2024 Hugo Finalists: Novel, Short Fiction, and Series

Published on by Laura

The finalists for the 2024 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer were announced on Friday, March 29.  The winners will be presented on Sunday, August 11, at Glasgow 2024, a Worldcon for Our Futures.  Today I’m looking at the novel, short fiction, and series finalists.

Best Novel

  • The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (Harper Voyager, Harper Voyager UK)
  • The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom)
  • Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (Tordotcom, Orbit UK)
  • Starter Villain by John Scalzi (Tor, Tor UK)
  • Translation State by Ann Leckie (Orbit US, Orbit UK)
  • Witch King by Martha Wells (Tordotcom)

Some Desperate Glory, Translation State, and Witch King were my own nominees.  I was pretty certain Translation State would be a finalist.  The Saint of Bright Doors, Translation State, and Witch King are Nebula finalists.  The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi was the only one which did not make the Locus Recommended Reading List, but I’ve heard others recommend it.  I was already planning to read the three that weren’t on my ballot.  Martha Wells declined the nomination for System Collapse just as she did for its Nebula nomination.  天帆 (Cosmo Wings) by 江波 (Jiang Bo) was ruled ineligible because it was published in 2024.

Best Novella

  • “Life Does Not Allow Us to Meet”, He Xi / 人生不相见, 何夕, translated by Alex Woodend (Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English Science Fiction Writers)
  • Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)
  • The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older (Tordotcom)
  • Rose/House by Arkady Martine (Subterranean)
  • “Seeds of Mercury”, Wang Jinkang / 水星播种, 王晋康, translated by Alex Woodend (Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English Science Fiction Writers)
  • Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (Tor, Titan UK)

The Mimicking of Known Successes and Rose/House were on my ballot, and I was already planning to read Mammoths at the Gates and Thornhedge.  Mammoths at the Gates, The Mimicking of Known Successes, and Thornhedge are also Nebula finalists.  All four of the original English language works were on the Locus Recommended Reading List.  I’m happy to see some Chinese finalists.  I didn’t know if the Chinese fans who were eligible to nominate as members of last year’s Chengdu Worldcon would do so.  I will wait to see if the Adventures in Space anthology is included in the Hugo voter packet.  If not, the ebook is only five dollars.

Best Novelette

All of these except I AM AI are available online.  I AM AI is available at hoopla which I have access to through my library.  “Ivy, Angelica, Bay” and “The Year Without Sunshine” were on my ballot.  I have already read “Introduction to 2181 Overture, Second Edition” and “One Man’s Treasure” as well.  Nghi Vo is also on the ballot for Best Novella.  I AM AI and “The Year Without Sunshine” are Nebula finalists.  Everything except for “Introduction to 2181 Overture, Second Edition” appeared on the Locus Recommended Reading List.  极北之地 (“The Far North”) by 海漄 (Hai Ya) received enough votes to be on the ballot, but the author declined the nomination.  Hai Ya was the winner of the 2023 Best Novelette Hugo.  They were also a potential finalist in the 2023 Best Short Story category, but the story was marked as ineligible with no explanation.

Best Short Story

  • “Answerless Journey”, Han Song / 没有答案的航程, 韩松, translated by Alex Woodend (Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English Science Fiction Writers)
  • “Better Living Through Algorithms” by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld May 2023)
  • “How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub” by P. Djèlí Clark (Uncanny Magazine, January-February 2023)
  • “The Mausoleum’s Children” by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine, May-June 2023)
  • “The Sound of Children Screaming” by Rachael K. Jones (Nightmare Magazine, October 2023)
  • 美食三品 (“Tasting the Future Delicacy Three Times”), 宝树 / Baoshu (银河边缘013：黑域密室 / Galaxy’s Edge Vol. 13: Secret Room in the Black Domain)

“Answerless Journey” is from the same Adventures in Space anthology that two of the novellas are from.  I hope that an English translation will be provided for the other Chinese story.  The four original English language stories are available online.  I have read all of them except for “The Sound of Children Screaming”.  I enjoyed all three, especially Naomi Kritzer’s story, but they didn’t make my personal ballot.  Naomi Kritzer is also on the ballot for Best Novelette.  “Better Living Through Algorithms” and “The Sound of Children Screaming” are both Nebula finalists.  The only one of these four that was not on the Locus Recommended Reading List was “Better Living Through Algorithms”.

Best Series

  • The Final Architecture by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tordotcom, Orbit UK)
  • Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie (Orbit US, Orbit UK)
  • The Last Binding by Freya Marske (Tordotcom, Tor UK)
  • The Laundry Files by Charles Stross (Tordotcom, Orbit UK)
  • October Daye by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
  • The Universe of Xuya by Aliette de Bodard (Gollancz; JABberwocky Literary Agency; Subterranean Press; Uncanny Magazine; et al.)

The Laundry Files and The Universe of Xuya were previously finalists in 2019.  This is the fifth time that October Daye has been a finalist.  The Last Binding, October Daye, and The Universe of Xuya were on my ballot.  Imperial Radch should have been on my ballot, but somehow I didn’t think of it even though Best Novel finalist Translation State was one of my own nominees.  I’m glad other people picked up my slack.  Aliette de Bodard is also a finalist for Best Short Story although that story isn’t part of this series.  I’ve read some of The Laundry Files from the last time it was a finalist.  I look forward to The Final Architecture because I’ve really liked the other works I’ve read by Adrian Tchaikovsky.  I’m also glad to see him get another chance at a Hugo that is untainted by the circumstances which affected his 2023 win.

I’ll be back with more of my initial thoughts on the finalists as I go through them.  What do you think of these finalists?  Did your favorites make the list?

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