tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5411517893000706576.post2366116932290960422..comments2023-07-08T08:33:50.710+01:00Comments on Speculative Horizons: Does the David Gemmell 'Legend Award' lack integrity?Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07763695390241432518noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5411517893000706576.post-59948058241084565642009-04-12T09:27:00.000+01:002009-04-12T09:27:00.000+01:00I agree Adam. If we're looking for a novel that tr...I agree Adam. If we're looking for a novel that truly encapsulates the spirit and tradition of Gemmell, then The Ten Thousand should win hands-down. It won't though, I don't think, and so this kinda makes a bit of a mockery of that particular criteria. <BR/><BR/>There's also the problem, as you say, that few authors have much in common with Gemmell. Imagine if Richard Morgan's The Steel Remains won it! Doesn't bear much resemblance to Gemmell at all. I don't think the great man himself would have liked it much either.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07763695390241432518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5411517893000706576.post-14453825222783476262009-04-12T02:24:00.000+01:002009-04-12T02:24:00.000+01:00I think they're probably going to have to drop the...I think they're probably going to have to drop the 'in the spirit of Gemmell' thing as well, as it's not sustainable. This year we were lucky because we had The Ten Thousand, which is almost more Gemmell than Gemmell, but otherwise few of the authors have much in common with Gemmell at all really. You can honour the guy without insisting the winner has to be a copy of him. I mean, is Richard Mogan really stylistically reminiscent of Arthur C. Clarke, hence why he won the ACC Award last year? I don't think so.Adam Whiteheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11383677312079611311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5411517893000706576.post-61259451471423319512009-04-11T16:09:00.000+01:002009-04-11T16:09:00.000+01:00Good post Joe, and I fully agree with you on all t...Good post Joe, and I fully agree with you on all the points you raise.<BR/><BR/>I ought to just point out that I was by no means criticising you for mentioning your nomination on your blog, as there's nothing wrong about doing that at all. And as you say, most other nominees have done the same. It's just that for those authors like yourself with a strong online presence, it might prove to be a crucial factor in determining the result (not that you can be blamed for that!). <BR/><BR/>Only time will tell, I guess.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07763695390241432518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5411517893000706576.post-37286312729865533642009-04-11T10:37:00.000+01:002009-04-11T10:37:00.000+01:00Like Wert, I think it's overall a great idea and s...Like Wert, I think it's overall a great idea and should be supported - existing genre awards tend to focus on sf or the more literary end of fantasy. Naturally it will take a while to bed down, sort out its own processes and be taken seriously. We can only hope that happens with time.<BR/><BR/>I very much agree though that the original public vote followed by a panel idea was far better. That seemed to have a chance of getting the best of both worlds - ensuring a popular shortlist while making sure a book couldn't win on the strength of internet campaigning alone, and allowing a panel to steer the award in a Gemmell-like direction, if that was part of the plan. A panel would also have the advantage of actually having read all the books and deciding between them, rather than voting for the one they have read, or the author they particularly love, for that matter, and that would hopefully stimulate some debate on the shortlist itself.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure I see the purpose of purely public voted awards, since you can calculate who's most popular based on sales, and sales are kind of their own reward. Plus internet voting is particularly susceptible to big fan movements - I'm put in mind of Fantasy Book Spot's usually rather literary-orientated yearly competition, which last year was inundated by forgotten realms devotees sweeping Paul S. Kemp to victory when he mentioned it on his blog. <BR/><BR/>Still you can't really avoid mentioning a nomination if you want to be involved, since everyone else probably will be, and since the organisers asked everyone longlisted to mention it as much as possible in order to publicise the award and get readers involved in the first place.<BR/><BR/>I hope they go back to the vote then panel idea in future, as awards are at their most interesting when they draw attention to shortlists, and throw up unexpected winners. Pure public voting would appear to do the opposite.