Tag: best novel

Now that Hugo voting has closed, I’m going to take a look back at the finalists for Best Novel and share my thoughts.  Four out of my five nominations made the ballot, and I only had one left to read after the finalists were announced.  My one nominee which didn’t make the ballot was The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie.  It was a Best Fantasy Novel finalist for the Locus Awards, and I imagine we’ll see it on the Hugo longlist.

The City in the Middle of the Night is Charlie Jane Anders’ second nomination for Best Novel.  It has already won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and is on the shortlist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.  Anders also appears on the ballot this year as a co-host of the Hugo Award winning fancast Our Opinions Are Correct, and she previously won the Hugo for Best Novelette as well.

I went into this with high hopes that it would be one of my nominees after how much I enjoyed Ander’s previous Best Novel finalist, All the Birds in the Sky.  The world-building is fascinating and ambitious, but I found the characters frustrating.  I wish we had gotten to titular city sooner and focused more on the efforts to bridge the chasm between its inhabitants and the human society.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir has already won the Locus Award for Best First Novel and the William L. Crawford Award, presented by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts for a first book of fantasy fiction.  Muir’s debut novel was also a finalist for the Nebula.

This was the one finalist here that I didn’t bother to read before nominations closed.  I was a little leery of the massive hype, and the promise of skeletons and necromancy didn’t intrigue me.  Of course, it had no trouble making the ballot without me, and I’m happy it did.  It was a hell of a lot of fun, and I look forward to the sequel although I was a little disappointed in the ending.

The Light Brigade is Kameron Hurley’s first Hugo nomination for fiction writing, but she has previously been honored for her non-fiction.  She has won Hugos for both Best Related Work and Best Fan Writer, and she was a finalist for Best Related Work again.  This book was also a finalist for the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and is on the shortlist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

One of my own nominees, Hurley levels up with a classic yet fresh take on military science fiction combined with an intricate time travel narrative.  There is a wonderful camaraderie between characters which never loses sight of the fact that they are at different points in their relationships due to the tangled timelines.  A puzzle box of a story that unlocks a satisfying conclusion.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine has already won the Compton Cook Award, presented by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society for the best first novel in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres.  It was also a finalist for the Nebula and the Locus Award for Best First Novel, and it is on the shortlist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

Another of my own nominees, this is, as others have said, in the vein of Ann Leckie and Yoon Ha Lee: a space empire as seen from an expert outsider and someone who’s struggling with integrating individual and collective selves.  This stands alone, but I am really looking forward to the next book.

Middlegame is Seanan McGuire’s fifth Best Novel nomination out of twenty total Hugo nominations between her own name and her Mira Grant pseudonym.  This book has already won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel.  She is also on the ballot this year for Best Novella and Best Series.  She has three previous Hugo wins: one for Best Novella and two for Best Fancast.  She has definitely lived up to the promise of winning the Campbell Award for Best New Writer (now renamed the Astounding Award).

This one was also on my nomination ballot.  Like Hurley, McGuire is taking her writing to the next level and playing with timelines but in a fantasy setting.  Anecdotally, I’ve seen a few people who are big fans of her ongoing urban fantasy series not as enthusiastic about this one.  On the other hand, those, like me, who know her mostly from the Wayward Children novellas, generally seemed to enjoy it more.  Written to stand alone, I was excited to hear recently that there will be a sequel.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow was also a finalist for the Nebula and the Locus Award for Best First Novel.  It made the shortlists of the Compton Cook, the William L. Crawford, and the Kitschies Golden Tentacle awards for debut novels as well.  She previously won the Hugo for Best Short Story and has been nominated in that category again this year.

This was one of my highly anticipated books after loving Harrow’s Hugo-winning short story “A Witch’s Guide to Escape.”  For whatever reason, I almost didn’t get to it in time but immediately had to add this one to my nominating ballot.  It is a beautifully written combination of so many things I adore: portal fantasy, a book within the book, a wonderful dog companion, great characterization and relationships.

