Today is the last day to register to vote September 1 is the last day to register to vote for the Awards, which will be announced next Sunday. Go here if you still need a ballot. I previously believed it ended earlier but found out they extended the deadline.

Not going to lie, a lot of these were tough calls for me. I have more than a few friends on the ballot and some in competing categories. Spare time for reading has gone down a bit, but for me that just means dropping from 2-3 books a week down to one or two.

Best Science Fiction Novel

Right out of the gate, hard choices all the way around. I enjoyed Secret Kings immensely (the entire series is just dynamite, see my review of Nethereal for a little intro to the series.) But in the end I had to go with Richard Paolinelli’s Escaping Infinity. It was easily one of the most creative and unique books I picked up this year. Kudos, Richard.

Best Fantasy

Easy pick here. Voted for MHI: Grunge by Correia & Ringo.

Best YA

People I respect have been raving about John C. Wright’s Swan Knight’s Son, and I loved his Somewhither . . . but I honestly haven’t read anything in this category. No vote.

Best Military Science Fiction

This was a tougher one. Couple of books that I’d read, and several friends. In the end it came down to nuance and world-building versus rah-rah let’s blow stuff up. Nuance won, and I voted for Star Realms: Rescue Run.

Best Alternate History Novel

Another toughie. Flint and Turtledove are the monsters of the genre, but Flint’s 16xx has kind of fallen off the cliff for me. It’s not necessarily anything to do with his craft, it’s just that history has changed so much at this point that it’s lost some of the charm that I adore about 1632 and 1633. I voted for Lou Antonelli’s Another Girl, Another Planet.

Best Apocalyptic Novel

Tough choice. Ah, who am I kidding. I voted for A Place Outside The Wild, by ME. 😉

Best Horror Novel

I voted for Declan Finn’s Live and Let Bite. Words cannot express how much I am annoyed by vampires, and with a few exceptions, Declan’s vampires are ambulatory mosquitoes taken out in well-deserved and increasingly creative ways that make you want to stand up and cheer. Tom Tinney’s Blood of Invidia is unique and also recommended. It was a close call.

Best Comic / Graphic Novel

This category kind of bummed me out, cause nothing I read last year made the cut. Vote your conscience, and check out X-O Manowar, Scooby Apocalypse, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, and the Vision limited run.

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series

This was the easiest pick. Stranger Things was easily the best of the group, and it cracks me up that my buddy Paul had to convince me to watch it. I’m glad I listened. Binge it fast so you can vote for it too.

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

I’ve seen all of these except Arrival. It’s close, again, but I went with Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC / Console Game

I haven’t played any of these. Console gaming for me the last few years has mainly been Lego games with my kids, and Madden or NBA 2K. PC-wise, I still haven’t finished Half Life 2. No vote, and the same goes for the Mobile, Board, and Card game categories. The gaming category in and of itself is kind of interesting – when I was younger, computer games ruled my life. Now I don’t even have a graphics card in my desktop computer . . .