Don’t worry, we will

Let the record show that we all have permission from the 2013 Best Novel Winner to, and I quote: “talk as much crap as they want about my Hugo”.

Anyone can talk as much crap as they want about my Hugo. Why? Because I had this moment, and it can’t be taken away. 

I don’t get it. What is so special about being kissed by your wife? Anyhow, as I noted, John Scalzi’s defensiveness about his Best Novel award indicates that he knows John Ringo, Larry Correia, and the other observers are correct and he simply did not merit the award. Even many of those who like the guy have been relatively quiet about it; they all know he didn’t deserve it either.

It won’t be long until the 2013 Best Novel Winner finds the award to be downright embarrassing to him.  Notice that no one ever says anything negative about his other Hugo awards, to which he had as good a claim as anyone.  But Best Novel for a derivative, mediocre light SF work such as Redshirts? It’s so laughable that it degrades the award, just as the Best Novel award for The Quantum Rose devalued the Nebula and Obama’s Peace Prize devalued the Nobel. Scalzi’s Best Novel Hugo makes Paul Krugman’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences look almost reasonable by comparison.

If the 2013 Best Novel Winner had any self-respect, or even sufficient awareness of his place in SF history, he would have refused to accept the award.  But he didn’t, and in doing so, he gave all of his many critics something with which to club him over the head for the rest of his life.

And we will. Because charity.

UPDATE:The following is from a past award nominee:

“Here’s the thing.  Scalzi entirely deserved his past fan writer Hugos.  Entirely.  His blog is his magnum opus, and he knows it.  He’s said it himself: Whatever is his biggest, most visible legacy in the world.  If he died tomorrow, he’d be known for Whatever more than his books; even OMW.  But it’s precisely *because* he knows this, that he’s insecure about the Best Novel win.  Because he knows that even his *allies* know that it’s not really a Best Novel win.  It’s a best fan writer in another form win.  Basically, a raw popularity win, which has little or nothing to do with how the book measures up against the work of KSR or anyone else.

“Scalzi is well-read.  He knows there were at least 25 other books that never even made the short list which are technically and artistically better than Red Shirts.  He has mewled apologia to this effect, while staunchly brandishing his phallic silver dildo trophy at his detractors and yelling, “My dildo is bigger than your dicks!”  

“So, as long as Scalzi (and his supporters) know in their hearts that Scalzi’s award is not, in fact, based on the merits of the book proper, there will be visible defensiveness on his part, and noticeably quiet reactions on the part of his buddies and hangers on.  Only the true mindless sycophants will declare Red Shirts a winner for its pure merit.  Having read neither Red Shirts nor any of the competitors.  Because Scalzi farts rainbows that smell like honey nut cheerios.”