We have three experienced novelists taking their writing to new heights and three debut novelists whose work is already award worthy.  My first spot easily goes to my favorite read from 2019.  My other nominees were tough to decide amongst for the next three slots.  It came down to my preference for fantasy over science fiction and seeing a little more polish in experienced versus debut novelist.  The fifth spot went to the one I liked but not as much as my own nominees.  For sixth place, the interesting world-building pulled me through in the face of some frustrating characters.  Here’s how that shook out:

1. The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E. Harrow (Redhook; Orbit UK)
2. Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
3. The Light Brigade, by Kameron Hurley (Saga; Angry Robot UK)
4. A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine (Tor; Tor UK)
5. Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com Publishing)
6. The City in the Middle of the Night, by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan)

Tell me who you would like to see win or who you expect will win.

Hugo voting closed on Aug 1st, and we’ll find out the winners at the Hugo Award Ceremony on August 18th.  Let’s take a look at the contenders for Best Novel.

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal has already won the Nebula and the Locus Award for Best SF Novel and was also a finalist for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award.  “Lady Astronaut of Mars,” a novelette in the same setting, won a Hugo in 2014.  Kowal has three additional Hugo nominations for short fiction with one more win.  In Best Related Work, she’s been a three-time finalist with one win as a co-host of the Writing Excuses podcast.  She was the winner of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2008.

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers is the third novel in the Wayfarers series, which is also a finalist this year.  The first book, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the British Fantasy Society’s Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer.  The second, A Closed and Common Orbit, was a finalist for the Hugo, British Science Fiction Association, and Clarke awards.  This one was a finalist for the Locus Award for Best SF Novel as well.

Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee is the third novel in the Machineries of Empire series.  The previous two novels were also Hugo finalists, and the series itself is a finalist this year as well.  The first book, Ninefox Gambit, won the Locus Award for Best First Novel and was a finalist for the Nebula and Clarke awards.  The second, Raven Stratagem, was a finalist for the Locus Award for Best SF Novel.  This one was also a finalist for the Locus, BSFA, and Clarke awards.  Lee has had short fiction nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, Locus, and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial awards as well.

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente was also a finalist for the Locus and the Campbell Memorial awards.  Valente has four previous Hugo nominations in the fiction categories, one nomination for Best Semiprozine as editor of Apex Magazine, and two wins in Best Fancast as a co-host of SF Squeecast.  She’s previously won five Locus Awards as well as the Andre Norton, James Tiptree, and Theodore Sturgeon awards.  Her other nominations include the Nebula, World Fantasy, and British Fantasy awards.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik has already won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and the Mythopoeic Award.  It was also a finalist for the Nebula Award.  Novik has two previous Hugo nominations for Best Novel and one for Best Series.  She’s also received two additional Locus Awards, won the Nebula and British Fantasy awards, and been nominated for the World Fantasy Award.  She was the winner of the Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2007.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse has already won the Locus Award for Best First Novel, was a finalist for the Nebula Award, and is also currently a finalist for the World Fantasy Award.  Last year her short story, “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience^TM,” won the Hugo and Nebula awards and was nominated for the World Fantasy, Locus, and Sturgeon awards.  She was also the winner of the Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Four out of the six were my own nominees.  Spinning Silver improved on everything I loved about Naomi Novik’s Uprooted.  Revenant Gun brought Yoon Ha Lee’s trilogy to a very satisfying conclusion.  The Calculating Stars was the first novel-length work I had read by Mary Robinette Kowal.  I was impressed by the characterization and surprised by how well she made a 1950’s setting seem current and relevant.  Rebecca Roanhorse delivered on the promise of her Best New Writer Campbell win with the fascinating and original world building in Trail of Lightning.

The remaining two were both books I had wanted to read but simply hadn’t gotten to yet.  I liked Record of a Spaceborn Few slightly less than Becky Chamber’s first two Wayfarer books, but it was still very good.  Space Opera was entertaining, but Catherynne M. Valente’s dense writing style made it a slower read than expected.  I adore her short fiction, but at novel-length it became overwhelming.

Here’s how it shook out on my final ballot:

1. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
2. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
3. Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
4. Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee
5. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
6. Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

Will Kowal complete the Triple Crown of science fiction awards?  Will the Big One go to one of the previous Best Novel finalists instead?  Or does the debut novelist take home her second rocket?  What do you think?

Hugo voting closed on July 31st, and we’ll find out the winners at the Hugo Award Ceremony on August 19.  Today let’s look at the finalists for Best Novel.

