2018 SFF recs so far

[psocoptera]

Just hosted eight nine year olds trying to have a book club meeting and I feel like doing something soothing. Here's my list so far of 2018 longer-length SFF I have my eyes on for my Hugo nominations (and whether I think they'll make the ballot; I'm not perfect at this, obviously, but I think my sense of these things is not terrible). All links to my own reviews.

Novels:
Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik. I think this has a strong chance of making the ballot; the Hugo Voting Public know and like Novik, and it's very enjoyable and also timely.
Blackfish City, Sam J. Miller. Moderate chance at the ballot; Art of Starving got awards attention last year, but I kind of feel like this is going to do about as well as Autonomous last year, which is to say, not quite.
Semiosis, Sue Burke. Weak chance at the ballot - I know I like this sort of thing more than the average Hugo voter, and I don't feel like anyone is talking about it. BUT I'm going to make a bold prediction that it will make the Nebula ballot.

Novellas:
Binti 3, The Night Masquerade, Nnedi Okorafor. Strong chance of making the ballot, people know and like Okorafor.
The Black God's Drums, P. Djèlí Clark. I don't know if this has a chance at the ballot but it's the thing that I am the most trying to get more people to read, it's so much fun!
Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, Kelly Robson. Moderate chance at the ballot. People might know her from being a Campbell nominee.

YA:
The Empress of Timbra, Karen Healey and Robyn Fleming. Weak chance at the ballot. I don't feel like I've heard anyone talking about it.
Cross Fire, Fonda Lee. Moderate chance at the ballot? I dunno, I feel like a bunch of people liked Jade City (which I haven't read), and Exo, to which this is a sequel, was up for the Norton last year, so people might have heard of them.
(My best guesses for things that *will* make the ballot: Tess of the Road, and Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone, which I've been in the library queue for since August but haven't read yet, but is the YA book I've heard the most buzz about.)

Series:
Machineries of Empire, Yoon Ha Lee. Maybe? I don't know. He's already gotten some Hugo noms for these. Series is such a hard category, what else have I even read this year that was a series.
Centenal Trilogy, Malka Older. Weak chance, I think, but I liked them.

Comments

[ursula]

Rajaniemi's Summerland is up there for me, personally, this year.

[glynhogen]

Clearly it's the Sharing Knife's year for series.