Just Finished Reading... Monuments by Will Kostakis. Published by Hachette.

I bought this book at the Melbourne Writers Festival, though, alas, I didn’t get to hear him speak this year. 

It’s a very entertaining story which begins with hero Connor trying unsuccessfully to set up a meeting with his former best friend Olly, who has dumped him for being boring, and finding himself in an unknown part of his very old private boys’ school, along with a girl called Sally and a stone man called Darroch, who’s a god. Next thing he knows, he’s zipping all over Sydney’s oldest schools to find four more gods and move them to safety, being followed by a pizza delivery guy who is more than he seems, time travelling and finding a new friend, Locky, who is “the most gorgeous guy to ever roam the earth” (did I mention Connor is gay?) who is also drawn into the adventure. But they might just be heading for disaster and these five gods have their own problems which might also affect ordinary humans...

In a past blog post I described Will Kostakis as Australia’s answer to American YA author David Levithan in style. He has something else in common: the fact that each book is different from the last. You never know what you’re going to get, except until now all of them have been contemporary fiction. He did contribute a short story to an anthology of speculative fiction a couple of years ago, but in general, it has been contemporary. However, we’ve had a novel seen from a girl’s viewpoint, Loathing Lola, which is a commentary about reality TV and how many friends you might suddenly have when you’re on TV. The second novel, The First Third, was about a teenage boy trying to do his grandmother’s bucket list of requests and get his family back together. Sidekicks is set in an exclusive boys’ school in which three friends of a dead boy remember their relationships with him and gradually become friends with each other; he was the only thing they had in common. This is his first fantasy novel, and it looks set to be a series. 

This one covers some serious issues, but also plenty of humour. The hero is not exactly Superman. There are some hilarious scenes. However, like Billy, the hero of The First Third, he is kindhearted, and loves his family, including his Greek grandfather, now suffering dementia in a nursing home. Nobody has visited the old man in some time, but Connor finds a way to make up for that. Connor understands that there is more to people than simple good and evil, and that they make mistakes. And despite finding someone special, he doesn’t quite forget his friend, who might have dumped him, but had been good to him in the past, shown him wonderful things and didn’t reject him when he came out as gay, only for being boring(we discover that this was because Connor, a non drinker, had refused to attend a boozy party). 

Very much recommended for both boys and girls from about fourteen upwards! 

Easily available in your local good bookstore or in ebook. If you’re outside Australia you can order it from Book Depository. 

Last Day At The Melbourne Writers Festival 2019!

I hadn’t made up my mind whether or not to go to the last day of the festival. Last weekend, this time, would have been wonderful, as it focused on YA, but family commitments kept me busy, while people were happily tweeting about the great panels they attended. And this week’s YA events were all aimed at schools, no adults allowed unless with school groups - anyway, there were no bookings available on the app. So I went to two adult events earlier this week, and then, today, had to make up my mind if I was going at all.

But I decided I would, and then had to decide between a panel on romance and one on crime fiction. The romance panel sounded like fun, but after reading some tweets about the romance panel this morning and realising at least one afternoon panellist had been on the morning one and said some things that I didn’t agree with, I decided to go to “For The Love Of Crime” and was very glad I did.

Outside the door, I met fellow Sisters In Crime Carmel Shute and Lindy Cameron(who is the publisher at ClanDestine Press). Just inside, I met children’s writer Hazel Edwards, who was waiting for her daughter and grandson.

The Storey Hall at RMIT was packed with crime fiction fans. I’m guessing most of them had come to hear international GoH Val McDermid rather than local authors Mark Brandi and Christian White, who have both won awards, but are new-ish writers. But the guys were also entertaining and the audience laughed a lot, enjoying the session. The moderator was the Books editor from the Age newspaper, and he got right into the spirit of the thing.

