A Hugo Review: Best Fan Writer - Mike Glyer

I've never made a secret of the fact that I enjoy File 770 and read it regularly. That said, I sometimes think of Glyer as the teacher of a class of rowdy high school students being clever in the comments, and forget that he does a lot of writing, too. So I had to adjust my brain a little to examine his status as a finalist in this category.

Fortunately, Glyer provided an excellent packet that picked out a few good pieces of writing, including a post on Hallmark ornaments, a movie review, some news articles and far too many obituaries. If I hadn't already been familiar with his work, this would give a good overview. Because I have read his website/fanzine for a few years now, it simply reminded me of what types of posts I should be thinking about.

I didn't find Glyer's writing quite as compelling as Foz Meadows' work in her packet - which is slightly ironic in that Glyer included a news piece on a Meadows article. I feel like Glyer is more of a pure reporter - he manages to present information without too much bias, making it great for learning and getting information, but not as great for getting a feel for him as a writer. I consider this a virtue, not a fault, but it does make it harder for me to give him the top spot on my ballot.

Conclusion: I'm going to have a very tough time deciding the order of writers on this ballot, aren't I?

Reviews of 2017 Hugo Finalists