Have the Dragon Awards Gone Astray?

John Skalzi holds his Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel

I find this result to be very near reprehensible.

Before anyone gets too outraged by that statement, my conclusion is not based on any assessment of the quality of Skalzi's winning title, Starter Villain, nor any animosity toward the author himself. The book sounds like a fun little romp, and I'm sure it entertained a lot of readers. Indeed, as an award based on popularity, I can't and won't fault a writer for being popular.

Where I find fault is the complete lack of consistency and standards when it comes to classification, in this instance and others. Starter Villain is not science fiction by any metric. Even worse, however, is the fact it resembles literally dozens of other titles available in Kindle Unlimited.

It's schlock. Seriously, just read the sample on Amazon and read the lower-starred reviews. I couldn't even finish the sample.

But, I expect that from Skalzi. He hasn't had an original idea since Old Man's War. Honestly, since signing a massive deal with Tor a few years ago, everything he has put out has sold like crazy, while also consisting of derivative dreck. I have no objection to writers writing "to market." If that's what readers want, I'm glad they're happy and the author is making money.

(The fact Skalzi just inked another seven figure, ten book deal in July (2024) with Tor makes me a little suspicious of the results. Did Dragon Con spike the polls to boost Skalzi in anticipation of his helping his new contract be successful?)

Despite all that, I still wouldn't object to the award, if it had been given in an appropriate category. The Dragon Award is, after all, a popularity contest, not an assessment of quality. Starter Villain would fit well into Urban Fantasy, Alternate History, or even a separate Super Heroes category. Winning in the category of Science Fiction is insulting to the many strong candidates in that category and fails to reflect how many quality titles are available.

This is not a new issue. I had deep concerns (and stopped voting) when Dragon Con eliminated the Post-Apocalypse and Military Science Fiction categories, both of which are sub-genres of science fiction but have strong followings of their own. Unfortunately, there are no signs from the award committee that this will change soon.

Let me know your thoughts.