Who is HJPEV?

Monday, February 16th, 2015

So chapter 104 of Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is out and big reveal at the end. Reading comments at fanfic and r/hpmor, I’m going to go out on a limb and say most folks are missing the point of the last line. Spoilers follow.
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Hugo Nominations 2015

Saturday, January 24th, 2015

I’m eligible to nominate for the Hugo this year, but I don’t think I’m going to nominate much. Although I read every issue of Analog, Asimov’s, and F&SF with a 2015 cover date, various issues of Galaxy’s Edge, Apex, and other magazines, many stories online, and at least one anthology, only two stories have stuck with me.
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Refusing the Call

Wednesday, November 12th, 2014

My latest short story, Refusing the Call, is now available in Third Flatiron’s Abbreviated Epics for Kindle, DRM-free ePub, or just plain paper.

Abbreviated Epics Cover

It wasn’t easy figuring out how to write an epic in only 3,000 words. In the end I just started at the beginning, and stayed there. Enjoy!

Hugo 2014: Best Editor Short Form

Friday, August 15th, 2014

This was a really easy category to vote in. I was already familiar with all the nominees here, and had really clear preferences. They’re all good, but ranking from first to last (not that last is bad in this group) my choices are:
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Hugo 2014: Best Dramatic Presentation Long Form

Friday, August 15th, 2014

This is a tough vote. The best movie among the nominees is clearly Gravity (though you could make a case for Frozen) but my concern is that it’s not speculative. This is set in the present day, with present day technology. If it had been done 40 years ago it would have been SF. Today it isn’t. IMHO, merely being set in space does not qualify a movie as SF, so as good as it is, it doesn’t get my vote.
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Hugo 2014: Best Novella

Friday, August 15th, 2014

The Novella category has some good nominees and one probable example of ballot-box stuffing. My first place vote goes to “The Chaplain’s Legacy” by Brad Torgersen. This was the only one of the group I’d read before the nominees came out. It’s solid, post-Vietnam, military SF. It’s a really good story and worth the nomination. Usually I don’t remember 90% of what’s published in the magazines two months after I’ve read them, but I remembered this one.
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