Why you should become a Hugo Voter this year: The Hugo Voters Packet

If you're even a little bit of a scifi/fantasy fan, you've probably heard of the Hugo Awards.  Even if not, the name might ring a bell.  Essentially the Hugo Awards are one of the most prominent awards in the genre, arguably one of the two most important such awards along with the Nebula Awards.  And unlike the Nebula Awards, which are voted on only by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), the Hugo Awards are open to voting by anyone who pays a special fee to become a Supporting Member of each year's Worldcon, an annual SF/F Convention.

The fee to register - which you can do at this site - to become a Supporting Member and thus a Hugo Voter, is $50.00 (USD).  That might sound like a lot, especially if you're only a minor genre fan.  But the rewards for doing so are far more than simply obtaining voters rights - you also gain access to The Hugo Voters Packet, which is low-key the item that in and of itself makes becoming a Hugo Voter worth it to anyone with even just a little interest in the genre.

I'm not kidding about this.  I took a quick look at the Hugo Voters Packet last night and it contains:



Thirty Novels (yes, 30!).
Seven Novellas
Six Novelettes
Six Short Stories
Five Comic Book Trades
Several Non-Fiction Books related to the Genre
and some other assorted items as well, not to mention excerpts from other books/materials which are not fully included in the packet. 

And each of these items has been voted as being worthy of one of the highest awards of the genre of that year, so while you're not guaranteed to love all of the packet's contents, you're going to find some of the highest quality material in last year's SciFi/Fantasy genre.

To be more specific, here's the content of this year's Hugo Packet in terms of Novels:
1. The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
2. Raven Strategem by Yoon Ha Lee
Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive Epic Fantasy Series in its entirety:
   3. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
   4. Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
   5. Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
Seanan McGuire's InCryptid Series (6 of 7 books, as well as short stories not free online!):
   6. Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire
   7. Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire
   8. Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire
   9. Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire
   10.   Chaos Choreography by Seanan McGuire
   11.   Magic for Nothing by Seanan McGuire
Martha Wells' The Books of the Raksura (2 Books out of 5 and a Short Fiction Collection)
   12. The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells
   13. The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells
   14. Stories of the Raksura Vol. 1 by Martha Wells
Robert Jackson Bennett's The Divine Cities' Trilogy in its Entirety
   15. City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
   16. City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett
   17. City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett
Marie Brennan's The Memoirs of Lady Trent
   18. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
   19. The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
   20. Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan
   21. In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan
   22. Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan
23. An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
24. Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn
25. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
26. Sumer in Orcus by T Kingfisher
27. The Art of Starving by Sam J Miller
28. In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
29. A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge
30. The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

So not even counting the short fiction, that's 30 Books at a cost of $1.66 per book.  Several of these books are simply fantastic - In Other Lands for example was probably my favorite book from last year, while Heroine Complex is also up there and An Unkindness of Ghosts is one of the most brutally powerful books from last year as well (and I love the entire InCryptid and Raksura series). 

I was going to write a post soon about where new people to the genre can look for newer books, like I did last year, but honestly, this is a collection that will be great for any new reader to the genre.  It is well worth your time....and after you read through this material, you can vote for the Hugos as well, if you want.  But even if you don't, this is an incredible collection that any person with interest in the genre should find WELL worth their $50.