![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
2022 Hugo Award: Best Novel
Aug. 10th, 2022 04:23 pmWhew, coming in just under the wire, here's my voting plans for the Hugo best novel! Obviously She Who Became The Sun is required to win, but in any other year both my #2 and #3 choices would be strong contenders for first place in my mind, and it's just too bad they can't all three get awards! Links to my full reviews in the titles of the books.
1. She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan
I cannot vote anything but this for first place because it's perfect in every way.
2. A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine
It may not reach the same degree of delighting-me-on-every-level that A Memory Called Empire did, but it's still a fascinating and compelling book and very well done.
3. Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki
A book that's doing its own thing, haven't really seen anything else like it, and I am HERE for it.
4. A Master of Djinn, by P Djélí Clark
Not as strong as his novella in the same world (The Haunting of Tram Car 015), especially in terms of development of character for the protagonist, so I was disappointed -- but it was still good, and I do love the worldbuilding.
5. The Galaxy and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers
Usually I love Chambers' approach of writing plotless novels about disparate characters interacting and being generally hopeful, but this one focuses on themes of children and parenthood and reproductive choices, and those are just not themes that inherently speak to me, so instead of finding it cozily enjoyable I was just bored.
6. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
Andy Weir doesn't understand how humans work, doesn't understand how the soft sciences work, doesn't understand how communication works, is a little too into leaders being autocratic, and mostly just cares about expositing at length about science things he thinks are cool. I'm glad he has found his niche, and I am charmed by how much he loves science, but I did not like this book.
1. She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan
I cannot vote anything but this for first place because it's perfect in every way.
2. A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine
It may not reach the same degree of delighting-me-on-every-level that A Memory Called Empire did, but it's still a fascinating and compelling book and very well done.
3. Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki
A book that's doing its own thing, haven't really seen anything else like it, and I am HERE for it.
4. A Master of Djinn, by P Djélí Clark
Not as strong as his novella in the same world (The Haunting of Tram Car 015), especially in terms of development of character for the protagonist, so I was disappointed -- but it was still good, and I do love the worldbuilding.
5. The Galaxy and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers
Usually I love Chambers' approach of writing plotless novels about disparate characters interacting and being generally hopeful, but this one focuses on themes of children and parenthood and reproductive choices, and those are just not themes that inherently speak to me, so instead of finding it cozily enjoyable I was just bored.
6. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
Andy Weir doesn't understand how humans work, doesn't understand how the soft sciences work, doesn't understand how communication works, is a little too into leaders being autocratic, and mostly just cares about expositing at length about science things he thinks are cool. I'm glad he has found his niche, and I am charmed by how much he loves science, but I did not like this book.
