Hugo Award winner
Hugo Award nomineeThese are my favourite novels or novellas by year: those I rate 4 or 5 out of 5. Ratings may change at any time.
I’ve decided to include novellas as well as novels here, because both can be bought as separate e-books, and because the two categories overlap: some books sold as novellas are longer than some books sold as novels.
I measure story length in Kindle locations, omitting text at beginning and end that is not part of the story (but including footnotes, if any). One Kindle location contains about 20 words, but this is not an accurate way to calculate word count.
| Hugo Award winner |
Hugo Award nominee |
| Year | My rating | Length | Title | Series | Author | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | 6771 | A Drop of Corruption | Shadow of the Leviathan | Robert Jackson Bennett | Non-magical fantasy |
| 4 | 1786 | The Adventure of the Demonic Ox | World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy | |
| 2024 | 5 | 1918 | Demon Daughter | World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy |
| 4 | 5957 | The Tainted Cup |
Shadow of the Leviathan | Robert Jackson Bennett | Non-magical fantasy | |
| 4 | 5524 | Red Side Story | Shades of Grey | Jasper Fforde | Bizarre sf | |
| 4 | 1566 | Penric and the Bandit | World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy | |
| 2022 | 4 | 4608 | Amongst Our Weapons | Peter Grant | Ben Aaronovitch | Fantasy, crime |
| 2021 | 5 | 4428 | The Galaxy, and the Ground Within |
Wayfarers | Becky Chambers | Gentle far-future sf, no violence |
| 4 | 4030 | The Assassins of Thasalon | World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy, crime | |
| 4 | 2228 | What Abigail Did That Summer | Peter Grant | Ben Aaronovitch | Fantasy, crime | |
| 4 | 1842 | Fugitive Telemetry | Murderbot | Martha Wells | Far-future sf | |
| 2020 | 5 | 5400 | Network Effect |
Murderbot | Martha Wells | Far-future sf |
| 5 | 1575 | Masquerade in Lodi | World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy | |
| 2019 | 4 | 6129 | A Memory Called Empire |
Teixcalaan | Arkady Martine | Far-future sf |
| 4 | 2274 | The October Man | Peter Grant | Ben Aaronovitch | Fantasy, crime | |
| 2018 | 4 | 1704 | Exit Strategy | Murderbot | Martha Wells | Far-future sf |
| 2017 | 5 | 2125 | The Prisoner of Limnos | World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy |
| 5 | 1410 | All Systems Red |
Murderbot | Martha Wells | Far-future sf | |
| 4 | 1792 | Penric’s Fox | World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy | |
| 2016 | 5 | 4722 | The Hanging Tree | Peter Grant | Ben Aaronovitch | Fantasy, crime |
| 5 | 2140 | Penric’s Mission | World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy | |
| 4 | 1745 | Penric and the Shaman |
World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy | |
| 2015 | 5 | 1612 | Penric’s Demon |
World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy |
| 2014 | 4 | 6256 | The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet | Wayfarers | Becky Chambers | Far-future sf |
| 4 | 4498 | Foxglove Summer | Peter Grant | Ben Aaronovitch | Fantasy, crime | |
| 2012 | 5 | 4804 | Whispers Under Ground | Peter Grant | Ben Aaronovitch | Fantasy, crime |
| 4 | 7710 | Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance |
Vorkosigan | Lois McMaster Bujold | Far-future sf | |
| 2011 | 4 | 4810 | Rivers of London | Peter Grant | Ben Aaronovitch | Fantasy, crime |
| 2009 | 4 | 6725 | In the Stormy Red Sky | RCN | David Drake | Far-future military sf |
| 4 | 6182 | Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron | Shades of Grey | Jasper Fforde | Bizarre sf | |
| 2008 | 4 | 6355 | When the Tide Rises | RCN | David Drake | Far-future military sf |
