DRAGON AWARDS ARE HERE! VOTE EARLY! VOTE OFTEN!

The title is an old joke coming out of Chicago: Vote early, vote often. Right up there with the zombie vote of Chicago.

The Dragon Awards are up and ready to be voted on.  I THINK you can go vote for them here.  But I think it's actually a personalized link sent in my email, so that may only be good for me and what I voted for.

Otherwise, if you haven't gotten an email with a ballot yet, you might have to register here again.

But let's see what's up for voting, shall we?

1. Best Science Fiction Novel

Raising Caine by Charles E. Gannon
Somewhither: A Tale of the Unwitheriing Realm by John C. WrightAgent of the Imperium by Marc Miller
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Life Engineered by J-F Dubeau
Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

Oh well....Five out of six isn't bad.  Obviously, the ridiculously highlighted is what I voted for.

2. Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)

The Cinder Spires: The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
Asteroid Made of Dragons by G. Derek Adams
Grave Measures by R.R. Virdi
Son of the Black Sword by Larry Correia
Changeling’s Island by Dave Freer

Five novels? Only five novels? Did we miss one? What happened in fantasy? Maybe they required a minimum limit of votes before they give you a nomination.s Otherwise I would be there too.

Yes, notice, I'm not there... Oh well, we had to know this would happen....

And, Larry, next year. I really want this one to go to Butcher.

3. Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Changeling’s Island by Dave Freer
Updraft by Fran Wilde
Calamity by Brandon Sanderson
Trix and the Faerie Queen by Alethea Kontis
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett
Steeplejack by A.J. Hartley

Eight nominees? Eight? Yikes. Makes you wonder

I have no horse in this race ... especially since I'm not here either ... Sigh.

I'd usually knee-jerk and say Pratchett, but I want Dave Freer to get something. He's awesome.

And no, I don't really know the others.

4. Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel

Blood in the Water by Taylor Anderson
Allies and Enemies: Fallen by Amy J. Murphy
The Price of Valor by Django Wexler
The End of All Things by John Scalzi
Chains of Command by Marko Kloos
Hell's Foundations Quiver by David Weber
Wrath of an Angry God: A Military Space Opera by Gibson Michaels

I told you Weber would take this one. That's my bet. Why? Because Scalzi has never been at DragonCon. Also, Scalzi sucks. And because Weber has been doing military SF longer than the current graduating class of 2016 have been ALIVE.

5. Best Alternate History Novel

1635: A Parcel of Rogues by Eric Flint & Andrew Dennis
Germanica by Robert Conroy
League of Dragons by Naomi Novik
Deadlands: Ghostwalkers by Jonathan Maberry
Bombs Away: The Hot War by Harry Turtledove
1636: The Cardinal Virtues by Eric Flint & Walter H. Hunt

Oh look, Turtledove. However could I have guessed he'd be on this list?

Also, I think the 1635 and 1636 books will cancel each other out, or they'll have to coordinate before they decide.

6. Best Apocalyptic Novel

Ctrl Alt Revolt! by Nick Cole
A Time to Die by Mark Wandrey
Dark Age by Felix O. Hartmann
Chasing Freedom by Marina Fontaine
The Desert and the Blade by S.M. Stirling
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Marina's book was awesome and perfect. So there.  Nick Cole, however, has a surprisingly wide fan base.

Also ... how is Ringo not here? Anywhere?

7. Best Horror Novel

An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel
Disappearance at Devil's Rock by Paul Tremblay
Souldancer by Brian Niemeier
Chapelwood by Cherie Priest
Alice by Christina Henry
Honor at Stake by Declan Finn

Don't know that one, or that one, and hey! Brian's on this list. Don't know that one. don't know that one, and .....

BWAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH. I'M ON THE LIST! I'M ON THE LIST! I'VE BEEN NOMINATED! AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Crap, now I have to get to DragonCon and see if they can fit me in as a guest now. And be in Atlanta.

