(MEGA-GIVEAWAY: One lucky commenter with a US address will get a copy of each of the nominated books — that’s right, eight volumes!)
Yes, it’s award season again. With the Prometheus Awards short list announced and the Arthur C. Clarke Awards already chosen, the Nebulas and the Hugos are coming up rapidly. The Nebulas will be awarded at the Nebula Weekend in Chicago, Illinois, June 4-7. The Hugo awards will be announced on August 22, at Sasquan, in Spokane, Washington.
The Hugos made the news this year with articles in venues as diverse as Slate, the UK Guardian, and even The New York Times. Sadly, the notoriety was not for the exciting works that were short-listed but for the use of bloc-voting to promote a slate of works. In spite of the success of the slate among the categories of shorter works, the nominees for Best Novel don’t seem to have been affected by the bloc-voting.
What’s on the lists? As usual, there is some overlap.
THE NEBULAS:
- The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (reviewed by Kate)
- Trial by Fire by Charles E. Gannon (reviewed by Marion)
- Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (reviewed by Marion)
- The Three body Problem by Cixin Liu, Ken Liu Translator (review by João & Bill)
- Coming Home by Jack McDevitt (reviewed by Ryan)
- Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (reviewed by Bill, Kat & Terry)
THE HUGOS:
- The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (reviewed by Kate)
- The Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J. Anderson (reviewed by Marion)
- Skin Game by Jim Butcher (reviewed by Tim)
- Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (reviewed by Marion)
- The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, Ken Liu Translator (review by João & Bill)
Who do you think will win? Will it be the strong sequel to the book that swept the awards last year, or the exquisite second-world fantasy? Can a strong entry in a long-running urban fantasy series win a Hugo? Or will the long-awaited hard SF novel from China be the breakout winner?
Is it a year for space opera, exciting military science fiction or eerie, can’t-trust-your-own-senses doings on our own planet?
Who do you want to win? Which books do you think are the best, and deserving of the award, and why? Tell us below.
And now, about that exciting give-away opportunity. The publishers have provided one copy of each of the nominated books*. (This means we have one copy even if the book is nominated for both awards.) One commenter with a US address will win the entire set of eight books.
Let the debate begin!
*Special thanks to Sarah Skolaut, Jim Butcher’s assistant, for some above-and-beyond help.
One of these days I will sit down and read “The Three Body Problem” I keep hearing that it’s a fantastic book, and now I see it popping up with all these nominations. Definitely on my “To Read” list.
I have not read enough of these to have a valid opinion, but I will still shout very loudly in favor of The Goblin Emperor to win every award that exists.
Most of the books on the lists are ones I haven’t read, but I would still have to go with Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie.
I also have several on this list that I have not read yet but I will select the Goblin Emperor for both awards.
I really hope Annihilation wins the nebula. He’s such an awesome author. And the goblin emperor is almost a lock for the Hugo. Great writing in both books.
I was surprised *not* to see Annihilation the the Hugo list (although the slate and bloc voting probably played a part in that). I am in awe of VanderMeer’s use of language and his ability to deliver on a concept.
I’ve been hearing so many great things about Annihilation and Ancillary Justice was so good that I’ve been wanting to read Ancillary Sword. There are so many great books up for awards and I plan/hope I’ll be able to read them all!
I have only read two of these books. I have a lot of catching up to do!!!
For me the Nebula has to go to Annihilation. An excellently ritten nove which creates a great sense of the unknown.
Looks good, my only problem is that I’ve only read one book on the lists so far.
I’m really hoping for Skin Game – I adore the Dresden Files, and Mr Butcher deserves the award and recognition!
I have not read any of them yet, too many TBR stacking up, so I can’t base a supposition on that, but I have heard a lot of good things about The Goblin Emporer all over the place and The Dark Between the Stars sounded promising, so I’d expect they both have good chances. Never know with awards, though.
Annihilation for the nebula! And the three body problem for hugo! I have yet to read the other books maybe it will change my opinion?!
I’ve only read one of the books, unfortunately, but most of them are on my TBR!
I haven’t gotten around to any of these yet but am most looking forward to reading The Three Body Problem.
I would love Dresden Files to win, but I’ve heard good things about THREE BODY PROBLEM.
wow, only read the Goblon emperor, and really liked it, so my vote goes to that book. I have the first “Ancillary ..”-book, just have not gotten round to reading it yet :(.
The Goblin Emperor is one of my new favorite books of all time. I really hope it does well.
I loved The Goblin Emperor, and enjoyed Annihilation very much, but they’re the only two books I’ve read so far. I think I’ve got them all now, somewhere or other, so it’s more than time to dive in!
I haven’t read any of these titles, unfortunately, but am really looking forward to ANCILLARY SWORD and THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM.
I am voting for the Three Body Problem!
My vote, in both awards, is for The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu.
