified as science fiction horror, which is my favorite kind of horror! A somewhat miserable middle-class British family is meeting for Christmas. After some tension (including racist family members), the house is encased in a mysterious material with no possible escape. Then messages begin to appear on the TV screen, including, of course, "Await Further Instructions."

How far will the family go to follow the directions? What's going on? Along the way there are deeper themes about issues like xenophobia, toxic masculinity, and cycles of abuse. And an ending that I appreciated.

A Nasty Piece of Work (2019)

A Nasty Piece of Work is an entry in Hulu's Into the Dark film series (which I find hit-or-miss, but mostly fine). What if Office Space were a Christmas movie with a dash of Christmas Vacation? Okay, that's not what this movie is. It's weirdly the closest anything on this list comes to a Hallmark movie. The protagonist (who kinda looks like the guy from Office Space) is ambitious but hates his asshole boss, played by Julian Sands (who looks like Julian Sands).

His boss invites him and his wife to a special dinner on Christmas Eve (or thereabouts, I can't remember). The protagonist's rival at work (played by Ted from Schitt's Creek) and his wife are also there. And if you think that's awkward, wait until the boss's wife shows up after he explains in detail the rifles hanging on the wall...

Is it the best movie I've seen? Or even the best on this post? Maybe not. But it may offer a bit of catharsis for people who've endured a few too many Hallmark Christmas movies.

So that's it for now. I may watch a few more holiday horror movies. Maybe my old favorite Scrooged (which may be a horror movie just as Dickens's A Christmas Carol is maybe some kind of science fiction horror featuring time travel and ghosts).

But above all, dear reader, I wish you and those you love the best possible paths through life and this heartwarming horror we call the holidays. Happy holidays to all and to all a fright night!

Shifting Realities: Four Past Midnight by Stephen King

In my long-term quest to read all of Stephen King's books (a quest that feels about as attainable as Roland's Tower), I finally arrived at this classic. Four Past Midnight isn't up there with The Stand or Different Seasons, but it's solid middle-tier King, which is still good stuff. These are technically novellas, but I think The Langoliers and The Library Policeman might really be short novels for King (what would be average length novels for other writers).

Hugo Ballot 2021: Related Work, Dramatic Presentations, and More

As I mentioned in my previous posts on Hugo votes, I was really scrambling to finish enough to vote for the novels and novellas this year, although I had the foresight to spend a couple weekends on the short stories and novelettes. I was definitely more in scramble mode for most of the remaining categories, and I only managed to vote in a handful of categories. You can see the full list of all the categories here.

Will I learn my lesson and start reading for the Hugos earlier in 2022? Honestly: no. But that's okay.

Here's how I voted!

Review of Reviews: Recent Science Fiction TV

 

Have I been watching more TV during the pandemic? Maybe. I've never been good at binge watching, though. I'm re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, but a lot more slowly than the first time I watched it in syndication in the early 90's (every night at 9pm!). Disney+ has 31 seasons of The Simpsons, which makes for a nice thing to watch while eating lunch or when I don't know what else to watch (a conundrum: they have an option to "skip intro"... what kind of monster would skip the intro to The Simpsons?). I've also been enjoying WandaVision lately, and I just started Truth Seekers.

I might say more about those shows another time. But I thought it might be good to do a review of reviews of recent science fiction TV! So here are a few thoughts about recent seasons of The Mandalorian, Star Trek: Discovery, and The Expanse and two other shows: Raised by Wolves and the new adaptation of The Stand.

Review of Reviews: Some Books of Jan/Feb 2021

Here are a few reviews of books I've read in the last several weeks. After reading a lot of horror and fantasy in the last year, I've been feeling more of a return to good old science fiction lately. See if you can guess which review I wrote before I broke my arm and it became difficult to type!

Dark Tower Re-Read, Book 7: The Dark Tower

The Dark Tower on the porch with a beverage

I started a Dark Tower re-read in June, and I've come to the end of the series (not counting The Wind Through the Keyhole, which I read in story order this time rather than publication order).

Book 7 is to the Dark Tower series as Jupiter is to our solar system. It's not separate from the larger system, but it has enough of its own gravitational pull to form a system of its own. You couldn't read Book 7 without having read the previous books, but there's enough going on to fill a series of its own. It's not just the longest book in word-count, it leads the others in sheer goings-on, not to mention emotional impact. Seriously, I challenge any fan to get through this one without tearing up at least a little.

It took me a long time to read this one, partly because I had a lot going on, partly because it's just a long-ass book, but mostly because ending another trip to the Tower was a little melancholy for me.

But I, for one, find the ending completely satisfying. More on that later.

