Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels discussion

List the books (and other media) you think will be nominated for this year's Hugo Awards (and maybe even which you think will win)

I'm going to do this by guessing books that I am not nominating myself. If mine don't get up, I think they will bStarter Villaine beat out by some combination of:

Novels:
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

Scalzi remains a good bet, I think. Otherwise I don’t have much of a sense of what the popular books are this year.

I expect the following
Starter Villain
System Collapse
The Terraformers

Yet to decide on last three

Martha Wells will decline a System Collapse nomination

Kalin wrote: "I'm going to do this by guessing books that I am not nominating myself. If mine don't get up, I think they will bStarter Villaine beat out by some combination of:

Novels:
[book:The..."

great, already read three of these so I support haha

The Water Outlaws looks interesting.

My six:
Starter Villain
Silver Nitrate
The Terraformers, even though it didn't do much for me
Some Desperate Glory
Starling House
Translation State

And I've read all six, so that would give me a head start on reading all the 2024 nominees.

Translation State might be a good bet. Starling House is lingering in my mind; I think it may be a better book than I initially thought, and the author is a popular writer.

A side note - it seems our members chiefly expect SF not fantasy to end up at the list., Therefore, I checked what good fantasy was out in 2023
Bearing in mind that WorlCion in Glasgow, maybe
City of Last Chances will end up among nominees
and Paladin's Faith for T. Kingfisher is popular

City of Last Chances has a December 2022 first publish date. Will that disqualify it?

Likewise, The Olympian Affair has a November 2023 publish date. Do they go by calendar year? I thought this one was deserving, but maybe the Puppies dirt hasn't washed off.

A few surprises in the Nebula nominees. I just didn’t think Witch King or The Terraformers were that good, although their nomination doesn’t surprise me. Read 3 of the 6, library has 2 (got Shigidi immediately) and no source for The Water Outlaws yet.

The Wole Talabi might be a good bet as Hugo finalist. He seems to have rapidly risen to prominence. I’ve read only a story or two.

I like Talabi. I enjoyed his first story collection and plan to read his new story collection. But I didn't really connect to "Shigdi". That surprised me, since one of the stories I liked in the first collection had those same characters and I enjoyed it. The novel had a sort of "heist" theme, and that just didn't interest me.

Your mileage may vary.

https://www.sfwa.org/2024/03/14/sfwa-...

"Author Martha Wells has graciously declined her nomination as a novel finalist this year for System Collapse published by Tordotcom. In 2022, Wells also declined a nomination for novella and felt that the Murderbot Diaries series has already received incredible praise from her industry peers and wanted to open the floor to highlight other works within the community."

Yet she kept her nomination for Witch King.

Ed wrote: "I like Talabi. I enjoyed his first story collection and plan to read his new story collection. But I didn't really connect to "Shigdi". That surprised me, since one of the stories I liked in the fi..."

I’ve requested it from the library. I’m #6 in line for 2 copies, so it shouldn’t take too long.

Allan wrote: "Yet she kept her nomination for Witch King

Maybe because it is not in the Murderbot series?

yeah, does that surprise you Allan? The logic is clear to me.

Kalin wrote: "yeah, does that surprise you Allan? The logic is clear to me."

No, not surprising. It's clear that she felt she had all the accolades she needed for Murderbot. Nor is it surprising that Witch King was nominated, but it is disappointing, as I just didn't feel it was that strong. I consider it Murderbot carryover/name recognition.

Allan wrote: "I consider it Murderbot carryover/name recognition."

I agree

For anyone who plans to read The Water Outlaws in the near future, there is a prequel novelette. Not sure if it is critical, but I think it does introduce a character. It can be read for free at:

https://reactormag.com/the-river-judg...

Allan wrote: "For anyone who plans to read The Water Outlaws in the near future, there is a prequel novelette. "

Thanks! So Tor.com was redesigned...

Here's a nice compilation of all their 2023 published short fiction.

https://reactormag.com/all-of-tor-com...

Allan wrote: "Here's a nice compilation of all their 2023 published short fiction. "

Great, thanks!

The Hugo finalists will be announced tomorrow! Glasgow is really on the ball.

Kalin wrote: "The Hugo finalists will be announced tomorrow! Glasgow is really on the ball."

I know, I'm panting with excitement, fingers hovering over my spreadsheet!

Wow! I’m excited to see what will be nominated but I’m not very excited about the pool of possibilities this year. :-/

We may get lucky for next year and have a Tamsyn Muir novel out in the fall (but it's looking less and less likely)

The nominees are out:
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)
1420 ballots cast for 576 nominees. Finalists range 91-172.

