XPost: rec.arts.sf.written   
   From: kludge@panix.com   
      
   Best Novel   
      
   - The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (Harper Voyager,   
     Harper Voyager UK)   
      
   6.  This is a fantasy taking place in the 13th century Islamic world and   
   it reads like something that Sir Richard Burton might have enjoyed even if not   
   written.  It's clearly well-researched and the characters are good ones but   
   it doesn't really seem to me like a world-changing novel.  I liked it enough   
   and I enjoyed reading it and it's almost certainly designed to turn into a   
   series.   
      
   - The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom)   
      
   5.  I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of this book, setting up a world   
   of conflicting religious cults, the ability to change the past, and mysterious   
   doors that may or may not lead to another world if they could be opened.  But   
   then I got to the end of the book and half of my questions were never answered.   
   This really feels to me like a setup for a longer series and as such I felt   
   kind of disappointed.  Great premise, great world, great worldbuilding but I   
   don't think it stands alone.   
      
   - Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (Tordotcom, Orbit UK)   
      
   2. This is a galactic empire story that starts out in a space station   
   containing the last remnant of the human race holding out against... no...   
   wait, things turn out not to be what they looked like at first and now   
   there's a machine that can change the past and place us into parallel   
   presents.  This could have been a Heinlein story for a while but then it   
   goes off into new directions Heinlein would never have considered.  I like   
   this, and I think it's worthy of a Hugo.   
      
   - Starter Villain by John Scalzi (Tor, Tor UK)   
      
   4.  This is silly fluff but top grade silly fluff.  It's about a man suddenly   
   inheriting a seat on a SMERSH-like conspiracy of villains from his uncle,   
   hyperintelligent cats, the hidden hand of evil controlling the world, and   
   it's done with a great sense of humour.  I am not sure this will be remembered   
   a decade from now but if it is it will be remembered fondly, I think.   
      
   - Translation State by Ann Leckie (Orbit US, Orbit UK)   
      
   1. The Sad Puppies complained about the lack of traditional space opera with   
   galactic empires and they don't have that to complain about here.  Three   
   characters from two empires meet together in a search for an alien person   
   who disappeared two centuries ago.  A beautiful look into diplomacy between   
   empires of different species, this could have been written by Asimov (although   
   it would have been a bit different had he done so).  There is a running gag   
   about gender pronouns which is likely calculated to piss off the Puppies but   
   which is utterly hilarious.  This book has characters I can believe in, a   
   story that gets more and more strange as it goes, and a sense of humor.  It   
   needs a Hugo.   
      
   - Witch King by Martha Wells (Tordotcom)   
      
   3.  This is an epic fantasy with two different story lines at different   
   times with the same lead chracter, a demon prince whose family had an agreement   
   with the Saredi civilization to host them, except that years ago the Saredi   
   were wiped out by invaders called the Heiararchs and since then nothing has   
   been the same.  This is a solid and well-written fantasy story of new   
   societies,   
   old societies, betrayal and unlikely allies.  This isn't normally my kind of   
   thing, but I couldn't put it down until it ended.  Unfortunately it ended   
   with an ending specifically designed to start a series of books and I give it   
   points off for that.  Why does everyone need to start a series now?  But it   
   was a good book that I think will last.   
      
      
      
   Best Novella   
      
   - Life Does Not Allow Us to Meet, He Xi /  translated by   
     Alex Woodend (Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English   
     Science Fiction Writers)   
      
   NO - I found this excruciating to read.  The writing was incredibly clumsy   
   and it spent too much time telling instead of describing.  I can't help but   
   think this is the fault of the translation because the translated version is   
   not only not Hugo-worthy but not really publication-worthy.  This is kind of   
   a shame because the idea it plays with about humans settling other planets   
   might make some interesting points about what it means to be human.  But   
   overall this just seems a complete failure, sadly.   
      
   - Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)   
      
   2 - This is the fourth book in the Singing Hills cycle and although it is   
   an enjoyable book in itself, I think it is the least strong of the set and   
   it is dependant on a gimmick which I think spoils some of the effect.  It   
   was a pleasant read but less deserving of a Hugo than the others in the set.   
      
      
   - The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older (Tordotcom)   
      
   3 - This is written in the form of a mystery on a colony around a gas giant   
   in a world where the earth has become uninhabitable.  It's only in the form   
   of a mystery because you aren't given enough background to figure it out, and   
   while most of the enjoyment in the story comes from working out that background   
   it breaks any chance of it being a mystery.  I liked this, but when I got to   
   the end I was really pissed because I hadn't been given the clues needed until   
   it was already solved.   
      
   - Rose/House by Arkady Martine (Subterranean)   
      
   NO.  Actually, I would probably give this number one because it is a great,   
   great story.  It is a muystery with a detective, a reporter, and an AI-powered   
   house, and it is a real mystery with an interesting ending.  However, this   
   book does not appear to be available on paper or online.... hardcover editions   
   are selling for over $300 on ebay, amazon, and alibris... it is only available   
   in the Hugo packet to Hugo voters, and given that I am unwilling to vote for   
   it.   
      
   - Seeds of Mercury, Wang Jinkang /  translated by Alex   
     Woodend (Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English Science   
     Fiction Writers)   
      
   NO.  This is a story of humans creating life and how the religion of that   
   life evolves.  The concept is a great one, the actual writing is kind of   
   dreadful.  This may be the result of the translation but unfortunately this   
   is all I, as an English-speaker, have to go on.   
      
   - Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (Tor, Titan UK)   
      
   1  - This is a reversed retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story and   
   it's definitely light fluff, but I am a sucker for this kind of light   
   fluff and I enjoyed every minutes of it.  Also I like toads.   
      
      
   Best Novelette   
      
   - I AM AI by Ai Jiang (Shortwave)   
      
   6.  Ai is a human being in a world dominated by artificial intelligences,   
   trying to survive without selling too many of her body parts.  It's not a bad   
   story, it's just a little heavy-handed and while I enjoyed it I don't think it   
   is Hugo material.   
      
      
   - Introduction to 2181 Overture, Second Edition   
      translated by Emily Jen (Clarkesworld, February 2023)   
      
   5.  A story in the form of the introduction to a documentary volume on the   
   mass time migration through cryosleep that took place in the 22nd century.   
   I'm not sure if this is Hugo material but it's well-written and done in a   
      
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