… I wasn’t planning to read the Horror and Fantasy novel categories for the British Fantasy Awards.  And then I saw the shortlist and noted that of the 12 nominees across the two categories, I’d already read 6 of the books, which would mean only 6 to read.  Added to that, the appearance of the Tidhar (which I’ve been waiting to see feature on a shortlist) and the Nevill (an author I’ve been meaning to read for a number of years) tipped me over the edge.

Here are the nominees:

Best fantasy novel (the Robert Holdstock Award)

Breed, KT Davies (Fox Spirit Books)
City of Stairs, Robert Jackson Bennett (Jo Fletcher Books)
Cuckoo Song, Frances Hardinge (Macmillan Children’s Books)
A Man Lies Dreaming, Lavie Tidhar (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Moon King, Neil Williamson (NewCon Press)
The Relic Guild, Edward Cox (Gollancz)

Best horror novel (the August Derleth Award)

The End, Gary McMahon (NewCon Press)
The Girl With All the Gifts, M.R. Carey (Orbit)
The Last Plague, Rich Hawkins (Crowded Quarantine Publications)
No One Gets Out Alive, Adam Nevill (Macmillan)
Station Eleven, Emily St John Mandel (Knopf)
The Unquiet House, Alison Littlewood (Jo Fletcher Books)