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The Drink Tank Issue 286The Hugo Award for Best Novel 2011Chris Garcia & James Bacon - Editors
 
Cover by Paul Sizer of Sizer Designs(http://www.paulsizer.com/)
Page 1 - Table of ContentsPage 2 - Editorial by Christopher J Garcia
On The Year in Novels
Page 3 - The Best of 2010 by James BaconPage 4 - The 2010 Contenders by Niall HarrisonPage 10 -
What Was Forgotten by Christopher J Garcia
By Its Cover
Page 12 - A Survey of the Covers for the Best NovelNomineesWarren Buff, Jay Crasdan, Flick, Christopher JGarcia, Glenn Glazer, Lucy Huntzinger, RobertHole, Mike Perschon, Steven H Silver
On The 2011 Nominees
Blackout / All Clear by Connie Willis
Page 21 - Reviewed by Ana of The Book Smugglers(www.thebooksmugglers.com)
Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold
Page 23 -
Reviewed by Laura Taylor of Buried Under Books
(http://beyondtheblurb.wordpress.com)
The Drink Tank - The Hugo Award for Best Novel 2011
Chris Garcia - Editors - James Bacongarcia@computerhistory.org
Feed by Mira Grant
Page 25 - Reviewed byThea of The Book Smugglers(www.thebooksmugglers.com)Page 30 - If Danielle Steele Wrote Horror, It MIghtTurn Out Like Feed by Adrienne Foster
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald
Page 30 - Reviewed by Boston Book Bums(http://bostonbookbums.com/)Page 32 - Reviewed by Juan Sanmiguel
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms byN.K. Jemisin
Page 33 - Reviewed by Chris HensleyPage 34 - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms: I’mLooking For The Man Who Shot My Ma byChristopher J Garcia
A Parting Shot
Page 35 - My Hugo Winning Novel by Jay Crasdan
Table of Contents
 
The Hugo for Best Novel is always the biggestcategory. For some reason, folks are more interested inBest Novel than in Best Fanzine.Yeah, I don’t get it either.This year, there are some great nominees, espe-cially with a couple of novels from folks who have neverbeen on the ballot, and two from folks who have wona couple of the pointy trophies! There’s horror, fantasy,space opera, alternate history, near-future SF and justplain fun stuff, all in five novels. I’m happy with the list,who could I not be? There are two folks who I havehad the privledge to chat with a bunch of times, one of my favorite writers and one whose writing brings thebile to the back of my throat. Without the wrong howmuch would we appreciate the right?I’ve read a couple more of the previous win-ners, most importantly Dune, and I’ve read a couple of things that didn’t win but I always thought should have.Re-reading Accelerando, it should have DESTROYEDSpin in 2006. It’s just not right to have denied it!Two of the things that are most interestingabout recent years is that the winners have been sovaried. In 2006, we have Spin, and in 2007, it was Rain-bow’s End. Wilson and Vinge fill very much the sameniche. 2008 and The Yiddish Policeman’s Union wins. Itwas the most literary of all the winners. It was a beau-tiful novel and perhaps the most mainstream winnerin years. 2009 and The Graveyad Book wins. I thoughtit was a weak winner, especially when compared withNeal Stephenson’s Anathem, but what are you gonnado? Last year and we got the tie: The City & The Cityand The Windup Girl. No question that these were twovery different novels and both of them were wonderfuland I coudl see both of them going on to becoming se-rious classics. The Wilson, Vinge and Paolo works couldall be seen as somewhat similar, or at least in the samecorner of the genre. Fantasy? There was one, and therewas an Alt Hist. Then there was The City & The City,which was either a science fiction novel or a fantasynovel. I say calling it just Weird would be a little tooeasy. It shows something that had long been true aboutthe Hugos: that there is no typical winner. There is noformula for winning, and I don’t thing there ever willbe.One of the things about this issue is that itis one that really makes me feel like I always hoped Iwould about the Drink Tank. I always hoped it would bea place that can talk about books, about writing, aboutreading and readers. I have a sercon stripe, so kill me!So, this issue has looks at all five novels, as wellas a couple of looks at what wasn’t on the ballot andwhat could have been. There’s also a thing by Jay thathad me cracking up when he sent it my way. There areseveral folks making their Drink Tank debut. That al-ways makes me happy!
EditorialBy Chris Garcia
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