<BR/><BR/>Though obviously I support whatever method heaps me in personal glory. Wish I could say I thought I was as much of a shoo-in as you guys seem to...Joe Abercrombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04096316583998199176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5411517893000706576.post-12931352177862189152009-04-10T19:28:00.000+01:002009-04-10T19:28:00.000+01:00I signed up he award site. For me it is the first ...I signed up he award site. For me it is the first time to take part as voter.<BR/><BR/>To be honest I was dumbfounded when I saw the final long list for the first time. So many books. And my first thought was:"Who will read all the books before voting?"<BR/>Do you think all voters have read all books?<BR/>This would be the first prerequisite for a fair vote.<BR/>I voted and I have read only 10 books from the list. But it took me some time to decide whether to vote or not because of not knowing all the books.<BR/><BR/>Now I wait full of curiosity for the short list.ediFanoBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129248787624088717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5411517893000706576.post-9052917964397394772009-04-10T17:50:00.000+01:002009-04-10T17:50:00.000+01:00I'm not sure I share your optimism, Adam. I agree ...I'm not sure I share your optimism, Adam. I agree it's great to have an award for fantasy (specifically for heroic/epic fantasy that gets marginalised by other awards, but its sheer reliance on fan voting makes me uncomfortable. <BR/><BR/>As you say, perhaps in years to come it will bed in a bit, and will improve. Here's hoping. <BR/><BR/>Having a black-tie do for what is little more than a huge internet poll is taking it a bit far though. That's the sort of thing they should have done once the award had fully established itself. It almost feels like too much too soon.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07763695390241432518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5411517893000706576.post-26954011574560811042009-04-10T17:41:00.000+01:002009-04-10T17:41:00.000+01:00Since I've signed up on the award site and will be...Since I've signed up on the award site and will be attending the award ceremony (* needs to remember to get a suit *), I'm obviously in favour of the award. I also think it's worth pointing out that any 'new' award takes a few years to bed down and iron out the flaws in its make-up. I suspect next year we will see a tightening of the rules and over the next few years will see a more coherent system emerge to select the winners. However, the very fact that we now have a new British-based award for fantasy and it is being backed heavily and made into a high-profile event is important and worthy of support.<BR/><BR/>I am in agreement that the scrapping of the judging panel was possibly a mistake. This would have ensured that the book which wins is in the spirit of the award and not something completely unrelated. I also think the award needs to have its parameters tightened. Definitely no science fiction. There's the Hugos and the Arthur C. Clarke awards for SF. Fantasy is under-represented in the award stakes and having the Gemmell Award (an author whose SF works still featured lots of magic and fantasy elements) as a solely fantasy award would be an important statement.<BR/><BR/>I think the 2009 inaugeral awards are, to some degree, protected from the flak they might have gotten in other years as both popular pressure and critical acclaim makes Abercrombie almost a shoe-in for the award (although I suspect Kearney will end up ranking quite high). Next year we could very well see the Robert Jordan fanbase organising some kind of mass block-voting for THE GATHERING STORM, or a year or two back we could have had Goodkind fans doing the same for CONFESSOR (in a world where L. Ron Hubbard once got nominated for a Hugo, anything is possible). That is the key weakness of the popular vote system and something that I thing would have to be looked at carefully.<BR/><BR/>Otherwise I think this is overall a solid venture. Does it have teething troubles? Sure, but it's a new and fresh award that can be changed around to make it more credible over the next few years.Adam Whiteheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11383677312079611311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5411517893000706576.post-71027185137753391042009-04-10T15:31:00.000+01:002009-04-10T15:31:00.000+01:00I like it. I've filed it under "fan votes" in my h...I like it. I've filed it under "fan votes" in my head rather than "formal panel judging" and I think anything that encourages people to explore books they might not otherwise have considered or makes them think about the genre is a good thing. Maybe it doesn't have the most integrity of any award ever, but to be honest, I look at so many prize winning books and wonder who the hell thought they were worth the honour.Adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12876050775872445521noreply@blogger.com