Per the Science Fiction Awards watch blog comes news of the top five finishers in each category for the 2008 Locus Awards. I must admit to being quite pleased with the line up. While I could quibble about certain stories or novels that made the Locus list, this definitely gives people an excellent overview of the best in SF/F from the last year.

Since this award is decided upon by the readers of Locus, who nominate their favorite stories and novels, I wonder why the Locus Awards line up looks so much better this go around than the recent Hugo and Nebula lists. After all, many of the same people who nominate for the Locus Awards also help pick the Hugos and Nebulas. My guess would be a difference in the actual award process, with the Locus Awards able to avoid many of the group dynamics and infighting which sometimes plague the Hugos and Nebulas. If anyone has an alternate theory on why the Locus Awards consistently produce such high quality nominees and winners, I hope they'll drop me a line and let me know the reason.