I decided this year to read all the Nebula Award nominees for best novel (still working on getting my hands on all the novellas), and I wanted to share my thoughts even though it's a little late seeing as the awards were announced.

Babel by RF Kuang: Obvious winner. Well-written with extreme attention to historical detail; if you've ever had to read Said's Orientalism or anything by Olaudah Equaino, this book feels remarkably familiar. Kuang did an excellent job of capturing early 19th century colonial England with a fantasy twist to really drive home the anti-colonial ideas of the book. The co-opting of the languages of colonized peoples for magic was an inspired fantasy twist. Definitely a more intellectual/academic read that deviates quite a bit from typical fantasy; I found the footnotes delightful.

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler: This one took me a couple tries to get into it, but it was strong once I did. An excellent near-future dystopian focusing on corporatocracy and environmentalism. The exploration of alien intelligences was also strong. I particularly liked the way Nayler wove the different storylines together.

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: well-written and enjoyable; a good addition to the Locked Tomb series. However, I don't think it's the strongest in the series, even. Sort of an Empire Strikes Back situation; I feel like it was the build-up for the payoff in the final book. The plot pacing and suspense were excellent, however; definitely a series to read if you haven't.

Nettle and Bone by T Kingfisher: I always enjoy a twist on an old fairytale or legend, and this book had that feel despite not trying to re-imagine a particular story. I'm a big Kingfisher fan, and this one will scratch that itch for anyone in the same boat. But it was a little predictable if you know her work. A good read with some fun wordbuilding and a strong female lead, but it's also not doing anything we haven't seen before in other feminist fairy tales.

Spear by Nicola Griffith: my second place pick for the award. It's a clever and well-executed mashup of Arthurian legend and Celtic folklore that's further enhanced with a queer re-imagining for the protagonist. Quick and easy to read, but readers familiar with the originating stories will appreciate Griffith's new version.

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree: Easily the weakest of the set; it's a cutesy D&D fanfic that doesn't worry too much about details like consistent characterization or believable plot developments. It's a light and easy feel-good novel if you don't think about it enough to start asking question.