2004 Retro Hugo Review - Novelette
How I voted for 2004 Retro Hugo Novelette, from favorite to least favorite:
1. Second Variety, by Philip K. Dick
2. The Wall Around The World, by Theodore Cogswell
3. Sam Hall, by Poul Anderson
4. Earthman, Come Home, by James Blish
5. The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound, by Poul Anderson and Gordon Dickson
Commentary (in reverse order of how I voted).
WARNINGS: Comments can contain MAJOR SPOILERS.
5. The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound. Aliens resembling teddy bears imitate Earth culture and specifically, in this story, Sherlock Holmes. Now I know where the Ewoks idea came from. I bought "Hoka! Hoka! Hoka!" to get this story, read it, and put it in the "donate to library" pile. This was nominated for a Hugo?!?! It's cute, but not Hugo-worthy.
4. Earthman, Come Home. I didn't get a chance to read it (a shame, I think, since it ended up winning the Hugo), so I had to put it fourth (behind what I read and liked).
3. Sam Hall. Cyberpunk, circa 1953. A man working for the government agency that tracks everyone inserts a fictitious character and makes him responsible for crimes. I liked this story, but felt that the ending wasn't as strong as it could be (I don't remember why). But it was very close between this story and the next one.
(NOTE: Evelyn Leeper reviews this story, and many others, at: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/rev-a.htm)
2. The Wall Around The World. I ended up liking this story more than I thought I would halfway through. The technologically primitive but mentally advanced society surrounded by a wall, the worries about the Dark Man, all intriguing, though I assumed they had some simplistic fantasy-based explanation. The real explanation truly took me by surprise and was one that I enjoyed.
1. Second Variety. Boy, this one had all the classic Dick elements: robots/synthetic_humans; the battle between man and machine; confusion over what is human; disturbing elements ("children" as killing machines); shattered vestiges of humanity fighting for existence; a truly depressing ending. I really enjoyed this story a lot, and Earthman Come Home had better be darned good to justify beating this story out for the Retro Hugo.
1. Second Variety, by Philip K. Dick
2. The Wall Around The World, by Theodore Cogswell
3. Sam Hall, by Poul Anderson
4. Earthman, Come Home, by James Blish
5. The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound, by Poul Anderson and Gordon Dickson
Commentary (in reverse order of how I voted).
WARNINGS: Comments can contain MAJOR SPOILERS.
5. The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound. Aliens resembling teddy bears imitate Earth culture and specifically, in this story, Sherlock Holmes. Now I know where the Ewoks idea came from. I bought "Hoka! Hoka! Hoka!" to get this story, read it, and put it in the "donate to library" pile. This was nominated for a Hugo?!?! It's cute, but not Hugo-worthy.
4. Earthman, Come Home. I didn't get a chance to read it (a shame, I think, since it ended up winning the Hugo), so I had to put it fourth (behind what I read and liked).
3. Sam Hall. Cyberpunk, circa 1953. A man working for the government agency that tracks everyone inserts a fictitious character and makes him responsible for crimes. I liked this story, but felt that the ending wasn't as strong as it could be (I don't remember why). But it was very close between this story and the next one.
(NOTE: Evelyn Leeper reviews this story, and many others, at: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/rev-a.htm)
2. The Wall Around The World. I ended up liking this story more than I thought I would halfway through. The technologically primitive but mentally advanced society surrounded by a wall, the worries about the Dark Man, all intriguing, though I assumed they had some simplistic fantasy-based explanation. The real explanation truly took me by surprise and was one that I enjoyed.
1. Second Variety. Boy, this one had all the classic Dick elements: robots/synthetic_humans; the battle between man and machine; confusion over what is human; disturbing elements ("children" as killing machines); shattered vestiges of humanity fighting for existence; a truly depressing ending. I really enjoyed this story a lot, and Earthman Come Home had better be darned good to justify beating this story out for the Retro Hugo.
posted by yeff at 5:44 PM
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