07/09/2025
In preparation for having good comps for my novel, I decided to start reading winners and nominees for the Hugo award, but only focused on science fiction. This was the 2024 winner and I can definitely see why. This was a fantastic story that really showed a very strong character arc. Val went from being over achiever to realizing she’d been duped her whole life, and the variety of realities she had to work through was really well crafted. Loved how alien the aliens felt. Loved the shadow engine technology and the end was deeply satisfying. Also, given it was third person close POV, this was a huge help in giving more examples of how deep characters thoughts go.
If I were to add any criticism to the execution, it would be Mags, her brother. His character said so little, he always sounded like a dumb jock, and maybe this was due to how he was portrayed in the audiobook. I get that he was emotional and quiet, but for such a big guy who was the best, he came across a little one dimensional for me. He was the only character I felt could be stronger.
2025-34
