The Skiffy and Fanty Show doesn’t, as a group, rank or endorse Hugo Award finalists, although individual columnists certainly may have their favorites. However, over the course of the past year and a half, Paul Weimer and I have reviewed all six of this year’s Best Novel finalists. All but one of those reviews were posted in the first four months of 2025, long before the finalists could be nominated, let alone announced. That just goes to show that at Skiffy and Fanty, we’re doing a good job of keeping our eyes on the speculative fiction field, although of course there’s too much out there to avoid missing some of the good stuff now and then.
For the convenience of anyone new to the show/blog or who wants a refresher before voting for the Hugos, we’re linking all six reviews here. They’re listed in the order that the reviews were published, not indicating any preference.
Death of the Author: A Novel, by Nnedi Okorafor: Trish Matson said, “I love the vivid characters in it, the way they face their challenges, the fiercely exuberant explorations of personhood and choice and negotiating relationships, and the sheer joy of life apparent in how Okorafor plays with ideas.”
A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan: Book 2): by Robert Jackson Bennett. Trish Matson said that, in addition to the worldbuilding, character development, and intriguing mystery plot, “I also appreciate RJB’s musings, through the mouths of Din, Ana, and various other characters, about the nature of service vs. glory, and justice, and governance. Discussions throughout, and events sweeping through the kingdom by the end of the book, also explore the relationships between rulers and ruled people, and show the unwisdom of relying upon royalty. ” However, Matson advised against trying to jump into this series here rather than starting with the first book.
The Incandescent, by Emily Tesh: Paul Weimer said, “The Incandescent is a fascinating and well written fantasy novel very much worth your time for its interrogation of the high school experience, what it means to leave it (and yet, not) and of course magic. And demons. It’s a book whose target audience is not the teenagers who are going to the school, but rather the adults a decade or more removed from that experience.”
The Everlasting, by Alix Harrow: Paul Weimer said, “The Everlasting … dunked me into the story of Owen and of Una and made me care, to their tragedy and triumphs, highs and lows, in a much more visceral and personal fashion. And along the way to that, we get criticism and a commentary on how myths and legends become what they are. … Myths are not generally sweet and gentle. They are taproot stories and to work with them and to create them is to try and capture lightning in a bottle. That’s what Harrow reaches for, here, and for the most part in my opinion, succeeds.”
The Raven Scholar, by Antonia Hodgson: Trish Matson said, “I adore all the twists and turns that the plot takes. Points that seemed mere flavor-text early on recur later with astonishing impact. There are many sidelines, and some might consider the book convoluted, but the twin rails of the competition and murder mystery keep everything running along and building momentum through to the extremely dramatic conclusion. And although the book held plenty of surprising revelations for me, everything made sense in the end. coming together in a very satisfying way.”
Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky: Trish Matson said, “I love the worldbuilding, both the corporate dystopia of the humans and the puzzling Shrouded aliens, and I love the human narrator; moreover, this is a very interesting exploration of intelligence, communication, and society. This is a great novel of first contact.”
