Reviews of Hugo nominations, tranche 5, (long)

Yes, we have finally reached the stage of reviewing the novels. The five nominations are:

Ancillary Sword, Ann Leckie (Orbit US/Orbit UK)
The Dark Between the Stars, Kevin J. Anderson (Tor Books)
The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison (Sarah Monette) (Tor Books)
Skin Game, Jim Butcher (Orbit UK/Roc Books)
The Three Body Problem, Cixin Liu, Ken Liu translator (Tor Books)

I tried to read all of them, with varying levels of success which I will describe below in more detail.

( Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (Orbit US/Orbit UK) )

( The Dark Between the Stars, Kevin J. Anderson (Tor Books) )

( The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison (Sarah Monette) (Tor Books) )

( Skin Game, Jim Butcher (Orbit UK/Roc Books) )

( The Three Body Problem, Cixin Liu, Ken Liu translator (Tor Books) )