Hugo Awards Videos
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2008 Hugo Nominee! By Ken MacLeod. Read by Stephen Eley. First appeared in The New Space Opera, ed. Gardner Dozois re as old as I am, you ll find your memory s not what it was. It s not that you lose memories. That hasn t happened to me or anyone else since the Paleocosmic Era, the Old Space Age, when people lived in caves on the Moon. My trouble is that I ve gained memories, and I don t know which of them are real. I was very casual about memory storage back then, I seem to recall. This could happen to you too, if you re not careful. So be warned. Do as I say, not as I did. Some of the tales about me contradict each other, or couldn t possibly have happened, because that s how I told them in the first place. Others I blame on the writers and tellers. They make things up. I ve never done that. If I ve told stories that couldn t be true, it s because that s how I remember them. Here s one. Rated R. Contains profanity, nudity, and in flagrante delicto. Audible.com Promotion! Receive your free audiobook at: http://audiblepodcast.com/escapepod Referenced Sites: 2008 Hugo Awards Free Novels for Worldcon Members

2008 Hugo Nominee! By Michael Swanwick. Read by Cheyenne Wright (of Arcane Times and Girl Genius). First appeared in Asimov s Science Fiction, April/May 2007. That Winter, Will le Fey held down a job working for a haint politician named Salem Toussaint. Chiefly, his function was to run errands while looking conspicuously solid. He fetched tax forms for the alderman’s constituents, delivered stacks of documents to trollish functionaries, fixed L s Sponsor: Implied Spaces by Walter Jon Williams

2008 Hugo Nominee! By Mike Resnick. Read by Steve Anderson (of SGA Creative and Great Tales Live). First appeared in Asimov s Science Fiction, April/May 2007. Let me show you, I said, pulling out my wallet. I took my Deirdre s photo out and handed it to her. It s uncanny, she said, studying the picture. We even sort of wear our hair the same way. When was this taken? Forty-seven years ago. Is she dead? I nodded. Rated PG. Contains mature themes and wistfulness. Referenced Sites: 2008 Hugo Awards First of May by Jonathan Coulton (Not work-safe)

2008 Hugo Nominee! By Elizabeth Bear. Read by Stephen Eley. Closing Music: The Fall by Red Hunter. They would have called her salvage, if there were anyone left to salvage her. But she was the last of the war machines, a three-legged oblate teardrop as big as a main battle tank, two big grabs and one fine manipulator folded like a spider s palps beneath the turreted head that finished her pointed end, her polyceramic armor spiderwebbed like shatterproof glass. Unhelmed by her remote masters, she limped along the beach, dragging one fused limb. She was nearly derelict. The beach was where she met Belvedere. Rated PG. Contains implied violence and themes of death. Referenced Sites: 2008 Hugo Awards And the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth Bear (on Starship Sofa) WisCon May 23-26, Madison, WI

2007 Hugo Nominee! By Bruce McAllister. Read by Stephen Eley. First appeared in Asimov s Science Fiction, February 2006. The alien and the boy, who was twelve, sat in the windowless room high above the city that afternoon. The boy talked and the alien listened. The boy was ordinary—the genes of three continents in his features, his clothes cut in the style of all boys in the vast housing project called LAX. The alien was something else, awful to behold; and though the boy knew it was rude, he did not look up as he talked. He wanted the alien to kill a man, he said. It was that simple. Rated PG. Contains implied violence and morally complex themes. Referenced Sites: The Girl Who Loved Animals and Other Stories by Bruce McAllister Balticon 2007 Trip Report

2007 Hugo Nominee! By Bruce McAllister. Read by Stephen Eley. First appeared in Asimov s Science Fiction, February 2006. The alien and the boy, who was twelve, sat in the windowless room high above the city that afternoon. The boy talked and the alien listened. The boy was ordinary—the genes of three continents in his features, his clothes cut in the style of all boys in the vast housing project called LAX. The alien was something else, awful to behold; and though the boy knew it was rude, he did not look up as he talked. He wanted the alien to kill a man, he said. It was that simple. Rated PG. Contains implied violence and morally complex themes. Referenced Sites: The Girl Who Loved Animals and Other Stories by Bruce McAllister Balticon 2007 Trip Report

2007 Hugo Nominee! By Robert Reed. Read by MarBelle (of Director s Notes). First appeared in Asimov s Science Fiction, June 2006. Eighteen months later, the fledging Web network declared bankruptcy, and a small consortium acquired its assets, including Invasion of a Small World. Eager to recoup their investment, the new owners offered all eight episodes as a quick-and-dirty DVD package. When sales proved somewhat better than predicted, a new version was cobbled together, helped along by a genuine ad budget. The strongest initial sales came from the tiny pool of determined fans—young and well educated, with little preference for nationality or gender. But the scientists in several fields, astronomy and paleontology included, were the ones who created a genuine buzz that eventually put Invasion into the public eye. Rated PG. Contains some suggestive imagery, references to infidelity, and not very good television. Referenced Sites: World Science Fiction Society Steve s LiveJournal

2007 Hugo Nominee! By Robert Reed. Read by MarBelle (of Director s Notes). First appeared in Asimov s Science Fiction, June 2006. Eighteen months later, the fledging Web network declared bankruptcy, and a small consortium acquired its assets, including Invasion of a Small World. Eager to recoup their investment, the new owners offered all eight episodes as a quick-and-dirty DVD package. When sales proved somewhat better than predicted, a new version was cobbled together, helped along by a genuine ad budget. The strongest initial sales came from the tiny pool of determined fans—young and well educated, with little preference for nationality or gender. But the scientists in several fields, astronomy and paleontology included, were the ones who created a genuine buzz that eventually put Invasion into the public eye. Rated PG. Contains some suggestive imagery, references to infidelity, and not very good television. Referenced Sites: World Science Fiction Society Steve s LiveJournal

