Science fiction is often political. Heinlein’s middle period is praised by libertarian thinkers, Star Trek promoted progressive mores and social justice, and Ursula Le Guin’s work sparked debates about gender roles. This is to be expected in a genre that often looks to the future for hope or cautionary tales.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the awards pageants are also marred by politics. It really shouldn’t. Yet some people are crying foul because Larry Correia and and Brad Torgersen managed to dominate the nomination process for the Hugo awards.
They didn’t cheat. They simply worked the system within its own rules.
What’s more, I really don’t care.
What does concern me is that the Hugos are a sham in the first place. We had some spectacular, thoughtful, and moving fiction last year. Almost none of it got nominated (Anne Leckie’s Ancillary Sword being the exception).
The Kevin J. Anderson book is a generic space-opera mess that reads like it was phoned in. Continued...