He started by asking the authors how they had become crime writers. None of them had begun as crime writers, in fact all seemed to have started thinking they were writing literary fiction! Val said that she turned to crime fiction after failing at literary fiction and script writing, because it was something she knew about from reading. Christian said he had written what he thought was literary fiction and it ended up being promoted as crime fiction. Incidentally, later in the session, Val said she had been a judge on the Booker Prize and had to read hundreds of literary novels. She didn’t sound as if it had been enjoyable and yes, she agreed when asked, there were a lot of dinner parties in North London in the entries!

They spoke about their own novels and where some of the ideas had come from. Val said that as a former journalist she didn’t use any of the true stories she had read; the families had suffered enough grief without their stories turning up in books. Both the men gave suggestions for good online sources  for crime writers. Apparently Reddit has a good writers page and the Victorian police have a media site that will answer questions without asking any!

An enjoyable way to end the Writers Festival - I hope there will be something as good next year. 

Just Finished Reading... Trail Of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.

Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last—and best—hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much larger and more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel to the rez to unravel clues from ancient legends, trade favors with tricksters, and battle dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

As Maggie discovers the truth behind the disappearances, she will have to confront her past—if she wants to survive.

After reading over and over online about how great this novel is, I finally decided to have a go and bought the ebook a few days ago. 

I have to say, this is one of those books where the hype is close to matching the quality of the book. This one was on this year’s Hugo Award shortlist; it lost to the wonderful The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal. I admit I prefer the Kowal novel, but that’s personal preference for hard SF. This is fantasy with a touch of cli-fi, with just a hint of Mad Max. It involves the gods of Native American mythology, now wandering the Navajo lands. Why they have suddenly turned up after the natural disaster, I don’t know, but this is why it’s fantasy rather than SF. 

As someone who is a huge fan of Charles De Lint (and has made some bead loomed belts with Native American designs!), I am fascinated by Native American mythology and folklore. 

I like character driven narrative, which this is, in the midst of the action adventure. I found myself caring very much about the heroine and those she cares about. If I hadn’t cared, the story alone wouldn’t be enough. 

My only issue with it is the cliffhanger ending, which is one reason why I’m not a fan of series fiction. I will consider the sequel, which is available now, but if that ends on a cliffhanger it will lose me. There is too much chance of a series suddenly being cancelled, as has happened before, or just never finishing(cough! Legendsong by Isobelle Carmody! Cough!). 

Still, well worth a read! 

I bought this from Apple Books, but also available in Kindle, though the Aussie site says it’s not available till November! However, it’s available in print copy from the usual sites. 

My First Day At The Melbourne Writers Festival!

Alas, only one panel, which is on at 6.00 p.m! I found that today and tomorrow seem to be the schools days and just about everything I wanted to see was a schools session. I used to go to those with my students when I was a teacher librarian. When I left, I thought, great, now I can go to the festival during the day!

No such luck, it seems. There was a whole YA weekend I couldn’t attend because of family commitments, and there is very little on today apart from the sessions aimed at schools, which I don’t think I’d be welcome at, but which are sold out anyway.

However, I did find out that Deborah Lipstadt will be on a panel at the gorgeous Capitol Theatre tonight, and I have read her non fiction book Denial, on which a movie was based. In case you don’t know about her, she teaches Jewish and Holocaust Studies and some years ago the Holocaust denier David Irving tried to sue her. She had to go to England to face a British court, due to a technical thing by which it was up to her to prove her point, not his to disprove it. It was a fascinating read and became a very interesting movie, with Timothy Spall as David Irving. You may remember him as the nasty Peter “Wormtail” Pettigrew in the Harry Potter movies, and I must say, he makes a very good villain. He did play as the artist Turner, in a movie I haven’t seen yet, but it’s a bit like David Warner, whom I only saw once in a sympathetic role, as the Grail seeker in Babylon 5.

Update: been to the panel, enjoyed it! That’s Deborah on the right! 

Tomorrow I’m going to hear DeRay McKesson, who has written a book about the founding of Black Lives Matter. I’ll buy that in ebook.