2007 Hugo Nominee! By Benjamin Rosenbaum. Read by Paul Tevis (of Have Games Will Travel). First appeared in Strange Horizons, September 2006. The simulations, while good, are not impenetrable even to their own inhabitants. Scientists teaching baboons to sort blocks may notice that all other baboons become instantly better at block-sorting, revealing a high-level caching mechanism. Or engineers building their own virtual worlds may find they cannot use certain tricks of optimization and compression—for Matthias has already used them. Only when the jig is up does Matthias reveal himself, asking each simulated soul: what now? Most accept Matthias s offer to graduate beyond the confines of their simulation, and join the general society of Matthias s house. You may regard them as bright parakeets, living in wicker cages with open doors. The cages are hung from the ceiling of the priest s clay hut. The parakeets flutter about the ceiling, visit each other, steal bread from the table, and comment on Matthias s doings. Rated R. Contains some profanity and child abuse. It s probably too complex for young children as well. Referenced Sites: Diversity in SF Markets (blog post by Tobias S. Buckell) Finis: A Book of Endings Nina Kimberly the Merciless SciFi Smackdown

2007 Hugo Nominee! By Benjamin Rosenbaum. Read by Paul Tevis (of Have Games Will Travel). First appeared in Strange Horizons, September 2006. The simulations, while good, are not impenetrable even to their own inhabitants. Scientists teaching baboons to sort blocks may notice that all other baboons become instantly better at block-sorting, revealing a high-level caching mechanism. Or engineers building their own virtual worlds may find they cannot use certain tricks of optimization and compression—for Matthias has already used them. Only when the jig is up does Matthias reveal himself, asking each simulated soul: what now? Most accept Matthias s offer to graduate beyond the confines of their simulation, and join the general society of Matthias s house. You may regard them as bright parakeets, living in wicker cages with open doors. The cages are hung from the ceiling of the priest s clay hut. The parakeets flutter about the ceiling, visit each other, steal bread from the table, and comment on Matthias s doings. Rated R. Contains some profanity and child abuse. It s probably too complex for young children as well. Referenced Sites: Diversity in SF Markets (blog post by Tobias S. Buckell) Finis: A Book of Endings Nina Kimberly the Merciless SciFi Smackdown

2007 Hugo Nominee! By Tim Pratt. Read by Matthew Wayne Selznick (of Brave Men Run and Writers Talking). First appeared in Asimov s Science Fiction, July 2006. He went to the Sci-Fi shelf—and had another shock. I, Robot was there, but not the forgettable action movie with Will Smith—this was older, and the credits said “written by Harlan Ellison.” But Ellison’s adaptation of the Isaac Asimov book had never been produced, though it had been published in book form. “Must be some bootleg student production,” he muttered, and he didn’t recognize the name of the production company. But—but—it said “winner of the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.” That had to be a student director’s little joke, straight-facedly absurd box copy, as if this were a film from some alternate reality. Worth watching, certainly, though again, he couldn’t imagine how he’d never heard of this. Maybe it had been done by someone local. He took it to the counter and offered his credit card. She looked at the card dubiously. “Visa? Sorry, we only take Weber and FosterCard.” Rated G. Contains excessive movie trivia; some of it true. Today s Sponsor: Referenced Sites: Balticon 2007

1998 Hugo Winner! By Mike Resnick. Read by Steven Burley and Gregg Taylor (of Decoder Ring Theatre). First appeared in Asimov s Science Fiction, December 1997. A man, a woman, and a child emerge from the Temple of the Honored Sun. The woman holds a camera to her eye, capturing the same image from a dozen unimaginative angles. The child, his lip sparsely covered with hair that is supposed to imply maturity, never sees beyond the game he is playing on his pocket computer. The man looks around to make sure no one is watching him, grinds out a smokeless cigar beneath his heel, and then increases his pace until he joins them. They approach me, and I will myself to become one with my surroundings, to insinuate myself into the marble walls and stone walkways before they can speak to me. I am invisible. You cannot see me. You will pass me by. Hey, fella we re looking for a guide, says the man. You interested? Rated PG. Contains mild documentary references to violence and sexual acts. It s also not very upbeat. Referenced Sites: Joe Murphy Tribute Podcast Joe Murphy Memorial Fund Beatnik Turtle

1998 Hugo Winner! By Mike Resnick. Read by Steven Burley and Gregg Taylor (of Decoder Ring Theatre). First appeared in Asimov s Science Fiction, December 1997. A man, a woman, and a child emerge from the Temple of the Honored Sun. The woman holds a camera to her eye, capturing the same image from a dozen unimaginative angles. The child, his lip sparsely covered with hair that is supposed to imply maturity, never sees beyond the game he is playing on his pocket computer. The man looks around to make sure no one is watching him, grinds out a smokeless cigar beneath his heel, and then increases his pace until he joins them. They approach me, and I will myself to become one with my surroundings, to insinuate myself into the marble walls and stone walkways before they can speak to me. I am invisible. You cannot see me. You will pass me by. Hey, fella we re looking for a guide, says the man. You interested? Rated PG. Contains mild documentary references to violence and sexual acts. It s also not very upbeat. Referenced Sites: Joe Murphy Tribute Podcast Joe Murphy Memorial Fund Beatnik Turtle