The 2022 Hugo Award Finalists for Best Fantasy/Science Fiction Novel

Presented annually since 1955, the Hugo Awards are the most prestigious awards in the field of science fiction and fantasy. The Hugo Awards are voted on by members and attendees of the World Science Fiction Convention and were presented this year on Sunday, September 4, 2022 at the 80th World Science Fiction Convention (ChiCon 8) in Chicago.

The 2022 Hugo Award winner for Best Novel is:

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Marine

Light from Uncommon Stars

Ryka Aoki

$28.99 $26.96

To save herself from eternal damnation, legendary violin teacher Shizuka Satomi must find seven violinists who agree to sell their souls in exchange for fame and success. So far, she's delivered six. Now she sets her sights on teenage violin prodigy Katrina Nguyen, newly arrived in Los Angeles to escape an abusive father. This masterful mashup of horror, science fiction, and magical realism is a truly exceptional entry in the deal-with-the-devil genre. Ryka Aoki's explorations of the intricacies of musical performance, themes of gender identity and immigrant culture, and the power of love and redemption are phenomenally satisfying.

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

Becky Chambers

$18.99 $17.66

In this fourth and final entry in the Wayfarer series (which began with "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet"), Becky Chambers brings her stories set in the universe of the Galactic Commons to a delightful conclusion. Marooned at an interstellar hostel, aliens from vastly different cultures must learn to interact with each other as they wait for rescue. Chambers' skillful depiction of each species' background as reflected in their thoughts and dialogue is a subtle and quite marvelous achievement. The Wayfarer series won the Hugo Award for Best Series last year and with this novel, Chambers sticks the landing.

A Master of Djinn

P. Djèlí Clark

$18.99 $17.66

Fatma, an agent for the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, encounters the schemes and mischief of djinns, ghuls, sorcerers, ifrits, and other assorted magical beings as she hunts down a murderer. An absolutely unique blend of police procedural, alternative history, and fantasy set in a richly reimagined early-20th-century Cairo where the wall between the worlds of magic and reality has been destroyed by a self-described prophet.

A Desolation Called Peace

Arkady Martine

$19.99 $18.59

WINNER OF THE 2022 HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL: Arkady Martine delivers the second installment of the saga which began with her Hugo Award-winning debut, "A Memory Called Empire". A mysterious alien threat is now moving against the Teixcalaan Empire and Ambassador Mahit Dzmare must employ all her diplomatic skills to avoid an interstellar war whose consequences may be horrendous. The depth of Martine's characterizations of both humans and aliens is particularly noteworthy in this riveting novel of political intrigue and outer-space conflict. This is classic space opera at its best.

She Who Became the Sun

Shelley Parker-Chan

$18.99 $17.66

What if the boy who would become the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty (Zhu Chongba, 1328-1398) had died at a young age and his place was taken by his sister? Devastated by the loss of her brother and the destruction of her monastery, a young novice disguises herself as a man and joins a rebellion to overthrow the Mongol conquerors of 14th century China. Military strategy and tactics, political machinations, unrelenting tension, themes of gender indentity, fascinating characters. . . this spectacularly immersive alternate history of the fall of the Yuan Dynasty and the life of the first Ming ruler has it all!

Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir

$30.00 $27.90

Part of a mission sent on the spaceship Hail Mary to discover why the sun is dying, Dr. Ryland Grace awakens from a coma to find he's not only lost all his crewmates, he's lost his memory as well. With time inexorably running out, Ryland must piece together what his mission is and how to achieve it. His only hope lies in his talent for scientific deduction - and in an alien on another spaceship who may have been sent on a similar mission. Andy Weir has delivered another novel of human ingenuity and tenacious survival every bit as riveting as his spectacular debut, "The Martian".

Check here to see the winners and finalists in all the other categories (novella, novelette, short story, magazine, art, fan fiction, video game, dramatic presentation, etc.).

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