The 2007 Hugo Award nominees have been announced, and unlike last year I haven't read a book on the list. I've read other books by those nominated for best novel -- Vernor Vinge and Michael Flynn -- but not these. In Vinge's case, I was aware of Rainbow's End, but hadn't gotten around to picking it up yet. I had no idea that Flynn had Eifelheim out, which just goes to show I need to pay more attention to Analog's "Reference Library".

Speaking of Analog, I'm surprised it didn't get a single nomination for fiction this year, though editor Stanley Schmidt did get a nod for best short form fiction editor. Asimov's dominated this year's nominations, getting numerous mentions in the novella, novellette and short story categories. Does this represent a turn away from hard science fiction? It's hard for me to say, since I haven't ready Asimov's at all in the last year, but I am curious. If anyone has read these stories, and has an opinion on why Asimov's got so much attention from the Worldcon folks, please post a comment or e-mail me at nuketown@gmail.com.