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)
962 ballots cast for 187 nominees. Finalists range 106-186.

Best Novelette
I AM AI by Ai Jiang (Shortwave)
“Introduction to 2181 Overture, Second Edition”, Gu Shi /〈2181序曲〉再版导言, 顾适 translated by Emily Jen (Clarkesworld, February 2023)
“Ivy, Angelica, Bay” by C.L. Polk (Tor.com 8 December 2023)
“On the Fox Roads” by Nghi Vo (Tor.com 31 October 2023)
“One Man’s Treasure” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, JanuaryFebruary 2023)
“The Year Without Sunshine” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine, November-December 2023)
755 ballots cast for 212 nominees. Finalists range 40-117.

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)
720 ballots cast for 612 nominees. Finalists range 27-69.

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.)
677 ballots cast for 228 nominees. Finalists range 79-117.

Best Graphic Story or Comic
Bea Wolf, written by Zach Weinersmith, art by Boulet (First Second)
Saga, Vol. 11 written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
Shubeik Lubeik, Deena Mohamed (Pantheon); as Your Wish Is My Command (Granta)
三体漫画：第一部/ The Three Body Problem, Part One, adapted from the novels by 刘慈欣 (Liu Cixin), written by 蔡劲 (Cai Jin),戈闻頔 (Ge Wendi), and 薄暮 (Bo Mu), art by 草祭九日东 (Caojijiuridong) (Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House)
The Witches of World War II written by Paul Cornell, art by Valeria Burzo (TKO Studios LLC)
Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, art by Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha and Nicola Scott (DC Comics)
457 ballots cast for 256 nominees. Finalists range 25-151.

Best Related Work
All These Worlds: Reviews & Essays by Niall Harrison (Briardene Books)
中国科幻口述史, 第二卷, 第三卷，(Chinese Science Fiction: An Oral History, vols 2 and 3) ed. 杨枫 / Yang Feng (8-Light Minutes Culture & Chengdu Time Press)
A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith (Penguin Press; Particular Books)
The Culture: The Drawings, by Iain M. Banks (Orbit)
雨果X访谈 (Discover X), presented by 王雅婷 (Tina Wong)
A Traveller in Time: The Critical Practice of Maureen Kincaid Speller, by Maureen Kincaid Speller, edited by Nina Allan (Luna Press Publishing)
775 ballots cast for 246 nominees. Finalists range 36-343.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Barbie, screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, directed by Greta Gerwig (Warner Bros. Studios)
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, screenplay by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein and Michael Gilio, directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Paramount Pictures)
Nimona, screenplay by Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor, directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane (Annapurna Animations)
Poor Things, screenplay by Tony McNamara, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (Element Pictures)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, screenplay by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Dave Callaham, directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson (Columbia Pictures / Marvel Entertainment / Avi Arad Productions / Lord Miller / Pascal Pictures / Sony Pictures Animation)
流浪地球2 / The Wandering Earth II, based on the novel by 刘慈欣 Liu Cixin, screenplay by 杨治学 Yang Zhixue, 郭帆 / Frant Gwo, 龚格尔 Gong Geer, and 叶濡畅 Ye Ruchang, script consultant 王红卫 Wang Hongwei, directed by 郭帆 / Frant Gwo (中影创意（北京）电影有限公司 / CFC Pictures Ltd, 郭帆（北京）影业有限公司 / G!Film (Beijing) Studio Co. Ltd, 北京登峰国际文化传播有限公司 / Beijing Dengfeng International Culture Communication Co, Ltd, 中国电影股份有限公司 / China Film Co. Ltd)
763 ballots cast for 189 nominees. Finalists range 69-212.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Doctor Who: “The Giggle”, written by Russell T. Davies, directed by Chanya Button (Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for The BBC and Disney Branded Television)
Loki: “Glorious Purpose”, screenplay by Eric Martin, Michael Waldron and Katharyn Blair, directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Marvel / Disney+)
The Last of Us: “Long, Long Time”, written by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, directed by Peter Hoar (Naughty Dog / Sony Pictures)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: “Those Old Scientists”, written by Kathryn Lyn and Bill Wolkoff, directed by Jonathan Frakes (CBS / Paramount+)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: “Subspace Rhapsody”, written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff, directed by Dermott Downs (CBS / Paramount+)
Doctor Who: “Wild Blue Yonder”, written by Russell T. Davies, directed by Tom Kingsley (Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for The BBC and Disney Branded Television)
490 ballots cast for 318 nominees. Finalists range 46-115.

