On the Clarke Awards - Round Two
Apr. 8th, 2013 09:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
danieldwilliamLast year at about this time I decided to try and read the Clarke Award short list.
It was partly a desire to keep current with the best, or at least the currently well regarded in Science Fiction. Partly it was an attempt to find some new authors.
It began and ended with the End Specialist by Drew Magarey, perhaps the worst book I have ever read.* Not even the fact that the book title is a superb innuendo involving an Edinburgh Massage Parlour can make me think anything but ill of that book.
So, I’m a little more circumspect about repeating the experiment. However, looking at some of the chat about short lists for various awards they seem of a much higher standard this year. No Christopher Priestly writing blogs in vain. Nothing on the list by anyone called Drew. In the powerful words of D’ream, Party Up the World.
So, I’m going to give it a go again this year.
*If I ever met Drew Magarey or his publisher I’m going to ask for my money back.
It was partly a desire to keep current with the best, or at least the currently well regarded in Science Fiction. Partly it was an attempt to find some new authors.
It began and ended with the End Specialist by Drew Magarey, perhaps the worst book I have ever read.* Not even the fact that the book title is a superb innuendo involving an Edinburgh Massage Parlour can make me think anything but ill of that book.
So, I’m a little more circumspect about repeating the experiment. However, looking at some of the chat about short lists for various awards they seem of a much higher standard this year. No Christopher Priestly writing blogs in vain. Nothing on the list by anyone called Drew. In the powerful words of D’ream, Party Up the World.
So, I’m going to give it a go again this year.
*If I ever met Drew Magarey or his publisher I’m going to ask for my money back.
