...you could actually do a lot worse than take a look at the Nebula Awards shortlist. I generally don't give a damn about awards, but there are more than a few great sci-fi novels up for the award this year.

Nominees include local author Cherie Priest's Boneshaker, which I and many Sloggers enjoyed, China Mieville's The City and the City, which I loved, and books by authors like Jeff Vandermeer, who have produced some really great work in the past.

Seriously, if you like sci-fi, you should write these books down for the next time you're at the bookstore or library; I bet at least one of the books on the list would be right up your alley.