Best Game or Interactive Work
Alan Wake 2, developed by Remedy Entertainment, published by Epic Games
Baldur’s Gate 3, produced by Larian Studios
Chants of Sennaar, developed by Rundisc, published by Focus Entertainment
DREDGE, developed by Black Salt Games, published by Team17
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, produced by Nintendo
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, developed by Respawn Entertainment, published by Electronic Arts
334 ballots cast for 165 nominees. Finalists range 26-157.

Best Editor Short Form
Scott H. Andrews
Neil Clarke
刘维佳 (Liu Weijia)
Jonathan Strahan
Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas
杨枫 (Yang Feng)
530 ballots cast for 179 nominees. Finalists range 40-146.

Best Editor Long Form
Ruoxi Chen
Lindsey Hall
Lee Harris
Kelly Lonesome
David Thomas Moore
姚海军 (Yao Haijun)
254 ballots cast for 103 nominees. Finalists range 16-81.

Best Professional Artist
Micaela Alcaino
Rovina Cai
Galen Dara
Dan Dos Santos
Tristan Elwell
Alyssa Winans
270 ballots cast for 219 nominees. Finalists range 17-66.

Best Semiprozine
Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and Valerie Valdes; assistant editors Benjamin C. Kinney, Premee Mohamed and Kevin Wabaunsee; hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart; producers Summer Brooks and Adam Pracht; and the entire Escape Pod team
FIYAH Literary Magazine, publisher and executive editor DaVaun Sanders, poetry editor B. Sharise Moore, special projects manager L. D. Lewis, art director Christian Ivey, acquiring editors Rebecca McGee, Kerine Wint, Joshua Morley, Emmalia Harrington, Genine Tyson, Tonya R. Moore, sponsor coordinator Nelson Rolon
GigaNotoSaurus, editor LaShawn M. Wanak, associate editors Mia Tsai and Edgard Wentz, along with the GNS Slushreaders Team
khōréō, produced by Aleksandra Hill, Zhui Ning Chang, Kanika Agrawal, Isabella Kestermann, Rowan Morrison, Sachiko Ragosta, Lian Xia Rose, Jenelle DeCosta, Melissa Ren, Elaine Ho, Lilivette Domínguez, Jei D. Marcade, Jeané Ridges, Isaree Thatchaichawalit, Danai Christopoulou, M. L. Krishnan, Ysabella Maglanque, Aaron Voigt, Adil Mian, Alexandra Millatmal, E. Broderick, K. S. Walker, Katarzyna Nowacka, Katie McIvor, Kelsea Yu, Marie Croke, Osahon Ize-Iyamu, Phoebe Low, S. R. Westvik, Sara S. Messenger
Strange Horizons, by the Strange Horizons Editorial Collective
Uncanny Magazine, publishers and editors-in-chief: Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas; managing editor Monte Lin; nonfiction editor Meg Elison; podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky.
338 ballots cast for 82 nominees. Finalists range 32-159.

Best Fanzine
Black Nerd Problems, editors Omar Holmon and William Evans
The Full Lid, written by Alasdair Stuart and edited by Marguerite Kenner • Idea, editor Geri Sullivan
Journey Planet, edited by Michael Carroll, Vincent Docherty, Sara Felix, Ann Gry, Sarah Gulde, Allison Hartman Adams, Arthur Liu, Jean Martin, Helena Nash, Pádraig Ó Méalóid, Yen Ooi, Chuck Serface, Alan Stewart, Regina Kanyu Wang, James Bacon and Christopher J. Garcia
Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together, editors Roseanna Pendlebury, Arturo Serrano, Paul Weimer; senior editors Joe Sherry, Adri Joy, G. Brown, Vance Kotrla.
Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog, editors Olav Rokne and Amanda Wakaruk
286 ballots cast for 80 nominees. Finalists range 20-70.

Best Fancast
The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
Hugos There, presented by Seth Heasley
Octothorpe, by John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty
Publishing Rodeo, presented by Sunyi Dean and Scott Drakeford
科幻Fans布玛 (Science Fiction Fans Buma), production team 布玛（Buma)，刘路（Liu Lu)，刘倡（Liu Chang)
Worldbuilding for Masochists, presented by Marshall Ryan Maresca, Rowenna Miller, Cass Morris and Natania Barron
693 ballots cast for 230 nominees. Finalists range 28-104.

Best Fan Writer
Bitter Karella
James Davis Nicoll
Jason Sanford
Alasdair Stuart
Paul Weimer
Örjan Westin
363 ballots cast for 134 nominees. Finalists range 27-134.

