Doing the Hugos - an interlude

I was planning to read and write about the novellas on this year's Hugo shortlist. But only two of the five are currently available online, so there isn't much point at this time. Asimov's are being a bit crap for some reason - the Swanwick is still unavailable, as are two of the novellas. Of the novelettes which were originally published in Asimov's, one has been posted online because it's on the Nebula shortlist, another is on the author's web site, and the third only appears to be up as a sample of the magazine's 2009 contents....

I suppose I could have a go at the other Hugo categories. But I've not read any of the Best Related Books, nor the Best Graphic Story.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.... I have seen The Dark Knight, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Iron Man and WALL-E, but not listened to METAtropolis. I'd sooner the Hugo went to something that was, well, you know, science fiction or fantasy. Not a superhero film. So that means WALL-E, I suppose; which I thought quite good, if a little inconsequential. Were there no good genre films in 2008? Apparently yes - see Jonathan McAlmont's "Alternative Hugos for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form" on Blasphemous Geometries.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.... Don't watch Lost, not seen season 4 of Battlestar Galactica (I'll wait for the DVD), not much of a Whedon fan so I gave the Dr Horrible thingymabob a miss... and then there are the two Dr Who episodes. I remember the two-parter 'Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead' having some good bits but being somewhat over-egged. 'Turn Left' was, I thought, better. Both were probably the best stories of series 4.