I’ve also bought a copy of Will Kostakis’s new novel Monuments, though I won’t be able to hear him - again, schools sessions and sold out. Looks like he’s gone from contemporary YA to fantasy YA, but I opened it and chuckled over the opening line and bought it. I love YA fantasy, but he is just so good at contemporary! My favourite is The First Third, his second novel. Our students loved it too. One girl was so concerned about the fate of the grandmother in the novel, inspired by his own, that he had to reassure her that his own yiayia is alive and well - in fact, she rang while he was with the kids of my book club, and he handed the girl the phone - and autographed her book with “To the President of the YiaYia fan club”!

It’s times like this I really miss my students - I’m quite sure nobody is taking them to the festival this year, unless it’s a year level to hear someone whose book they’re studying. Not that there is anything wrong with that, th authors are delightful when you actually meet them, and I remember how much my EAL students enjoyed hearing Melina Marchetta when they were studying Looking For Alibrandi.

I’d just like them to be able to go for fun.

Time to go for a cuppa before the panel starts. See you!

Book Blogger Hop: Do You Read Historical Fiction?

This week’s Book Blogger Hop asks if we read historical fiction. Well... yeah. Not even “do you read historical fiction because...”

It’s too long to go into all the areas of historical fiction I’ve read over the years, since I discovered it at about eleven or twelve, so ...just a few memories. And that includes historical fantasy.

For some time I was bingeing on Richard III fiction. My very first, which I still reread occasionally, is We Speak No Treason by Rosemary Hawley Jarman. That one was beautiful! It’s seen from the viewpoint of three characters, the Maiden, the Fool and the Man Of Keen Sight. The Maiden becomes the mother of Katherine Plantagenet, Richard’s illegitimate daughter, who married the Earl of Huntingdon. We don’t know who her mother was, so she is invented. The Fool is Patch, Edward IV’s Court fool. He turns up in a sequel, The Courts Of Illusion, which was about the Perkin Warbeck    business, and also featured the family of the Man Of Keen Sight. There was also an Elizabeth Woodville novel, The King’s Grey Mare, not as good as We Speak No Treason, but good. I believe the author eventually moved into fantasy.

If you enjoy Richard III fiction, there’s plenty to choose from, including murder mysteries and fantasy fiction, and I’ve read a whole lot of it. Here is a list on Goodreads. There are 43 there and that’s nowhere near all of them.

When I was younger, I enjoyed stuff set in the ancient world, such as Mary Renault’s The King Must Die(Theseus) and Howard Fast’s Spartacus. I actually have several copies of that one, found in secondhand shops, one of them hardcover. Another Spartacus novel I discovered back in secondary school was Arthur Koestler’s The Gladiators. However, I binged on Fast as well, all through those years - Moses Prince Of Egypt, Agrippa’s Daughter, My Glorious Brothers(which I found on the book rack in my local milk bar while buying bread and milk), his American history novels...It wasn’t until years later that I found out he was also a science fiction writer from the golden age of SF, plus writing crime fiction under a pen name.

I confess to having discovered Rosemary Sutcliff as an adult! By then, I was already a fan of Arthurian fiction, and was thrilled to discover her classic Arthurian novel The Sword At Sunset. It was, of course, only one of many about a family living through British history, beginning with Eagle Of The Ninth and ending some time in the Middle Ages. You knew the characters were descended from Marcus Flavius Aquila because of a family heirloom, a dolphin ring with a flawed emerald. That might be the only connection, but I’d read the line where whoever was the hero got it out and say, “Ohhh...” in delight.

I do have Arthurian favourites, of course, and that was my other binge reading. Apart from the Sutcliff novels, I love Mary Stewart’s Merlin novels, which had just a touch of fantasy and were based on Geoffrey of Monmouth. The first is The Crystal Cave, the only one to be dramatised. That’s worth finding if you can.

Bernard Cornwell’s Arthurian fiction is great too. His Warlord Chronicles have a touch of fantasy, but only a touch, and I have to say, any author who doesn’t like Lancelot is okay with me!

Another historical Arthur - with the tiniest bit of fantasy - is the one in Parke Godwin’s Firelord. This American author did a good job with British heroes. I just adored his Romano-British Arthur, whose mother was a sort of changeling, a daughter of a poverty stricken indigenous tribe swapped for the stillborn child of a Roman woman, to give her a chance at life. The natives are not really Faerie, but everyone is superstitious about them. It’s the only book where the Holy Grail quest begins with Arthur saying, “Oh, go look for your silly cup!”