We start with Jake and Callahan entering the Dixie Pig, a den of vampires, taheen, can toi, and other assorted baddies. And...

I can't really write most of this review without spoilers, so be forewarned. I will be as merciless with spoilers as King is with character deaths in this book.

HBO's Lovecraft Country: A Non-Review

From HBO's Lovecraft Country

I reviewed Matt Ruff's novel Lovecraft Country about a month ago, and I told myself I'd review Misha Green's HBO adaptation once the season was complete.

My analogy of the relation between the book and the show is like the relationship between Bob Dylan’s and Jimi Hendrix’s versions of “All Along the Watchtower.” All the versions are good and technically the latter things are adaptations of the former, but the adaptations in both cases explode the original ideas into higher, mind-bending dimensions. (Misha Green's adaptation plays with this idea in interesting ways that I won't spoil).

I enjoyed the book, but I loved the show. Sometimes the show moved so fast it was hard to keep up, but... I'm not sure the world needs another white dude's opinion. Definitely not about this show.

So, instead, here are some resources from Black academics, creators, and critics that can help to explore the multi-layered dimensions of HBO's Lovecraft Country.

Dark Tower Re-Read, Book 6: Song of Susannah

 

Stephen King's Dark Tower series has become one of my favorites in recent years. My re-read of the series continues with Book 6: Song of Susannah. What did I think the second time around? Is this my favorite Dark Tower book? Find out below!

Dark Tower Re-Read, Book 5: Wolves of the Calla

Wolves of the Calla meets Champagne of the Beers

 

In my Dark Tower re-read I have reached the final, weirdest leg of the journey that begins in Book 5: Wolves of the Calla.

The last three Dark Tower books blend together a little bit for me, which is not surprising since King wrote them almost at the same time in the few years after his 1999 accident. But I had forgotten how much of the really weird stuff from the later books starts happening in Wolves of the Calla. As with the other Dark Tower books so far, I enjoyed this even more the second time through!

Bill and Ted's Most Triumphant Return: Bill and Ted Face the Music

 

Bill & Ted Face the Music was released yesterday, and it gave me a chance to do something I haven't done in several months: review a newly-released movie.

2020 Hugo Ballot, Part Two: Related Work, Dramatic Presentations, and Fan Writer

As I mentioned in Part One (which covered novels, novellas, novelettes, and short stories), with the pandemic and everything, I didn't manage to vote in as many categories for this year's Hugo Awards as usual. But that's okay. I think I did pretty well, all things considered. 

Also in my defense, that's a loooooot of categories. I'm sure there are people who carefully consider every nominee in every category, but it's hard for me to imagine. I feel like I had an extra part-time job the last month (a fun part-time job for sure, but it does take time). Maybe for some Hugo voters it's a full-time job? Or maybe some voters sensibly start earlier than June? Not procrastinating? Shudder the thought!

Without further ado, here's how I voted for Best Related Work, Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form), Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form), and Best Fan Writer.

2020 Hugo Ballot, Part One: Novel, Novella, Novelette, and Short Story

I started voting for the Hugos in 2016 for two main reasons. I wanted to take more part in science fiction fandom, and I found the Sad and Rabid Puppies to be really obnoxious. Luckily the Puppies have since taken their pack elsewhere, but I'm still excited about taking part in fandom and being part of science fiction history and all that.

Militarism and Metaphysics: The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

I wasn't sure what I'd think of this book when I saw that it was a Hugo nominee this year. I'm not a huge fan of military science fiction (I don't even like Heinlein's Starship Troopers), but having read Hurley's bizarre/cool novel The Stars Are Legion, I was interested to see what she'd come up with.

Dark Tower Re-Read, Book 3: The Waste Lands

Reading The Waste Lands in Panama City Beach, FL

I'm continuing my re-read of Stephen King's Dark Tower series, which has improbably become one of my favorites in recent years. I started with The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three. Technically it was my third time reading those, since I first read them back in the early 90's and somehow never kept up with the series. For whatever reason they didn't grab me the first time, but the second time I read them in 2017-18 I was hooked to become, in the common terms of palaver, a Tower junkie. Why? Maybe I wasn't ready as a teenager. Maybe it takes a while for King's genius to come through. Maybe ka works slowly yet persistently.

Hugo Reading 2020: Novellas

Three of this year's Hugo nominees for Best Novella

Every year since I started voting for the Hugos in 2016, I've told myself that next year I'm going to start reading earlier. And every year, like clockwork, I fail to do so. I've got until July 15 to finish this year, so I'm procrastinating according to plan.

I've grown fond of novellas lately: long enough to get into a story, but not so long as to grow tiresome. You've got to start someplace, so this seemed like as good a reason as any to start with the novellas this year.