monkeys and ponies

Am I gonna have time to read everything in all the main literature categories before voting begins? Very definitely not! But I did get through 5.1 of the novel nominees and have a few opinions.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sarafi, S.A. Chakraborty
I devoured Chakraborty’s Daevabad trilogy, so I figured that her latest novel, this one about a retired pirate queen now living a quiet, pious life until she’s pulled in for One Last Job, would be up my alley. As ever, Chakraborty’s writing is breezy, fun, and hugely compelling. Sometimes you don’t need books to be deep and complicated; you just need a rollicking story with piracy and the spirit world and a truly evil antagonist. One of my top picks simply because I had such a blast reading it.

Starter Villain, John Scalzi
This was fine. Laugh-out-loud funny anytime the dolphins were involved, but mostly it felt like it would have made a tighter novella than a novel, and it was already a pretty short novel. Also, only one major female (human) character in the entire book? C’mon, buddy, you know better than this.

Some Desperate Glory, Emily Tesh
I think I may have simply read my lifetime quota of military fiction, even YA milfic with an intriguing plot element that means we get to revisit previous decisions and see the characters grow in ways they definitely wouldn’t have otherwise. Those elements are the reason I enjoyed this book more than I expected, but it’s still very middle-of-the-pack for me.

The Saint of Bright Doors, Vajra Chandrasekera
It took me a chapter or two to really grab me, but man, did this grab me. Chandrasekera’s lyrical prose and strong world-building and characterization drew a full and sharp picture of Fetter, child of a religious leader, raised by a mother whose life that leader destroyed, and tasked with carrying out her revenge. This is the most beautifully written of the six books, IMO, and it's also a top contender.

Witch-King, Martha Wells
I got three or four chapters into this and DNF’d. I find Wells’ prose wholly emotionless, and it just doesn’t work for me. Sorry, Murderbot friends.

Translation State, Ann Leckie
I feel like I knew long ago Leckie was working on another book set in the Imperial Radch universe but must have forgotten, because as soon as I opened this up and realized that it was going to involve that universe -- and more critically, the Presger -- I was hooked. There are three primary narrators, each skillfully drawn in just a few pages, and I had a very hard time putting this down. Drags a bit at the end, but I'm still considering it for the #1 slot.

So, if you've been counting, that's, uh, three novels I can't choose between for the first slot. There's every chance my vote will change before the deadline passes, but right now, this is where things stand:

1. The Saint of Bright Doors


2. Translation State


3. The Adventures of Amina al-Sarafi


4. Some Desperate Glory


5. Starter Villain


6. Witch-King