The same author did the best Robin Hood fiction I ever read, Sherwood and Robin And The King, which we’re set, not in Richard the Lionheart’s era, but just after the conquest of William. This Robin is presented as a rebel, though he does eventually realise it’s going to cause a civil war and offers his allegiance to William. The Sheriff of Nottingham is a decent man in this duology and they become friends. The Sheriff marries Robin’s cousin.

In more recent years my historical fiction reading has been mixed with crime fiction, such as the Phryne Fisher novels and some set in Henry VIII’s England. It’s very easy to find those in your local library, and mine is particularly good.

So, do you have any historical favourites? 

The Hugo Shortlist 2019!

Oddly enough, I have actually read some of this year’s Hugo nominees, something rare for me - and also some of the classics in the retro Hugos. It will be interesting to see how those votes will turn out. I’ve bolded those I’ve read or seen and commented. 

The 2019 Hugo Awards

Best Novel

The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor) - a wonderful novel set in an Alternative universe 1950s in which the space program has to be speeded up because of a natural disaster that will make Earth unliveable in a few years - and women have to be given a chance to participate, because there’s no point in setting up male-only colonies...

Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)

Revenant Gun, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)

Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente (Saga/Corsair)

Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik (Del Rey / Macmillan)

Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)

Best Novella

Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)

Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)

Binti: The Night Masquerade, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)

The Black God’s Drums, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)

Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, by Kelly Robson (Tor.com Publishing)

The Tea Master and the Detective, by Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean Press / JABberwocky Literary Agency) Reading  this now, very enjoyable so far! Aliette made one of her earliest sales to Andromeda Spaceways. 

Best Novelette

“If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again,” by Zen Cho (B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, 29 November 2018) I’ve read this. To be honest, I enjoyed her Regency fantasy more. Personal preference, I guess. 

“The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections,” by Tina Connolly (Tor.com, 11 July 2018)

“Nine Last Days on Planet Earth,” by Daryl Gregory (Tor.com, 19 September 2018)

The Only Harmless Great Thing, by Brooke Bolander (Tor.com Publishing)

“The Thing About Ghost Stories,” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)

“When We Were Starless,” by Simone Heller (Clarkesworld 145, October 2018)

Best Short Story

“The Court Magician,” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, January 2018)

“The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society,” by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)

“The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington,” by P. Djèlí Clark (Fireside Magazine, February 2018)

“STET,” by Sarah Gailey (Fireside Magazine, October 2018)

“The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat,” by Brooke Bolander (Uncanny Magazine 23, July-August 2018)

“A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies,” by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine, February 2018)

Best Series

The Centenal Cycle, by Malka Older (Tor.com Publishing)

The Laundry Files, by Charles Stross (most recently Orbit/Tor and Tor.com publishing)These are wonderful books about a British agency called the Laundry, which is about anything but washing clothes! More like keeping Earth safe from critters from a Lovecraftian universe. 

Machineries of Empire, by Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)

The October Daye Series, by Seanan McGuire (most recently DAW)

The Universe of Xuya, by Aliette de Bodard (most recently Subterranean Press)

Wayfarers, by Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton / Harper Voyager)

Best Related Work

Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, by Alec Nevala-Lee (Dey Street Books)

The Hobbit Duology (documentary in three parts), written and edited by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan (YouTube)

An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards, 1953-2000, by Jo Walton (Tor)

www.mexicanxinitiative.com: The Mexicanx Initiative Experience at Worldcon 76 (Julia Rios, Libia Brenda, Pablo Defendini, John Picacio)

Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing, by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon (Tin House Books)

Best Graphic Story

Abbott, written by Saladin Ahmed, art by Sami Kivelä, colours by Jason Wordie, letters by Jim Campbell (BOOM! Studios)

Black Panther: Long Live the King, written by Nnedi Okorafor and Aaron Covington, art by André Lima Araújo, Mario Del Pennino and Tana Ford (Marvel)

Monstress, Volume 3: Haven, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)

On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden (First Second)

Paper Girls, Volume 4, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Cliff Chiang, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Image Comics)

Saga, Volume 9, written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Annihilation, directed and written for the screen by Alex Garland, based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer (Paramount Pictures / Skydance)

Avengers: Infinity War, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios) I enjoyed this and I’m not even that familiar with the Marvel universe - I did have to ask my friend for details when we were watching. 

