- Alan Petrillo The only ones of Heinlein's lectures that I found obtrusive were those in /For Us The Living/. He got better at slipping them in after that. And he was not prone to info-dumps.
I
have read the novels nominated for the 2014 Hugo awards, and here is my
ranking. If you'd rather not know, so as not to spoil your own vote,
then stop reading now.
The nominees are:
Warbound, by Larry Correia
Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
Parasite, by Seanan McGuire
Neptune's Brood, by Charles Stross
The Wheel Of Time (series), by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
And my vote for the 2014 Hugo award for Best Novel goes to Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie.
It's
one of the best books I've ever read. The central character is one of
the most unique characters I've ever read. The civilization depicted is
the most unique human based SF culture I've ever seen. The story is
very well crafted, and moves the reader through the mileu effortlessly,
with equally effortless deep insights into the central character.
Runners up are,
1: Neptune's Brood, by Charles Stross. It's post-transhuman cyberpunk, which has never been my favorite genre, but it is well written, and the science in it is spot-on. This was a close decision, but what did it in, for me, was the number of info-dumps. I appreciate the education in the intricacies of interstellar finance in a civilization that does not have FTL transportation, but the number of info-dumps and outright lectures in the text bothered me.
2: Warbound, by
Larry Correia. It's steampunk alternate-reality fantasy set in the
1930's. It's a rollicking good steampunk adventure. It is well
written, but it is fairly typical of the genre. It is well crafted, and
definitely worthy of Hugo consideration, but the previous two _just_
nudged it into third place.
3: Parasite, by Seanan McGuire. It is a take on Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, but with genetically engineered parasitic worms in place of alien pods. It is well crafted, but it is entirely predictable. I figured out the plot about halfway through the book, and there weren't any surprises after that.
I did not consider The Wheel Of Time, because this is a contest for Best Novel, not for Best Series.
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