Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels discussion

Here's the no spoilers thread for A Closed and Common Orbit. I won't be reading it with you since I read it not that long ago

Ditto, unfortunately. I do love it; one of the few books I have bought to keep to reread when I need something that, yes, makes me feel good. (I mean, the whole series, of course.)

I'm almost halfway; last night I described these books to my partner as "bottled compassion" (she's read the series through twice and has bugged me to repeatedly to get around to it, which is why I nominated it this year).

They're just so good.

I guess I liked this one the most in the series. I plan to get to it, maybe this weekend. I like "bottled compassion" phrase, it really fits

I agree @kalin why did we wait so long to read these????

Oleksandr wrote: "I guess I liked this one the most in the series. I plan to get to it, maybe this weekend. I like "bottled compassion" phrase, it really fits"

Among this crowd and other things I've read, this is generally considered the best of the series.

I read this as a trilogy a couple years ago. I liked this one much better than the first one, and I agree with the sentiment that it's the best of the first three as a novel, although I thought the third book was a bit more interesting in terms of worldbuilding and ideas. I don't have much interest in rereading these and doubt I ever will, but I will join when you read the fourth one in August!

It is possibly my upbringing, but most characters is this book are too hugging-happy compared with the people I know (a biased sample ofc) and too prone to get short-term gratification even at a longer-term expense, as can be seen from this non-spoilery quote:
‘You missed the part where I am hungry,’ Pepper said, balling her hands into pleading fists. ‘I don’t want noodles. I want protein. I want something that will stick in my belly and make me regret it later.’

I try not to eat food that would make me regret later, or to mix different drinks, tasting everything... I ain't a party animal at all

Oleksandr wrote: "‘You missed the part where I am hungry,’ Pepper said, balling her hands into pleading fists. ‘I don’t want noodles. I want protein. I want something that will stick in my belly and make me regret it later."

I think the unbridled celebration of minor indulgences and waving away of their also minor consequences is something of a generational trait of millennials, at least in Anglo-American culture. And these novels are nothing if not millennial!

BJ wrote: "I think the unbridled celebration of minor indulgences and waving away of their also minor consequences is something of a generational trait of millennials, at least in Anglo-American culture. "

Oh, children these days, GenXer in me grumbles... ok, not really kids, 20+ but still

I read this in July 2017 not long before submitting my Hugo ballot. My recollection is that I found it readable enough but didn’t appreciate the positive emotional tone that others enjoy.

This was my ballot by the way. I don’t think I even read Death’s End.

1. All the Birds in the Sky
2. Too Like the Lightning
3. The Obelisk Gate
4. Ninefox Gambit
5. A Closed and Common Orbit
6. Death's End

Stephen wrote: "This was my ballot by the way"

I was already interested in H/N nominees but haven't yet voted in 2017 (this group was formed on 2/8/2018 and I joined it almost from the start). From the list my ranking would have been:

1. Too Like the Lightning
2. The Obelisk Gate
3. A Closed and Common Orbit
4. All the Birds in the Sky
5. Ninefox Gambit
6. No Award

Actually, the first 4 are quite close

Yep, hate to break it to you Acorn but millenials are practically middle aged now! Late 20s - early 40s. You must really be getting old!

Also, I devoured this one in a few days earlier this month. "I am perfectly okay with stories like this of hugging-happy people" since it's such a change of pace from most stories I read which feature violence or cruelty. The characters in these first two books feel just as much like people I would meet in real life, if not more so, and I feel like their types are underrepresented in SFF. I know this series has spawned a lot of "cozy" descendants, but it feels really unique to me so far.

Kalin wrote: "Yep, hate to break it to you Acorn but millenials are practically middle aged now! Late 20s - early 40s. You must really be getting old!."

I know, my sis is a millennial, I was joking

I also enjoyed this book, I still think it is the series' best. I was just saying that their experiences and attitudes differ from mine (yes, this is SF, but I guess as with all fiction, it is based on the author's experiences and thoughts).

I also meet different people and some of them (fellow GenXers by the way) have similar attitudes. My point is that they aren't in my inner circle (and this is my fault)

Just finished this and agree it’s better than the first. I still think her Monk and Robot novellas are better and more interesting than these longer form novels. It just seems like there’s 500 pages of feel-good writing and then a forced too-quick ending.

All this talk about the characters being typical of a younger generation is tempting me to read another one with that in mind. Maybe I will at some point, but not right away.