Black Panther, written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, directed by Ryan Coogler (Marvel Studios) Again - not familiar with the universe, but it worked as a stand alone film. I loved that all the women in it were strong, including the one who was the equivalent of Q in the Bond films. 

A Quiet Place, screenplay by Scott Beck, John Krasinski and Bryan Woods, directed by John Krasinski (Platinum Dunes / Sunday Night)

Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley (Annapurna Pictures)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman (Sony)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

The Expanse: “Abaddon’s Gate,” written by Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Simon Cellan Jones (Penguin in a Parka / Alcon Entertainment)

Doctor Who: “Demons of the Punjab,” written by Vinay Patel, directed by Jamie Childs (BBC) One of this season’s best episodes. A nice touch to have the Doctor suddenly realise that she was invited to the women’s group the night before the wedding...

Dirty Computer, written by Janelle Monáe and Chuck Lightning, directed by Andrew Donoho and Chuck Lightning (Wondaland Arts Society / Bad Boy Records / Atlantic Records)

The Good Place: “Janet(s),” written by Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan, directed by Morgan Sackett (NBC)

The Good Place: “Jeremy Bearimy,” written by Megan Amram, directed by Trent O’Donnell (NBC)

Doctor Who: “Rosa,” written by Malorie Blackman and Chris Chibnall, directed by Mark Tonderai (BBC) Oh, yes! Loved this one! And nice to see a children’s/YA novelist writing for Dr Who! 

Best Professional Editor, Short Form

Neil Clarke

Gardner Dozois

Lee Harris

Julia Rios

Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas

E. Catherine Tobler

Best Professional Editor, Long Form

Sheila E. Gilbert

Anne Lesley Groell

Beth Meacham

Diana Pho

Gillian Redfearn

Navah Wolfe

Best Professional Artist

Galen Dara

Jaime Jones

Victo Ngai

John Picacio

Yuko Shimizu

Charles Vess 

Best Semiprozine

Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor-in-chief and publisher Scott H. Andrews

Fireside Magazine, edited by Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, copyeditor Chelle Parker; social coordinator Meg Frank, special features editor Tanya DePass, founding editor Brian White, publisher and art director Pablo Defendini

FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, executive editors Troy L. Wiggins and DaVaun Sanders, editors L.D. Lewis, Brandon O’Brien, Kaleb Russell, Danny Lore, and Brent Lambert

Shimmer, publisher Beth Wodzinski, senior editor E. Catherine Tobler

Strange Horizons, edited by Jane Crowley, Kate Dollarhyde, Vanessa Rose Phin, Vajra Chandrasekera, Romie Stott, Maureen Kincaid Speller, and the Strange Horizons Staff

Uncanny Magazine, publishers/editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, managing editor Michi Trota, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky, Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue editors-in-chief Elsa Sjunneson-Henry and Dominik Parisien

Best Fanzine

Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus

Journey Planet, edited by Team Journey Planet

Lady Business, editors Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay & Susan

nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla and The G

Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur

Rocket Stack Rank, editors Greg Hullender and Eric Wong 

Best Fancast

Be the Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace

The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe

Fangirl Happy Hour, hosted by Ana Grilo and Renay Williams

Galactic Suburbia, hosted by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts, produced by Andrew Finch

Our Opinions Are Correct, hosted by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders

The Skiffy and Fanty Show, produced by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke; hosted by Jen Zink, Shaun Duke, Paul Weimer, Alex Acks, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Trish Matson, and team

Best Fan Writer

Foz Meadows - an Aussie writer, who wrote some good stuff for Ford Street Publishing  before she left to live overseas for a while. I follow her on Twitter, but am not really familiar with her fan writing.

