Dear Kairos readers, it’s my pleasure to present YOUR 2017 Dragon Award recipients!
Best Science Fiction Novel
Babylon’s Ashes, by James S.A. Corey
Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)
Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge, by Larry Correia and John Ringo
Best Young Adult / Middle-Grade Novel
The Hammer of Thor, by Rick Riordan
Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel
Iron Dragoons, by Richard Fox
Best Alternate History Novel
Fallout: The Hot War, by Harry Turtledove
Best Apocalyptic Novel
Walkaway, by Cory Doctorow
Best Horror Novel
The Changeling, by Victor LaValle
Best Comic Book
The Dresden Files: Dog Men, by Jim Butcher, Mark Powers, Diego Galindo
Best Graphic Novel
Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Wild Card, by Jim Butcher, Carlos Gomez
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series
Stranger Things, by Netflix
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie
Wonder Woman directed, by Patty Jenkins
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC / Console Game
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, by Nintendo
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game
Pokemon GO, by Niantic
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game
Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widow’s Walk, by Avalon Hill
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures / Collectible Card / Role-Playing Game
Magic the Gathering: Eldritch Moon, by Wizards of the Coast
Sincere congratulations to all of the winners!
On a personal note, I’ve been receiving condolences from readers since The Secret Kings didn’t win Best Science Fiction Novel. Thanks. I appreciate the sentiment, but don’t worry about me. I already have a Dragon Award for Souldancer, and even if SK had won, I wouldn’t have gotten the award. If anything, it’s a shame that Jagi wasn’t recognized because her work is overdue for it.
Be that as it may, the Dragons are a fans’ choice award, so this is all about YOU. And boy, do you have reason to celebrate!
I’ve said from the beginning that my primary goal in campaigning for the Dragon Awards wasn’t to win a trophy for myself. It was to preserve a fledgling cultural outpost against subversion by the same ideologues who desecrated the Hugos Awards–specifically by keeping this guy from winning:
John Scalzi was the point man for the CHORFs’ destruction of the Hugos. Under the aegis of works typified by his crass Star Trek fanfic, Scalzi’s benefactors at Tor Books logrolled him to four Hugo wins in fifteen years–as many as Robert A. Heinlein won in four decades. He is the standard-bearer for those who put politics before merit. A Scalzi win is a red flag that an award is entering decline.
Luckily, Scalzi realized that his participation in the Dragon Awards would destroy the Hugo clique’s narrative that the Dragons were illegitimate. That’s why he’s withdrawn from the Dragon Awards twice.
But he’s also a savvy self-promoter who knew that declining too many nominations for a people’s choice award would alienate the fans who nominated him. So this year he got back in the ring after initially bowing out. That was a win for normal fans because now the CHORFs can’t claim that the Dragon is a fake award unworthy of a Hugo-winning author.
NB: Remember when SF SJW Greg Hullender accused Dragon-nominated authors of being white supremacists?
By Greg’s own logic, darlings of the Hugo clique like Scalzi and the folks who voted for him must also be white supremacists, right?
Status: CONFIRMED!
I trust you can see why it’s vital that purveyors of such weapons grade stupidity be kept from gaining undue influence over a fan award. And I’m not talking about disenfranchising anyone. A level playing field is the bane of all CHORFs. That’s why they try their best to tip the scales in their favor by appealing to authority, like they did when they badgered Dragon Con into reversing its sensible decision not to let authors withdraw nominations bestowed by the will of the fans.
Luckily, the final decision still lay with the vast legions of science fiction and fantasy fans. Shutting out the CHORFs was the only way to reverse the inroads they’d made and safeguard the Dragon Awards from political meddling.
And you guys came through with flying colors!
Take a look at that list of winners again. It’s wall-to-wall best sellers and fan favorites. In short, the most popular nominees won the popularity contest. The process worked!
Does that mean I’m less popular than James S.A. Corey? Absolutely. I have no problem losing to a dude with his own TV show.
What matters is that the Dragons have already grown beyond the ability of any one group to dominate the awards. If you cast a ballot, you made this happen. Give yourself a pat on the back!
It really can’t be overstated how huge a triumph this year’s Dragon Awards are for ordinary fans. Check out the 2017 Dragon Award participation numbers:
Compare that to the Hugos:
To recap:
The 2017 Dragon Awards
- 144,000 votes cast
- 9600 nomination ballots
- 8000 final ballots
- 83% voter retention between the 1st and 2nd rounds
- 100% more nominating ballots cast than in 2016
- 2464 nominating ballots
- 3319 final ballots
- 35% more votes cast in round 2 than round 1.
- 40% fewer nominating ballots cast than in 2016
I’d be remiss not to give the final word to the man of the hour, the Mountain that Writes, the Speaker to Manatees, His Odiousness International Lord of Hate Larry Correia:
