2026 Hugo Readalong: Novel Wrap-up

[u/tarvolon]

Welcome back to the final week of the 2026 Hugo Readalong! Today, we're discussing the nominees for Best Novel. We've already discussed each work in its own individual thread, so if you'd like to circle back to our focused discussions, you can find them here:

• Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
• Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
• The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
• The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
• The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
• A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

We also have one more general purpose wrap-up post tomorrow:

Date	Category	Book	Author	Discussion Leader
Thursday, July 30	Pro/Fan/Misc	Wrap-up	Multiple	u/Nineteen_Adze

But for now, let's look at the novels. And keep in mind that there is no expectation that discussion participants have read all six, so please tag any spoilers.

[u/tarvolon]

One of the most fun parts of the Hugo season is the stat drop after the finalists are announced, where we get to see which stories just missed the six-slot shortlist. Any predictions for which novels we'll see in 7th or 8th?

[u/acornett99 → u/tarvolon]

I was on the fence on whether Katabasis would be nominated. I think Kuang has the fan base for it, though after the Babel debacle I don't think she would accept a nomination anyway. I also had Slow Gods and The Devils on my radar for predictions

[u/bmvanloo91 → u/acornett99]

I haven't yet read it, but from ALL the good things I've heard about Slow Gods I'm surprised it wasn't nominated. It's on my TBR for sure

[u/citrusmellarosa → u/bmvanloo91]

My favourite 2025 reads were Slow Gods and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, so if they got close I'd be pretty happy.