Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) for works in the genre of science fiction the previous year.

Best Novel:

The Race by Nina Allan

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge

Europe in Autumn by Dave Hutchinson

Wolves by Simon Ings

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

The Moon King by Neil Williamson


The winner will be announced April 5, 2015 at Eastercon.

For a full list of categories and nominees, see the BSFA website.

The moon king looks interesting. Anybody read any of these yet?

Nicholas wrote: "The moon king looks interesting. Anybody read any of these yet?"

In truth, I haven't even heard of half of them. The BSFA selection panel seems to operate outside my zeitgeist.

Pretty much all are on my to read list - Quite a few of these though were published in the UK a chunk before USA so its not surprising they are off people's radar.

Nina Allan is a distinctive and literate writer mainly of short fiction and this is her debut novel although reviews have suggested it is more like several novellas not that linked to each other. I am keen to give it a try after quite enjoying Spin

Both wolves and Europe in Autumn are innovative novels that have been much hyped this side of the pond. Meaning to check each out. Not sure with Europe in Autumn how much the subject matter would be of interest to US readers.

Lagoon sounds great and I read a sample of it but I dont really gel with her style. Its kind of what if an alien landing didnt take place in LA or New York but in Lagos, Nigeria - it sounds a lot of fun so planning on giving it a second try soon.

Ben wrote: "Quite a few of these though were published in the UK a chunk before USA so its not surprising they are off people's radar...."

As far as I know, the BSFA Awards are not restricted to works specifically published in Britain (such as the Clarke award, to which the BSFA contributes half the panel of judges. Nor, despite the name, is it restricted to Science Fiction — unlike the British Fantasy Society, which limits the British Fantasy Award to just fantasy.) However, while Leckie co-won last year for Ancillary Justice, it had been two decades since a non-British writer won the BSFA Award (Russell's The Sparrow, 1996.)

Looking over their list of past winners, it's a pretty good list of books I haven't read. (Addendum: actually, 1995 & earlier I've read most. Not sure if the BSFA changed or I did.)

I've read Ancillary Sword and loved it -- can't wait for book 3. I've heard of Lagoon but haven't read it yet. I've read several others by Nnedi Okorafor, though, and I enjoy her. She writes post-apocalyptic sci-fi with some magical realism set in Africa. The rest on this list are new to me!

im with G33, I ain't heard of half this stuff...where do the Brit fen come up with this stuff?

Its based around UK publication in terms of eligibility and though in practice anyone can join BSFA and vote i think it is probably mainly brits. British publication does not of course mean British but in Britain in a year where we have had a referendum of whether Scotland will remain in the UK the themes in Europe in Autmun might seem more relevant to us Brits.

The Hugos are weird in terms of their eligibility and some of these books would be eligible for 2 years as the US publication was a year after UK publication.

oh and Adam Roberts published 5 other books last year - the guy is prolific as well as a short story collection last month. He is better at writing books than promoting them but Bete looks like one of his best (waiting for the price to drop before I by my copy but read a sample).

I have a copy of Europe in Autumn, though I haven't read it yet -- it's definitely TBR, tho. I'm also planning to read Leckie's Ancillary Sword, although I might try to wait 'til book 3 comes out to re-read Ancillary Justice & finish out the trilogy.

I wasn't in love with Okorafor's Who Fears Death, although I did appreciate a non-European setting, so I'm not sure whether I'll seek out Lagoon.

I read The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. It was good but not great and certainly not a book I would think would win an award. Makes me wonder if the others on this list are just "good".

Just finished Europe in Autumn -- really liked the first half, which owed more to a tradition of spy fiction & establishment of a likable protagonist than any strong sff elements, but was disappointed in the last 1/2-1/3, which became more episodic

The winner of the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA)Awards have been announced.

The winner of BSFA Award for Best Novel for 2014 is:

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

Ancillary sword is the only book I've read among the nominees (I do plan to change that) so I can't have an opinion as to the winner, but I did enjoy Ancillary justice much more than the sequel.
Congrats to Ann Leckie, it looks like 2015 will also be her year.