And here it is, my take on the best novels of the year. I did not nominate anything in this category, but then, I am very rarely that up to date on my sf novels. (As always, the links go to full write-ups of the novels, though at the time this is posted, not all of those will have gone up yet.)
I didn't care much for the first "Locked Tomb Trilogy" book (like so many of these things, it's now going to be four books) when it was a finalist last year, and as a result, I found it difficult to get into the sequel, which rather seemed to assume I remembered more about the first book than I actually did. Up until the last fifty pages or so, I was prepared to rank it above City We Became, since it seemed to me that Muir was trying to do something of more interest than Jemisin, but the last fifty pages are a huge number of speeches where characters explain to other characters their complicated plans, and I found it intensely amateurish and dull.
As I said in my review, I was pretty dissatisfied by this novel, especially given the quality of Jemisin's other Hugo finalist novels. Surprisingly simple, and surprisingly little happens given it's a 400-page novel.
I always struggle with where to rank things in the middle. I definitely enjoyed reading this more than The City We Became... did I like it more than Black Sun, though? They are both novels that began decently but didn't stick the landing for me. I eventually decided that I was engaged with the events of Black Sun throughout even though I think it made some weird character choices that lost me, but as always in Murderbot stories, I checked out when the action shifted into gear, so that gives a slight edge to Black Sun.
I was also not very much into this. But I ranked it above The City We Became for two reasons, one of which I think has merit, and one which perhaps does not. The first is that though by the end of this novel, it had lost me, it did have me at the beginning, which is more than one can say for The City We Became, which never really had me. The other is that Jemisin has won three times before, and I think is more likely to win than Roanhorse, so I am being a bit strategic in putting Roanhorse above her.
2. The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
This was the only one of these I read on my own initiative, prior to it becoming a Hugo finalist, and it is still one of the best. Like I said when I reviewed it, at first I struggled with it a bit, and I still have some plotting quibbles, but by the end I found it the best Lady Astronaut book thus far, gripping and moving in turn. I think a more focused plot has let Kowal say more with less than in the Elma-focused installments, and I would happily see her win again for this.
I think you can tell that this isn't one of my favorite sets of Hugo finalists, as we only reach the "I would happily see it win" level with my second-ranked finalist. So I do wonder if Clarke's novel—which is quite good—would be my top choice in a year with a stronger set of finalists. It's highly enjoyable and well written and clearly by someone with a mastery of their craft... but does it represent the heart and the future of the genre in the way I think a Hugo Award winner ought to? That I'm less sure of. But it is the best of what we have here, and, as I said, I would gladly see it win.
Overall Thoughts
As I said above, I think this is a somewhat weaker set of Best Novel finalists that we have had in other years. But as the Hugos are my way of staying on top of the genre, I can't point you toward a more deserving finalist!
I don't have a good sense of what will win this year. I don't think it will be Harrow, which I think has something of a vocal minority behind it; I also don't think it will be Black Sun. Jemisin, Kowal, and Clarke would all be repeat winners for this category, and we know the Hugos love those... that said, I don't think City We Became has been having the impact the Broken Earth trilogy did, so it's not going to be that, either. Wells has won Best Novella for Murderbot, too. Clarke's book is good, but I think not quite in the core sensibility of the Hugo voter. So I will guess either Kowal or Wells.
(I wonder how wrong I am going to be here!)
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