3 ms·

Which of the post-2009 Hugo winners do you consider unworthy? (Let's confine the discussion to novels for the moment).

lmm 2y ago
I don't think any of Blackout/All Clear, Ancillary Justice, Three-Body Problem, A Memory Called Empire or A Desolation Called Peace live up to Hugo standards (and I didn't read The Calculating Stars because I didn't think The Lady Astronaut of Mars did either). Looking at the post-2009 shortlists I think at least Anathem, Ninefox Gambit (and, frankly, both its sequels), The Goblin Emperor and Too Like the Lightning (even if the series ended poorly) were Hugo-winner-quality and The Dervish House was borderline (I appreciate that that that's two for 2015).
- edanm 2y ago
  A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace are two of the best SF books I've read in the last 10 years. I loved them. Three-Body problem is one of the greatest SF books of all time, IMO.
  - lmm 2y ago
    > A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace are two of the best SF books I've read in the last 10 years. I loved them. I found them fun and engaging (I wouldn't have read the second one otherwise) but ultimately not outstanding. > Three-Body problem is one of the greatest SF books of all time, IMO. This is an opinion I am constantly baffled with. I found it awful, simply devoid of redeeming features; no interesting plot, no interesting technical ideas, no interesting characters, no interesting writing. (The worldbuilding could've perhaps been interesting if it hadn't been so thin.)
- tialaramex 2y ago
  I've only read Three Body Problem and Ancillary Justice. I think those are Hugo worthy novels, although I have problems to various degrees with the later novels in both cases.
- microtherion 2y ago
  Thanks, that's a very specific list. I was personally not a fan of the Three Body Problem (apart from the vivid flashback to the Cultural Revolution) because of the language (not clear whether it suffered in translation or whether it was the writing style of the original), and because the physics of it seemed ludicrous to me. But it's one of those "grand idea" series that to me would clearly qualify as winner tier, and it had many fans from across the political spectrum and quite a bit of commercial success. Blackout/All Clear has been criticized for being rather loose with historical and cultural details, and for splitting up what might have fit into a single novel into two books, but I thought it was an excellent book otherwise. I thought both the Ancillary Justice trilogy and the A Memory Called Empire trilogy were amazing works. I disagreed with the hectoring pro-Human Spaceflight messaging of The Calculating Stars, but as a book, I again thought it was good. I was a fan of Anathem, Ninefox Gambit, and The Goblin Emperor (which was my preference to win that year) as well; could not get into Too Like the Lightning at all (but had no doubt that it belonged).
- rsynnott 2y ago
  I can see why people don't like Three Body Problem, though I personally do. Ancillary Justice is probably my favourite sci-fi since Banks died (unless you count The Fifth Season, but it can't decide whether it's sci-fi or fantasy).

lmm 2y ago

I don't think any of Blackout/All Clear, Ancillary Justice, Three-Body Problem, A Memory Called Empire or A Desolation Called Peace live up to Hugo standards (and I didn't read The Calculating Stars because I didn't think The Lady Astronaut of Mars did either). Looking at the post-2009 shortlists I think at least Anathem, Ninefox Gambit (and, frankly, both its sequels), The Goblin Emperor and Too Like the Lightning (even if the series ended poorly) were Hugo-winner-quality and The Dervish House was borderline (I appreciate that that that's two for 2015).

edanm 2y ago
A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace are two of the best SF books I've read in the last 10 years. I loved them. Three-Body problem is one of the greatest SF books of all time, IMO.
- lmm 2y ago
  > A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace are two of the best SF books I've read in the last 10 years. I loved them. I found them fun and engaging (I wouldn't have read the second one otherwise) but ultimately not outstanding. > Three-Body problem is one of the greatest SF books of all time, IMO. This is an opinion I am constantly baffled with. I found it awful, simply devoid of redeeming features; no interesting plot, no interesting technical ideas, no interesting characters, no interesting writing. (The worldbuilding could've perhaps been interesting if it hadn't been so thin.)
tialaramex 2y ago
I've only read Three Body Problem and Ancillary Justice. I think those are Hugo worthy novels, although I have problems to various degrees with the later novels in both cases.
microtherion 2y ago
Thanks, that's a very specific list. I was personally not a fan of the Three Body Problem (apart from the vivid flashback to the Cultural Revolution) because of the language (not clear whether it suffered in translation or whether it was the writing style of the original), and because the physics of it seemed ludicrous to me. But it's one of those "grand idea" series that to me would clearly qualify as winner tier, and it had many fans from across the political spectrum and quite a bit of commercial success. Blackout/All Clear has been criticized for being rather loose with historical and cultural details, and for splitting up what might have fit into a single novel into two books, but I thought it was an excellent book otherwise. I thought both the Ancillary Justice trilogy and the A Memory Called Empire trilogy were amazing works. I disagreed with the hectoring pro-Human Spaceflight messaging of The Calculating Stars, but as a book, I again thought it was good. I was a fan of Anathem, Ninefox Gambit, and The Goblin Emperor (which was my preference to win that year) as well; could not get into Too Like the Lightning at all (but had no doubt that it belonged).
rsynnott 2y ago
I can see why people don't like Three Body Problem, though I personally do. Ancillary Justice is probably my favourite sci-fi since Banks died (unless you count The Fifth Season, but it can't decide whether it's sci-fi or fantasy).