Iron Council: Difference between revisions

Iron Council
	Cover of first edition (hardcover)
Author	China Miéville
Language	English
Series	Bas-Lag novels
Genre	Steampunk, Western
Publisher	Del Rey
Publication date	2004
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback), E-book
Pages	576
Award	Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2005)
ISBN	0-345-46402-8
OCLC	55019061
Dewey Decimal	823/.914 22
LC Class	PR6063.I265 I76 2004
Preceded by	The Scar

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Iron Council (2004) is a weird fantasy novel by the British writer China Miéville, his third set in the Bas-Lag universe, following Perdido Street Station (2000) and The Scar (2002). In addition to the steampunk influences shared by its predecessors, Iron Council draws several elements from the Western genre.

Iron Council is one of China Miéville's most overtly political novels, being strongly inspired by the anti-globalization movement, and tackling issues such as imperialism, corporatism, terrorism, racial hatred, homosexuality, culture shock, labour rights and war. The novel won the Arthur C. Clarke and Locus Awards in 2005, and was also nominated for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards the same year.^[1]

Plot

Iron Council follows three major narrative threads that join to form the novel's climax. Although Miéville weaves back and forth between narrative, time and space, this summary will follow each narrative individually, discussing their relation to each other toward the end. The novel is set in and around New Crobuzon, a sprawling London-esque city. New Crobuzon has for some unknown time been at war with Tesh, and is attempting to build a railroad across the outlying desert, partially as a new means of conducting this war. Against this backdrop, the novel follows the deeds of three main characters—Ori, Cutter and Judah Low.

Judah's story begins some 20 years before the novel's opening. Judah was hired as a railroad scout for New Crobuzon, charged with mapping terrain and informing the land's inhabitants of the railroad's coming. While doing so, he spends time with the Stiltspear, a race of indescribable creatures who can conjure golems, living creatures made from unliving matter. Judah attempts to warn the Stiltspear away, but they will not listen and he must settle for making a few recordings and beginning to learn their golemetric arts. Eventually, he returns to the railroad, which does indeed wipe out the Stiltspear. Shortly afterward, Judah, a prostitute named Ann-Hari, and a Remade named Uzman lead a revolution in which the rail workers drive the overseers away, free the Remade, and hijack the train, transforming it into a moving socialist dwelling.

Iron Council, the perpetual train, moves through the desert, gathering track from behind and laying it in whichever direction its citizens decide. The Council keeps moving to avoid the New Crobuzon militia, who are anxious to reclaim the train and destroy the rebellion-inspiring Council. Judah returns to New Crobuzon, where he immerses himself in esoteric golemetry literature, emerging as a master of the art. Eventually, Judah returns to the Iron Council, having spread its word throughout New Crobuzon, intent on using his golemetry to protect it.

Cutter, whom the reader joins at the novel's opening, was a friend, disciple, and lover to Judah during Judah's return to New Crobuzon. He leads a group consisting of other disciples of Judah in search of the Iron Council to warn of an impending attack by the New Crobuzon militia. After living and working with the council for a while, Cutter returns with Judah and others to New Crobuzon to inspire revolt with the news of Iron Council, which has decided to return to the city and confront the militia on its own turf. In the Iron Council's travels they meet Qurabin, a monk of the Moment of the Hidden and Lost, who continually trades aspects of themselves in return for whatever knowledge they need (having previously traded their gender, and over the course of the novel, their native language, various memories, and finally their eyes to help the protagonists).

Meanwhile, dissatisfied revolutionary Ori is led by a half-crazed old homeless man named Spiral Jacobs to join the militant gang of Toro. Committing robberies, raids, and even murder, Toro's group proceeds mercilessly on its quest to assassinate the mayor of New Crobuzon, a plan which is later revealed to be personal rather than political. During Ori's struggles with and against his new gang, an uprising by the Collective, a union of revolutionary groups, threatens to finally wrest New Crobuzon from the hands of its corrupt parliament and militia. After several days of fighting, however, the Collective is destroyed. Ori then learns that Spiral Jacobs is actually a powerful sorcerer sent by Tesh to introduce a dark, destructive force into the midst of New Crobuzon. Here Judah, Ori, and Cutter unite to stop Jacobs with the help of Qurabin, who takes the Tesh ambassador with him 'into the domain of Tekke Vogu'. Ori is killed in the confrontation.

