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WINNER The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson BennettInvestigating a seemingly impossible death, detective Ana Dolabra, whose brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities, and her new magically altered assistant, Din, who is trying to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect, uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself. |
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FINALISTS Alien Clay by Adrian TchaikovskyThe planet of Kiln is where the tyrannical Mandate keeps its prison colony, and for inmates the journey there is always a one-way trip. One such prisoner is Professor Arton Daghdev, xeno-ecologist and political dissident. Soon after arrival he discovers that Kiln has a secret. Humanity is not the first intelligent life to set foot there. If he can survive both the harsh rule of the camp commandant and the alien horrors of the world around him, then Arton has a chance at making a discovery that might just transform not only Kiln but distant Earth as well. |
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The Ministry of Time by Kaliane BradleyTo establish whether time travel is feasible--for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time, a "bridge" who lives with, assists and monitors the expat known as "1847" or Commander Graham Gore, falls fervently in love, with consequences she never could've imagined--ones that could change the future.
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Service Model by Adrian TchaikovskyWhen a domesticated robot alters its programming, murdering their owner, they flee into a wider world they never knew existed, discovering the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose.
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Someone You Can Build a Nest in by John WiswellNursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human, shapeshifting monster Shesheshen falls in love with her only to discover she's a monster hunter, and since devouring her girlfriend isn't an option, she must learn to build a life with, rather than in, her soulmate.
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A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. KingfisherRaised by an evil sorceress, Cordelia must choose between her controlling mother and the kindness of a stranger to save innocent lives, in a dark retelling of The Goose Girl by the Brothers Grimm.
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WINNER
One of the best warriors of her generation, Kyr, when Command relegates her to Nursery to bear sons until she dies trying, takes humanity's revenge into her own hands, escaping into a universe far more complicated than she was taught and far more wondrous than she could have imagined.
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FINALISTS The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafiby Shannon ChakrabortyWhile trying to settle into a life of piety, motherhood and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural, Amina al-Sirafi, one of the Indian Ocean's most notorious pirates, is offered a job she cannot refuse, but soon discovers this final chance at glory comes with a high price: her soul. |
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The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra ChandrasekeraFetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy. He walked among invisible powers: devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen. Everything in Luriat is more than it seems. Group therapy is recruitment for a revolutionary cadre. Junk email hints at the arrival of a god. Every door is laden with potential, and once closed may never open again. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals through which a cold wind blows. In this unknowable metropolis, Fetter will discover what kind of man he is, and his discovery will rewrite the world.
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Starter Villain by John ScalziWhen his long-lost uncle dies, leaving him his supervillain business, Charlie, as rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital come after him, finds going bad looking pretty good with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats and a terrifying henchperson at his side.
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Translation State by Ann LeckieWith the long-stranding treaty between humans and the dangerous alien Presger on the line, three individuals—Qvwn, a rebellious AI; Enae, a reluctant diplomat; and Reet, an adopted mechanic—make decisions that have ripple effects across the stars.
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Witch King by Martha WellsAfter being murdered, his consciousness confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai-Enna, waking to a lesser mage attempting to harness his magic to his own advantage, gathers his allies to discover why he was imprisoned and how the world's changed since his assassination.
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WINNER To save her sister and topple a throne, Marra is offered the tools she needs if she completes three seemingly impossible tasks with the help of a disgraced ex-knight, a reluctant fairy godmother and an enigmatic gravewitch and her fowl familiar. |
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FINALISTS When the arrival of Eduardo Lizalde sets motion a dangerous chain of events, Carlota Moreau finds her carefully constructed world falling down around her as passion is ignited in the sweltering heat of the jungle where a motley group of monstrosities await. |
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The Kaiju Preservation Societyby John ScalziDuring the Covid-19 lockdown, the only job Jamie can find is delivering food, until he receives an offer to work for a secret organization protecting large animals. What Jamie didn't know is just how large.
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Legends & Lattesby Travis BaldreeIn Travis Baldree's debut sensation, Orc mercenary Viv retires from battle, partners with a reformed succubus, and opens a coffee shop. Often, however, the past refuses to quietly let go.
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Six months ago, after waking up in a stranger's body, Nona longs to lead an ordinary life with those she loves, but instead is being used as a weapon of destruction to save her people from the Nine Houses. The third book in the Locked Tomb series.
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The Spare Manby Mary Robinette KowalTesla Crane is on her honeymoon on an interplanetary space liner when someone is murdered and her husband is named as the prime suspect. To save him from the frame-up, Tesla will risk exposure and face demons from her past even though doing so might make her the next victim.
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WINNER
A Desolation Called Peaceby Arkady MartineA space-opera sequel to the Hugo Award-winning A Memory Called Empire finds desperate Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus attempting diplomacy with the mysterious and hostile alien armada on the edge of Teixcalaanli space. |
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FINALISTS The Galaxy, and the Ground Withinby Becky ChambersWhen a freak technological failure strands travelers at the Five-Hop One-Stop on the planet Gora, three alien strangers get to know each other in the fourth novel of the Wayfarers series following Record of a Spaceborn Few. |
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Light from Uncommon Starsby Ryka AokiTo reclaim her damned soul, a gifted, but cursed violinist must take on seven students and try to entice each to trade their soul for fame while a starship captain races to stop the end of existence.
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A Master of Djinnby P. Djèlí ClarkIn 1912 Cairo, a new world where the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities maintains an uneasy peace, the Ministry's youngest agent, Fatima, must stop an imposter who threatens to tear apart the very fabric of this new Egyptian society.
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Project Hail Maryby Andy WeirThe sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission to save both humanity and the earth, Ryland Grace is hurtled into the depths of space where he must conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
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She Who Became the Sunby Shelley Parker-ChanWhen the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongban, given the fate of greatness, dies during a brutal attack, his sister, escaping her own fated death, uses her brother’s identity to claim another future altogether—her brother’s abandoned greatness.
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WINNER Network Effectby Martha WellsWhen Murderbot’s human associates are captured and need its help, it must choose between inertia and drastic action, in this first, full-length standalone novel about a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction. |
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FINALISTS Piranesiby Susanna ClarkeLiving in a labyrinthine house of endless corridors, flooded staircases, and thousands of statues, Piranesi assists the dreamlike dwelling’s only other resident throughout a mysterious research project before evidence emerges of an astonishing alternate world. |
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The City We Becameby N. K. JemisinThis first book of an exciting new series by a Hugo Award-winning author takes readers into the dark underbelly of New York City, where a roiling, ancient evil stirs in the halls of power, threatening to destroy the city and her six newborn avatars.
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The Relentless Moonby Mary Robinette KowalWhen political divides, riots, and sabotage compromise the Earth’s response to the Meteor strike, Elma departs for a fledgling Mars colony before the challenges of interplanetary pioneer life are further complicated by her husband’s presidential campaign.
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Harrow the Ninthby Tamsyn MuirA sequel to the best-selling Gideon the Ninth continues the story of Harrowhark Nonagesimus, whose failing health and uncooperative magic are complicated by the schemes of a would-be assassin in the twisted halls of the Emperor. |
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Black Sunby Rebecca RoanhorseA trilogy debut by the Nebula Award-winning author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn is inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and follows the unbalancing of the holy city of Tova amid a fateful solstice eclipse.
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