The Top 20...

Add a Comment

Comment by JOE CRAWFORD on July 14, 2009 at 5:38pm

Thanks for th list Debs! I missed the deadline fo voting but i see several familiar titles and a few intriguing ones that i will certainly avail myself of.

Comment by Steve Hardy on July 8, 2009 at 4:46am

Have to agree. I read all of the short list books and felt the winner was the weakest. But I also think it was translated into English and wonder if it was a better read in the original language.

Comment by Satima Flavell on July 7, 2009 at 1:10am

Judging of such contests is always subjective, whatever method is used. Friends who have read for awards that depend on critiquing rather than voting tell horror stories of how sometimes the winner is a compromise candidate because the judging panel is evenly split over two books. So the book that would have been third is given the prize!

I didn't care for Blood of Elves, either, Robert, but when all's said and done, a voted award boils down to personal taste and author loyalty. All the books have had more exposure as a result of the award and to be shortlisted is no mean feat. I hope publishers take it on board and add stickers to the shortlisted books that say "DGLA finalist" or whatever. That will raise public awareness of the award and maybe get people to try an author they wouldn't have read otherwise. After all, if we don't read widely, we can't know what we really like, can we?

I hope the DGLA continues and takes its place alongside the Hugo and Nebula awards as a commendation that shouts, "This book is among the best".

Comment by Deborah J Miller - Award Administrator on July 7, 2009 at 12:27am

Hi Robert - all the information on how the voting is done & what the criteria is, is available on the front page - scroll down to "How the Award Works" and also, there's a PDF in the right-hand column which explains our decision to go for a publicly voted Award. Also, there are notes in the Forum about "Things to Consider before casting your vote." (or similar title).

At the end of the day, voting is always going to be subjective - what people consider to be "better" is difficult, nay impossible(!) to quantify. Obviously lots of people hold 'Blood of Elves' in very high esteem. Personally, I enjoyed it immensley - it did have a strangely old-fashioned charm & humour & when I'd finished reading it, I felt an affection for the characters. Is it better technically? Does it have great pace, great characterisation? These are things for the voters to debate over - and hey, if they read more books whilst they're weighing things up, that can only be a good thing!

For me, as the Award Organiser, our triumph in our first year was really that
a/ The Fantasy readers picked such a brilliant and diverse Shortlist
and b/ that so many people voted & engaged with the process... :-)

Comment by Robert Grant on July 6, 2009 at 5:47pm

I'm still reeling from the news that Blood of Elves won (you can read my review here: http://tinyurl.com/mmjup8) but now that I've seen the full list I'm actually stunned that it even made the shortlist. I've actually read 75% of what's on it and there's half-a-dozen books on here that are so much better.

I'm sorry, political correctness has never really been my thing, but no-one else seems to have had any kind of reaction to the news at all (unless indifference counts as a reaction) so maybe it's just me, but come on! Can you really look me in the eye and tell me that it was a better book than The Last Argument Of Kings? Empire In Black And Gold? Graceling? The Steel Remains? I'd love to know what the criteria were and how that decision was reached because as far as I'm concerned it beggars belief.

Comment by Alli on July 3, 2009 at 8:05pm

There are at least four names in the top 20 I'm delighted to see and hopefully I'll get a few more read before the next longlist is out! I love that I'm now looking at books I'd never before have picked up and I'll make more of an effort next year to read all the books on the shortlist before casting my vote (so many books so little time!).

Comment by brett on July 3, 2009 at 6:36pm

This is a great list and the even better part is that I already have most of these on my wishlist (or have them already)!
Congrats to all the authors and thanks to you Deborah for keeping us all informed.

Now I'm off to pick up more books!

Comment by Liz on July 3, 2009 at 4:13pm

I know every single one of these books - I may not have read all of them but I know the writers and the books, having seen them being reviewed and interviewed on a variety of blogs. I love the genre and think these titles just goes to show the variety and talent in the marketplace today.

Well done to all the long-listers. I am sure being longlisted won them some more readers.

So, what's the plan for next year then? *cheeky grin*

Comment by drosdelnoch on July 3, 2009 at 3:09pm

Pretty interesting placings to be honest. Thanks for putting up how it went Debs.

Comment by Satima Flavell on July 3, 2009 at 2:18pm

There must be twenty fine authors there, Deborah, and they can all be proud of their achievement - as can your team for such a sterling effort in bringing the Award to a succesful conclusion!

Did you know there is another new release called Gladiatrix? It's by Aussie author Rhonda Roberts. I must look out for the one by Russell Whitfield to see how he has interpreted the same theme!

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page