It's time! It's time! It's Dragon time!

 

I'm a dragon. He's a dragon. She's a dragon. Wouldn't you like to be a dragon too?

It's that time of year again, folks. Time to let everyone know what you think about your favorite books, movies, games and probably something else in the world of Speculative Fiction fandom! I love the Dragon Awards, which haven't been gamed to exclude anyone who isn't a favorite of annual WorldCon attendees from winning. Seriously, if you ever get really, really, bored and you can't find the owner's manual for your car to read, try reading the rules for the Hugos. And of course, the Nebulas have been structured recently to be "inclusive" by excluding people like myself, so I have no interest in those either.

The  Dragon Awards are awards of the fans, by the fans and for the fans. There is no cost to nominate or vote. There is no vote weighting system. One fan, one vote. Tell us what you want and MAYBE it will happen. I mean, the rest of us get to vote too, right? Lord knows I've seen enough of my nominees go down in flames. If you love Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, or maybe something I'm forgetting, you should go register and nominate here. Make your voice heard. I mean, we all know I'm a loudmouth but you can be too! You can be every bit as obnoxious and opinionated as your loving host!

Wait...

I said that wrong. 

Since when was I known for my loving nature?

Anyway...

I'm serious about these things and have been since I first heard they were coming. It's like the People's Choice Awards, except for things that I care about. This is a fun time of year. And, of course, I, being neither shy nor retiring, have decided to share my picks with all of you. Agreement, disagreement, and thrown crockery are all welcome as long you are mocking me. You will respect each other while you're here. 

So, without further ado...

Best Science Fiction Novel

I, being me, picked Blaine Lee Pardoe's Splashdown, which was just released in January. He's been putting out content a lot faster than he did for FASA/CGL and that makes me happy. You can see my review here. In case you missed it, forgot about, or think that a WHOLE THOUSAND WORDS IS JUST TOO MUCH TO READ, I liked it because it action packed, with a believable cast of characters following their own personal motivations and a kind of twist between military science fiction and a mystery novel.

Wow. That was a long sentence. You still with me?

AHEM

As I was saying, I've read the next three in the series and I'm working on the fifth, which is the most recent currently available. You need to check the Land & Sea series out, but start with Splashdown, because it's the first one and the best one.

Best Fantasy Novel

I went with Thief on King Street by Jason McDonald, Stormy McDonald, and Jason Isom. 

People from an alternate universe are visiting Earth. They're worried about whether they can get back but they can't leave without rescuing one of their own who came here by accident. There's magic where there shouldn't be because Earth doesn't have any magic. The cast came from our sister planet Gaia, though, and it has magic so they brought some with them.

There's a lot to Thief on King Street and if you want a real take on it, you can try my review.

Best Young Adult/Middle Grade Novel

I didn't have a nominee for this. I guess I don't read much YA these days. That may have something to do with being in my mid-forties, I guess. Maybe next year.

Best Alternate History Novel

Are you serious? I can't remember reading, or find a review of, a single Alt-Hist novel that I've read in the last year. As a huge fan of the genre, I'm going to go cry. I'm going to wail. I'm going to gnash my teeth. I'm going to be crushed and driven before the true fans of Alternate History. It's just too bad you can't all hear the lamentations of my women because they're too busy laughing at me.

*SIGH*

Somebody drop some recommendations in the comments because I'm losing my mind here. Please?

Best Horror Novel

There was only one possibility for this in my mind: Declan Finn's Blue Saint. I mean, even if he made me cry. 

Listen folks, I was a little apprehensive about reading this one. If you've read the Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel you know why I walked into the last book of a series apprehensively. (If you haven't read the first five. They're awesome.) Finn though, managed to save his best work for last and I was pleasantly surprised by that. 

Blue Saint is a book that has it all: Love, loss, action, betrayal and an amazing character arc. I'd nominate it twice if I could. I can't though, so you need to. Seriously. And if, after all of that, you're still on the fence, you can read what I had to say about it.

Best Illustrative Book Cover: Cedar Sanderson's Fantasry Treehouse Art and Architecture. Read about it here. 

"Nuff said

Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel

Money's tight and full length books take longer to read than comics. Any of the stuff that I read on KU was too old to nominate, so I have nothing for this category this year. Maybe next year.

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series, TV or Internet

I was torn here. I originally wanted to go with The Last of Us. It was an awesome premise and a take on the Zombie Apocalypes like I've never seen before. I loved it. I'm still kicking myself for not following it through the season instead of waiting until it was over to watch, but that's whatever. 

And then I thought about it and I just couldn't do it. That sucks, too because on any other year when Strange New Worlds hadn't debuted, The Last of Us would have gotten my nomination. 

ON THE OTHER HAND...

Strange New Worlds is epic. The cast works. The stories work. It's episodic per The Original Series and that's awesome. The visuals are amazing. The take on the Gorn is a little bit out there, but I enjoyed it. Seriously, if you're a Trek fan and you haven't watched Strange New Worlds you're missing out on something great. And, unlike the TOS pilot, Pike is actually an entertaining captain. 

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

Listen: I've been saying I'd watch a real Dungeons & Dragons movie for decades now. I was looking forward to this for months. I went to see Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves myself. I wasn't disappointed. I can't wait to see it again. You can find out here.

There were a couple of gaming categories after this, but I left them blank.

So what did you think? You think you've got a better list? You think I passed something over? GO VOTE FOR IT.

I'm waiting...