Bastard of Godsgrace

I rather doubt it will happen. Thing is most Hugo voters know and like authors like Nnedi Okorafor, Yoon Ha Lee, Naomi Kritzer etc. and are likely to read their books, but don't care about more popular YA authors (and often probably didn't even hear of them).

I agree that awards for Jemisin and Jeannette Ng are a joke. Jemisin story was really bad and even if you agree with Ng opinions, it still was a short political screed competing with real books. As for other categories, I expected Kameron Hurley to win, based on most reviewers opinion, but this opinion apparently wasn't shared by most voters. I am rather happy with Arkady Martine win (I put TMCE second, after Muir), but it seems a little surprising to me. Short story is the only category in which my first choice won, but I wasn't very much impressed with the whole list. Lodestar remains a category in which authors popular with Hugo voters still have big advantage over more widely popular authors, but I suppose it is a feature, not a bug. Ran, thanks you for using the term "damnatio memoriae". I never heard it used in this context, and it fits very well.

Congrats Werthead! I nominated you from the times immemorial, and at last you made it. I think the novel line is very good. Gideon is totally bonkers and the whole rest is close behind it IMHO. This time no award doesn't need to apply, which hapane rarily for me. OOTOH, I have already read the whole short story list and I am not impressed. I don't like the idea of no awarding the whole category, so perhaps I will give the first place for some story or other, but without conviction.

Definitely better, IMHO. "Savages" was rather mediocre, but this is one of the better Parker's novels.

Seconded. This book definitely makes my Hugo nomination list

Bestselling books marketed as mainstream, like Circe, traditionally didn't do well in Hugo contest and it apparently didn't change. I wonder if Marlon James and Margaret Atwood will have more luck next year. James seems likely to make my list, but it is still very early, so it is hard to say. The same goes for Rejoice which I nominated. It is a book by bestselling fantay author and probabły flew below the radar of most voters.

I think The Company is the most downbeat, with The Hammer probably the second. The three first trilogies also are big downers (Two of Swords not so much). I would also remommend Sharps as a reasonably cheerful novel (for Parker, at least).

Four, actually, one for each finger. I also think she used extended fingers, but I am not completely sure.

River of Stars Lord of Emperors Under Heaven Tigana Lions of al-Rassan

Well, Stieg Larsson is sort of dead, and I think it just may disqualify him. As for Dylan, I can only say he is way better poet than some who actually did win.

[quote name='Greycox' post='1349314' date='May 10 2008, 00.19']"Purposefully shaped"? It does seem so. But, from what we know of the Boltons this might even trend towards normalcy - and perhaps even more so where bastards are concerned. Also, one might argue that Roose's [s]child[/s] monster rearing techniques are necessary in order to raise someone that's [s]worthy[/s] adequately monsterous to one day be the Lord of the Dreadfort.[/quote] The Boltons as Siths? Roose as Master and Ramsay as Apprentice who can replace a Master only by killing him? This sure sounds like a new theory. Seems interesting.

Theon meeting fake Arya may have interesting implicatios. Does Ramsay know that he isn't getting real Arya? Will Theon tell him? Does it matter to Ramsay at all?

[quote name='Ran' post='1302659' date='Apr 6 2008, 12.46']From remarks Odie made elsewhere, George seems to have already changed some sort of detail related to Tywin's death and the events in this chapter. I'm guessing that he dropped Slynt's reference to Tywin, but that's just a guess. :)[/quote] This would clear it. I suspect it was continuity error analogical to Dorne chapter in AFFC. That one was removed in paperback edition, IIRC.