John, Alison, and Liz read the 2024 Hugo Award finalists for Best Novel.

An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media.

Content warnings this episode: Rape and murder during a brief discussion of historically accurate piracy in Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, discussion of billionaires during Starter Villain

• John’s rankings:
  1. Some Desperate Glory
  2. Translation State
  3. Saint of Bright Doors
  4. Witch King
  5. Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
  6. Starter Villain
• Alison’s rankings:
  1. Saint of Bright Doors
  2. Some Desperate Glory
  3. Translation State
  4. Witch King
  5. Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
  6. Starter Villain
• Liz’s rankings:
  1. Some Desperate Glory
  2. Saint of Bright Doors
  3. Translation State
  4. Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
  5. Witch King
  6. Starter Villain
• Consensus:
  1. Some Desperate Glory
  2. Saint of Bright Doors
  3. Translation State
  4. Witch King
  5. Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
  6. Starter Villain
• Credits
  • Cover art: “Favourite Reading Positions” by Sue Mason
    • Alt text: John is in the bottom-left, sitting in a chair, wearing a blue shirt and purple trousers, holding a can, and reading an ebook. Alison is in the upper-middle, lying down upside down, wearing a purple shirt and stripy trousers, and reading an ebook. Liz is in the bottom-right, wearing a pink shirt with green trousers, holding a mug of a hot beverage, and reading a physical book. They are surrounded by floating beer bottles, books, the Moon, a mug with a moose on it, and two cats. The text “Octothorpe 111” and “Hugo Novels 2024” appears to the top and the bottom of the image.
  • Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)