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Ringworld is a lot like Lost, but there’s a crucial difference

Larry Niven’s Hugo-winning novel from 1971 has a surprising amount in common with network television’s biggest sci-fi hit. But what’s really interesting is how Ringworld differs from Lost. Now, the cynics among you might think I’m comparing a classic 40-year-old book to a massively popular TV show that recently ended simply because I hope it … Continued

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The truth is self-evident: Ursula Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness isn’t about gender

It’s 1970, and with this Hugo winner — Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness — we finally got the ladies up in here! And the men too! And of course, the menwomen. So this is daunting. I mean, these are always daunting, but The Left Hand of Darkness — that’s daunting. It’s … Continued

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Hey, Neal Stephenson fans: You’ll wanna read lost classic Stand on Zanzibar

Somehow, John Brunner’s 1969 Hugo winner has fallen out of print. That’s a terrific shame, because Stand on Zanzibar is maybe the smartest, most engrossing piece of fiction I’ve read all year. For me, this is due in part to the fact that the book opens with a quote from Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan … Continued

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Lord Of Light: Big Wheels Keep On Turnin’

In the first chapter of Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny — which won the Hugo in 1968 — the book’s hero preaches a sermon about the futility of taking action in the material world. Names are not important, he says. Words are not important. Attempting to describe some aspect of reality to those who … Continued

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Heinlein’s The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress Goes Dismayingly Easy On Its Characters

With 1967’s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, we bid a fond adieu to Robert A. Heinlein’s Hugo winners. And there’s just no getting out of it: We’re not that sorry to see him go. Much as I love Heinlein — I think I’ve made that abundantly (possibly overabundantly) clear in my previous posts — … Continued

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In Dune, The Earth Lifts Up Humans Into Godhood

On the harsh desert planet Arrakis, a boy faces off against Destiny with a capital D, in Frank Herbert’s 1966 Hugo winner Dune. The reason it’s a classic is that Destiny doesn’t quite win. Now that I’ve read both Hugo winners from 1966*, I can say with some authority that the most amazing thing about … Continued

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With This Immortal, Roger Zelazny Brings the Gods Down to Earth

One of two Hugo-winning novels from 1966, This Immortal laid the groundwork for later divine masterpieces and turned action on an epic scale into something new and intimate, without sacrificing the sense of wonder. I had this theory awhile ago, that when it comes to what we call “classic” works of art, they tend to … Continued

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Sorry, Fritz Leiber — The Wanderer Is Terrible

It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel SO BORED AND ANGRY. If Fritz Leiber’s 1965 Hugo winner proves anything, it’s that the award isn’t a stamp of guaranteed quality. I’m not quite sure where to start with this one, because after I finally finished The Wanderer, late last night, … Continued

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Clifford Simak’s Way Station: A Place to Move On From

Aliens! Immortality! Intergalactic intrigue! Government spies! Armageddon on the horizon! The 1964 Hugo winner, Way Station by Clifford D. Simak, has all of these things and much, much less. Last time I wrote that The Man in the High Castle marks where science fiction breaks away from its Golden Age, but of course it’s not … Continued

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Could The Man in the High Castle See Things Coming From a Distance?

Philip K. Dick’s 1963 Hugo-winning novel is an alternate, Nazi-filled version of what’s now our past. But was it an accurate prediction of our present circumstances, too? Marshall McLuhan quotes Ezra Pound as calling artists the “antennae” of the human species — they sense what’s coming before the rest of the organism, and report it … Continued

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Stranger in a Strange Land is the Catcher in the Rye of SF

Is Stranger in a Stranger Land by Robert Heinlein the Catcher in the Rye for the science-fiction set? Yes, I think you could say that about the 1962 Hugo winner in one important sense. When author J.D. Salinger died this past Wednesday, I must confess it was convenient for me (if not for him), because … Continued

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A Canticle for Leibowitz Is Divine, But It’s the Opposite of Science Fiction

The back cover of my copy of A Canticle for Leibowitz calls it “a novel that transcends genre.” But if you wanna get technical, the 1961 Hugo winner is almost the antithesis of science fiction. As we discussed a month ago, there’s a decades-old argument over the role of science in science fiction; the corollary … Continued

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Starship Troopers Is Perfect — and Therein Lies the Problem

Starship Troopers is one of Robert Heinlein’s most famous books, and one of the most famously controversial in SF. And the 1960 Hugo winner has its problems — but that’s probably why it’s a classic. Man, I accomplished straight-up nothing over the last fortnight or so. In fact, those of you who are especially alert, … Continued

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A Case of Conscience Makes a Case for Science

How much does the “science” in “science fiction” matter, really? Let’s mull that over while we consider A Case of Conscience, by James Blish, the Hugo-winning novel from 1959. There is a long-standing debate about how important science is to science fiction. Basically, the argument goes: If your technology is indistinguishable from magic — if … Continued

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The Big Time Is a Mystery Morpheus Would Approve Of

All the Change World’s a stage, and one man in his part plays many times — though Fritz Leiber’s The Big Time is less a time-travel tale and more Agatha Christie-style Matrix, in play form. Rules. Rules are what I keep coming back to as I think about this book, which won the Hugo in … Continued

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With Double Star, the Hugos Start to Shine

The original Grand Master brings us the first Hugo-winning novel truly worthy of the award. Hot jets, kiddies! It’s Double Star, by Robert Anson Heinlein, from 1956. A quick recap, for those of you just joining us: The first Hugo winner, Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man, was, in my humble opinion, possessed of some interesting … Continued

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The First Hugo Winner Probably Deserves the Ghetto

In “Blogging the Hugos,” running biweekly, we’ll explore the evolution of science fiction by looking at Hugo Award–winning novels in chronological order. Today: the very first Hugo winner, Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man, from 1953. I started this project because a secret dream of mine has been to write a Hugo Award–winning book. This is … Continued