Friday, December 07, 2007

Hugo Winners I have read (as of now)

I picked this up from CW's Ruminations blog. The meme is to simply note the ones you have read from the list of Hugo Award winners. Clearly, I have some catching up to do. Then again, when it comes to SciFi, I often read more short fiction. So, I have read more of these authors than the list would indicate, just not the particular works. Anyhow, here is the list. I have italicized the ones I have actually read. By the way, going to the Hugo site is a good way to get other writing ideas, since they give you the winners as well as nominees (at least for some years) plus the Hugo is also awarded to short fiction works. I will add any remarks in brackets. Anyhow, here we go.

The list:

2007 Rainbows End,Vernor Vinge
2006 Spin, Robert Charles Wilson
2005 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke
2004 Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold
2003 Hominids, Robert J. Sawyer
2002 American Gods, Neil Gaiman [Gaiman is another of my all time favorites. I have read a few of his other works, and I will certainly read his others]
2001 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J. K. Rowling [This is probably why I will never get this list complete. I have no interest in reading Rowling's works. And since I already know the plot, less of an incentive too]
2000 A Deepness in the Sky, Vernor Vinge
1999 To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis [I have read some of her short fiction in anthologies]
1998 Forever Peace, Joe Haldeman [It's on my to-read list]
1997 Blue Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson
1996 The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson [I did read his Snow Crash]
1995 Mirror Dance, Lois McMaster Bujold
1994 Green Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson
1993 Doomsday Book, Connie Willis
1993 A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge
1992 Barrayar, Lois McMaster Bujold
1991 The Vor Game, Lois McMaster Bujold
1990 Hyperion, Dan Simmons
1989 Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
1988 The Uplift War, David Brin
1987 Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card
1986 Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card [This is one of my favorites. I have to reread it soon]

1985 Neuromancer, William Gibson
1984 Startide Rising, David Brin
1983 Foundation’s Edge, Isaac Asimov [Looking at this, I can't believe I have not read the Foundation Books. Oh well, one of these days. I have read some of his short work ]
1982 Downbelow Station, C. J. Cherryh
1981 The Snow Queen, Joan D. Vinge
1980 The Fountains of Paradise, Arthur C. Clarke
1979 Dreamsnake, Vonda N. McIntyre
1978 Gateway, Frederik Pohl [I have read Pohl's work. One that did not make it here was his novel with C.M. Kornbluth, The Space Merchants. I highly recommend it]
1977 Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, Kate Wilhelm
1976 The Forever War, Joe Haldeman [Another of my favorites I have to revisit soon. I read around the same time I read Heinlein's Starship Troopers.]
1975 The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin
1974 Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke [I just finished this one. Was not too impressed]
1973 The Gods Themselves, Isaac Asimov
1972 To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer
1971 Ringworld, Larry Niven
1970 The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
1969 Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
1968 Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
1967 The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein
1966 Dune, Frank Herbert
1966 And Call Me Conrad (This Immortal), Roger Zelazny
1965 The Wanderer, Fritz Leiber
1964 Here Gather the Stars (Way Station), Clifford D. Simak [Have read his short fiction. Pretty good stuff actually]
1963 The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick [I have read some of his other works. Most recently, read A Scanner Darkly]
1962 Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
1961 A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M., Miller Jr

1960 Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
[I have also read his Time Enough for Love, which is one of my favorites, though a bit long. Heinlein is sort of a love-hate thing. I tried to read his Job: A Comedy of Justice, and I dropped it. Too boring. Farnham's Freehold was not that great either. However, a good number of Heinlein's early short fiction is really good.]

1959 A Case of Conscience, James Blish [I am reluctant to read this. I read Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow, which I hated then, and I still hate. I don't hate too many books, but this is one of the few I do. Since I read this particular Blish novel is similar, you can see my reluctance. This may be another reason I will never get this whole list done].

1958 The Big Time, Fritz Leiber
1956 Double Star, Robert A. Heinlein
1955 They’d Rather Be Right (The Forever Machine), Mark Clifton & Frank Riley
1953 The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester [I love Bester. I also read his The Stars My Destination, as well as some of his short fiction.]

Hmm, 11 out of the 55. Not too good if you are one of those people who feels a need to read everything on a list, which I am not. However, there are some works on this list I am definitely interested in reading. And there are a lot more that are not listed I would rather read. CW asks readers if they are fans of science fiction, to which I would answer that I am, even if I have not read most of this list. I will say I don't consider Harry Potter science fiction by any stretch (it's fantasy, and yes, I do read some fantasy as well). As I said, I read a lot of short fiction. Often, I "keep up" in this area by reading one or more of the "Best Of" Annuals that come out. I tend to favor David G. Hartwell's anthologies, but I do read Gardner Dozois's now and then too (my wife goes for both).

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