In light of the collapse of the Collective, Judah sends Cutter to dissuade Iron Council from returning. He is unsuccessful, and Judah conjures a time-golem to freeze the train in time to save its citizens. Ann-Hari murders Judah shortly thereafter for thwarting the attack. As the novel ends, Iron Council has become a public monument of sorts, poised on the verge of attacking New Crobuzon until the unknown moment when the time golem dissipates. Cutter re-immerses himself in New Crobuzon's underground resistance movements, revitalising the protest publication Runagate Rampant.

Reception

Steven Poole reviewed the book for The Guardian and suggested that "in comparison with The Scar, such ideas are fewer and less indulgently elaborated. Iron Council feels more po-faced, more weighed down by its tonnage of political baggage ... Still, fantasy fiction is usually fabulously conservative, and Iron Council – with its implicit trade unionism, as well as the fact that many characters are casually bisexual – stands as a rebuke to the genre's medieval politics." Concluding "It was a good ride."^[2] The Washington Post review by Michael Dirda states that "[i]n myriad ways, China Miéville's New Crobuzon is an unweeded garden of unearthly delights, and Iron Council a work of both passionate conviction and the highest artistry."^[3]

References

^ "2005 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
^ Poole, Steven (25 September 2004). "Review: Iron Council by China Miéville". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
^ Dirda, Michael (22 August 2004). "'Iron Council' by China Mieville". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2009.

External links

Review of Iron Council at SFFWorld.com
Iron Council title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
Iron Council at Worlds Without End

[WWE-2005-1] "2005 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 25 July 2009.

[2] Poole, Steven (25 September 2004). "Review: Iron Council by China Miéville". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2009.

[3] Dirda, Michael (22 August 2004). "'Iron Council' by China Mieville". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2009.

