Scan barcode
gtbenathan's review
5.0
I learned a whole lot about the hugos from this. The idea of things being looked at well after the fact was brilliant and I want that for the next 10 years now. Honestly, I'm curious about how the last 5 will get looked at...
amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I bought this book immediately upon publication because I loved What Makes This Book So Great, also by Walton and of a similar format, so much. I was looking forward to great SFF recommendations and book reviews from Walton. This book definitely has that, but it also has lists. Hundreds of pages of lists. And that's fine. I realize I came into this book expecting to find what it was never going to be. For what this truly is, An Informal History of the Hugos, it is a comprehensive look back at the award (and other SFF awards), its nominees and the evolution of SFF literature. But what I really wanted was to just hear Walton talk about books, which only happened half of the time. I also found all the novellas and short fiction, listed in the main body of the essays and in the included comments from the blog, a little frustrating because not all of them are easy to read today. It felt like hundreds of tantalizing works I'd never be able to experience myself. Overall, I'll keep this on my shelves and am pleased to have added so many SFF books to my Goodreads TBR because of An Informal History of the Hugos.
goldandsalt's review against another edition
3.0
Well, this wasn't as wonderful and affirming as What Makes This Book So Great, which arguably helped me go from feeling a little embarrassed about my sci-fi reading habit, to fully and loudly embracing my love of the genre. However, my "to-read" list was finally, almost going to be shorter than my "read" list, and this book totally ruined that possibility for several more years. So it's still a win, I'd say.
Also, adding so many books to my "to-read" list in such a short period of time exposed to me some of my preferences that I wasn't aware of before. For instance, I realized that I'm a sucker for first contact and time travel, but I just can't get excited about clones or androids.
It was nice that it's organized by year and award, largely in list form, so it lends itself to skimming through and slowing down just on the parts that catch your eye. I'd still recommend What Makes This Book So Great first, but this is also a very fine read and worth your time if you want to be exposed to some more names from the genre.
Also, adding so many books to my "to-read" list in such a short period of time exposed to me some of my preferences that I wasn't aware of before. For instance, I realized that I'm a sucker for first contact and time travel, but I just can't get excited about clones or androids.
It was nice that it's organized by year and award, largely in list form, so it lends itself to skimming through and slowing down just on the parts that catch your eye. I'd still recommend What Makes This Book So Great first, but this is also a very fine read and worth your time if you want to be exposed to some more names from the genre.
christinecc's review against another edition
5.0
This was such a great idea! I'm not very well-read in fantasy and sci-fi, although for the life of me I couldn't tell you why because those were my main genres for ages. I guess when I made an effort to read other things, the pendulum swung too far the other way.
Jo Walton's a great writer and she has such varied interests that I figured her advice and insights must be trustworthy. And sure enough, she has lots of fascinating recommendations here. This book didn't just teach me what the awards were going for and what kinds of sci-fi and fantasy was receiving praise and attention for the last few decades. It also added a gazillion authors to my TBR list (like Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge, Poul Anderson, George Effinger, Alexei Panshin, Roger Zelazny, and C.J. Cherryh, to name a few).
So if you've had a taste of sci-fi and want to know what's out there (and maybe take some advice from someone who's read a LOT of these), why not start with some history?
(Great, now I'm torn between this and the Hobbit Duology for this year's "Best Related Work" award. The book doesn't give advice on how to vote, WHAT NOW??)
Jo Walton's a great writer and she has such varied interests that I figured her advice and insights must be trustworthy. And sure enough, she has lots of fascinating recommendations here. This book didn't just teach me what the awards were going for and what kinds of sci-fi and fantasy was receiving praise and attention for the last few decades. It also added a gazillion authors to my TBR list (like Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge, Poul Anderson, George Effinger, Alexei Panshin, Roger Zelazny, and C.J. Cherryh, to name a few).
So if you've had a taste of sci-fi and want to know what's out there (and maybe take some advice from someone who's read a LOT of these), why not start with some history?
(Great, now I'm torn between this and the Hobbit Duology for this year's "Best Related Work" award. The book doesn't give advice on how to vote, WHAT NOW??)
More...