The 2021 Hugo Awards for best science fiction and fantasy writing have been announced.

Author Martha Wells won in two categories, Best Novel for Network Effect and Best Series for The Murderbot Diaries, to which Network Effect belongs.

The Murderbot Diaries is about an AI security unit which develops independence and uses that to watch soap operas.

It's a guilty pleasure nearly all of us have engaged in. Why wouldn't a robot?

Winning Best Dramatic Presentation, Long-Form (aka film) was Netflix's The Old Guard.

An odd choice.

As films go it's comfortably above average with an IMDb rating of 6.7 and Rotten Tomatoes viewer rating of 70%, but best sci-fi and fantasy film of the year?

The Old Guard can be seen on Netflix now, and a sequel is in the works.

[ Main Image: The Old Guard. Credit: Netfix via IMDb.com. ]

References

Brathwaite, Lester Fabian (December 19, 2021). The Old Guard and The Good Place lead 2021 Hugo Award winners. Entertainment Weekly.

IMDb.com. The Old Guard (viewed December 21, 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes. The Old Guard (viewed December 21, 2021)

Wikipedia. The Murderbot Diaries. (viewed December 21, 2021)

Wikipedia. The Old Guard. (viewed December 21, 2021)