This is my fifth year reading and ranking every finalist for the Hugo Awards for the Best Novel, Best Novella, Best Novelette, and Best Short Story in the previous year of sci-fi and fantasy. After starting with Best Novel last week, it’s time to dive into Best Novella today.

Novella is often my least favorite of the four categories I regularly read, simply because of how the numbers shake out. There are a lot fewer novellas getting published than novels or short stories, and one publisher having a staggering degree of dominance in marketing tends to limit the realistic field even further. But I thought 2024 was a fantastic year for novellas, and even though the all-Tor shortlist missed three exceptional works from other publishers, this is still the biggest my top tier has ever been in this category. For more details, read on. And for even more more details, click through the links to my full reviews.

Tier Three

Seventh Place: What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

By and large, What Feasts at Night is a competent horror novella that does what it says on the tin. But there just isn’t enough life to keep it off the bottom of my list. The plot beats are all there, but the atmosphere necessary to pull them together into something genuinely scary never really materializes. There are flashes of horror potential, but they’re underdeveloped, and the lead isn’t interesting enough to carry the story alone. Overall, it’s hard to see award material here.

Sixth Place: No Award

Tier Two

Fifth Place: Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard

Navigational Entanglements jumps into the action before generating much emotional investment in the cast or their problems, with one-note side characters and a romance that builds at lightning speed. It’s a start that may have led to a DNF had it not been part of my Hugo reading project, but the book improves significantly in the back half, with quality autistic representation and a conflict between mentor and student that introduces genuine moral difficulties and creates interpersonal drama that does justice to the characters. The first half of the book holds it back, but the second half puts it well above No Award.

Fourth Place: The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo

Like What Feasts at Night, The Brides of High Hill does what it says on the tin. The difference is a beautifully crafted atmosphere that easily pulls the reader into the story. The storytelling isn’t as creative as it has been in previous series entries–this isn’t The Empress of Salt and Fortune, and honestly it isn’t even Into the Riverlands–but it’s still gripping from the start and a genuine pleasure to read. I don’t love the trend of shortlisting sequels that are inferior to the previous series entries, but this one is executed at a high enough level to top Tier Two.

Tier One

Third Place: The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

The Tusks of Extinction is a meditative sci-fi tale with a strong conservationist message. A Jurassic Park-style resurrection of mammoths provides the opportunity to spend a lot of time on poaching and trophy hunting, and the transfer of consciousness from human to mammoth makes for a fascinating perspective character. As Nayler’s works so often do, The Tusks of Extinction spends significant time on perspective from well outside the movers and shakers of the world, and it does an excellent job humanizing its characters, even the ones on the wrong side of the moral conflict. This one was on my nominating ballot, and it’s easily the best novella I’ve ever rated third-place.

Second Place: The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

Sometimes a story doesn’t break new ground but is executed at such a high level that it’s a favorite regardless, and that’s just what happened with The Butcher of the Forest. This one was on my nominating ballot and is an easy call to slot into my top tier. It’s a gripping quest novella through a creepy forest with uncanny, Fae-like creatures. The atmosphere is stunning and the main character has more depth than you’d expect in a quest novella. This is excellent work and could easily take home the prize.

First Place: The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar

I didn’t expect anything to eclipse The Butcher of the Forest, but every year, my Hugo reading tosses me a pleasant surprise, and The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain sure qualifies. I had read a little of Samatar’s short fiction and never felt fully invested, but even with archetypical main characters that are never given proper names, this one pulled me in quickly and never let go. It’s a deeply thematic story set in academia on a spaceship with extremely strict class boundaries, one that digs into the efforts of a junior faculty member spearheading a diversity program even while showing the ways in which the academy buttresses the existing stratification. The characterization is remarkably excellent for such a theme-driven story, and the use of symbolism is outstanding, giving the reader something to hold onto even when the plot moves toward the chaotic. This is exactly the sort of story I’d love to see recognized–it’s both a gripping tale and one with loads to say. I’d be happy with any of my Tier One novellas taking home the prize, but I’d be happiest for this one.