What does it say that the four top awards for science fiction had zero consensus on what deserved to be honored last year? In America, the Hugo is awarded by the fans, and the Nebula by professional authors (technically the Hugo is worldwide, but American voters are the majority). Where a minority of fans, called either the Rabid Puppies or Sad Puppies tried to stack the Hugo nominees, there is great disparity between the two lists. Where these groups failed to stack the nominations, the lists align fairly closely.

Now let’s look at the British side: The Arthur C. Clarke and BFSA (British Fantasy and Science Fiction) Awards don’t align with the American choices at all, and don’t match up with each other either, with only one nominee being on both lists, and winning on neither. Also interesting is that the winners of both the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Nebula Award don’t appear as a finalist on any of the other awards.

Recently published stories:

• My First Cosplay  (published July 17, 2016)– How would aliens handle the ?dressing up? part of Hallowe?en?
• Forget Me Nots (published July 25, 2016) A countdown to the end

I?ve noticed that some writers like to keep tabs on how their year as a writer is going. I?ve never done that before, but the ones I see doing it are ones that seem more committed to writing, so I figured that was good company to keep. Here we go!

Short stories I?ve written so far in 2016 (1,500 – 4,500 words each):

• Death vs Taxes – why does the IRS want to meet the Grim Reaper?
• The Curator – a diligent zookeeper is trying to save a nearly extinct species, but both of his last two humans are male
• The Wind Wasn?t Right – Deep space accident investigation leads to a fry cook in Hong Kong
• Sylvester Down – A luxury yacht travelling out past the moon is attacked.
• Graceful Degradation – everything fades: songs, books, photos, memories?
• Zeus Beheld – So the Greek Gods went on a five year voyage around the galaxy, but didn?t understand time dilation, and return 3,400 years later.
• Dee for the Win – A young man tries too hard to be the best racer in his village.
• Plus I have opening lines or scenarios for 15 more.

New short stories on this site (100-word ‘drabbles’)

• The Devouring – a different kind of first contact (presented as a poem).
• Hail to the Chiefs – You might not want to be president.

I decided to self-publish Sylvester Down, The Wind Wasn?t Right, and The Curator on my own site for various reasons (I’m not happy with The Curator, so it might disappear). Zeus Beheld is a little too silly as written to show anyone anywhere. I?ve withdrawn Death vs Taxes from submission because I feel that it needs a re-write but I?m not sure yet what it needs. Graceful Degradation, The Devouring, Hail to the Chiefs, My First Cosplay, and Forget Me Nots have all joined last year?s stories The Maiden Voyage of Novyy Mir and Last Breath Day in the slush piles of various publishers.

I just wrote Dee for the Win this morning (4,000 words in one sitting, which is really good BTW), so it?ll percolate for a while, then I?ll take a second pass at it. I expect I?ll put it up on my site. It?s good to have some writing samples here.

Status on my Work in Progress (aka WiP, the novel, Tau Ceti). I?ve made major revisions to the first seven chapters, am tightening up the middle – adding a bit more beef there, too – it need a bit more danger. Generally happy with the first ten chapters, and the last six or seven. It?s the ten in the middle that are getting worked over now. But sometimes I have to wait to figure out what?s needed and how it impacts the rest of the story.

Like many, I was not only surprised, but shocked by the recent US elections. Michael Moore warned us back in July, but he was ignored. Nate Silver told us, and was ridiculed for that.

Many academicians have been warning people that more and more we live in echo chambers, self-reinforcing patterns and opinions, because we aren?t made aware of the alternatives. Google will show you different results than it will your co-worker, in each case trying to appease whatever expectations Google assumes you each have. Likewise, Facebook learns what you want to hear and who you want to hear it from, and dutifully refuses to challenge your preconceptions. This reinforces the idea that you are well grounded in reality.

Tuesday?s election should be a wake up call against the echo chamber effect.

Like almost everyone I know, I expected an easy Clinton victory, with even the senate changing. Everyone I know was wrong. I was wrong. And we?re all shocked, because our echo chamber no longer matched reality, and many of us weren?t prepared for that.

