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Reviewers also noted the extensive nature of contributions from
Gardner Dozois, David G. Hartwell and Rich Horton. Wolfe wrote: "the book virtually a collaboration... a good part of the fun of reading these columns all in one place is arguing with judgments, as her respondents often do with grace
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commented on the personal nature of Walton's columns. He called the book "a singular, essential critical appreciation" for the Hugo nominees, and said that although they were pre-selected as some of the best SF ever written, "Walton doesn't always agree, and is more than ready to tell you why".
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were indeed the best five books of the year, using as reference shortlists from other awards in the genre. After looking at the first 48 years of the award and presenting essays on select nominees, Walton concludes that the Hugo has a 69% success rate. The book was well-received and was itself
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Walton states in the introduction that her goal is to analyze whether the Hugo nominees were the best five books of the year, and to examine how well they have stood the test of time. Her focus is on novels, with occasional comments on other categories, including the
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articles drew frequent discussion, sometimes garnering over 100 comments, the book contains a curated selection of the responses. It includes entries from
Gardner Dozois, David G. Hartwell and Rich Horton that expand on the state of short fiction in each year.
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and good humor". Mandelo's review highlighted the transformation from conversational blog posts to a static book, and noted the uniqueness of the cross-platform approach, saying that it made for "a dragonfly-in-amber effect on reading".
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For each year, Walton discusses the Hugo shortlist in context with other titles that might have been nominated. She considers finalists from the following awards for science fiction and fantasy:
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After assessing the shortlist, she presents an essay about one book from each year. This is sometimes on the Hugo winner, but often about a different book Walton prefers. Since the
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542:. Wolfe observed that the book looked at not just the nominees, but also at works that may have been overlooked for the Hugos, which he described as not an easy task.
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panel. Walton stopped at the year 2000, when she began to enter award eligibility herself. Her posts were later collected into book form and published in 2018.
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In the conclusion, Walton notes that the Hugos got it right in twenty-nine out of forty-two years, or 69% of the time, for novels, but 99% for novellas.
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both won the award. This was only the third time in 57 years that such a tie had happened, leading to a discussion on the fanzine
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and Rich Horton that responded to and sometimes disagreed with Walton's analyses. These were included as part of the book.
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s Lee
Mandelo. Mandelo called her approach refreshing, and remarked that "objectivity is more fantastical than dragons".
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336:(1953–2000). She argued in favor of the ties in 1966 and 1993, and analyzed nominees in a manner inspired by a
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1144:"Nonfiction Book Review: An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards, 1953–2000"
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The 1990 panel, titled "This Book Should Have Been
Nominated", prompted an earlier article by Walton in 2009:
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from 2010 to 2011. These were written a year before Walton herself won the Hugo Award for Best Novel (for
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remarked on Walton's substantial essays on individual books, a comment echoed by
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called the book "an essential guide to 20th-century science fiction literature".
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Over the year following Glyer's post, Walton wrote a series of 49 articles on
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The chapters of the book initially appeared as articles on the magazine
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nominees. The book contains a chapter for each year from 1953 to 2000.
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1119:"Gary K. Wolfe Reviews An Informal History of the Hugos by Jo Walton"
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1168:"The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of August 2018"
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posts drew frequent discussion, with comments from editors
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742:"China Miéville and Paolo Bacigalupi tie for Hugo award"
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The impetus for the book came from the tie for the 2010
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132:A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards, 1953–2000
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646:Walton was a finalist for the 2001 and 2002
849:"Comment on 'Ties for the Best Novel Hugo'"
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718:"Excerpt: An Informal History of the Hugos"
16:2018 non-fiction book about the Hugo awards
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696:"Episode 333: Jo Walton goes to the Hugos"
648:John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
146:. In it, she asks if the nominees for the
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935:"Is the right book winning the Hugo?"
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151:nominated for a Hugo Award in 2019.
1078:"Editorial: Gardner, Seen from Afar"
1055:The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
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740:Flood, Allison (6 September 2010).
633:. This was later expanded into her
621:Is the right book winning the Hugo?
522:, while Wolfe noted her entries on
13:
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1022:. Locus Science Fiction Foundation
966:. Locus Science Fiction Foundation
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825:. Locus Science Fiction Foundation
797:. Locus Science Fiction Foundation
219:
204:about the previous two occasions:
14:
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702:(Podcast). Event occurs at 1:00.
