Hugo Best Novel

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

by

Book 37 of 2026: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.

⭐️: Actively disliked this one; a rare instance where I came very close to bailing out and DNF’ing, and only stuck it out because it’s part of my Hugo Best Novel reading project.

A dystopic future where fossil fuels have run out (and, apparently, renewable options like wind (except for sailing ships), solar, hydro, etc. just…aren’t a thing? anywhere? for no discernible reason?) and power comes through kinetic energy stored in ‘kink springs’, and the resulting societal collapse combined with ecological change has devastated food supplies worldwide. The overall background is basically colonialism; substitute genetic engineering agriculture companies for the East India Tea Company and Thailand for India, and you’ve got the gist. Genetic engineering has progressed enough that there are now “New People”; genetically created intelligent artificial life that is genetically encoded to be servile.

One of these New People is the titular “windup girl” (who isn’t actually windup, but New People are intentionally given a way of moving that mimics stop motion/clockwork creations), a sex slave who is repeatedly abused over the course of the story, with some of these instances being explicitly detailed across multiple pages of the story. The first instance within the first few chapters was more than enough for me, having it happen again and in greater detail and length later on was when I almost bailed out of the book entirely. Instead, I just skimmed past and kept skimming through the rest of the book just to get it done with.

Obviously enough people liked it and found it worthwhile for it to win a Best Novel Hugo award, but I can’t recommend it.

Me holding The Windup Girl.

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon

by

Book 25 of 2026: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon. 2008 Hugo Best Novel winner.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Hard-boiled noir detective fiction set in an alternate present where Sitka, Alaska is home to resettled Jews after Israel failed to become its own nation after WWII. In addition to being a fun and incredibly well-written noir, the Alaskan setting is great. I grew up in Alaska, and though I pretty much stayed in Anchorage and have only been to Sitka once on a cruise long after I’d moved south, Chabon’s descriptions of Alaskan locales, weather, and people feel oh so familiar. At least the secular bits; as a lapsed Episcopalian, I can’t speak to the Jewishness of it all. Excellent book.

Me holding The Yiddish Policemen's Union.

Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge

by

Book 21 of 2026: Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge (2007 Hugo Best Novel)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Reading this for the first time in 2026, twenty years after it was published, when it’s set in 2025, it’s fascinating to see where we’re heading towards what Vinge envisioned and where we’re not. Similarities to Stephenson’s Snow Crash in the ubiquitous virtual worlds, but using augmented reality rather than full VR. Privacy and security are greater considerations as well. Overall, a pretty fascinating take on what’s now an alternate present day.

Me holding Rainbows End

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

by

Book 17 of 2026: Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (2006 Hugo Best Novel)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: It seems I read this 13 years ago; oddly, I have no memory of that, though I rated it four stars back then. High-concept SF (the Earth is suddenly enclosed in a bubble where time passes at a drastically reduced rate as the rest of the universe goes on) that allows for exploration of how we (as a species and as individuals) cope with impending Armageddon, cosmic mysteries, and relationships with each other.

Me holding Spin

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

by

Book 58 of 2025: ⭐️ 2005 Hugo Best Novel

Whether it’s because I’m not enough of a fantasy fan, or not English enough, or some other thing, this was not my thing. It took me over a month to get through it, sometimes because I couldn’t get through more than 15 pages without getting bored, and sometimes because I just couldn’t convince myself to pick it up. And after finally slogging through all 782 pages, it had an unsatisfying end; not so much finishing as just kind of petering out and stopping. Enough other people liked it for it to have won a Hugo, but for me, this was the most difficult of the Hugo Best Novel winners to get through since John Brunner’s Stand on Zanzibar.

Me holding Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

Network Effect by Martha Wells

by

Book 41 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2021 Hugo Best Novel

These are just so good. Kidnapping, rescues, mysterious ships and colonies, and all with Murderbot’s eternally exasperated outlook on the humans around it…who for some reason, keep causing it to have to deal with emotions. The first novel in the series gets a slightly grander scope and cast of characters, but still easily holds true to the heart of it all.

Me holding Network Effect

Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer

by

Book 21 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️ 2003 Hugo Best Novel

A portal is accidentally opened between our Earth and a parallel Earth, where Neanderthals became the dominant human species, bringing one Neanderthal scientist over to our world. Some amusing moments as the scientist comes to grips with the oddities of our world when compared to his. However, I was quite thrown off by the introductions of the two primary female characters: one, in order to dive into water for a rescue attempt, strips down to her underwear, pausing to reflect that she wished she hadn’t donned such a lacy pair that morning; the other is raped at knifepoint. After finishing the book, I have only the vaguest ideas of what either character looked like; one is blonde and beautiful, the other more average. That got the book off on poor footing, and I never really warmed up to it after that. Not what I’ve come to expect from these more recent Hugo winners, and I won’t be continuing on with this series.

Me holding Hominids.

A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge

by

73/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2000 Hugo Best Novel

Interstellar travel spanning centuries, plans and plots spanning decades and more, first contact, an alien civilization presented in both very relateable and very alien ways…all sorts of good stuff here. Technically in the same universe as Vinge’s A Fire Upon the Deep, but so removed in space and time as to be standalone, with only a few connections to the other. Really enjoyed how Vinge presented the Spiders, and the revelations towards the end that I didn’t guess at all. An excellent read.

Me holding A Deepness in the Sky.