I?ve been aware of the echo chamber effect for some time, and have tried to break the edges of it. I read websites and threads within websites such as Reddit that challenge my ideology. I?m more than aware of the Gamergate crowd and their grievances and antics, even as I disagree with both. I know the Sad and Rabid Puppies. I don?t agree with them, and I?ve always assumed that they were a vocal minority.

But at least I was aware of them.

The whole Trump popularity thing? It caught me completely by surprise. I worried a bit when I read Michael Moore?s thoughts, but then mostly ignored him, as did my media sources. I saw the Nate Silver controversy but thought, eh, we?ll see? And see we did.

I need to work harder to break out of my echo chamber. How about you?

For a short time there, Keir Dullea was going to be the face of science fiction in the 1970s. After starring in 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968, Dullea went on to front an ambitious Canadian TV production – this was going to be the new Star Trek, the next big thing (four years before Star Wars), syndicated world-wide.

It was called The Starlost, and it was about a huge multi-generational ship, carrying the last remnants of humanity, in a collection of biodomes, each preserving a different Earth culture. It looks like there were 38 biodomes – each supposedly 50 miles across, making the ship some 300+ miles long (not 200 miles as stated in the publicity). Unfortunately, an accident has left the ship adrift.

Hundreds of years after the accident, a trio of ?young people? are exiled from their biodome and discover that the ship is doomed to fall into a star. They spend the next sixteen episodes trying to save the ship even though they come from an Amish-style community (The blacksmith is considered to be the most technologically literate).

Keir Dullea, Gay Rowan and Robin Ward were the trio. It?s hard to call them ?young? but that was far from the TV show?s only problem. Originally conceived by Harlan Ellison (famed scifi write, famed cranky old man) and Douglas Trumball (The guy behind the special effects in 2001 and eventually Star Wars), the show had potential for some great storytelling and effects work.

Yeah, that didn?t happen.

The production company cut the budget, decided to shot on video tape instead of film, deciding that sets could be green screened (Using the same technology as your TV weatherman) to save money and that story outlines written by a bunch of top scifi writers (like Ben Bova) were too expensive. Ellison walked and had his name removed. Then Trumball walked.

And Dullea was left to become the face of a quirky TV show that only lasted 16 episodes. Yes, he deserved better. As the season progressed, the trio continually met others much more capable of saving the Ark. Some were trying to, others were indifferent to the fate of the ship, or had their own agendas.

There were some interesting episodes – ?The Pisces? was about a scout ship sent from the Ark before the accident to scout out habitable worlds for humanity. It returns to the Ark 400 years later, but the crew can?t assist in the Ark?s rescue because they?ve been infected with dementia on their journey. Walter Koenig (Chekov from Star Trek) had a recurring role as a self-centred alien who could probably help the Ark, but instead sees it as a parts repository to be plundered for his own needs.

Frustration seems to have been an underlying theme of this show. Solutions come, then slip away. I can?t help but think that that?s what the actors trapped in the show also felt. Producers Ellison and Trumball got out. Keir Dullea didn?t. His IMDB profile includes The Starlost credits, but his bio only states that he, ?went abroad to seek film work in England and in Canada, but with lukewarm results.?

There have been rumours of a remake of The Starlost, but so far nothing has come of it. The idea had potential. If this is a new golden age of science fiction, can The Starlost be resurrected?

What happens when your old astromech gets replaced by a shiny new one? R2D2, along with C-3PO, was an iconic symbol of first the 1980s, then the 2000s. Now he’s being replaced by a pipsqueak, half his size.

The history of R2D2 and C3PO is interesting. R2 belonged to Amadala, Threepio to Anakin, who of course secretly got married and sired a set of twins. When Amadalaand Anakin both ?died,? the droids went to their daughter, which is where we meet them in the original movie.

Artoo and Threepio were both the comedic relief and plot elements of the original three films. They had their own fanbase (even getting stars on Hollywood Boulevard). They were second tier charaters in the original trilogy – just under han, Luke and Leia.

