Hugo Ballot 2022: Novels and Novellas

Some of Best Novel nominees for 2022

I've been voting for the Hugos since 2017. And every year since then I've told myself that I'll get started earlier next year. And mostly I fail to do so, although I did manage to read all the novels and all but one of the novellas this year, so that's pretty good. I just finished the short stories and novelettes (look for that post coming soon). I may not get to all the other categories, but I still have ten days, so we'll see.

Without further ado, here's how I'm voting for Best Novel and Best Novella! You can find the full list of nominees here.

Best Novel

I'm totally impressed with myself that I read all the novels this year. And they were all good! There's some tough competition, but I have to rank them to vote (I made a guide just for this several years ago). I genuinely liked all of these novels, which sounds like an overly nice thing to say, but it's true--all of it.

1. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager / Hodder & Stoughton)

• I've really become a fan of Becky Chambers the last few years, and this is one of her best works in my opinion. And I think it's just a bit more polished than the competition, although it was a hard call considering how much I liked the others. From my review: "Perhaps the most remarkable thing: by reading a story about almost exclusively non-human aliens, the reader is encouraged to confront their own otherness to others. Just as the characters confront their own otherness to each other. As another famous science fiction alien would say: Fascinating."

2. Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki (Tor / St Martin’s Press)

• I really, really loved this one, too. Giving it my #2 spot isn't a reflection on this book as much as how deeply I loved the other one. Honestly, this is one of the most unique books I've ever read. From my Goodreads review: "I almost always prefer interesting over safe. And this book has heaps of interesting. Like a fugue of genres, it mixes a coming-of-age story for a trans girl in contemporary California, fantasy about people selling their souls, science fiction about refugees from a galactic war, the world of high-profile violin competitions, the delicious diversity of Los Angeles mom-and-pop eateries, and more."

3. A Master of Djinn, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom / Orbit UK)

• This one is in the same universe as many of Clark's other work (such as The Haunting of Tram Car 015), and it's a lot of fun! From my review: "I was having so much fun the first half or so of the novel that I was starting to wonder if this was one of those 'fun but not very deep' novels. Not that there's anything wrong with that! But I usually like a little more to chew on in my fiction. It may be hard to notice among all the fun, but there is a sophisticated exploration of power and the drive to dominate versus the drive to cooperate throughout the novel."

4. She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan (Tor / Mantle)

• Another great novel. I wasn't sure if this would be my thing, but I got in it for the depiction of a 14th century Chinese Buddhist monastery and from there I ended up loving all of it. From my review: "... overall this is a beautifully-written exploration of gender, politics, ambition, and desire in 14th century China with some mild fantasy elements. I think there's even an interesting sort of thought experiment about Buddhist conceptions of desire and suffering to be found."

5. A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine (Tor)

• Given how much I loved the first book in this series, nobody is as surprised to find this one as far down my list as I am. But alas, here we are. None of this is to say I didn't like this one. I liked it a lot! Maybe the "new universe smell" has worn off. Maybe the other novels this year are just so great. Who knows? From my review: "... the coolest thing about personhood has to do with the aliens. It would be a bit too much of a spoiler to explain it, but part of the key turns out to be wondering if, just as one body could contain two persons, there may be other ways of conceptualizing personhood that are required for communication."

6. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir (Ballantine / Del Rey)

• Another enjoyable book. I'm honestly not sure it's Hugo material and I think Weir is benefitting from some residual recognition after the success of The Martian, although I can say I really enjoyed reading this one. From my review: "... the xenobiological aspects are what I enjoyed the most. At other times I felt like I was reading someone showing their work on their physics homework, but if you've read The Martian you know what you're in for. To mildly plagiarize a review I saw elsewhere: if you liked The Martian, you will probably also like Project Hail Mary."

Best Novella

There's more really stiff competition among the novellas. I found it a little easier to rank these, although the #1 and #2 spots were tough. And I still haven't read that McGuire series that's on the ballot every year, so some things never change.

1. A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers (Tordotcom)

• Another #1 for Becky Chambers? What can I say? She's that good. And I think I may have enjoyed this one even more, just for its sheer delightfulness. From my Goodreads review: "I think I figured out why I love Becky Chambers so much: she writes like I try to teach—she puts the reader (student) at such comfy ease that you’re halfway into the deep thoughts before you even realize she’s guided you there. And this novella is particularly delightful, maybe even my favorite yet. I can’t wait for more Monk and Robot."

2. Elder Race, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tordotcom)

• I loved (LOVED!) Tchaikovsky's Children of Time, so I was keen to read this. And it did not disappoint! I was really waffling on making this my #1 pick, but maybe in the end the Chambers novella had a few more laughs. But this is still a great work. From my Goodreads review: "A really great example in the long tradition of science fiction-fantasy hybrids. Surprisingly deep thoughts on different vocabularies for understanding reality, scientific objectivity, myth-making, mental health, etc."

3. The Past Is Red, by Catherynne M. Valente (Tordotcom)

• It took a few chapters for me to get into this one, but I ended up liking it just fine. From my Goodreads review: "I often think about what our descendants might think of us (the people of the early 21st century). In The Future is Red, the people of the post-apocapytic Waterworld call their ancestors "Fuckwits." The Fuckwits are us." 

4. Fireheart Tiger, by Aliette de Bodard (Tordotcom)

• I can't say I enjoyed this as much as some of the author's other work, but it came together for me a bit more toward the end. From my Goodreads review: "This novella has a cool setting (Vietnam-inspired fantasy that seems to be matriarchal) and some interesting plot points about colonialism and politics, but at its core it's a story of a character leaving a relationship that she realizes is abusive in favor of something better (hopefully?). And there's a fire elemental, so that's cool."

5. A Spindle Splintered, by Alix E. Harrow (Tordotcom)

• Ultimately this is just kinda not my thing, although I still enjoyed it. And the artwork is cool. From my Goodreads review: "I was apprehensive going into this one after bouncing off a few too many iterations of "modern retelling of X fairy tale" in my Hugo readings of recent years, but I have to say it was a lot more fun and engaging than I thought it would be."

Left off my ballot: Across the Green Grass Fields, by Seanan McGuire (Tordotcom)

• I tried to read one of these several years ago and couldn't get into it, and it seems like too much effort to try to jump into it now. Sorry.

So there you have it! Stay tuned for novelettes and short stories... and maybe more if I get around to it!