As the year comes to a close, awards for all manner of entertainment are being bestowed upon this year’s batch of skilled and fortunate creators. Among the many prominent awards within the literary world, the Hugo is easily one of the most prestigious when it comes to science-fiction and fantasy titles, and will be awarded to one of six brilliant novels on December 18th. Let’s take this opportunity to review this year’s candidates, and appreciate each for its merits before a final winner is announced!
Candidate 1: Black Sun, by Rebecca Roanhorse.
Black Sun marks the first entry in the Between Earth and Sky series, an epic fantasy taking place in a world inspired by pre-Columbian indigenous American cultures. The novel takes you into a milieu of celestial prophecy, clashing factions and ancient magic, adopting the most compelling aspects of high fantasy and yet distinguishing itself quite clearly from the crowd. It collected high acclaim for its entrancing world which breaks free from the constraints of eurocentric fantasy, as well as its compelling and, yes, tormented, cast of characters.
Rebecca Roanhorse was nominated for the Hugo award for both of her previous novels in her ongoing urban fantasy series The Sixth World. She also took home a Hugo for Best Short Story in 2018 for "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™." As she continues to expand her literary portfolio, perhaps this will be her year to win Best Novel for the first time!
Jemisin’s latest novel combines urban fantasy with cosmic horror, beginning a new series which spins out of her prior short story “The City Born Great.” The story embodies New York City through its complex and diverse cast, setting up a coming-of-age story for the city just as much as for its characters. Jemisin’s distinctive style brings these seemingly disparate genres and elements together into a wonderfully realized whole.
N. K. Jemisin needs no introduction when it comes to the world of speculative fiction. She holds the laurels for being the first author to ever win the Hugo award for Best Novel in three consecutive years, for each book in her Broken Earth trilogy. With such an impressive record, she surely sits as a strong early contender to win this year as well. Time will tell if her successes can continue!
Candidate 3: Harrow the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir.
Harrow is the second book of the Locked Tomb series, a sci-fi and fantasy mashup which follows a culture of spacefaring necromancers in the distant future. This second installment follows the titular Harrow, offering much greater insight into her motivations and personal journey than was available in the first entry in the series. Harrow takes the mystery and action central to the series to the next level, unveiling more of the mind-bending puzzle at the center of the series’ narrative, and keeping me up late into the night reading!
The first book in the Locked Tomb series, Gideon the Ninth, was Muir’s first novel, and was also nominated for a Hugo award in 2019. While her career is still young, her work clearly impresses with its inventive genre blend and strong narrative voice. Winning a Hugo this year would set the bar even higher for the final two books in her current series, and all her work in the future.
Candidate 4: Network Effect, by Martha Wells.
The fifth entry in the award-winning Murderbot series, Network Effect is the longest book the series has yet produced. As a full-length novel rather than a novella, Network Effect is able to dive into Murderbot’s own character growth in much greater detail as it becomes embroiled in an attempt to rescue the humans it has come to care for from a desperate situation. While Network Effect is a standalone story, fans of the series are sure to get the most out of it as the book expands upon the relationships the robotic protagonist has accrued over the prior four books.
Martha Wells has previously won two Hugo awards for Best Novella thanks to her earlier work in the Murderbot series, All Systems Red and Artificial Condition. However, the longer page count of her latest venture makes it eligible for the Best Novel category, new territory for the series. It remains to be seen whether Wells’s success in shorter-form storytelling will correlate to success against the other fantastically talented novelists competing for the award this year.
Candidate 5: Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke.
Of all the candidates this year, Piranesi is my personal favorite. Taking place in a mysterious statue-filled labyrinth, the story follows a man without memories, living simply until his blissful ignorance is shattered by forces beyond his comprehension. The novel is literary and smart, with a protagonist full of heart and a beautiful, wonderfully realized world. It also uses a somewhat experimental form, comprised of the journal entries of the protagonist in all their eccentric glory. The book is short, but revels in the time it is given.
The author, Susanna Clarke, is most well known for her previous novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which won the Hugo award in 2005. She has already proven her ability to write a masterpiece, and Piranesi only adds to her impressive reputation. She is well-positioned to win the award for a second time, despite the sixteen-year gap between her two novels.
Candidate 6: The Relentless Moon, by Mary Robinette Kowal.
The Relentless Moon adds an element of the ‘whodunnit’ mystery to Kowal’s stellar Lady Astronaut series. As the Earth draws closer to disaster, the novel revisits the events of its predecessor, The Fated Sky, from a new perspective. Characters who took a backseat in the second book are explored fully in this third entry, and the sociopolitical unrest on Earth reaches new heights as the space program faces increasing amounts of controversy. With this novel, the Lady Astronaut series cements itself even further as some of the best of contemporary hard sci-fi.
Mary Robinette Kowal has already won a Hugo award for The Calculating Stars, the first book in the series, as well as for the novelette on which the series came to be based. While The Fated Sky was passed over for the award in 2018, The Relentless Moon could easily be another winner. However, regardless of whether it wins in the end, the popularity of the series is enough to demonstrate that Lady Astronaut is well worth following.
There we have it! Whichever novel ends up taking the Hugo award for Best Novel in the end, all six should be appreciated for their unique and wonderful contributions to the contemporary sci-fi and fantasy firmament. Show your support for your favorite of the candidates by gifting a copy to your friends and family this holiday season, and look out for the announcement of the winner on December 18th!
