Month: August 2023

Dragon Con 2023

It’s time, once again, for Dragon Con! I’m here to distract you from the cosplays you should be finishing and the packing list you need to start with one more thing to do. You need to register to vote for the Dragon Awards. The categories have been trimmed down from previous years, and it only takes a minute to make your voice heard. Check out the list of nominees below, and keep reading to the end for a preview of where you can find me this weekend.

  1. Best Science Fiction Novel
    Eversion by Alastair Reynolds
    The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
    Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky
    Translation State by Ann Leckie
    Neom by Lavie Tidhar
    The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
    The Icarus Plot by Timothy Zahn
  2. Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)
    The Witch King by Martha Wells
    Tower of Silence by Larry Correia
    Babel by R. F. Kuang
    Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
    Into the Vortex by Charles E. Gannon
    The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake
  3. Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel
    The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
    The Scratch Daughters by H. A. Clarke
    Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland
    Academy Arcanist by Shami Stovall
    Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
    Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
  4. Best Alternate History Novel
    Lost In Time by A.G. Riddle
    Hidden Voices by Dan Willis
    Halcyon by Elliot Ackerman
    The Mother by B.L. Blanchard
    The Revolutionary War by Christopher G. Nuttall
  5. Best Horror Novel
    The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias
    Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste
    A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
    No Gods For Drowning by Hailey Piper
    The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay
    The Only One Left by Riley Sager
  6. Best Illustrative Cover
    Ashes of Man by Kieran Yanner
    River of Ashes by Sam Shearon
    But Not Broken by Cedar Sanderson
    Titan Mage: Apocalypse by Jackson Tjota
    Tower of Silence by Kurt Miller
    Wraithbound by Jeff Brown
  7. Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel
    Dune: House Harkonnen by Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson, Michael Shelfer
    Kaya by Wes Craig
    Dawn of DC: Green Arrow by Joshua Williamson, Sean Izaakse
    Wolverine by Benjamin Percy, Juan Jose Ryp
    X-Men by Gerry Duggan, Joshua Cassara
    Night Fever by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Jacob Phillips
  8. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series, TV or Internet
    Andor, Disney+
    The Last of Us, HBO
    The Sandman, Netflix
    Strange New Worlds, Paramount+
    The Mandalorian, Disney+
    Picard, Paramount+
    House of the Dragon, HBO
  9. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie
    Avatar: The Way of Water by James Cameron
    Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
    Everything Everywhere All at Once by Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
    Guardians of the Galaxy 3 by James Gunn
    Puss in Boots: The Last Wish by Joel Crawford
    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
  10. Best Digital Game
    Diablo IV, Blizzard Entertainment
    Hogwarts Legacy, Avalanche Software
    Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Respawn Entertainment
    The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo EPD
    Overwatch 2, Blizzard Entertainment
    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Infinity Ward
  11. Best Tabletop Game
    Frosthaven, Cephalofair Games
    Earth, Inside Up Games
    Magic the Gathering: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, Wizards of the Coast
    Dorfromantik – The Boardgame, Pegasus Spiele
    Turing Machine, Scorpion Masque
    Alien Role-playing Game: Heart of Darkness, Free League

There are a few of these that I don’t really have an opinion about, like I haven’t played any of these table top games. I just voted for the Alien game because I love the Alien series, and actually put that game on my Amazon wish list. Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson was an absolutely lovely story set in Sanderson’s rich Cosmere universe.There were some great video games this year, but surely Tears of the Kingdom was definitely the best one. There doesn’t even seem to be a need to have other nominees to me. The toughest one to pick was Best Show. Sandman, Andor, The Last of Us, Strange New Worlds and Picard were all great. I think I ended up going with Andor because it was the best Star Wars I’ve seen since the last four episodes of The Clone Wars. If you disagree with any of my hot takes, then make sure you get your vote in by registering here.

Be sure to stop by and see me this weekend. On Friday morning at 10am (they have a 10am now during Dragon Con) you can catch the crew of Execute Chapter 66 at the Star Wars track room (Marriott A706) talking about the newest canon updates. On Friday at 7pm I’m hosting a panel on the greatest weapons in classic video games in the American Sci-Fi Classics Track room (Marriott M103-M105). On Saturday at 10pm you need to be in the Hilton Crystal Ballroom for the Big Damn Game Show. We’ve been working really hard on this one, and it is going to be a lot of fun. Don’t worry, we wrap up at 11pm so you can still get to Cybertronic Spree on time. If you haven’t seen them before, you need to make sure you get there this year. On Sunday at 10am (that one is going to hurt) we’re back at the Star Wars track to talk about the High Republic books and comics. Finally, on Sunday at 7pm I’m in the Sci-Fi Classics track room one last time to read a classic Choose Your Own Adventure book where the audience will be making the choices. This was much more popular last year than I was expecting, and we ended up at capacity almost as soon as the doors opened. It is sure to be a ridiculous good time, so get there early. I’ve sent in quite a few interview requests, so fingers crossed I get a few of those to do this year as well. Stay tuned for that, since I won’t get confirmation on any of that until Thursday or Friday. I’ll be out and running around all weekend so stop and say Hello if you see me.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but I’ll be back after the con to give you the full rundown, and post any interviews I get to do. Have a great con everyone, and I’ll see you on the other side!