tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post347123797504135834..comments2023-10-25T03:40:54.655-07:00Comments on Neth Space: It’s Official – All SFF Awards Are UselessNethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16963540055415924510noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-66556872974699100802008-07-16T06:18:00.000-07:002008-07-16T06:18:00.000-07:00I regard all awards with extreme distaste--however...I regard all awards with extreme distaste--however, genre awards tend to be particularly incestuous, popularity contests in which more difficult books are passed over in favor of offerings by "name" authors. If a dreadful scribbler like Robert J. Sawyer can win a major SF writing award, there's something terribly wrong with the world...<BR/><BR/>(somehow this was printed twice--please delete first message)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-33282292334054549702008-07-10T10:45:00.000-07:002008-07-10T10:45:00.000-07:00I always go back and forth with awards. I have a ...I always go back and forth with awards. I have a degree of skepticism and yet also have spent part of this year going back and reading some of the older Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winners just to see what all the fuss, at that time, was about. When I see favorite authors win awards then I obviously feel good about them winning. But how can I really truly judge if I haven't read any of the other works. The only two winners I read in the locus this year were Witch's Headstone and The Arrival...both of which I really enjoyed. Yet I can't honestly judge them against their competition.<BR/><BR/>Because books and films are such subjective forms of entertainment I have always a degree of skepticism/cynicism about the process. It is hard not to. I am glad they still do these, however, as I for one have, at least in the last year, picked up books I may have never taken the time to pick up because I got the urge to read award winners.Carl V. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948764216438379394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-4234473124095579762008-07-08T18:01:00.000-07:002008-07-08T18:01:00.000-07:00Larry: I agree. The awards for me are a great rea...Larry: I agree. The awards for me are a great reading list and give me the opportunity to read some stuff I may never have heard of (World Fantasy Award nominated novella <B>Dark Harvest</B> by Norman Patridge is a GREAT example. Loved it.)<BR/><BR/>The Awards put writers on my radar and since most of the short fiction tends to be available online for the duration of the nominations, it provides exposure for various stories, novels, and writers. <BR/><BR/>I think for that reason alone all of these awards are valuable. <BR/><BR/>I do think that transparency is great (and while I'd wish for more Hugo voters, Kevin Standlee does a great job finding various posts and making sure the process is laid out so that even I can understand) and the biggest problem with these Locus awards isn't that they weighted the ballots from subscribers, but rather that they changed the rules at the end rather than before the voting started.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16094675116398769415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-31427159566511652902008-07-08T13:35:00.000-07:002008-07-08T13:35:00.000-07:00I view awards as being markers, letting some know ...I view awards as being markers, letting some know that certain books were considered to be interesting/good/etc. by X voter/s. If viewed as being just one of many recognition guides, any individual award is at worst merely harmless and at best a homing beacon towards some intriguing reads.Larry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-31242067152575138792008-07-08T13:02:00.000-07:002008-07-08T13:02:00.000-07:00I'm really interested in a process that is clear e...I'm really interested in a process that is clear enough for me to judge my tastes against the award itself. With a juried award such as the World Fantasy Award, I can look up who the judges are and find out about what they are writing and what their generally tastes are. With this info, I can better judge whether those tastes are likely to line up with my own. This gets a little bit difficult with older awards since it can be really difficult to find out who the judges are. This is very difficult to do with anything that pole-based. <BR/><BR/>However, I really am skeptical about all awards.Nethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16963540055415924510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-65663023144990776052008-07-08T12:56:00.000-07:002008-07-08T12:56:00.000-07:00What about when juried awards are presented to thi...What about when juried awards are presented to things you personally dislike?<BR/><BR/>I don't mean that sarcastically! It's the general question for <EM>all</EM> awards, and in my opinion, most people think "awards are good if they go to things I like, and bad if they don't."Kevin Standleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02748134147055160408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-8278154226123671942008-07-08T12:51:00.000-07:002008-07-08T12:51:00.000-07:00-Roberteither that they are heading down that road...-Robert<BR/><BR/>either that they are heading down that road, or that they've already passed that way.<BR/><BR/>-Kevin<BR/><BR/>I agree, the Hugos would be better if more people voted, but since they don't have a real problem giving them any weight at all. As I indicated in the original post - I think that juried awards are really the way to go and as for popularity poles, SF Site currently has the best way going now that Locus has jumped the shark and started skewing it's votes (which is entirely within their right, though changing the rules after the votes were cast was not the best way of doing things). <BR/><BR/>Overall awards have become rather meaningless, but at least they means to foster some interesting discussion.Nethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16963540055415924510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-16286391646543470152008-07-08T12:41:00.000-07:002008-07-08T12:41:00.000-07:00The Hugo Awards' process is at least transparent, ...The Hugo Awards' process is at least transparent, and can be changed if enough members of the World Science Fiction Society want to change them. Keep in mind that if all you wanted to do is give awards for "most popular" work, you could just look at sales figures and give an award to whoever sold more copies. Your criticism of the Hugo Awards includes something that bothers me as well -- most of the people <EM>already</EM> eligible to vote fail to do so. From anecdotal evidience, I submit that most of these people aren't reading new material ("it's too expensive" -- and yes, I know of the free offers), and that they don't think they are "qualified" to vote unless they read/watch every item in every category, which is silly. I helped someone cast her ballot on Deadline Day. She freely admits that she doesn't read much new SF. There were only a few categories in which she felt at all competent to vote, but she did vote in those categories, leaving the others blank. That's the right approach; find a reason to vote, not to abstain.<BR/><BR/>(Of course, the right to vote always includes the right to abstain.)<BR/><BR/>You'll never see the Hugo Awards change their rules <EM>after</EM> the votes were received, if only for the structural reason that it takes two years to make any rule changes, and that everyone who cares enough to pay attention can find out about what proposed rule changes are with plenty of notice.Kevin Standleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02748134147055160408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-17155978745003430792008-07-08T11:57:00.000-07:002008-07-08T11:57:00.000-07:00I see what you are saying, and I mostly agree. An...I see what you are saying, and I mostly agree. And maybe only mostly because I went through the same disillusionment, and lowered my expectations accordingly.<BR/><BR/>I'm currently trying to read all the Hugo winners and maybe, someday the nominees.<BR/><BR/>I've found some wonderful books and authors, and I'm glad that I "forced" myself to read them.<BR/><BR/>I've also found some that I just really did not like. (Jonathan Strange and Rainbow's End being 2)<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I guess you are right. Take any award with a grain of salt, and never think of it as the "Best" books of the year.dragonb4https://www.blogger.com/profile/14482502230884921048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17224228.post-86631603065906253542008-07-08T10:13:00.000-07:002008-07-08T10:13:00.000-07:00I agree with you about awards. Kind of reminds me ...I agree with you about awards. Kind of reminds me of how utterly pathetic the Oscars have gotten. They're becoming as meaningless as the Grammys.<BR/><BR/>From your post, it seems that you're saying SFF awards are heading down the same road...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com