Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Wednesday August 22 2018, @04:43PM   Printer-friendly
from the she-done-good dept.

The Hugo awards, being the favorite they are with SN readers, are out again!

As posted at The Vox.

The first-ever threepeat of the Hugo Awards — the prestigious, long-running fantasy awards handed out annually at WorldCon — just issued a giant rejection of right-wing gatekeeping in the struggle to diversify the world of science fiction and fantasy writing.

N.K. Jemisin's groundbreaking fantasy series the Broken Earth trilogy has won critical acclaim, been optioned for development as a TV series, and received numerous accolades from the sci-fi and fantasy community. And on August 19, it achieved yet another milestone when Jemisin became the first author in the Hugos' 65-year history to win back-to-back awards for every book in a trilogy. Jemisin won the award for Best Novel three years in a row, starting with The Fifth Season in 2016, The Obelisk Gate in 2017, and now The Stone Sky in 2018.

Meanwhile, The Verge reports:

The 2018 Hugo Awards were held last night at the World Science Fiction Convention in San Jose, California. The Hugo award, voted on by members of the fan community, is considered the highest honor for science fiction and fantasy literature.

Like the previous couple of years, women almost completely swept the awards. N.K. Jemisin took home the top honor for The Stone Sky, the third installment of her Broken Earth trilogy. Other winners include Martha Wells for her first Murderbot novella All Systems Red, Suzanne Palmer for her novelette “The Secret Life of Bots,” and Rebecca Roanhorse for her short story “Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™.” (Roanhorse also took home the John W. Campbell Jr. Award for Best New Writer.)

Jemisin’s win gives her a history-making hat trick: she’s won the top award for each Broken Earth installment, the first two having been for The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate. It’s a significant achievement, earned for Jemisin’s groundbreaking writing, blending of genres, and outstanding storytelling.

The complete list of nominees can be found in The Verge's story. Additional reporting can be found at the Guardian, on TOR.com, and elsewhere.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Sourcery42 on Thursday August 23 2018, @05:10PM

    by Sourcery42 (6400) on Thursday August 23 2018, @05:10PM (#725273)

    I've read Broken Earth. It isn't a bad read, but I don't see what all the fuss over it is about. It is OK far future science fantasy; without a doubt way more fantasy than science if that makes a difference to anyone. OK story with some compelling aspects, but ultimately forgettable. It can't hold a candle to many of the other distinguished winners like Dune, American Gods, Hyperion, etc. It makes pretty strong use of racism and gender equality in its themes, but not to the point of being sickening about it.

    Broken Earth is definitely pink sci-fi, but Jemisin's storytelling doesn't absolutely wallow in social justice to the point of ruining a good tale like say Ann Leckie. Leckie's Ancillary Justice started off so promising with interesting takes on sentient AI and hive minds, but then devolved into absolute social justice tripe. I had to keep reading the Ancillary sequels just to see if they had any redeeming qualities, or managed to recover from a shaky middle and cap off a nice story arc. They didn't. Perhaps a bigger disappointment than the Matrix movie sequels.

    If you want to read some science fantasy with Broken in the title, allow me to recommend Broke Empire. It definitely won't win any Hugo awards in this climate. If fact Broken Empire is just about the polar opposite of Broken Earth, other than a common theme of characters driven by loss and tragedy. It is absolutely brutal and not for the squeamish. The main character is the most anti anti-hero ever, but he keeps you constantly wondering what crazy shit he'll come up with next and makes for a very compelling read.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Interesting=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   3