The Hugo Awards, presented annually since 1955, are science fiction’s most prestigious award. The Hugo Awards are voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”). Checkout their website for the full listing of winners in all categories.Best Novel
Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie
"What if you once had thousands of bodies and near
god-like technology at your disposal? And what if all of it were ripped
away? The Lord of the Radch has given Breq command of the ship Mercy of
Kalr and sent her to the only place she would have agreed to go -- to
Athoek Station, where Lieutenant Awn's sister works in Horticulture.
Athoek was annexed some six hundred years ago, and by now everyone is
fully civilized -- or should be. But everything is not as tranquil as it
appears. Old divisions are still troublesome, Athoek Station's AI is
unhappy with the situation, and it looks like the alien Presger might
have taken an interest in what's going on. With no guarantees that
interest is benevolent" DiscoverThe Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J. Anderson
" Twenty years after the elemental conflict that nearly tore apart the
cosmos in The Saga of Seven Suns, a new threat emerges from the
darkness. The human race must set aside its own inner conflicts to
rebuild their alliance with the Ildiran Empire for the survival of the
galaxy. In Kevin J. Anderson's The Dark Between the Stars,
galactic empires clash, elemental beings devastate whole planetary
systems, and factions of humanity are pitted against each other. Heroes
rise and enemies make their last stands in the climax of an epic tale
seven years in the making." publisher The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
"The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life
in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that
suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne
are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as
the only surviving rightful heir. Entirely unschooled in the art of
court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge
that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt
on his life at any moment. Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry
favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his
new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him,
offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown
conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as
the Goblin Emperor. " publisherLines of Departure by Marko Kloos
"Vicious interstellar conflict with an indestructible alien species.
Bloody civil war over the last habitable zones of the cosmos. Political
unrest, militaristic police forces, dire threats to the Solar System… Humanity
is on the ropes, and after years of fighting a two-front war with
losing odds, so is North American Defense Corps officer Andrew Grayson.
He dreams of dropping out of the service one day, alongside his pilot
girlfriend, but as warfare consumes entire planets and conditions on
Earth deteriorate, he wonders if there will be anywhere left for them to
go. After surviving a disastrous space-borne assault, Grayson is
reassigned to a ship bound for a distant colony—and packed with
malcontents and troublemakers. His most dangerous battle has just begun." publisherSkin Game by Jim Butcher
"Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, is about to have a
very bad day. Because as Winter Knight to the Queen of Air and Darkness,
Harry never knows what the scheming Mab might want him to do. Usually,
it’s something awful. Mab has traded Harry’s skills to pay off a
debt. And now he must help a group of villains led by Harry’s most
despised enemy, Nicodemus Archleone, to break into a high-security vault
so that they can then access a vault in the Nevernever. Problem
is, the vault belongs to Hades, Lord of the freaking Underworld. And
Dresden is dead certain that Nicodemus has no intention of allowing any
of his crew to survive the experience. Dresden’s always been tricky, but
he’s going to have to up his backstabbing game to survive this mess.…" publisher
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I'm not sure if you are aware, but this year's Hugos are under a great deal of controversy. Essentially, the voting system was "gamed" by a group of people who were unhappy that last year's nominees featured a number of people of color and women. They found a way to work the system so that their votes (and those of the people they recruited) dominated the list. This resulted in a nominee list that is almost exclusively male and white.
ReplyDeleteGeorge R R Martin has weighed in: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/09/george-rr-martin-right-wing-broken-hugo-awards
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