Patterns in this year’s Hugo fiction
Here are some recurring themes and tropes that seem to me to be a lot more prominent than usual in this year’s Hugo-nominated fiction. (For some of these items, by “a lot more prominent” I just mean featured in two of the nominated works; but in those cases, I feel like even two is more than usual.)
- A mix of fantasy and science fiction within one work.
- Characters with nonbinary gender.
- Trans characters.
- Multi-person relationships, and/or people who have multiple parents.
- Same-gender sexual attraction and interaction.
- Fraught interactions between twins, especially having to do with life choices and gender-related expectations.
- Resistance against cruel and powerful governments, including resistance from people closely connected to those governments.
- Sentient machines (or cyborgs) that are enslaved by humans.
- Sentient machines that enjoy popular culture.
- East Asian-influenced cultures.
- Metaphors for disability and for the way society treats people with disabilities.