But the prequel trilogy changed their rankings. Threepio?s branding took a hit in the prequels. Threepio seemed to become whiny. In the original trilogy, Threepio was useful – watch him introducing himself to Luke, listen as he entrances the Ewoks. I’d ague that in the prequels, Threepio moved to being a third tier character, joining Nien Nub in the seen but not heard level.

Realistically, R2?s brand took a hit with the release of the prequel trilogy also. But where Threepio became effete and ineffectual, the little droid that could revealed himself to be superdroid – look, in the sky, it?s a bird, it?s a plane, it?s R2D2! There was nothing he couldn?t do – fly, fight fire, fight warrior droids, or any combination thereof. And he was invincible! All it cost was his role as comic relief.

Hardly the scrappy little droid that struggled to survive that we were all introduce to in Star Wars (1977). Although, given his work in the prequels, I can understand why Princess Leia felt confident in entrusting the battle plans with him.

So now we?re at the precipice – the arrival of a non-George-Lucas-helmed third Star Wars trilogy. We?ve all seen the hype – if you?re reading this, you have, I know. There are many intriguing ideas revealed, and few questionable ones (Luke?s/Anakin?s light sabre? Vader?s mask? Is this a film about fandom?)

One of the most interesting elements was included in the first trailer, BB-8. It?s the next generation R2 unit! (I haven?t heard that specifically, but that?s what it looks like – an R2 head on a beach ball.). BB-8 not only moves around, it also delivers holograms (Like R2). I fully expect that the movie one will have many skills beyond those shown by the toy. For one, another toy has revealed that BB-8 takes an R2 slot in an X-wing fighter.

A good look at both R2D2 and BB-8, for size and comparison of ports:

It?s easy to see how some of the markings on BB-8 align with R2?s various extensible arms.

But what really makes it cooler than R2 is the existence of its radio controlled toy replica:

Compare to the original R2D2 one (I know the comparison isn’t fair, given the changes in our technology, but the target audience is still 11-year-old boys):

So it looks like our astromech has a replacement: BB-8 is faster on the ground, no better at taking stairs, may or may not be able to fly. If it was George Lucas making it, R2D2 would have built BB-8 himself – because you know with a whole galaxy to play in, there are only really 30 characters. Hopefully that doesn?t happen here. As it is, the first time I saw it I thought of (get ready for the ?J? word) Jar-Jar Binks – supposed to be cute, turns out to be annoying and useless.

Now, my sense is that in the next films Artoo will join Threepio as third tier character, both having much smaller roles (Monmotha-level of screen time), and BB-8 will be front and centre. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Should Artoo have some heroic moment (beyond flipping a switch and falling onto someone)? Thoughts? Speculation?

Artoo’s most heroic moment:

So, the most hyped, bitterly fought and controversial Hugo Awards season has come and gone. The ?Sad Puppies? and ?Rabid Puppies? each of whom tried to ensure that only their candidates were nominated, won a total of zero awards (ONE actually, if you include their pick of Guardians of the Galaxy as best long form presentation).

Where the “Puppies” had managed to get the full slate of five potential candidates set as their choices, the voting members decide to give ?No Award,? something that the rules allow. You will also see “No Award” in the middle of some listings. Voters rank their choices, and No Award is one of the rankable choices, allowing you to say, “Well if my choice(s) isn’t going to win, then I want no award given.”

So now what? does the acrimony continue as a full-fledged feud? Or have points been made on both sides, and we all settle down and tolerate each other?s existence again?

Here?s the list of nominees with winners in green (Sad/Rabid Puppies candidates are in red)

Best Novel
    ?    The Three Body Problem, Cixin Liu, Ken Liu translator
    ?    The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison
    ?    Ancillary Sword, Ann Leckie
    ?    No Award
    ?    Skin Game, Jim Butcher
    ?    The Dark Between the Stars, Kevin J. Anderson

Best Novella
    ?    No Award
    ?    ?Flow?, Arlan Andrews, Sr.
    ?    Big Boys Don?t Cry, Tom Kratman
    ?    One Bright Star to Guide Them, John C. Wright
    ?    ?The Plural of Helen of Troy?, John C. Wright
    ?    ?Pale Realms of Shade?, John C. Wright

