Awards!

Back when I was a teenager in the 1980s and mined my local library for science fiction books, I got an extra little thrill if I took out a novel with words such as ‘Nebula Award Winner’ or ‘Hugo Award Nominee’.  Not much of a thrill, and I can’t say it ever made me pick one book over another, but nonetheless an award was something to proudly stamp on your book and helped me to imagine that I was a tiny part of a wider and international science fiction community.

In recent years I’ve been eligible to vote in various science fiction awards – I was even nominated once – but I never bothered voting.  I was very happy for the winners – especially on the few occasions when I knew them personally – but the kind of books that won awards were not generally those I enjoyed reading.  Book awards were for an entirely different kind of reader to get involved with.

Enter the Dragon Awards.

These new awards for the best in science fiction and fantasy kicked off this year. The process works in two phases. In the first phase, people vote for their favorite works. Then the most popular candidates are presented as a shortlist and you vote from that list for the winners.

The shortlist was published a few days ago, and to my surprise I had read and enjoyed several of the authors and the works. And not just the books. One of the gaming categories features Tunnels & Trolls – I was playing that way back in the 1970s and what a delight to see that nominated. And there’s a category for military SF… Wow! And much as I like (and write and publish) short fiction, it has very little direct relevance to the vast majority of science fiction readers, and so I was pleased to see Dragon take the bold step of ignoring short fiction and replacing with categories more relevant to how people enjoy their science fiction in the 21^st century. Despite the glaring omission (no matter how hard I looked, there was still no category for science fiction related Lego which my son would ace),  out of the blue, here was an award that seemed relevant to me. Anyone can vote, so I’ve signed up and on Monday I’ll get my forms to vote in my first awards. Take a look at the list. If you like what you see, join up here and vote. It’s free and everyone is eligible.

The awards are not without teething problems (I can’t see a list of nominees on the site, for example) but they are being run by Dragon Con, which is the biggest science fiction festival around (unless you count the various Comicons), so I’m sure it will continue and have initial problems ironed out.

Go on. Have fun and vote. Your voice counts 🙂  (But don’t delay. There are only a few days left).

Best Science Fiction Novel

• Agent of the Imperium, by Marc Miller [Tim’s Note: Marc designed the game Traveller, which inspired me to name my first Legion starship Beowulf]
• Ancillary Mercy, by Ann Leckie
• Aurora, by Kim Stanley Robinson
• The Life Engineered, by J-F Dubeau
• Raising Caine, by Charles E. Gannon
• Somewhither: A Tale of the Unwitheriing Realm, by John C. Wright

Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel

• Allies and Enemies: Fallen, by Amy J. Murphy
• Blood in the Water, by Taylor Anderson
• Chains of Command, by Marko Kloos
• The End of All Things, by John Scalzi
• Hell’s Foundations Quiver, by David Weber
• The Price of Valor, by Django Wexler
• Wrath of an Angry God: A Military Space Opera, by Gibson Michaels

Best Alternate History Novel

• 1635: A Parcel of Rogues, by Eric Flint & Andrew Dennis
• 1636: The Cardinal Virtues, by Eric Flint & Walter H. Hunt
• Bombs Away: The Hot War, by Harry Turtledove
• Deadlands: Ghostwalkers, by Jonathan Maberry
• Germanica, by Robert Conroy
• League of Dragons, by Naomi Novik

Best Apocalyptic Novel

• Chasing Freedom, by Marina Fontaine
• Ctrl Alt Revolt!, by Nick Cole
• Dark Age, by Felix O. Hartmann
• The Desert and the Blade, by S.M. Stirling
• The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin
• A Time to Die, by Mark Wandrey

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game

• Blood Rage, by Cool Mini or Not
• Codenames, by Vlaada Chvatil
• Monopoly: CTHULHU, by USAopoly
• Pandemic: Legacy, by ZMan Games
• Star Wars: Rebellion, by Fantasy Flight Games
• Talon, by GMT Games

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures / Collectible Card / Role-Playing Game

• Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying Game (7th Edition), by Chaosium Inc.
• Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls, by Flying Buffalo
• Magic the Gathering: Shadows over Innistrad, by Wizards of the Coast
• Magic the Gathering: Battle of Zendikar, by Wizards of the Coast
• Mouse Guard 2nd Edition, by David Petersen & Luke Crane
• Star Wars: Armada, by Fantasy Flight Games

Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)

• Asteroid Made of Dragons, by G. Derek Adams
• Blood Hound, by James Osiris Baldwin
• Changeling’s Island, by Dave Freer
• The Cinder Spires: The Aeronaut’s Windlass, by Jim Butcher
• The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin
• Grave Measures, by R.R. Virdi
• Son of the Black Sword, by Larry Correia

Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

• Calamity, by Brandon Sanderson
• Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell
• Changeling’s Island, by Dave Freer
• The Shepherd’s Crown, by Terry Pratchett
• Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo
• Steeplejack, by A.J. Hartley
• Trix and the Faerie Queen, by Alethea Kontis
• Updraft, by Fran Wilde

Best Horror Novel

• Alice, by Christina Henry
• Chapelwood, by Cherie Priest
• Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, by Paul Tremblay
• Honor at Stake, by Declan Finn
• Souldancer, by Brian Niemeier
• An Unattractive Vampire, by Jim McDoniel

Best Comic Book

• Astro City
• Civil War II
• Daredevil
• DC Universe: Rebirth
• Ms. Marvel
• Providence
• Saga

Best Graphic Novel

• Chicago, by Glenn Head
• Killing and Dying, by Adrian Tomine
• March: Book Two, by John Lewis & Andrew Aydin
• Sacred Heart, by Liz Suburbia
• The Sandman: Overture, by Neil Gaiman
• Virgil, by Steve Orlando

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series

• Daredevil
• Doctor Who
• The Expanse
• The Flash
• Game of Thrones
• Jessica Jones
• Outlander

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

• Ant-Man
• Captain America: Civil War
• Crimson Peak
• Deadpool
• The Martian
• Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC / Console Game

• Darkest Dungeon, by Red Hook Studios
• Fallout 4, by Bethesda Softworks
• Metal Gear Solid V, by Konami Digital Entertainment
• Overwatch, by Blizzard Entertainment
• Undertale, by Toby Fox
• XCOM 2, by 2k Games

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game

• Fallout Shelter, by Bethesda Softworks
• Hyper Burner, by Patrick Cook
• Quaser One, by Emre Taskin
• PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist, by Outerminds Inc.
• Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, by Electronic Arts