And I'm up against Brian.... I'm probably screwed....

I don't care, I'M ON THE LIST! I'M ON THE LIST! I'VE BEEN NOMINATED! AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Ahem.... Anyway....

8. Best Comic Book

Saga
Ms. Marvel
Daredevil
Civil War II
Astro City
Providence
DC Universe: Rebirth

Because it's creative as all heck.

9. Best Graphic Novel

The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman
Killing and Dying by Adrian Tomine
Sacred Heart by Liz Suburbia
March: Book Two by John Lewis & Andrew Aydin
Chicago by Glenn Head
Virgil by Steve Orlando

No vote.

10. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series

The Expanse - Syfy
Daredevil - Netflix
The Flash - CW
Outlander - Starz
Game of Thrones - HBO
Doctor Who - BBC
Jessica Jones - Netflix

If only for Wilson Fisk.

11. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

The Martian
Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens
Crimson Peak
Ant-Man
Deadpool
Captain America: Civil War

It's doomed, but I'm going to try.

12. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC / Console Game

Metal Gear Solid V by Konami Digital Entertainment
Darkest Dungeon by Red Hook Studios
Overwatch by Blizzard Entertainment
Fallout 4 by Bethesda Softworks
Undertale by Toby Fox
XCOM 2 by 2k Games

I've heard good things.

13. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game

Quaser One by Emre Taskin
PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist by Outerminds Inc.
Fallout Shelter by Bethesda Softworks
Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes by Electronic Arts
Hyper Burner by Patrick Cook

Highly addictive.

14. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game

Pandemic: Legacy by ZMan Games
Star Wars: Rebellion by Fantasy Flight Games
Talon by GMT Games
Codenames by Vlaada Chvatil
Monopoly: CTHULHU by USAopoly
Blood Rage by Cool Mini or Not

I like medical type things

15. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures / Collectible Card / Role-Playing Game

Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls by Flying Buffalo
Magic the Gathering: Shadows over Innistrad by Wizards of the Coast
Star Wars: Armada by Fantasy Flight Games
Mousguard 2nd Edition by David Petersen & Luke Crane
Magic the Gathering: Battle of Zendikar by Wizards of the Coast
Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying Game (7th Edition) by Chaosium Inc.

I clicked something at random.

Now, again, this link came with my email, and I've had some people get to the survey with it and some have not.

So let's risk it and try it anyway.

And, again, if you can't use the link, go and register with the Dragon Awards here.

So, I will now suggest to you that you go out and purchase the DRAGON AWARD NOMINATED NOVEL FOR BEST HORROR, HONOR AT STAKE!

Well, this has been an interesting day.

Now, if you will all pardon me, I think I may have to make arrangements to go to Atlanta. With about five minutes worth of notice. 

The best comics of the web

Recently, I've done a run of book blogs -- John Ringo, David Weber, Thrillers, Romance, etc, etc.  Now for something strange: Webcomics.

Don't be fooled. There are some excellently written works out there, that if they were written in prose format, would probably be up for major awards in science fiction and fantasy.  However, since there is a bias against comics, these are generally overlooked. If you don't believe me, asked Neil Gaiman -- when his story for Sandman won the World Fantasy Award for short fiction, they changed the rules so no other comic could win in that category.

Some of my suggestions.

Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire: It starts out as a small-town "seer" working for the local population, filled with puns, and a punchline a comic strip .... it ends with major character development, a cast of dozens, and a story arc that makes Lord of the Rings look simple and straight forward.

Day By Day: a political cartoon for those who are generally fed up with politics as usual.  God for those of either side of the aisle, really, but basically right-leaning.

Questionable Content: Basically Left-leaning, but filled with humor about practically every subgenre of the culture, and music, complete with strange anthropomorphic robots .... just go with it, it's fun.