Best Novelette
    ?    ?The Day the World Turned Upside Down?, Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Lia Belt translator
    ?    No Award
    ?    ?The Triple Sun: A Golden Age Tale?, Rajnar Vajra
    ?    ?Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Earth to Alluvium?, Gray Rinehart
    ?    ?The Journeyman: In the Stone House?, Michael F. Flynn
    ?    ?Championship B?tok?, Edward M. Lerner

Best Short Story
    ?    No Award
    ?    ?Totaled?, Kary English
    ?    ?A Single Samurai?, Steven Diamond
    ?    ?Turncoat?, Steve Rzasa
    ?    ?On A Spiritual Plain?, Lou Antonelli
    ?    ?The Parliament of Beasts and Birds?, John C. Wright

Best Related Work
    ?    No Award
    ?    ?The Hot Equations: Thermodynamics and Military SF?, Ken Burnside
    ?    ?Why Science is Never Settled?, Tedd Roberts
    ?    Transhuman and Subhuman: Essays on Science Fiction and Awful Truth, John C. Wright
    ?    Letters from Gardner, Lou Antonelli
    ?    Wisdom from My Internet, Michael Z. Williamson

Best Graphic Story
    ?    Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal, written by G. Willow Wilson, illustrated by Adrian Alphona and Jake Wyatt,
    ?    Saga Volume 3, written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples
    ?    Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery, written by Kurtis J. Weibe, art by Roc Upchurch
    ?    Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick, written by Matt Fraction, art by Chip Zdarsky
    ?    No Award
    ?    The Zombie Nation Book #2: Reduce Reuse Reanimate, Carter Reid

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
    ?    Guardians of the Galaxy
    ?    Captain America: The Winter Soldier
    ?    Edge of Tomorrow
    ?    Interstellar
    ?    The Lego Movie

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
    ?    Orphan Black: ?By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried?
    ?    Doctor Who: ?Listen?
    ?    Game of Thrones: ?The Mountain and the Viper?
    ?    The Flash: ?Pilot?
    ?    Grimm: ?Once We Were Gods?

Best Editor, Short Form
    ?    No Award
    ?    Mike Resnick
    ?    Jennifer Brozek
    ?    Bryan Thomas Schmidt
    ?    Vox Day

Best Editor, Long Form
    ?    No Award
    ?    Toni Weisskopf
    ?    Sheila Gilbert
    ?    Anne Sowards
    ?    Jim Minz
    ?    Vox Day

Best Professional Artist
    ?    Julie Dillon
    ?    No Award
    ?    Kirk DouPonce
    ?    Alan Pollack
    ?    Nick Greenwood
    ?    Carter Reid

Best Semiprozine
    ?    Lightspeed Magazine
    ?    Strange Horizons
    ?    Beneath Ceaseless Skies
    ?    No Award
    ?    Abyss & Apex
    ?    Andromeda Spaceways In-Flight Magazine

Best Fanzine
    ?    Journey Planet
    ?    No Award
    ?    Tangent SF Online
    ?    Elitist Book Reviews
    ?    The Revenge of Hump Day

Best Fancast
    ?    Galactic Suburbia Podcast
    ?    Tea and Jeopardy
    ?    No Award
    ?    The Sci Phi Show
    ?    Adventures in SciFi Publishing
    ?    Dungeon Crawlers Radio

Best Fan Writer
    ?    Laura J. Mixon
    ?    No Award
    ?    Jeffro Johnson
    ?    Dave Freer
    ?    Amanda S. Green
    ?    Cedar Sanderson

Best Fan Artist
    ?    Elizabeth Leggett
    ?    Spring Schoenhuth
    ?    Ninni Aalto
    ?    Steve Stiles
    ?    Brad W. Foster

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (Technically not a Hugo Award, but awarded simultaneously.)
    ?    Wesley Chu
    ?    No Award
    ?    Kary English
    ?    Eric S. Raymond
    ?    Jason Cordova
    ?    Rolf Nelson

Congratulations to all the winners! If your favourites didn’t win, try to be nice about it. The 2015 Hugo Awards were presented on Saturday, August 22 at WorldCon?s annual conference – this year in Spokane, Washington. 

Comments anyone?