Congratulations to the Castalia House authors who were just named 2017 Dragon Award Finalists. By category:
Best Fantasy Novel
A Sea of Skulls by Vox Day
Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel
Swan Knight’s Son by John C. Wright
Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel
Starship Liberator by B.V. Larson and David VanDyke
Best Alternate History Novel
No Gods, Only Daimons by Kai Wai Cheah
To celebrate this announcement, both A Sea of Skulls and No Gods, Only Daimons have been made available to Kindle Unlimited subscribers. Swan Knight’s Son is already available on KU. Congratulations are also due to Castalia House friends Larry Correia, Brien Niemeier, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Jon del Arroz, Declan Finn, Lou Antonelli, and Richard Fox, all of whom were nominated in various categories. And thanks to everyone who made this happen by supporting us! Here is the complete ballot.
There are clearly no shoe-ins, as it’s clear that a lot more people, and a much broader swath of the science fiction, fantasy, and game markets are getting involved. Both Scalzi and Jemisin scored nominations. I was a little surprised that Total War: Warhammer didn’t make it in the Computer Game category, but I was pleased to see that Gloomhaven did in Board Games.
The main competition for A Sea of Skulls appears to be Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge by Larry Correia and John Ringo. Correia and Ringo? Yeah, it’s hard to like my odds there, given that both their fan bases are bigger than mine.
John C. Wright is up against his own wife as well as The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan, while B.V. Larson and David VanDyke would appear to be the slight favorites in their category, despite facing Iron Dragoons by Richard Fox, Star Realms: Rescue Run by Jon Del Arroz and Caine’s Mutiny by Charles E. Gannon. And Kai Wai Cheah has the daunting task of going up against both Fallout: The Hot War by Harry Turtledove and The Last Days of New Paris by China Mieville.
So, it would appear unlikely that Castalia House will take home two Dragons for a second straight year, but one never knows. Regardless, be sure to vote if you receive a ballot, and note that you can still sign up to vote on the Finalists before Tuesday, August 29th.