| 4 | 6170 | In the Courts of the Crimson Kings | Lords of Creation | S. M. Stirling | Alternative history, sf | |
| 2005 | 5 | 8177 | The Hallowed Hunt | World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy |
| 2004 | 5 | 5831 | Going Postal | Discworld | Terry Pratchett | Fantasy, postal service |
| 4 | 9037 | Weapons of Choice | Axis of Time | John Birmingham | Time-travel military sf, Second World War | |
| 2003 | 5 | 7245 | Paladin of Souls |
World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy |
| 4 | 11077 | Conquistador | – | S. M. Stirling | Parallel-worlds sf | |
| 2002 | 5 | 8537 | The Peshawar Lancers | – | S. M. Stirling | Alternative history, sf |
| 4 | 5508 | Night Watch | Discworld | Terry Pratchett | Fantasy, time travel, crime, politics | |
| 2001 | 4 | 7639 | The Curse of Chalion |
World of the Five Gods | Lois McMaster Bujold | Fantasy |
| 4 | 5360 | The Eyre Affair | Thursday Next | Jasper Fforde | Bizarre fantasy, alternative history, crime | |
| 2000 | 4 | 11955 | On the Oceans of Eternity | Nantucket | S. M. Stirling | Time-travel sf |
| 1999 | 5 | 9944 | Against the Tide of Years | Nantucket | S. M. Stirling | Time-travel sf |
| 5 | 9259 | A Civil Campaign |
Vorkosigan | Lois McMaster Bujold | Far-future sf, romantic comedy | |
| 1998 | 5 | 10820 | Island in the Sea of Time | Nantucket | S. M. Stirling | Time-travel sf |
| 5 | 5726 | Komarr | Vorkosigan | Lois McMaster Bujold | Far-future sf, crime, romance | |
| 4 | 5974 | With the Lightnings | RCN | David Drake | Far-future military sf | |
| 1996 | 4 | 6660 | Memory |
Vorkosigan | Lois McMaster Bujold | Far-future sf, crime |
| 1993 | 4 | 5124 | Men at Arms | Discworld | Terry Pratchett | Fantasy, crime |
| 1990 | 4 | 5093 | Good Omens | – | Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett | Fantasy |
| 4 | 2625 | Wings | Nomes | Terry Pratchett | Humorous sf | |
| 1989 | 4 | 3038 | A Study in Sorcery | Lord Darcy | Michael Kurland | Alternative history, fantasy, crime |
| 4 | 2670 | Truckers | Nomes | Terry Pratchett | Humorous sf | |
| 1988 | 4 | 4644 | Wyrd Sisters | Discworld | Terry Pratchett | Humorous fantasy |
| 4 | 4576 | Perchance: A Tale of the Paraverse | – | Michael Kurland | Parallel-worlds sf | |
| 4 | 4183 | Ten Little Wizards | Lord Darcy | Michael Kurland | Alternative history, fantasy, crime | |
| 4 | 1091 | The Blabber | Zones of Thought | Vernor Vinge | Far-future sf | |
| 1987 | 5 | 3672 | Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency | Dirk Gently | Douglas Adams | Sf and fantasy, time travel |
| 4 | 2226 | The Forest of Time |
– | Michael F. Flynn | Parallel-worlds sf | |
| 1986 | 5 | 4385 | Marooned in Realtime |
Bobble | Vernor Vinge | Far-future sf |
| 4 | 3064 | Ethan of Athos | Vorkosigan | Lois McMaster Bujold | Far-future sf | |
| 1985 | 4 | The Proteus Operation | – | James P. Hogan | Time-travel sf, Second World War | |
| 4 | 3348 | The Zenda Vendetta | Time Wars | Simon Hawke | Time-travel to a fictional past | |
| 1984 | 5 | 4672 | The Peace War |
Bobble | Vernor Vinge | Near-future sf |
| 4 | 3783 | The Ivanhoe Gambit | Time Wars | Simon Hawke | Time-travel to a fictional past | |
| 4 | 3219 | The Timekeeper Conspiracy | Time Wars | Simon Hawke | Time-travel to a fictional past | |
| 1981 | 4 | 1287 | True Names |
– | Vernor Vinge | Near-future sf |
| 1979 | 4 | 3528 | Roadmarks | – | Roger Zelazny | Time-travel sf |
| 1977 | 4 | 5098 | The Dosadi Experiment | ConSentiency | Frank Herbert | Far-future sf |
| 1976 | 4 | 3155 | Doorways in the Sand |
– | Roger Zelazny | Near-future sf |
| 1975 | 4 | 3910 | Crocodile on the Sandbank | Amelia Peabody | Elizabeth Peters | Historical, 19th century Egypt, crime, humorous |
