Saturdays in Books

This is part of a series of posts reviewing categories in this year's Hugo ballot. I'll be discussing the entries, the voter packet, and my ballot. I've nominated and voted most years since 2011, when I figured out that all I had to do was join Worldcon to get to do so.

Best Series is a real award now. Last year's Worldcon included it as a special category in advance of voting to ratify it as a new category. Thank you to all the voters who did so. 

• The Books of the Raksura, by Martha Wells (Night Shade) - I've been meaning to try this series out for ages, but hadn't quite gotten to it yet. The first book gets a slow start, but the last half more than makes up for any issues I have with the opening couple of chapters. 

• The Divine Cities, by Robert Jackson Bennett (Broadway) - Another series I've heard wonderful things about, but haven't gotten to. It just hasn't quite looked like my thing. I listed to the audiobook, and I am not convinced it is my thing. There's an interesting, action packed section in one act, but the last act is just far too talky. There are some cool concepts, but not presented in a way that works for me.

• InCryptid, by Seanan McGuire (DAW) - I listened to the audiobook version of the first book, Discount Armageddon, and loved it. McGuire had a different UF series on the ballot last year, one which did not work for me at all. This, though, is totally my jam.

• The Memoirs of Lady Trent, by Marie Brennan (Tor US / Titan UK) - I've read the first two, and liked them quite a bit. These are fun, inventive, and have a great narrator. 

• The Stormlight Archive, by Brandon Sanderson (Tor US / Gollancz UK) - The voter packet included a few hundred pages of supplemental material to introduce the world, and I can't say that increased my interest in trying this out. And I DNF'd the first one pretty fast. Meh.

• World of the Five Gods, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Harper Voyager / Spectrum Literary Agency) - I hated the one novel in this series way back when I read it and I've failed to enjoy either of the more recently released short pieces. Having read 3 complete works, I feel I've given this series more than enough chances. It will be not be on my ballot.

So, Lady Trent at the top, followed by InCryptid, then Raksura. Weirdly, all of those are series I've done in audiobook format. After that, Divine Cities, but that will be the last on the ballot.