The Forever Machine

Apparently this book is generally known as the worst book to receive the Hugo. I'm not sure if this is the worst (or at least, my least-favorite) Hugo winner; I haven't read all of the Hugo winners, but for now I still think that dubious honor goes to Startide Rising. The Forever Machine just seemed like a quintessentially 1950's book. The major components are a combination of artificial intelligence, psychoanalysis, and psychic abilities. There's not a whole lot of action. The characters often sit around pontificating about the ills of society; the central chracters have become self-appointed guardians of humanity because they are the only ones who "get how things work"; eveyrone else in the world apparently falls along the spectrum of fool to villain. The female characters are poorly drawn or non-existent. Honestly, I couldn't much tell the difference between this and the Foundation books, except I guess Foundation happens on another planet and has a few more techno-gadgets.