22:An Informal History of the Hugos
1428:An Informal History of the Hugos
1193:An Informal History of the Hugos
913:. ConFiction Convention Report.
597:Hugo Award for Best Related Work
593:An Informal History of the Hugos
127:An Informal History of the Hugos
27:
1019:Science Fiction Awards Database
963:Science Fiction Awards Database
822:Science Fiction Awards Database
794:Science Fiction Awards Database
640:
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421:John W. Campbell Memorial Award
992:Mandelo, Lee (7 August 2018).
769:"Ties for the Best Novel Hugo"
512:highlighted Walton's essay on
134:) is a 2018 reference work on
1:
916:World Science Fiction Society
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595:was a finalist for the 2019
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371:International Fantasy Award
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1058:(3rd ed.). Gollancz
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411:Mythopoeic Fantasy Award
60:Science fiction, fantasy
1466:Science fiction studies
1451:2018 non-fiction books
1048:; et al. (eds.).
880:"Revisiting the Hugos"
603:for Best Non-Fiction.
1342:The Philosopher Kings
1278:The Prize in the Game
1196:title listing at the
289:The City and the City
1290:Small Change trilogy
1204:Revisiting the Hugos
654:series, she won the
652:Revisiting the Hugos
635:Revisiting the Hugos
451:Philip K. Dick Award
334:Revisiting the Hugos
271:A Fire Upon the Deep
1117:(24 October 2018).
847:(18 October 2010).
767:(17 October 2010).
519:The Lathe of Heaven
461:James Tiptree Award
431:World Fantasy Award
33:First edition cover
23:
1176:Barnes & Noble
1014:"Awards Directory"
958:"Jo Walton Awards"
817:"Hugo Awards 1993"
789:"Hugo Awards 1966"
694:(24 August 2018).
547:Barnes & Noble
502:in his review for
21:
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1166:(2 August 2018).
1149:Publishers Weekly
908:Leeper, Evelyn C.
688:Strahan, Jonathan
576:Publishers Weekly
514:Ursula K. Le Guin
491:Publishers Weekly
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118:978-0-7653-7908-5
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566:", but dislikes
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539:On Wings of Song
441:Prometheus Award
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305:Paolo Bacigalupi
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166:, in 2012). The
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1152:. 25 June 2018.
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560:Robert Heinlein
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524:Robert Heinlein
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465:1991 – present
455:1982 – present
445:1979 – present
435:1975 – present
425:1973 – present
415:1971 – present
405:1971 – present
395:1966 – present
385:1953 – present
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300:The Windup Girl
215:Best Novel Hugo
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93:Media type
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1090:. April 2019.
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260:Doomsday Book
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247:Roger Zelazny
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242:This Immortal
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213:Ties for the
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1385:Among Others
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1361:Other novels
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1315:Half a Crown
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1164:Somers, Jeff
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1062:15 September
1060:. Retrieved
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1050:"Walton, Jo"
1036:
1026:15 September
1024:. Retrieved
1017:
1008:
1002:. Macmillan.
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970:15 September
968:. Retrieved
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943:. Macmillan.
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892:15 September
890:. Retrieved
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829:15 September
827:. Retrieved
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799:. Retrieved
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747:The Guardian
745:
726:. Macmillan.
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661:Among Others
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1461:Hugo Awards
1420:Non-fiction
1042:Clute, John
888:. Macmillan
765:Glyer, Mike
625:Dan Simmons
601:Locus Award
555:Jeff Somers
401:Locus Award
142:written by
130:(subtitled
106:(hardcover)
1445:Categories
931:Walton, Jo
876:Walton, Jo
845:Walton, Jo
714:Walton, Jo
672:References
381:Hugo Award
315:Mike Glyer
182:Background
1350:Necessity
1247:Jo Walton
1245:Works by
485:Reception
144:Jo Walton
69:Tor Books
65:Publisher
43:Jo Walton
1377:Lifelode
1307:Ha'penny
1299:Farthing
854:File 770
774:File 770
630:Hyperion
351:Campbell
344:Synopsis
201:File 770
49:Language
1211:series)
1209:Tor.com
999:Tor.com
940:Tor.com
885:Tor.com
723:Tor.com
580:Tor.com
474:Tor.com
332:titled
330:Tor.com
190:, when
168:Tor.com
157:Tor.com
140:fantasy
57:Subject
52:English
1431:(2018)
1412:(2020)
1404:(2019)
1396:(2014)
1388:(2011)
1380:(2009)
1372:(2003)
1353:(2016)
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