111: Slightly Lower Tolerance for Feelings

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)