Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels discussion

Time to nominate books for July's Finish a Year/Finish an Author theme. The idea is that individuals nominate a book that, for them, would be the final book to scratch off a full year's ballot or a full author's H/N bibliography. The group then votes on those books and helps the winner cross that finish line.
More info: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Nominate away!

I'd like to nominate Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia, a.k.a. "Triton" by Samuel R. Delany. This will finish out the seven HN nominations/winners for 1977, as shown on our spreadsheet. It's actually in that weird period where the Hugo/Nebula years are off - its award list shows 1976 Nebula nominee.

I fully support Kalin's idea of "Start-an-Author" as a new theme. It might get us into some longer challenges, such as McDevitt's Academy series, but I think it would be good to give it a try. Discussion on themes is here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thanks, been meaning to get this thread up.

I'm not close to finishing a year (my closest is 2021 at 3 books remaining, which isn't even eligible).

I nominate Provenance by Ann Leckie. She's got a new nominee for 2024 with Translation State but I've read that already so Provenance is my last Leckie book to complete her set of nominees.

Both books I’d like to read. The Delany is actually the only one of his Hugo/Nebula novel finalists I haven’t read. I have read Provenance but wouldn’t mind revisiting it.

I think it would take some digging to come up with a suitable nominee of my own.

I'll nominate A Fall of Moondust: the only Arthur C. Clarke book on the list that I haven't read.

I have scanned the list down into the 70's and cannot find a book where I would finish a year or finish an author. So I will go with whatever anyone else decides, or read some things that have on the back burner.

Have fun!

There are nominees I planned to read anyway, so like Kate I won't nominate

It just occurred to me that after we finish the Hyperion Cantos, Dan Simmons' Ilium will also be an option for me for this category.

Kalin--is July too soon, then? Is Ilium a nomination?

Two fat Simmons books in July might be a bit much. I'd suggest deferring Ilium to be an August nomination under the Extremely Long theme. I'd certainly be interested in reading it then, but not July.

Here's what we have:

Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia by Samuel R. Delany
Provenance by Ann Leckie
A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke

Possibly Ilium by Dan Simmons

Any other nominations?

Kateblue wrote: "Kalin--is July too soon, then? Is Ilium a nomination?"

No, I wasn't suggesting that it be nominated, unless someone chooses to nominate him. We are already reading The Rise of Endymion in July, like Allan mentioned. I was more suggesting that, if we don't select Ilium this year, and we repeat this theme next year, Ilium will be eligible for anyone who has kept up with the group reads.

Back in the theme discussion, I listed all the authors who only have one book left unread from the group's collective reading history. That doesn't mean each of us individually has kept up with the group reading and is ready to cross these off, but here they are:


Leigh Brackett: Shadow Over Mars
Cory Doctorow: Little Brother
Ann Leckie: Provenance
Maureen F. McHugh: Mission Child
Elizabeth Moon: The Speed of Dark
Terry Pratchett: Making Money
Olaf Stapledon: Darkness and the Light
Neal Stephenson: Anathem
Theodore Sturgeon: Venus Plus X
Catherynne M. Valente: Palimpsest
Jack Vance: Suldrun's Garden
Jeff VanderMeer: Finch
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.: Slaughterhouse-Five
Jo Walton: Farthing

Thanks for the handy list. I’ll nominate Venus Plus X. I recently read More Than Human, which seems to be the only other Sturgeon novel on the HN list. I’m a little dubious about this one but Sturgeon is a major enough writer that it would certainly be worth the read for me.

Stephen wrote: "Thanks for the handy list. I’ll nominate Venus Plus X. I recently read More Than Human, ."

Venus is much weaker than Human

I nominate Farthing because Jo Walton is a great underappreciated SFF author

Excellent, five should give us a good contest. I'll get the poll up shortly. I've read 9 of those 14 and I can say thank goodness no one nominated Shadow Over Mars. That was flippin' terrible, worst book I've come across on the HN list.

Poll is up!

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

I really like the mix of nominees. I want to read them all, but only actually *have* the one I nominated.

Yes, good choices this month! I’ve read three, hoping for Triton or Farthing as I have both. Thanks for the list, Kalin, it helped round things out!

Looks like it might be Provenance, but it's quite a close vote and there's one day left on the poll.

Winner is Provenance by Ann Leckie