I haven’t read any of the nominees, yet, but I expect it will be either the goblin emperor or the three body problem, as they are definitely the most hyped. If the puppies keep up their shit, skin game will probably take home the Hugo, because they probably wouldn’t vote for a woman or a Chinese man
Melissa, one of the self-styled “rabid puppies” has commented publicly that he voted for THE THREE BODY PROBLEM for the win. That seems surprising since it wasn’t on the “slate” he sponsored, and only got onto the shortlist because another nominee withdrew.
I’ve only read Annihilation so far, but I’ve heard great things about Goblin Emperor and Three-Body Problem. I need more time for reading!
I’d love the chance to read and review these books. My budget rarely extends beyond the authors I know and love as there are so many. This would help me find some new favourites I am sure.
Sadly I’ve been reading to many science books instead of fiction books, but every one of these is on my buy list at Amazon.
I’m a big fan of Butcher, but I got so tired of the Dresden books after he was killed. So, his probably isn’t my favorite to win. I’ve heard really good things about all the others though.
Harry was just never the same after he died.
I have only read Annihilation and wooooow that was such a great book !!!! Couldn’t stop reading, didn’t even stopped to search words I didn’t know (as I’m French and English is not my first language) ! The second book in the trilogy is not as good, but I can’t wait to be able to get my hands on the third !
Thank you for the great opportunity to win and read such good (as it seems) books ! Good luck to everyone (just joking, I hope I win *wink*) !
“Annihilation” or “Ancillary Sword” will win the Nebula; the Hugo . . . IDK, “Skin Game” tied with No Award?
I’ve only read Annihilation so far, but it was great! Lovecraftian eco-horror is not something I would have expected to love this much. Definitely recommended.
I’m hoping Sword sweeps again.
Probably the Three Body Problem. It seems to get the most attention, and was a really great read.
By the way, we will announce the winner here, in Comments, on or around June 8.
This is tough. Much as I enjoyed Skin Game and The Three-Body Problem, Ancillary Sword should get the win. It did everything a great sequel should do. It built off the incredible first book and took it in a slightly different but logical direction. I’m absolutely in love with that book.
I was surprised at how much I liked Ancillary Justice. Really hoping Sword is just as good.
Lots of these books on my tbr list! Thanks for the giveaway!
I’ve only read ‘The Goblin Emperor’ so far, but I’ve heard great things about ‘The Three-Body Problem’.
I’ve read THE GOBLIN EMPEROR and I enjoyed it immensely. ANCILLARY SWORD is the next on my to read list. The rest will follow. I realy hope to win them and read all of them before the Hugo awards will be announced.
Thank you for the giveaway!
Would love to receive the packet. Heard great things about all of them!
Excited to have Goblin Emperor possibly win :)
Awesome! Thank you for the sweeps. I read a couple of them, but if I win, I’ll regift/donate them. :D
Wow, that’s an amazing collection of books!
I finished reading The Three-Body Problem a couple days ago, and I’m still thinking about it. I think Ken Liu did a fantastic job of preserving the Chinese cadence and culture, making it possible for Liu Cixin’s message to get through. This book deserves its own category maybe.
I’ve just started The Goblin Emperor, and to be honest, the archaic language forms are getting in my way (thee & thou could use a good translation). I shall persevere, to be sure. People I trust say it’s a great book.
But closest to my heart is Ancillary Sword, which takes Breq downwell and in a new direction. AnnLeckie made history last year, and I’d like to see her win at least one of these awards again.
I haven’t read the others, although Annihilation (& the rest of the Southern Reach Trilogy) are near the top of my TBR.
I think that might be enough from me for now. Am I allowed to continue If I have more to say later Marion?
Ah come on, this is why we can’t have nice things. Thee and thou is just the informal you in Middle English. Modern English doesn’t have a formal/informal distinction so you can’t translate it. Formal pronouns is nice tool to have in a comedy of manners.
Agreed on Ancillary Sword, I actually liked that the story got much smaller.
Margo, of course!
I have read a couple of comments about the language– especially “thee” and “thou.” I had no problem with it. Addison perfectly captured a hierarchical, formal language with it (“thee” is the intimate of “you”). I’m also surprised that the people who complained about it didn’t comment on the “formal first person” in the book, which was “we.” I thought she did this extremely well.
I loved Ancillary Sword and I can’t wait to read all of the others when I win the whole kit & kaboodle! (*waving raised hand wildly* pick me! pick me!)
I haven’t read any of these! But they do look good!
Wow, This is a fabulous list! I need to put more
of these on my Goodreads TBR. Thanks so much for
the chance!;)
Several are on my TBR list, but after reading all these comments, I think I need to read The Goblin Emperor!
The Goblin Emperor is one of my favorite books! It has my vote for the Hugo, and I’m hoping that it takes the Nebula as well!
I haven’t read the books in this list yet, but two of my favourite authors are nominated:
The Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J. Anderson and
Skin Game by Jim Butcher.
I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for the other authors from now on, too. Thank!
This looks like an exciting to-read list! I’ve especially heard good things about The Three Body Problem and Ancillary Sword.
I think The Three Body Problem will win the Nebula, and with the voting the way it is for the Hugos, I think Skin Game win pull out that win.
Goblin Emperor was my favorite read- but there are some great titles nominated!