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|2004 novel by China Miéville}}
-{{infobox Book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
+{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
+{{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
 | name         = Iron Council
 | title_orig   =
 | translator   =
-| image        = [[Image:IronCouncil.jpg|200px|Iron Council]]
+| image        = IronCouncil.jpg
-| image_caption = Cover of first edition (hardcover)
+| caption      = Cover of first edition (hardcover)
 | author       = [[China Miéville]]
 | cover_artist =
-| country      = [[United Kingdom]]
+| country      = United Kingdom
-| language     = [[English language|English]]
+| language     = English
-| series       =
+| series       = [[Bas-Lag]] novels
 | genre        = [[Steampunk]], [[Western fiction|Western]]
 | publisher    = [[Del Rey Books|Del Rey]]
-| release_date = [[2004]]
+| release_date = 2004
-| media_type   = Print ([[Hardcover]] & [[Paperback]]), [[E-book]]
+| media_type   = Print (hardback & paperback), [[E-book]]
-| pages        = 576 pp
+| pages        = 576
+| award        = [[Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel]] (2005)
-| isbn         = ISBN 0-345-46402-8
+| isbn         = 0-345-46402-8
-| preceded_by  = [[The Tain (novella)|The Tain]]
+| dewey        = 823/.914 22
-| followed_by  = [[Looking for Jake]]
+| congress     = PR6063.I265 I76 2004
+| oclc         = 55019061
+| preceded_by  = [[The Scar (novel)|The Scar]]
+| followed_by  =
 }}
+'''''Iron Council''''' (2004) is a [[weird fiction|weird fantasy]] novel by the British writer [[China Miéville]], his third set in the [[Bas-Lag]] universe, following ''[[Perdido Street Station]]'' (2000) and ''[[The Scar (novel)|The Scar]]'' (2002). In addition to the [[steampunk]] influences shared by its predecessors, ''Iron Council'' draws several elements from the [[Western (genre)|Western genre]].
+''Iron Council'' is one of China Miéville's most overtly political novels, being strongly inspired by the [[anti-globalization movement]], and tackling issues such as [[imperialism]], [[corporatism]], terrorism, [[racial hatred]], homosexuality, [[culture shock]], [[labour rights]] and war. The novel won the [[Arthur C. Clarke Award|Arthur C. Clarke]] and [[Locus Award|Locus]] Awards in 2005, and was also nominated for the [[Hugo Award|Hugo]] and [[World Fantasy Award|World Fantasy]] Awards the same year.<ref name="WWE-2005">{{cite web
-'''''Iron Council''''' (2004) is the fourth novel by [[China Miéville]], set in the same universe as his previous books ''[[Perdido Street Station]]'' (2000) and ''[[The Scar]]'' (2002), although they can all be read independently of each other.  In addition to the [[steampunk]] influences shared by its predecessors, ''Iron Council'' also draws several elements from the [[Western fiction|western]] genre.
+|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2005
+|title=2005 Award Winners & Nominees
-''Iron Council'' is perhaps the most overtly political of China Miéville's novels to date, being strongly inspired by the [[anti-globalization movement]], and tackling issues such as [[imperialism]], [[corporatism]], [[terrorism]], [[racial hatred]], [[homosexuality]], [[culture shock]], [[labour rights]] and [[war]].
+|work=Worlds Without End
+|access-date=25 July 2009}}</ref>
-The novel won the [[Arthur C. Clarke Award]] in 2005, and was also nominated for the [[Hugo Award]] and the [[World Fantasy Award]] that same year.
 ==Plot==
+''Iron Council'' follows three major narrative threads that join to form the novel's climax. Although Miéville weaves back and forth between narrative, time and space, this summary will follow each narrative individually, discussing their relation to each other toward the end. The novel is set in and around [[New Crobuzon]], a sprawling London-esque city. New Crobuzon has for some unknown time been at war with Tesh, and is attempting to build a railroad across the outlying desert, partially as a new means of conducting this war. Against this backdrop, the novel follows the deeds of three main characters—Ori, Cutter and Judah Low.
+Judah's story begins some 20 years before the novel's opening. Judah was hired as a railroad scout for New Crobuzon, charged with mapping terrain and informing the land's inhabitants of the railroad's coming. While doing so, he spends time with the Stiltspear, a race of indescribable creatures who can conjure golems, living creatures made from unliving matter. Judah attempts to warn the Stiltspear away, but they will not listen and he must settle for making a few recordings and beginning to learn their golemetric arts. Eventually, he returns to the railroad, which does indeed wipe out the Stiltspear. Shortly afterward, Judah, a prostitute named Ann-Hari, and a Remade named Uzman lead a revolution in which the rail workers drive the overseers away, free the Remade, and hijack the train, transforming it into a moving socialist dwelling.
-''Iron Council'' follows three major narrative threads that eventually meet by the novel’s climax.  Although Miéville weaves back and forth between narrative, time, and space, this summary will follow each narrative individually, discussing their relation to each other toward the end.  The novel is set in and around [[New Crobuzon]], a sprawling London-esque city.  New Crobuzon has for some unknown amount of time been at war with Tesh, and is attempting to build a railroad across the outlying desert, partially as a new means of conducting this war.  Against this backdrop, the novel follows the deeds of three main characters–-Ori, Cutter, and Judah Low.
+Iron Council, the perpetual train, moves through the desert, gathering track from behind and laying it in whichever direction its citizens decide. The Council keeps moving to avoid the New Crobuzon militia, who are anxious to reclaim the train and destroy the rebellion-inspiring Council. Judah returns to New Crobuzon, where he immerses himself in esoteric golemetry literature, emerging as a master of the art. Eventually, Judah returns to the Iron Council, having spread its word throughout New Crobuzon, intent on using his golemetry to protect it.