James Davis Nicoll

Charles Payseur

Elsa Sjunneson-Henry

Alasdair Stuart

Bogi Takács 

Best Fan Artist

Sara Felix

Grace P. Fong

Meg Frank

Ariela Housman

Likhain (Mia Sereno)

Spring Schoenhuth

Best Art Book

The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, illustrated by Charles Vess, written by Ursula K. Le Guin (Saga Press /Gollancz)

Daydreamer’s Journey: The Art of Julie Dillon, by Julie Dillon (self-published)

Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History, by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Sam Witwer (Ten Speed Press)

Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, ed. John Fleskes (Flesk Publications)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie, by Ramin Zahed (Titan Books)

Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, ed. Catherine McIlwaine (Bodleian Library)

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Katherine Arden (2nd year of eligibility)

S.A. Chakraborty (2nd year of eligibility)

R.F. Kuang (1st year of eligibility)

Jeannette Ng (2nd year of eligibility)

Vina Jie-Min Prasad (2nd year of eligibility)

Rivers Solomon (2nd year of eligibility) 

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

The Belles, by Dhonielle Clayton (Freeform / Gollancz)

Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt / Macmillan Children’s Books)

The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black (Little, Brown / Hot Key Books)

Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)

The Invasion, by Peadar O’Guilin (David Fickling Books / Scholastic)

Tess of the Road, by Rachel Hartman (Random House / Penguin Teen)

And here are the retros! Most of those I have read were familiar to me from my early years of reading SF and fantasy. They are still worth reading, and I’m pretty sure you can get some of them free in Project Gutenberg, or cheap in the 99c SF Megapacks. 

1944 Retrospective Hugo Awards Finalists

The 1944 Retrospective Hugo Awards were presented on Thursday, 15 August in Dublin.  The report of the winners is here.

Best Novel

Conjure Wife, by Fritz Leiber, Jr. (Unknown Worlds, April 1943) A group of wives of university academics who are doing witchy things to support their husbands.  Good stuff! 

Earth’s Last Citadel, by C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner (Argosy, April 1943)

Gather, Darkness! by Fritz Leiber, Jr. (Astounding Science-Fiction, May-July 1943) I’ve read this, but it has been such a long time! 

Das Glasperlenspiel [The Glass Bead Game], by Hermann Hesse (Fretz & Wasmuth)

Perelandra, by C.S. Lewis (John Lane, The Bodley Head) One of Lewis’s SF trilogy. It’s religious stuff, of course, and shows the Garden of Eden on Venus, only this time the snake fails...

The Weapon Makers, by A.E. van Vogt (Astounding Science-Fiction, February-April 1943) 

Best Novella

“Attitude,” by Hal Clement (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1943)

“Clash by Night,” by Lawrence O’Donnell (Henry Kuttner & C.L. Moore) (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1943)

“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,” by H.P. Lovecraft, (Beyond the Wall of Sleep, Arkham House)

The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Reynal & Hitchcock)

The Magic Bed-Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons, by Mary Norton (Hyperion Press) Made into a Disney movie, Bedknobs and Broomsticks! 

“We Print the Truth,” by Anthony Boucher (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1943)

Best Novelette

“Citadel of Lost Ships,” by Leigh Brackett (Planet Stories, March 1943)

“The Halfling,” by Leigh Brackett (Astonishing Stories, February 1943)

“Mimsy Were the Borogoves,” by Lewis Padgett (C.L. Moore & Henry Kuttner) (Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1943) A scientist sends some toys into the past as an experiment. They are found by kids, who make more use of them than the kids for whom they were just toys. 

“The Proud Robot,” by Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner) (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1943) Very funny, and easily available on line. 

