Comments: Although Joe Haldeman's Best Novel winning Forever Peace sounds like it should be a sequel to his Hugo-Award winning The Forever War, it is an entirely different story, with entirely different characters. However, like Haldeman's earlier book, Forever Peace is a thoughtful and devastating examination of the consequences of war in a future more technologically advanced age.
The one category in this year that I have a quibble with is the Best Dramatic Presentation award. While it was probably inevitable that the movie Contact would win, given its big budget production and the fact that it was based upon a book written by the deservedly well-respected Carl Sagan, it seems criminal that Babylon 5 didn't even get a single nomination for any of the episodes of its stellar fourth season. Among great episodes like Falling Toward Apotheosis, Into the Fire, Intersections in Real Time, and Endgame, certainly there was one that deserved at least a slight nod. But no, the voters had to reward Veerhoeven's execrable treatment of Starship Troopers and the airy fluff of Men in Black instead. There is no justice in the world.
Best Novel
Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman
Other Finalists:
City on Fire by Walter Jon Williams
Frameshift by Robert J. Sawyer
Jack Faust by Michael Swanwick
The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons
Best Novella
. . . Where Angels Fear to Tread by Allen M. Steele
Other Finalists:
Ecopoiesis by Geoffrey A. Landis
The Funeral March of the Marionettes by Adam-Troy Castro
Loose Ends by Paul Levinson
Marrow by Robert Reed
Best Novelette
We Will Drink a Fish Together . . . by Bill Johnson
Other Finalists:
Broken Symmetry by Michael A. Burstein
Moon Six by Stephen Baxter
Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream by James Alan Gardner
The Undiscovered by William SandersBest Short Story
The 43 Antarean Dynasties by Mike Resnick
Other Finalists:
Beluthahatchie by Andy Duncan
The Hand You're Dealt by Robert J. Sawyer
Itsy Bitsy Spider by James Patrick Kelly
No Planets Strike by Gene Wolfe
Standing Room Only by Karen Joy Fowler
Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work
The Encyclopedia of Fantasy edited by John Clute and John Grant
Other Finalists:
Infinite Worlds: The Fantastic Visions of Science Fiction Art by Vincent Di Fate
Reflections and Refractions: Thoughts on Science-Fiction, Science, and Other Matters by Robert Silverberg
Space Travel by Ben Bova with Anthony R. Lewis
Spectrum 4: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner, with Jim Loehr
Best Dramatic Presentation
Contact
Other Finalists:
The Fifth Element
Gattaca
Men in Black
Starship Troopers
Best Professional Editor
Gardner Dozois
Other Finalists:
Scott Edelman
David G. Hartwell
Stanley Schmidt
Gordon van Gelder
Best Professional Artist
Bob Eggleton
Other Finalists:
Jim Burns
Thomas Canty
David A. Cherry
Don Maitz
Michael Whelan
Best Semi-Prozine
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown
Other Finalists:
Interzone edited by David Pringle
The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer, Ariel Haméon, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin Maroney
Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew I. PorterSpeculations edited by Kent Brewster and Denise Lee
Best Fanzine
Mimosa edited by Dick Lynch and Nicki Lynch
Other Finalists:
Ansible edited by Dave Langford
Attitude edited by Michael Abbott, John Dallman, and Pam Wells
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
Tangent edited by David Truesdale
Best Fan Writer
Dave Langford
Other Finalists:
Bob Devney
Mike Glyer
Andy Hooper
Evelyn C. Leeper
Joseph T. Major
Best Fan Artist
Joe Mayhew
Other Finalists:
Brad W. Foster
Ian Gunn
Teddy Harvia
Peggy Ranson
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Mary Doria Russell
Other Finalists:
Raphael Carter
Andy Duncan
Richard Garfinkle
Susan R. Matthews
What Are the Hugo Awards?
Go to previous year's finalists: 1997
Go to subsequent year's finalists: 1999
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