Ancillary Justice

Ancillary Justice is a book that is about the journey. By that I don't mean that it doesn't have an ending, just that a certain type of reader will dislike the book for a failure to walk on the road that they have imagined that the story is on. This type of reader can be forgiven for thinking that the story is on that road as, despite Ann Leckie's signs that say "Dead End Ahead" and then a guardrail keeping cars from going over the cliff, we have been trained my movies to think this means that the protagonist is going to put the gas peddle to the floor, catch a lot of air as they plummet to the bottom of the gorge, and end up abandoning the car halfway down to use the parasail that's been in the backseat all along. The story doesn't do that (and it's a good thing).

Thematically, this book hits my sweet spot, exploring gender, individuality, and identity through technology scenerios we can only imagine and their implications.

I'm not going to read all of the Hugo nominees this year, but looking over the list, this would likely be my #1 vote. It makes me feel like 2312 did last year (even though it didn't win).