They announced the finalists for the 2019 Dragon Awards while I was on book tour. I just got home last night so this is my first chance to actually have a minute to talk about it.
Participation is free and open to all fans. Anybody can go vote for their favorite books of the year here: https://www.dragoncon.org/awards/
I’m a finalist again this year, which is kind of funny because I believe that every time I talked about the Dragons I specifically told my fans I’ve already won before, so share the love and nominate somebody else. But I’ve got the most libertarian and oppositionally defiant reader base in the world, so they just said YOU ARE NOT MY SUPERVISOR AM I BEING DETAINED and did what they wanted anyway.
I am honored that House of Assassins is a finalist. You guys rock. There’s a bunch of other amazing authors in a whole bunch of categories, from authors that I love. I’m not going to say who I’m voting for (and it wouldn’t matter because y’all are just gonna do what you want anyway!).
One awesome thing about the Dragon Awards is that they are an actual popularity contest for all of fandom. They want authors to spread the word and get their fans excited. DragonCon wants as many fans as possible involved and participating. So please tell your friends. They aren’t an elitist clique, and one look at this list of nominees demonstrates that they are actually inclusive, with big names, new names, large publishing houses, small houses, indy, and everything in between.
I’ve already seen where some of the usual suspects in the never ending culture war are flipping out about these nominations, because unlike certain other awards that have degenerated into a lame social club for like-minded high school mean girls, the Dragon noms include authors with all sorts of differing political beliefs. I think that’s fantastic. The Dragon doesn’t give a crap about politics. The Dragon is all about what makes fans happy, not rewarding politics. This of course really upsets the denizens of a certain website which I like to think of as Fandom’s Prolapsed Anus, which is run by a scumbag who is basically the living avatar of hepatitis in (sorta) human form, and they are very very upset, tsk, tsk.
So that’s a happy bonus!
A bunch of my friends are up for awards (many of them competing against each other!) so I want to congratulate them. Brad, Aaron, Mark, Jason, Nick, Jason, David, Kacey, Chris, and sorry if I missed anyone. You guys rock. Congratulations. You are there because you entertained your fans, and that’s the best thing in the world.
Sadly, I’m not going to be able to attend DragonCon this year. I was there last year, and I love Dragon, but because of building the house and moving I am way behind where I need to be with the writing. I’m trying to finish two books before the end of the year. I’ll see you there next year.
2019 Dragon Award Ballot
Best Science Fiction Novel
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
A Star-Wheeled Sky by Brad R. Torgersen
Europe at Dawn by Dave Hutchinson
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson
Tiamat’s Wrath by James S.A. Corey
Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)
Deep Roots by Ruthanna Emrys
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
House of Assassins by Larry Correia
Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel
Archenemies by Marissa Meyer
Armageddon Girls by Aaron Michael Ritchey
Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard
Imposters by Scott Westerfeld
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
The King’s Regret by Philip Ligon
The Pioneer by Bridget Tyler
Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel
A Pale Dawn by Chris Kennedy, Mark Wandrey
Order of the Centurion by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
Marine by Joshua Dalzelle
Sons of the Lion by Jason Cordova
The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
Uncompromising Honor by David Weber
Best Alternate History Novel
Black Chamber by S.M. Stirling
Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Iron Codex by David Mack
The World Asunder by Kacey Ezell
Unholy Land by Lavie Tidhar
Best Media Tie-In Novel
Big Damn Hero by James Lovegrove, Nancy Holder
Darkness on the Edge of Town by Adam Christopher
Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray
The Replicant War by Chris Kennedy
The Way to the Stars by Una McCormack
Thrawn: Alliances by Timothy Zahn
Best Horror Novel
Cardinal Black by Robert McCammon
Little Darlings by Melanie Golding
Riddance by Shelley Jackson
We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix
Zombie Airman by David Guenther
100 Fathoms Below by Steven L. Kent, Nicholas Kaufmann
Best Comic Book
Batman by Tom King, Tony S. Daniel
Black Hammer by Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston, Dave Stewart
Mister Miracle by Tom King, Tony Daniel
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man by Chip Zdarsky, Adam Kubert
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples
The Batman Who Laughs by Scott Snyder, Mark Simpson
Best Graphic Novel
Berlin by Jason Lutes
Hey, Kiddo by Jarret J. Krosoczka
I Am Young by M. Dean
Monstress Vol. 3 by Marjorie Liu, Sana Takeda
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
X-Men: Grand Design – Second Genesis by Ed Piskor
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series
Game of Thrones, HBO
Good Omens, Amazon Prime
Lucifer, Netflix
The Orville, Fox
The Umbrella Academy, Netflix
Star Trek: Discovery, CBS All Access
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie
Alita: Battle Angel by Robert Rodriguez
Aquaman by James Wan
Avengers: Endgame by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Captain Marvel by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Spider-Man: Far From Home by Jon Watts
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC / Console Game
Apex Legends by Electronic Arts
Assassin’s Creed: Odysssey by Ubisoft
Life is Strange 2 by Dontnod Entertainment
Red Dead Redemption 2 by Rockstar Games
Outer Wilds by Mobius Digital
World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth by Blizzard
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game
Cyber Hunter by NetEase
Elder Scrolls: Blades by Bethesda Softworks
Grimvalor by Direlight
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite by Niantic, WB Games San Francisco
Reigns: Game of Thrones by Nerial
Sega Heroes: Puzzle RPG Quest by SEGA
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game
Architects of the West Kingdom by Garphill Games
Betrayal Legacy by Avalon Hill Games
Cryptid by Osprey Games
Everdell by Starling Games (II)
Nemesis by Awaken Realms
Root by Leder Games
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures / Collectible Card / Role-Playing Game
Call of Cthulhu: Masks of Nyarlathotep Slipcase Set by Chaosium Inc.
