Author: mountainwashere

Nothing to see, move along.

Hugo Controversy

The Hugo Award is undergoing an… unusual amount of controversy this year. Apart from the Wheel of Time shenanigans, which would be the center of attention, normally (people are upset about a giant fantasy series getting the nomination, blah blah blah, my fandom is better than yours, blah blah, whatever), but there is another, much bigger issue: Vox Day got nominated for Best Novelette. The Wikipedia article is pretty nice about it, but Theodore Beale/ Vox Day is a truly horrible person. He genuinely thinks that minorities and women are genetically inferior, he uses racial epithets constantly, is homophobic, is the only person ever kicked out of the SFWA, he’s anti-semitic, he’s a fundamentalist Christian (not just a biblical literalist, he’s the really hateful kind of fundamentalist), he’s a men’s rights activist, he considers feminism and women’s suffrage a disease, claims there is no such thing as marital rape… it goes on. I’m not linking to his blog or any of his posts, but I’ve read a few, and they are fucking horrifying.

The SF/Fantasy fandom world is up in arms right now.

So, how did he get on the list of Hugo finalists?

Author Larry Correia got him on the list by advocating for him, that’s how.

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Unique Power Sets and Superhuman “Copyright”.

Anyone want to listen to me complain more about super heroes? No? Bah, too bad.

Part of the draw of super heroes involves their uniqueness, e.g. they’re the only ones who can do these things, and it can’t be replicated. Well, usually. You’ve got plenty of exceptions, like the Green Lantern Corp, but they all have their own self-selecting criteria for inclusion; ranging from the Corp/Guardians selection process, hereditary powers, inherited mantle, etc. (The Dial Wielders from Dial H for Hero/ Hero/ Dial H, where the only limitation is possessing a dial, are a ton of fun, and a great example of how to do it.) So: in order to maintain the hero’s status as special/ unique, you need to have some way to limit the imitation of their powers.

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Great Hugo Readthrough: 1954 Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451

First off: I’m changing the name to the Great Hugo Readthrough. While it is inspired by Tor.com’s amazing series rereads, it’s different enough that I feel I should call it something else.


First Time/ Reread: Reread
Acquired: Already owned.

Other Nominees:
Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood’s End
Hal Clement: Mission of Gravity
Isaac Asimov: Caves of Steel
Theodore Sturgeon: More than Human
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