On August 19, 2018, the Hugo Awards will be announced at Worldcon 76 in San Jose, California.  The finalists are listed below; the links go to my reviews of the work.  There’s some really good reading here; please enjoy!

Best Novel

• The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi.
• New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson.
• Provenance, by Ann Leckie.
• Raven Stratagem, by Yoon Ha Lee.
• Six Wakes, by Mur Lafferty.
• The Stone Sky, by N.K. Jemisin.

Of the six novels, my favorite is Provenance, followed by New York 2140 and Six Wakes.  Judging by the last two years and the year’s Nebula awards, I suspect that The Stone Sky will be the winner.  Ultimately, they’re all good, solid reads.

For the next three categories, I reviewed all of the candidates for both the Hugo and Nebula finalists in one entry.  So, you can get even more reading if you so desire.

Best Novella

• All Systems Red, by Martha Wells.
• “And Then There Were (N-One),” by Sarah Pinsker.
• Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor.
• The Black Tides of Heaven, by JY Yang.
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire.
• River of Teeth, by Sarah Gailey.

Again, some really good reading here.  MURDERBOT!  (Excuse me.)  My favorite is All Systems Red; in fact, I can’t wait until Rogue Protocol, the third in the series comes out next week.  After that, I recommend “And Then There Were (N-One)” and River of Teeth.  I’m really hoping I’ve picked the winner in this one; it’s delightful.

Best Novelette

• “Children of Thorns, Children of Water,” by Aliette de Bodard.
• “Extracurricular Activities,” by Yoon Ha Lee.
• “The Secret Life of Bots,” by Suzanne Palmer.
• “A Series of Steaks,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad.
• “Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time,” by K.M. Szpara.
• “Wind Will Rove,” by Sarah Pinsker.

My favorite of this group is “Wind Will Rove.”  I made my husband read it, which mostly I don’t bother with.  I also enjoyed “The Secret Life of Bots” and “A Series of Steaks”.  The other three didn’t appeal to me, but they’re well-written.

Best Short Story

• Carnival Nine,” by Caroline M. Yoachim.
• “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand,” by Fran Wilde.
• “Fandom for Robots,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad.
• “The Martian Obelisk,” by Linda Nagata.
• “Sun, Moon, Dust” by Ursula Vernon.
• “Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™,” by Rebecca Roanhorse.

My favorite of these is “Fandom for Robots,” with “The Martian Obelisk” and “Sun, Moon, Dust” following.

In short, there is a lot of good reading in the lead-up to the Hugo Awards this month.  While you’re at the beach, or wherever you go vacationing, take some with you.  And enjoy!

I’ll repeat this post the day before the awards and follow the day after with a list of the winners.