-Judah’s story begins some twenty years before the novel’s opening.  Judah was hired as a railroad scout for New Crobuzon, charged with mapping terrain, and informing the land’s inhabitants of the railroad’s coming.  While doing so, Judah spends time with the Stiltspear, a race of indescribable creatures who can disguise themselves as trees and conjure golems, living creatures made from unliving matter.  Judah attempts to warn the Stiltspear away, but they won’t listen and he must settle for making a few recordings and beginning to learn their golemetric arts.  Eventually, he returns to the railroad, which does indeed wipe out the Stiltspear.  Shortly afterward, Judah, a prostitute named Ann-Hari, and a Remade named Uzman lead a revolution in which the rail workers drive the overseers away, free the Remade, and hijack the train, transforming it into a moving socialist dwelling.
+Cutter, whom the reader joins at the novel's opening, was a friend, disciple, and lover to Judah during Judah's return to New Crobuzon. He leads a group consisting of other disciples of Judah in search of the Iron Council to warn of an impending attack by the New Crobuzon militia. After living and working with the council for a while, Cutter returns with Judah and others to New Crobuzon to inspire revolt with the news of Iron Council, which has decided to return to the city and confront the militia on its own turf. In the Iron Council's travels they meet Qurabin, a monk of the Moment of the Hidden and Lost, who continually trades aspects of themselves in return for whatever knowledge they need (having previously traded their gender, and over the course of the novel, their native language, various memories, and finally their eyes to help the protagonists).
-Iron Council, the perpetual train, moves through the desert, gathering track from behind and laying it in whichever direction its citizens decide.  The Council keeps moving to avoid the New Crobuzon militia, who are anxious to reclaim the train and destroy the rebellion-inspiring Council.  Judah returns to New Crobuzon, where he immerses himself in esoteric golemetry literature, emerging as a master of the art.  Eventually, Judah returns to the Iron Council, having spread its word throughout New Crobuzon, and intent on using his golemetry to protect it.
+Meanwhile, dissatisfied revolutionary Ori is led by a half-crazed old homeless man named Spiral Jacobs to join the militant gang of Toro. Committing robberies, raids, and even murder, Toro's group proceeds mercilessly on its quest to assassinate the mayor of New Crobuzon, a plan which is later revealed to be personal rather than political. During Ori's struggles with and against his new gang, an uprising by the Collective, a union of revolutionary groups, threatens to finally wrest New Crobuzon from the hands of its corrupt parliament and militia. After several days of fighting, however, the Collective is destroyed. Ori then learns that Spiral Jacobs is actually a powerful sorcerer sent by Tesh to introduce a dark, destructive force into the midst of New Crobuzon. Here Judah, Ori, and Cutter unite to stop Jacobs with the help of Qurabin, who takes the Tesh ambassador with him 'into the domain of Tekke Vogu'. Ori is killed in the confrontation.
-Cutter, whom the reader joins at the novel’s opening, was a friend, disciple, and lover to Judah during Judah’s return to New Crobuzon.  Cutter leads a group consisting of other disciples of Judah in search of the Iron Council, to warn of the impending attack of the New Crobuzon militia.  Although the militia was initially defeated by Iron Council, it has amassed a force now capable of destroying the “perpetual train.”  After living and working with the Council for a while, Cutter returns with Judah and others to New Crobuzon to inspire revolt with the news of Iron Council, which has decided to return to the city and confront the militia on its own turf.  After learning of the failed uprising by the Collective, Judah sends Cutter back to dissuade the citizens of the Council from returning.  He is unsuccessful, and at the novel’s climax, Judah conjures a time-golem to freeze the train in time, thus saving it at the point of attack from destruction by the militia.  As the novel ends, Iron Council has become a public monument of sorts, poised on the verge of attacking New Crobuzon’s exterior until the undisclosed time in which Judah’s time golem will dissipate.  Judah is murdered by Ann Hari for halting the Council’s attack, and Cutter re-immerses himself in New Crobuzon’s underground resistance movements, revitalizing the protest publication [[Runagate Rampant]].
+In light of the collapse of the Collective, Judah sends Cutter to dissuade Iron Council from returning. He is unsuccessful, and Judah conjures a time-golem to freeze the train in time to save its citizens. Ann-Hari murders Judah shortly thereafter for thwarting the attack. As the novel ends, Iron Council has become a public monument of sorts, poised on the verge of attacking New Crobuzon until the unknown moment when the time golem dissipates. Cutter re-immerses himself in New Crobuzon's underground resistance movements, revitalising the protest publication Runagate Rampant.
-Happening somewhat simultaneously with most of the preceding summary are the deeds of Ori, a dissatisfied revolutionary who cannot abide the endless talk of his fellow Runagaters (so named for the above-mentioned publication).  Seeking action, Ori is lead by Spiral Jacobs, a half-crazed homeless old man, to join the militant gang of Toro.  Committing robberies, raids, and even murder, Toro’s group proceeds mercilessly on its quest to assassinate the mayor of New Crobuzon, a plan which is later revealed to be personal rather than political.  During Ori’s struggles with and against his new gang, an uprising by The Collective, a union of revolutionary groups, threatens to finally wrest New Crobuzon from the hands of its corrupt parliament and militia.  After several days of fighting, however, the Collective is destroyed.  Shortly after the fall of the Collective, Ori learns that Spiral Jacobs is in actuality a powerful sorcerer (A Tramp-Ambassador alluded to very briefly early in the novel) sent from Tesh to introduce a dark, destructive force into the midst of New Crobuzon.  Here Judah, Ori, and Cutter finally cross paths as they unite to stop Spiral Jacobs, which they finally manage with the help of Qurabin, a disciple of a Teshi religious tradition whom Cutter and Judah met on the journey to Iron Council. Ori is killed in the confrontation.  Cutter and Judah then leave to rejoin the thread of the Iron Council, depicted above.
