Hugo Runners-up Trivia Quiz

Answer: Have Space Suit, Will Travel

Kidnapping by aliens, a singing "Mother Thing" and finally an intergalactic tribunal deciding the fate of the human race - like most juvenile novels by Robert A Heinlein, this one is a page turner.

"Have Space Suit, Will Travel" was beaten out on the 1959 Hugo by James Blish's "A Case of Conscience". "Who?" by Algis Budrys and "We Have Fed Our Sea" (also known as "The Enemy Stars") by Poul Anderson were also runners-up.

Answer: The Sirens of Titan

Did the mention of the Trafalmadorian help you? These plumber's-helper-shaped aliens appear in several novels by Kurt Vonnegut. In this book we learn that all of human history has been manipulated to help Salo, the Trafalmadorian, replace a broken part of his spaceship.

Robert A. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" was the winner of the 1960 Hugo Award. "Dorsai!" by Gordon R. Dickson and "The Pirates of Ersatz" by Murray Leinster were also-rans.

Answer: Glory Road

An enormously fun romp, "Glory Road" apparently took Robert Heinlein only a few weeks to write. This was my late husband's favourite book - he lived his life as if he, like Oscar, might at any moment have to fight a minotaur or claim the Irish Sweepstakes.

The winner that year, 1964, was Clifford D. Simak with "Here Gather the Stars". Other runners-up were "Witch World" by Andre Norton and Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle".

Answer: Flowers for Algernon

Cliff Robertson won a Best Actor Oscar for the 1968 film version of this Daniel Keyes novel. While the novel missed out on the Hugo, it did win the Nebula Award for 1966, in a joint win with "Babel-17" by Samuel R. Delany. The Delany work was also a runner-up for the 1967 Hugo.

Answer: Slaughterhouse-Five

This is probably Kurt Vonnegut's most well-known work. Billy Pilgrim has become "unstuck in time"; Trafalmadorians again make an appearance.

Ursula LeGuin won in 1970 with "The Left Hand of Darkness". Other runners-up included "Macroscope" by Piers Anthony and Robert Silverberg's "Up the Line".

Answer: The Lathe of Heaven

In a tradition going back to "The Monkey's Paw", this story teaches to be careful what you dream of, because you just might get it. LeGuin has acknowledged that Philip K Dick was an influence on this novel.

The winner in that year, 1972, was Philip José Farmer with "To Your Scattered Bodies Go". Some runners-up were "Dragonquest" by Anne McCaffrey and "Jack of Shadows" from Roger Zelazny.

Answer: Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said

Much of Philip K Dick's work concerns the nature of reality, of memory, of dreams. The 1982 film "Blade Runner" was based on his novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", and his short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" became 1990's "Total Recall". "A Scanner Darkly" was filmed in 2006 - very successfully, in my opinion.

Answer: The Mote in God's Eye

The humans eventually discover that the "Moties" reproduce uncontrollably, and unavoidably. They have become resigned to a cycle of civilization building, overpopulation, and collapse. The humans realize that they cannot allow the Moties out into the galaxy, and their choice is either to eradicate the species, or forever blockade them in their home system. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle also wrote a sequel, "The Moat around Murcheson's Eye" ("The Gripping Hand") in 1993.

The winner of the Hugo Novel Award in 1975 was Ursula K LeGuin's "The Dispossessed". "The Inverted World" by Christopher Priest was another runner-up.

Answer: The White Dragon

Lord Holder and dragonrider Jaxom and his runt white dragon Ruth make some discoveries that eventually, in later novels, lead to unlocking the secrets of Pern's past. Anne McCaffrey, working in later years with her son Todd, has created an enormously successful series, with more than twenty books either published or in the works.

The winner in 1979 was Vonda N. McIntyre with "Dreamsnake". C. J. Cherryh's "The Faded Sun: Kesrith" and Tom Reamy's Blind Voices" were also runners-up.

Answer: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The fourth book in JK Rowling's "Harry Potter" series, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", won the Hugo for best novel the next year.

The winner in 2000 was "A Deepness in the Sky" from Vernor Vinge. Other runners-up were "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson and "Darwin's Radio" from Greg Bear.