“Symbiotica,” by Eric Frank Russell (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1943)

“Thieves’ House,” by Fritz Leiber, Jr (Unknown Worlds, February 1943) 

Best Short Story

“Death Sentence,” by Isaac Asimov (Astounding Science Fiction, November 1943)

“Doorway into Time,” by C.L. Moore (Famous Fantastic Mysteries, September 1943)

“Exile,” by Edmond Hamilton (Super Science Stories, May 1943)

“King of the Gray Spaces” (“R is for Rocket”), by Ray Bradbury (Famous Fantastic Mysteries, December 1943)

“Q.U.R.,” by H.H. Holmes (Anthony Boucher) (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1943)

“Yours Truly – Jack the Ripper,” by Robert Bloch (Weird Tales, July 1943) Robert Bloch did a number of Jack the Ripper stories. I think this one inspired his Star Trek episode “Wolf In The Fold”. 

Best Graphic Story

Buck Rogers: Martians Invade Jupiter, by Philip Nowlan and Dick Calkins (National Newspaper Service)

Flash Gordon: Fiery Desert of Mongo, by Alex Raymond (King Features Syndicate)

Garth, by Steve Dowling (Daily Mirror)

Plastic Man #1: The Game of Death, by Jack Cole (Vital Publications)

Le Secret de la Licorne [The Secret of the Unicorn], by Hergé (Le Soir)

Wonder Woman #5: Battle for Womanhood, written by William Moulton Marsden, art by Harry G. Peter (DC Comics) 

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Batman, written by Victor McLeod, Leslie Swabacker and Harry L. Fraser, directed by Lambert Hillyer (Columbia Pictures)

Cabin in the Sky, written by Joseph Schrank, directed by Vincente Minnelli and Busby Berkeley (uncredited) (MGM) A musical with Eddie Anderson. Lena Horne was the vamp. He is a man being tested by Heaven and Hell alike. I’ve only seen it on late night TV. 

A Guy Named Joe, written by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan and Dalton Trumbo, directed by Victor Fleming (MGM)

Heaven Can Wait, written by Samson Raphaelson, directed by Ernst Lubitsch (20th Century Fox)

Münchhausen, written by Erich Kästner and Rudolph Erich Raspe, directed by Josef von Báky (UFA)

Phantom of the Opera, written by Eric Taylor, Samuel Hoffenstein and Hans Jacoby, directed by Arthur Lubin (Universal Pictures) 

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

The Ape Man, written by Barney A. Sarecky, directed by William Beaudine (Banner Productions)

Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, written by Curt Siodmak, directed by Roy William Neill (Universal Pictures)

Der Fuehrer’s Face, story by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer, directed by Jack Kinney (Disney)

I Walked With a Zombie, written by Curt Siodmak and Ardel Wray, directed by Jacques Tourneur (RKO Radio Pictures)

The Seventh Victim, written by Charles O’Neal and DeWitt Bodeen, directed by Mark Robson (RKO Radio Pictures)

Super-Rabbit, written by Tedd Pierce, directed by Charles M. Jones (Warner Bros) 

Best Professional Editor, Short Form

John W. Campbell

Oscar J. Friend

Mary Gnaedinger

Dorothy McIlwraith

Raymond A. Palmer

Donald A. Wollheim 

Best Professional Artist

Hannes Bok

Margaret Brundage

Virgil Finlay

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

J. Allen St. John

William Timmins 

Best Fanzine

Futurian War Digest, editor J. Michael Rosenblum

Guteto, editor Morojo (Myrtle R. Douglas)

The Phantagraph, editor Donald A. Wollheim

Voice of the Imagi-Nation, editors Jack Erman (Forrest J Ackerman) & Morojo (Myrtle Douglas)

YHOS, editor Art Widner

Le Zombie, editor Wilson “Bob” Tucker 

Best Fan Writer

Forrest J. Ackerman

Morojo (Myrtle Douglas)

Jack Speer

Wilson “Bob” Tucker

Art Widner

Donald A. Wollheim

Of course, I’ve heard of such folk as Forrest J. Ackerman and Donal A. Wollheim, but I’m not familiar with their fan writing. 

So, is anything on either of these lists familiar to you? And bcor3 I find out who actually won, who would you/did you vote for?