| 1974 | 5 | 8613 | The Mote in God’s Eye |
Moties | Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle | Far-future sf, first contact |
| 4 | 2704 | Worlds Apart | – | Richard Cowper | Parallel-worlds fantasy | |
| 1973 | 4 | Protector |
Known Space | Larry Niven | Far-future sf, first contact | |
| 1972 | 4 | 3185 | The Patterns of Chaos | – | Colin Kapp | Far-future sf, first contact |
| 4 | Arigato | – | Richard Condon | Historical, 20th century, crime | ||
| 1969 | 4 | 3943 | The Unicorn Girl | – | Michael Kurland | Light-hearted parallel-worlds sf |
| 4 | 1646 | Masque World | Anthony Villiers | Alexei Panshin | Light-hearted far-future sf | |
| 1968 | 5 | 1912 | Star Well | Anthony Villiers | Alexei Panshin | Light-hearted far-future sf |
| 5 | 1677 | The Thurb Revolution | Anthony Villiers | Alexei Panshin | Light-hearted far-future sf | |
| 4 | 3784 | A Gift from Earth | Known Space | Larry Niven | Far-future sf | |
| 1966 | 5 | 3729 | Too Many Magicians |
Lord Darcy | Randall Garrett | Alternative history, fantasy, crime |
| 5 | 3515 | Babel-17 |
– | Samuel R. Delany | Far-future sf | |
| 5 | 2728 | World of Ptavvs | Known Space | Larry Niven | Future sf, first contact | |
| 1965 | 5 | 4017 | The Mind Readers | Albert Campion | Margery Allingham | Near-future sf, telepathy, crime |
| 4 | 2893 | Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen | Paratime | H. Beam Piper | Parallel-worlds military sf | |
| 1963 | 4 | 3094 | Way Station |
– | Clifford Simak | Far-future sf |
| 1961 | 5 | 4011 | Time is the Simplest Thing |
– | Clifford Simak | Future sf/fantasy |
| 4 | 9194 | Stranger in a Strange Land |
– | Robert Heinlein | Near-future sf/fantasy | |
| 4 | 3531 | Down the Hatch | Artful Bodger | John Winton | Historical, 20th century, military comedy | |
| 1956 | 5 | 3805 | Tiger! Tiger! / The Stars My Destination | – | Alfred Bester | Far-future sf, teleportation |
| 1955 | 5 | 2642 | The Mouse That Roared | Grand Fenwick | Leonard Wibberley | Near-future sf, satirical comedy |
| 4 | 5258 | The Return of the King | Middle Earth | J. R. R. Tolkien | Fantasy | |
| 4 | 1814 | Time Crime | Paratime | H. Beam Piper | Parallel-worlds sf | |
| 1954 | 4 | 7221 | The Fellowship of the Ring | Middle Earth | J. R. R. Tolkien | Fantasy |
| 4 | 6092 | The Two Towers | Middle Earth | J. R. R. Tolkien | Fantasy | |
| 4 | 3432 | The Caves of Steel |
Robots | Isaac Asimov | Far-future sf, robots | |
| 4 | 3118 | Mission of Gravity |
Mesklin | Hal Clement | Far-future sf, first contact | |
| 1953 | 4 | 3719 | More Than Human |
– | Theodore Sturgeon | Sf/fantasy, powers of the mind |
| 1951 | 4 | 4199 | Time and Again | – | Clifford Simak | Far-future sf, time travel, androids |
| 4 | 3247 | Foundation | Foundation | Isaac Asimov | Far-future sf, psychohistory | |
| 1950 | 4 | 3775 | Mr Midshipman Hornblower | Hornblower | C. S. Forester | Historical, Napoleonic Wars, military |
| 1946 | 4 | Vintage Season | – | C. L. Moore | Near-future sf, time travel | |
| 1945 | 4 | 4401 | The Commodore | Hornblower | C. S. Forester | Historical, Napoleonic Wars, military |
| 1943 | 5 | 4635 | The Picts and the Martyrs | Swallows and Amazons | Arthur Ransome | Historical, 20th century, children’s adventures |
| 1937 | 4 | 5046 | We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea | Swallows and Amazons | Arthur Ransome | Historical, 20th century, children’s adventures |
| 1933 | 5 | 5084 | Winter Holiday | Swallows and Amazons | Arthur Ransome | Historical, 20th century, children’s adventures |
| 5 | 3542 | Sweet Danger | Albert Campion | Margery Allingham | Historical, 20th century, crime, adventure | |
| 1923 | 4 | 4635 | Leave It to Psmith | Psmith | P. G. Wodehouse | Historical, comedy |