C+A+D on Spartans

Girl Genius: Another epic fantasy story.  If you've ever heard of steampunk, you have the idea .... oh, and there's plenty of basic politics (of the fantasy world, not of this one), and death rays galore.

Ctrl+Atl+Del: This is another unexpected one.  While it is centered around video games and the gamers who play them, there are some unexpected plotlines that are quite stellar .... just keep your eye on the penguin.

Order of the Stick: A very strange comic, drawn in ... stick figure format?  Believe it or not, the artwork aside, it's very standard "bring everyone together to stop the end of the world" fantasy storyline, with a lot of side stories, unexpected character development, and .... oh, yeah, it's within a world completely ruled by the rules for role playing games.

The Gutters on the
new Venom

PhD Comics: for anyone who's ever been to graduate school. Just trust me on this one.

The Gutters:  A relatively new webcomic, dedicated to making fun of the comic book industry, and all of the stupid things they do.

Crimson Dark: If David Weber was a web comic, it would be Crimson dark ... with a few touches of Firefly thrown in.

Whew, got this done in the nick of time.

See you all tomorrow.

Authors I Am Thankful For

Thanksgiving and Black Friday are over. Everyone, welcome back.

This is probably something that should have been posted on Thursday, but everyone was probably busy this weekend.

In my life, few authors have affected me in any way, shape or form. Most of it affected me in a professional manner. From Joseph Garber's Verticle Run, I learned how to start a thriller that didn't stop from start to finish, and while he was recently trumped by Matthew Reilly and James Rollins, Garber is where to start.

Few authors have ever actually had an impact on my life in general. And by few, I mean three. And, technically, I wasn't even the one who really felt the impact for two of the authors … it's a long story.


Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Once upon a time, I had considered getting a friend of mine a gift for his birthday. The novel was Good Omens, which was essentially Murphy's law as applied to the apocalypse— losing the antichrist, for example. It was fun. Strange as all hell, but fun. Neil Gaiman still insists that he wrote some of the funny parts. I thought my friend would like it.

Meanwhile, in another part of the internet, a woman was trying to remember the title of a novel she had read once upon a time. She signed into her dating website of choice, and came across the novel in my friend's profile. The book was Good Omens.

That relationship culminated in the marriage from two months ago.....

J. Michael Straczynski.

Way back in the 1990s, there was a television show called Babylon 5. It was a science fiction program that was less about special effects, latex masks and tight body suits, and more an epic about character. It was essentially a filmed novel. Like War and Peace, with one-tenth the cast. It was interesting enough that I would spend time with my family pondering what would happen next.

Along the way, when I was sixteen, I started writing what is unfortunately known as fan fiction. I had written stories based off of throwaway one-liners in the series. And while I touched nothing of the actual series storyline, I had a few concepts that the show didn't expand on, and spun that off into little corners of the universe, and aside from the first two books, it basically became its own series. I started rewriting what was a fan fiction quartet of over two thousand pages, and I'm now on book 6 of a possible 13 that I've outlined...

One of the artifacts I had picked up because of Babylon 5 is a leather bomber jacket. It had a great big gold embroidered 5 on the back, in the style of the show, and the show logo on the front. I have worn it every winter when the temperature dropped below forty, and there was no precipitation. This includes my days in college, when it was just too cold to wear a suit jacket.

One day, in 2001, I walked out of a class called the History of Terrorism, and one classmate had noticed the jacket. We walked and talked across the university's great lawn, past the library, an administrative building, and to the other side of the campus, until my ride literally started the car, pulled up behind me, and flashed his brights at us.

A month ago, I was a groomsman at his wedding.

A few years afterward, during my abortive attempt at a PhD in history, I drove down to a social in Manhattan, wearing the same jacket. Someone behind me said, “Cool jacket, I know that show.” He hasn't stopped talking to me since. Two months ago, I was the best man at his wedding... the one made possible by Terry Pratchett

I've heard people tell me that reading is an anti-social activity. Obviously, they've been reading the wrong books.