Second paragraph of third chapter:
To the uninitiated listener, this declaration might seem like a commonsense perspective on government that uplifts self-reliance and community engagement. But Reagan’s speech was a clear signal to those in the know that he intended to return to a version of the country that existed before the sea change of cultural shifts that happened during the 1960s and 1970s. After all, his campaign’s slogan was “Let’s Make America Great Again,” with “again” being the operative word. This speech and the values it lauded would help to shape the scope of the modern conservative movement by deemphasizing the role of the federal government in favor of states exerting more power.²
² See Lee Edwards, A Brief History of the Modern American Conservative Movement (Heritage Foundation, 2004); Allan J. Lichtman, White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement (Grove Press, 2008); and John C. Skipper, The 1964 Republican Convention: Barry Goldwater and the Beginning of the Conservative Movement (McFarland, 2016).
Another of this year’s Best Related Work Hugo finalists, and the last of the four books on the ballot that I got to. (The other two are a 2.5 hour long video, and the Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom.) This is a good, detailed look at the life and work of Octavia Butler, placing it very firmly in the political and social context of the day, and in particular showing how Butler pushed back against the right wing’s assaults on minority rights under Reagan and others. There is a lot of important stuff here. I felt however that I would have liked to hear more about Butler’s links with the science fiction literary community and with fandom, and there are also a few moments when the voices of author and subject become confusingly blended. It’s an important book but I think my first preference is going elsewhere. You can get Positive Obsession here.
So as of right now, I’m inclined to rank my Best Related Work ballot as follows:
- Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction, by Paul Kincaid
- Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia Butler, by Susana M. Morris
- Last War in Albion: “The Cuddled Little Vice (Sandman)”, by Elizabeth Sandifer
- The Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom
- Ragnarök vs the Long Night
- Inventing the Renaissance, by Ada Palmer
I have watched only the first part of Ragnarök vs the Long Night, which is 2.5 hours long. I must say I found the format a bit annoying. I prefer my Best Related Work vote to go to written works critically addressing the genre, and I think my top three do that.
2026 Hugos: Novella | Novelette | Short Story | Dramatic Presentation, Short Form | Professional Artist | Poem
Best Novel: The Incandescent | Shroud | The Raven Scholar | The Everlasting
Best Graphic Story or Comic: The Invisible Parade | three more finalists | A Wizard of Earthsea, and my votes
Best Related Work: Colourfields | The Cuddled Little Vice | Inventing the Renaissance | Positive Obsession, and my votes
Lodestar: Holy Terrors | Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe
Where to get them | Goodreads/Librarything/StoryGraph stats