Best Fan Artist
Iain J. Clark
Sara Felix
Dante Luiz
Laya Rose
Alison Scott
España Sheriff
180 ballots cast for 96 nominees. Finalists range 16-43.

Lodestar Award for Best YA Book
Abeni’s Song by P. Djèlí Clark (Starscape)
Liberty’s Daughter by Naomi Kritzer (Fairwood Press)
Promises Stronger than Darkness by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor Teen)
The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix (Katherine Tegen Books, Gollancz and Allen & Unwin)
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Del Rey)
Unraveller by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan Children’s Books; eligible due to 2023 U.S. publication by Amulet)
345 ballots cast for 178 nominees. Finalists range 33-56.

Astounding Award for Best New Writer (sponsored by Dell Magazines)

Moniquill Blackgoose (1st year of eligibility)
Sunyi Dean (2nd year of eligibility)
Ai Jiang (2nd year of eligibility)
Hannah Kaner (1st year of eligibility)
Em X. Liu (1st year of eligibility)
Xiran Jay Zhao (eligibility extended at request of Dell Magazines)
349 ballots cast for 167 nominees. Finalists range 35-50.

Kalin wrote: "Novels:
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera.."

Good call on the Chakraborty book. I hadn't even heard of it, but my library does have it, 3 week hold.

Kalin wrote: "I'm going to do this by guessing books that I am not nominating myself. ."

Your guesses were solid, Kalin!

How do you all feel overall about the field of both Hugo & Nebula selections? It's not hard to beat last year's field, but it does seem to be an improvement. The Terraformers, Witch King & Some Desperate Glory were all mediocre to me though. I've got three yet to read. I'm starting The Saint of Bright Doors today.

Allan wrote: "How do you all feel about the selections? It's not hard to beat last year's field, but it seems pretty solid to me. I might have to give Some Desperate Glory another chance; it made..."

I’m in a similar boat. I had a copy of Some Desperate Glory home from the library but didn’t get very far; I may try it again. I have no idea at all about the Chandrasekera or the Chakraborty, and have requested them, as well as the Scalzi, from the library. I don’t doubt the Scalzi will be entertaining. I thought Translation State was fine, but Witch King somewhat disappointing, pretty conventional reactions in both cases I think.

I've only read the Ckakraborty obe, which was solid. I have to get some of the others.

Oleksandr wrote: "Kalin wrote: "I'm going to do this by guessing books that I am not nominating myself. ."

Your guesses were solid, Kalin!"

I kinda nailed it, eh?! Between my actual nominations and my guesses, I had 5 of 6. I just really didn't expect Witch King to make it, but I guess Martha Wells is just so popular now that both SFWA and WSFS added it. I'm happy for her that she is such a hit with audiences, but wasn't a fan of the book.

So we now have 9 new books added to our group's list from this year's Best Novel finalists. I've read three of them, so 6 outstanding for me. I've got three of them and plan to read those, but the other ones I'm not sure if and when.

Also, looking at all the other categories, it is amazing how much many more Chinese nominees there are compared to last year. The censorship was unbelievable.

I am happy Xiran Jay Zhao's eligibility was extended. I don't know if I can vote for them though, having not read their work.

Allan wrote: "Here's a nice compilation of all their 2023 published short fiction.

https://reactormag.com/all-of-tor-com..."

Several of the Hugo-nominated short works are in this package, if you haven't found them elsewhere.

Kalin wrote: "So we now have 9 new books added to our group's list from this year's Best Novel finalists. I've read three of them, so 6 outstanding for me. ..."

I got pretty lucky. I read 5 of the 9 novels last year, and my library was on the ball with 3 of the other 4. So I was able to grab & finish Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon a few days ago & start The Saint of Bright Doors today. I should be able to finish all of the remaining 3 in the next couple weeks.

voters package not out yet, right?

Not yet... I'd say mid-April at the earliest.

The Hugo Packet is out!

They really took a while.

They did, but I'm happy it's here!
Although I gave up waiting and ordered a bunch of them from the library which I now have sitting on my desk. I flipped through the first few pages of Bea Wolf and it seems absolutely delightful.

Should we make a thread for people to share their personal rankings of the ballot?

Kalin wrote: "Should we make a thread for people to share their personal rankings of the ballot?."

I guess yes

Kalin wrote: "They did, but I'm happy it's here!
Although I gave up waiting and ordered a bunch of them from the library which I now have sitting on my desk. I flipped through the first few pages of [book:Bea Wo..."

yeah that would be great. I finished almost all novelettes and short stories.