-==Related books==
+==Reception==
+[[Steven Poole]] reviewed the book for ''[[The Guardian]]'' and suggested that "in comparison with ''[[The Scar (novel)|The Scar]]'', such ideas are fewer and less indulgently elaborated. ''Iron Council'' feels more po-faced, more weighed down by its tonnage of political baggage ... Still, fantasy fiction is usually fabulously conservative, and ''Iron Council'' – with its implicit trade unionism, as well as the fact that many characters are casually [[bisexual]] – stands as a rebuke to the genre's medieval politics." Concluding "It was a good ride."<ref>{{cite web |first=Steven |last=Poole |author-link=Steven Poole |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/sep/25/featuresreviews.guardianreview16 |title=Review: ''Iron Council'' by China Miéville |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=25 September 2004 |access-date=5 November 2009 }}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' review by [[Michael Dirda]] states that "[i]n myriad ways, China Miéville's [[New Crobuzon]] is an unweeded garden of unearthly delights, and ''Iron Council'' a work of both passionate conviction and the highest artistry."<ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Dirda |author-link=Michael Dirda |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17250-2004Aug19.html |title='Iron Council' by China Mieville |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=22 August 2004 |access-date=5 November 2009 }}</ref>
+==Further reading==
-What follows is a list of books that inspired or are referenced in ''Iron Council'': {{Fact|date=March 2007}}
+<!-- Can be used in footnotes following [[WP:CITESHORT]] -->
+* [http://crookedtimber.org/category/mieville-seminar "Debating ''Iron Council''."] at ''[[Crooked Timber]]'' (11 January 2005) [http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~farrell/ironcouncil.pdf PDF].
+* [[Lou Anders]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20080704054905/http://www.believermag.com/issues/200504/interview_mieville.php "Interview With China Miéville."] ''[[The Believer (magazine)|The Believer]]'' (April 2005).
+*{{cite journal |last=Birns |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Birns |editor-last=Vint |editor-first=Sherryl |year=2009 |title=From Cacotopias to Railroads: Rebellion and the Shaping of the Normal in the Bas-Lag Universe |journal=[[Extrapolation (journal)|Extrapolation]] |volume=50 |issue=2 | pages=200–211 |doi= 10.3828/extr.2009.50.2.3}}
+* {{cite journal |last=Freedman |first=C. |year=2005 |title=To the Perdido Street Station: The Representation of Revolution in China Mieville's ''Iron Council'' |journal=Extrapolation |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=235–248 |doi=10.3828/extr.2005.46.2.5 }}
+* {{cite journal |last=Gordon |first=Joan |year=2003 |title=Reveling in genre: an interview with China Miéville |journal=[[Science Fiction Studies]] |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=355–373 |url=http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/interviews/mievilleinterview.htm }}
+* {{cite journal |last=Newell |first=Jonathan |year=2013 |title=Abject Cyborgs: Discursive Boundaries and the Remade in China Miéville's ''Iron Council'' |journal=Science Fiction Studies |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=496–509 |doi=10.5621/sciefictstud.40.3.0496 }}
+* {{cite journal |last=Rankin |first=Sandy |editor-last=Vint |editor-first=Sherryl |year=2009 |title=AGASH AGASP AGAPE: The Weaver as Immanent Utopian Impulse in China Mieville's ''Perdido Street Station'' and ''Iron Council'' |journal=Extrapolation |volume=50 |issue=2 | pages=239–258 |doi= 10.3828/extr.2009.50.2.6}}
+==References==
-* ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'', by [[Lewis Carroll]]
+{{Reflist}}
-* ''[[The Anubis Gates]]'', by [[Tim Powers]]
-* ''[[Blood Meridian]]'', by [[Cormac McCarthy]]
-* ''[[The Dark Domain]]'', by [[Stefan Grabiński]]
-* The [[The Dark Tower (series)|Dark Tower]] series, by [[Stephen King]]
-* The [[Gormenghast series|Gormenghast]] novels, by [[Mervyn Peake]]
-* ''[[Uzumaki (manga)|Uzumaki]]'', by [[Junji Ito]]
-* The [[Viriconium]] cycle, by [[M. John Harrison]]
-This novel is also in some ways a [[pastiche]] of the [[Western fiction|Western]] [[genre]].
-Note that Judah Low is named after [[Judah Loew ben Bezalel]], a rabbi who was rumored to have created golems.
-==Further reading==
-* [http://crookedtimber.org/category/mieville-seminar "Debating ''Iron Council''."] at ''[[Crooked Timber]]'' ([[11 January]] [[2005]]).
-* Joan Gordon, "Reveling in genre: an interview with China Miéville." ''Science Fiction Studies'' 30 (2003). 355-373.
-* [[Lou Anders]], [http://www.believermag.com/issues/200504/interview_mieville.php "Interview With China Miéville."] ''[[The Believer (magazine)|The Believer]]'' ([[April 2005]]).
 ==External links==
-* [http://www.sffworld.com/brevoff/106.html Review of Iron Council] at [http://www.sffworld.com SFFWorld.com]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519084609/http://www.sffworld.com/brevoff/106.html Review of ''Iron Council''] at SFFWorld.com
-*{{isfdb title|id=152099|title=Iron Council}}
+* {{ISFDB title|id=152099|title=Iron Council}}
+* [http://www.worldswithoutend.com/novel.asp?ID=572 Iron Council] at Worlds Without End
-{{ChinaMieville}}
+{{China Miéville}}
+{{Arthur C. Clarke Award}}
+{{Locus Award Best Fantasy Novel}}
-[[Category:Steampunk novels]]
+[[Category:Science fantasy novels]]
-[[Category:2004 novels]]
+[[Category:2004 British novels]]
+[[Category:Bas-Lag]]
+[[Category:Science fiction Westerns]]
+[[Category:Novels by China Miéville]]
+[[Category:2004 fantasy novels]]
+[[Category:2004 science fiction novels]]
+[[Category:Del Rey books]]
+[[Category:Trains in fiction]]

