The Dragons Have Arrived!

It’s that time of year again!

Artwork by Caroline Furlong via NightCafe

The Dragon Awards are here! And there are some familiar faces on the nominations list, too, as we here at Upstream can attest. We reviewed a couple of the finalists on the ballot!

For newcomers, the Dragon Awards are fan nominated and fan voted-upon works in various categories. There is no fee or requirement for fans to vote on a film, book, comic, etc. to receive a Dragon Award – simply sign up, fill out your ballot, and send it in. Once the votes are tallied at Dragon Con the winners will be announced over the Labor Day weekend.

You can find the ballot here and sign up here:

Again, the Dragon Awards are free to vote on. You simply need to sign in (more details here). All it takes is a little bit of time and you’re done!

Now, with regard to the nominees, we have:

Best Science Fiction Novel

Beyond the Ranges by John Ringo, James Aidee
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
System Collapse by Martha Wells
The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
Theft of Fire by Devon Eriksen
These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs

Upstream thinks that Beyond the Ranges or Theft of Fire are good options, readers.

Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
My Brother’s Keeper by Tim Powers
The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang
Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison

Upstream Reviews’ own Trevor Denning reviewed Tim Powers’ novel My Brother’s Keeper here:

“I shot a werewolf’s skull.”

“That’s always a good thing to do, I imagine.”

Spanning 1845 to 1848, My Brothers Keeper is the historically accurate (if mostly unverified) story of the Brontë family and their battle with a werewolf god and his acolytes. If you’re not an English major and never finished Wuthering Heights, fear not. Tim Powers has a gift for telling readers everything they need to know about historical figures, while filling in the gaps of their biographies with the supernatural.

That is a pretty good endorsement, wouldn’t you agree?

Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

Death Lord Arcanist by Shami Stovall
Hideki Smith, Demon Queller by A.J. Hartley, Hisako Osako, Kuma Hartley
Homecoming in Black by J.M. Anjewierden
Midnight at the Houdini by Delilah S. Dawson
So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

J. M. Anjewierden made it! I believe I nominated one of his books last year. It is so nice to see him make the list this time!

Best Alternate History Novel

1638: The Sovereign States by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett, Gorg Huff
All the Dead Shall Weep by Charlaine Harris
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
Dirty Water by Tom Kratman
Devil’s Battle by Taylor Anderson
The Wages of Sin by Harry Turtledove

Declan Finn, editor of Upstream Reviews, reviewed Tom Kratman’s Dirty Water here:

...a time traveling tale of an older man who goes back to the hometown of his youth, to share with his grandchildren just how much better it really was back then. Along the way, he finds new love, and has to wrestle with what he’s going to do for it…

But before he can attend to that, our hero is going to have to go to war with Whitey Bulger and the Boston mob, and destroy an alien that’s one part Pennywise the Clown, and one part the alien from I Come in Peace.

Because this book is brought to you by Tom Kratman and Baen. It must end in fire.

Now that sounds like a book to vote for!

Best Horror Novel

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
Dead Storm Rising by Shane Gries
Double Dose by F. Paul Wilson
The Dead Take the A Train by Richard Kadrey, Cassandra Khaw
The Hollow Dead by Darcy Coates
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

Use your best judgment in this category, readers!

Best Illustrative Book Cover

Beyond Enemies by Sam R. Kennedy
Of Jade and Dragons by Kelly Chong
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Aliya Chen
Dragonesque by Justin Adams
The Silverblood Promise by Jeff Brown

I did not get around to picking a cover this year so you will have to vote as you please, readers.

Best Comic Book / Graphic Novel

Batman by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez
Canary by Scott Snyder, Dan Panosian
Monstress by Marjorie Liu, Sana Takeda
Nightwing by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo
Wonder Woman by Tom King, Daniel Sampere
X-Men: Forever by Kieron Gillen, Luca Maresca

To quote Mark Ruffalo, “Dudes, you’re on your own” here! All I can tell you is to vote your conscience – I stopped following comics in 2015 and so do not recognize any of these titles.

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series, TV or Internet

3 Body Problem, Netflix
Ahsoka, Disney+
Fallout, Amazon Prime Video
For All Mankind, Apple TV+
Good Omens, Amazon Prime Video
House of the Dragon, HBO
Loki, Disney+
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Apple TV+
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Paramount+

I no longer watch television, so this category was always going to be “pick the least dis-likable option” for me. You must vote your conscience here, too, readers.

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

Dune: Part Two by Denis Villeneuve
Barbie by Greta Gerwig
Godzilla Minus One by Takashi Yamazaki
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga by George Miller
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Francis Lawrence
Wonka by Paul King

Godzilla Minus One will probably walk away with this award – as well it should! Mind you, I am clearly biased toward that movie. If you liked one of the others on the list, feel free to vote for it, but I know which one I am voting for!

Best Digital Game

Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios
Starfield, Bethesda Game Studios
Alan Wake 2, Remedy Entertainment
Dragon’s Dogma 2, Capcom
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, FromSoftware
Helldivers 2, Arrowhead Game Studios

Darn, FFVII: Rebirth didn’t make the list. Oh, well, I have heard good things about Helldivers….

Best Tabletop Game

Cascadia: Landmarks, Flatout Games
Dune: Imperium – Uprising, Dire Wolf
Magic: The Gathering Wilds of Eldraine, Wizards of the Coast
Disney Lorcana, Ravensburger
Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs, Cephalofair Games
D&D The Deck of Many Things, Wizards of the Coast

This is a toss up between Gloomhaven and Dune so far, readers. Unless someone has heard something good about any of the others? My go-to tabletop game is still poker, so….

Well, that is all she wrote, folks! Go on and vote, and let’s get the nominees a Dragon to take home. They have put a lot of effort into getting where they are and deserve a commensurate reward!