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare by Modiphius Entertainment
Keyforge: Call of the Archons by Fantasy Flight Games
Magic: The Gathering Ravnica Allegiance by Wizards of the Coast
Magic: The Gathering War of The Spark by Wizards of the Coast
Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team by Games Workshop
Congrats, Larry! Well done and well deserved!
Cue the gnashing of teeth from the self-anointed Internet intelligentsia because their chosen preachy, dull message dreck didn’t make the lists.
It’s nice to see some of those categories, like TV tie-ins.
But can someone tell me how Red Dead 2 is a SF/F game? I haven’t played it, but isn’t it a straight-up western?
I guess I would say the down side of the popular-vote format of the Dragons is that things might get nominated for certain categories that don’t even belong in those categories, just because they’re popular.
Shawna,
pretty sure it has zombies and vampires in it so technically it falls under the “Weird West” moniker, which in itself is an off-shoot of Urban Fantasy.
Hm. I knew there was a zombie DLC for the first one. Hadn’t heard anything about zombies and vampires in the prequel. (And I kinda feel like if I haven’t heard of those elements, considering how many let’s play/review videos I’ve watched about the game, then maaaybe they’re not significant enough to warrant it winning this genre category over, say, a full-blown SF/F/H game. Not that I really care. Just a nitpick.)
So we should all take the “I’ll vote against Larry” pledge?
May the best book win.
Well done, Larry! You totally deserve it!
Cool. May the best entrant win.
Actually I’m slightly disappointed in myself at how few of the entries I’ve seen/read/played. Ah well, too much stuff – too much good stuff – too little time.
“This of course really upsets the denizens of a certain website which I like to think of as Fandom’s Prolapsed Anus, which is run by a scumbag who is basically the living avatar of hepatitis in (sorta) human form, and they are very very upset, tsk, tsk.”
And who, of course, had to post about this post.
“And who, of course, had to post about this post.”
Because they have literally nothing else to do.
Ah, he did. I’m tempted to go read it so that I Have an excuse to make my post about him rise to the top of every search engine again. 😀
I used your “Prolapsed” line for one of my posts, apparently the Vilers have decided that dissent is terrorism.
https://phantomsoapbox.blogspot.com/2019/08/fandom-dissent-is-terrorism.html
No worries, I only quoted, no linkage to the prolapsed area. ~:D
“But I’ve got the most libertarian and oppositionally defiant reader base in the world, so they just said YOU ARE NOT MY SUPERVISOR AM I BEING DETAINED and did what they wanted anyway.”
Obviously. ~:D When Lefties complain about “Mindless racist minions marching in lockstep” they really have no idea what they’re talking about. Its so much worse than that. >:D
“the living avatar of hepatitis” I love this phrase! Thanks for the books!
What’s even better is how Glyer answers to it.
What did that sack of hog feces say this time?
Well, when he archive-linked you a few days ago.
If you didn’t want me to vote for it, you shouldn’t have written such a good book. Now hurry up and write the next one before I go crazy.
At first I was a little disappointed with some of the titles and authors that made the Dragon ballot. But hey, that’s the point – they are books other fans liked because they liked them. Not because they have some sort of special type of author or publisher. So really, I’m glad to see the wide variety of titles and books/stories. May the best books win!
Now, I just have to figure out how to improve my writing to the point that I get on the ballot…
I liked Son of the Black Sword, but House of Assassins stepped up the story by several notches and I was sorry to have it end. Well deserved recognition.
Is M. R. Kowal’s book (some call her Mary Threenames) book on the ballot because FANS like it (in other words the SocialJusticeFiction people), or because readers like it?
It doesn’t really matter. Mary has fans and readers too. The Dragon is a straight up fan popularity award, so any writer can campaign all they want.
Congratulations, Larry!
Huh, well, I’d normally just give you my vote by reflex, but Foundryside was pretty great, and anything I’ve read by Naomi Novik has been good too, so I’ll have to read that one. Tough choice this year.
I appreciate the dragon nominees list almost as much as bookbombs for finding good new stuff to read.
I liked House of Assassins and will definitely read the next one. I also want Into the Spider-Verse to win every award it possibly can because it was the best Spiderman movie ever, hands down. So there are some promising nominees here.