v t e Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel
1970s and 1980s	The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien (1978) Harpist in the Wind by Patricia A. McKillip (1980) Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg (1981) The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe (1982) The Sword of the Lictor by Gene Wolfe (1983) The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (1984) Job: A Comedy of Justice by Robert A. Heinlein (1985) Trumps of Doom by Roger Zelazny (1986) Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe (1987) Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card (1988) Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card (1989)
1990s	Prentice Alvin by Orson Scott Card (1990) Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin (1991) Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper (1992) Last Call by Tim Powers (1993) The Innkeeper's Song by Peter S. Beagle (1994) Brittle Innings by Michael Bishop (1995) Alvin Journeyman by Orson Scott Card (1996) A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (1997) Earthquake Weather by Tim Powers (1998) A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin (1999)
2000s	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (2000) A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin (2001) American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2002) The Scar by China Miéville (2003) Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (2004) Iron Council by China Miéville (2005) Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (2006) The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner (2007) Making Money by Terry Pratchett (2008) Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin (2009)
2010s	The City & the City by China Miéville (2010) Kraken by China Miéville (2011) A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin (2012) The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross (2013) The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (2014) The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (2015) Uprooted by Naomi Novik (2016) All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (2017) The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin (2018) Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (2019)
2020s	Middlegame by Seanan McGuire (2020) The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin (2021) Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee (2022) Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang (2023) Witch King by Martha Wells (2024)
Best Novel (1971–1981) Best SF Novel (1980–present) Best Fantasy Novel (1978–present) Best First Novel (1981–present) Best Horror Novel (1989–1997, 1999, 2017–present) Best Young Adult Book (2003–present) Best Novella (1973–present) Best Novelette (1975–present) Best Short Story (1971–present)