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin is the third book in The Broken Earth trilogy.  It has already won the Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel.  Each of the previous books won Best Novel over the past two years.  Jemisin has received four total nominations in Best Novel and two for Best Short Story.  I’ll be curious to see if the trilogy appears on the Best Series longlist.  Jemisin asked people not to nominate the series, but they may have done so regardless.  Of course, she might have declined a nomination for that category.

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty is the author’s first nomination for Best Novel.  It was also a finalist for the Nebula and the Philip K. Dick Award.  Lafferty is a finalist in Best Semiprozine for Escape Pod and in Best Fancast for Ditch Diggers as well.  She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2013.

Provenance by Ann Leckie takes place in the same universe as her Imperial Radch trilogy.  It was also a finalist for the BSFA Award and the Locus Award for Best SF Novel.  All three books in the related trilogy were Best Novel finalists with the first winning in 2014.  An appearance on the Best Series longlist wouldn’t surprise me here either.

Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee is the sequel to last year’s Best Novel finalist, Ninefox Gambit.  Lee’s “Extracurricular Activities” is also one of this year’s Best Novelette finalists.  Both were finalists for the Locus Awards as well.  The Machineries of Empire trilogy could be a contender for Best Series next year.

New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson is the author’s sixth nomination for Best Novel.  It was also a finalist for the Campbell Memorial Award and the Locus Award for Best SF Novel.  Robinson has won two Best Novel Hugos out of fifteen total Hugo nominations.

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi is the first book in The Interdependency series.  It has already won the Locus Award for Best SF Novel.  This is Scalzi’s fifth nomination for Best Novel which he won in 2013.  He’s had one nomination for Best Novella and another for Best Short Story as well.  He won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2006.  Writing from his blog has also earned him Hugos for Best Related Work and Best Fan Writer.

The first three above were my own nominees.  The Stone Sky brought a stellar trilogy to an incredible close.  Six Wakes combined thrilling murder mystery with space opera.  Provenance took a fresh view from a more relatable protagonist on a familiar setting.

The later three were already on my TBR list.  Raven Stratagem exceeded expectations without the steep learning curve of the first book.  The interesting premise of New York 2140 got me past its underdeveloped characters.  The Collapsing Empire sets up a fun series, but the humor started to grate on me.

We have four past Best Novel Hugo winners, a previous finalist, and one new to this category.  Here’s how I ranked them for my final ballot:

1. The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
2. Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee
3. Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
4. Provenance by Ann Leckie
5. The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
6. New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson

How many of these have you read?  How would you rank them?

Nominations are now open for the 2018 Hugo Awards.  We have until 11:59pm Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−7:00) on March 16th to pick out our favorites from 2017.  First up, I’m looking at Best Novel:

A science fiction or fantasy story of 40,000 words or more that appeared for the first time in 2017.

So far, I’ve got a couple that will probably be on my ballot:

• The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
• Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

And I’m currently reading The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin.  At this point, it’s definitely on track to join my short list.  [Update 2/8/18:  Finished it last night and just added it to my ballot!]

In a world where I could read all I wanted (or at least read faster than I do), here are some others I’d consider:

• Phantom Pains by Mishell Baker
• Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
• The Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone
• Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
• The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley
• Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher
• The Changeling by Victor LaValle
• Provenance by Ann Leckie [added to my ballot 2/13/18]
• Jade City by Fonda Lee
• Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee
• The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo
• Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
• New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson
• Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
• The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
• The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland
• Borne by Jeff VanderMeer [added to my ballot 2/17/18]
• Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn

Any thoughts on what I should prioritize from that list?

Here are some places to find recommendations:

• 2017 Locus Recommended Reading List
• 2018 Nerds of a Feather Hugo Awards Longlist, Part 1: Fiction Categories
• File 770’s 2017 Recommended SF/F List
• Hugo Nominees 2018 Wiki
• 2018 Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom
• Nebula Reading List

At last year’s WSFS Business Meeting, a committee was formed to look into possible changes to the Hugo Award categories.  Obviously Best Novel is here to stay, but I could see the word count requirement being raised.  The average novel length has definitely gotten longer, and books marketed as novellas are pushing into the lower end of this category.