The BSFA Best Novel long-list: Goodreads/LibraryThing rankings
The BSFA Long List is out. Here are the 56 (!) Best Novel nominees, ranked by the product of their number of owners on Goodreads and LibraryThing.
Goodreads
LibraryThing
reviewers
av rating
owners
av rating
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
27,961
4.34
1,033
4.26
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
24,512
4.01
990
4.08
Network Effect by Martha Wells
22,649
4.43
729
4.42
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
15,259
3.8
486
4.06
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
13,520
4.3
465
4.21
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
10,990
3.9
411
4.26
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
9,187
4.04
464
4.08
The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty
13,803
4.53
279
4.32
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
9,894
4.15
374
4.16
Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis
9,418
3.89
271
3.6
Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin
7,136
3.65
189
3.56
The New Wilderness by Diane Cook
5,260
3.8
171
3.81
Burn by Patrick Ness
4,401
3.82
196
3.98
The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey
3,744
4.11
207
4.03
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
4,323
3.62
166
3.63
The Silence by Don DeLillo
3,824
2.8
184
2.86
The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
3,075
4.45
187
4.49
The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
2,626
4.11
172
3.94
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
1,725
4.02
211
4.02
Afterland by Lauren Beukes
2,208
3.31
142
3.47
The God Game by Danny Tobey
2,758
3.74
113
3.68
Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack
2,236
4.07
93
3.93
Saints of Salvation by Peter F Hamilton
2,509
4.46
63
4.32
The Last Human by Zack Jordan
1,473
3.71
99
3.54
The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky
1,581
3.92
82
4.39
Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott
932
4.03
116
4.08
88 Names by Matt Ruff
1,046
3.44
66
3.21
Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow
736
4.11
73
4.13
Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang
574
3.43
83
3.5
Light of Impossible Stars by Gareth L. Powell
847
3.95
56
3.65
Beneath The Rising by Premee Mohamed
437
3.68
60
3.67
The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison
308
3.75
57
3.56
Mordew by Alex Pheby
220
3.92
54
3.4
Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston
183
3.75
58
3.5
Bridge 108 by Anne Charnock
274
3.58
27
3.44
Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen
245
3.85
29
3.17
War of the Maps by Paul McAuley
194
3.8
35
3.5
Space Station Down by Ben Bova & Doug Beason
270
3.39
18
3.33
Ghost Species by James Bradley
330
3.84
11
3.75
Comet Weather by Liz Williams
81
4.46
38
4.25
Noumenon Ultra by Marina J. Lostetter
164
3.94
11
-
Chosen Spirits by Samit Basu
143
3.73
5
4.25
Saving Lucia by Anna Vaught
87
4.01
8
-
Liquid Crystal Nightingale by Eeleen Lee
39
3.56
17
4.25
The Breach by M.T. Hill
86
3.52
7
3.25
People of the Canyons by Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear
71
4.13
8
-
The Evidence by Christopher Priest
49
3.37
11
5
Threading the Labyrinth by Tiffani Angus
47
4.04
10
5
Fearless by Allen Stroud
51
4.04
7
4.25
Dark Angels Rising by Ian Whates
35
3.86
9
4.33
King of the Rising by Kacen Callender
75
3.59
3
-
Greensmith by Aliya Whiteley
23
4.13
6
3.5
Analogue/Virtual by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
13
4.31
7
-
Water Must Fall by Nick Wood
8
4.25
8
1.75
Ivory’s Story by Eugen Bacon
7
4.29
6
4.67
Club Ded by Nikhil Singh
3
4.67
2
-
This is of limited predictive value, but does give a sense of how far these books have penetrated the wider market.
Three books are in the upper quartile of all four metrics - Piranesi, Network Effect and The Empire of Gold. Striking how poorly The Silence seems to have landed with readers.
Last year's winner was 5th out of 46 in the equivalent table, which is rather better than 16th out of 45 on the corresponding ranking of the 2018 long list; 27th out of 48 in 2017, and 26th out of 34 in 2016, So this table is of limited predictive value.
Goodreads
LibraryThing
reviewers
av rating
owners
av rating
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
27,961
4.34
1,033
4.26
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
24,512
4.01
990
4.08
Network Effect by Martha Wells
22,649
4.43
729
4.42
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
15,259
3.8
486
4.06
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
13,520
4.3
465
4.21
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
10,990
3.9
411
4.26
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
9,187
4.04
464
4.08
The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty
13,803
4.53
279
4.32
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
9,894
4.15
374
4.16
Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis
9,418
3.89
271
3.6
Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin
7,136
3.65
189
3.56
The New Wilderness by Diane Cook
5,260
3.8
171
3.81
Burn by Patrick Ness
4,401
3.82
196
3.98
The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey
3,744
4.11
207
4.03
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
4,323
3.62
166
3.63
The Silence by Don DeLillo
3,824
2.8
184
2.86
The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
3,075
4.45
187
4.49
The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
2,626
4.11
172
3.94
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
1,725
4.02
211
4.02
Afterland by Lauren Beukes
2,208
3.31
142
3.47
The God Game by Danny Tobey
2,758
3.74
113
3.68
Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack
2,236
4.07
93
3.93
Saints of Salvation by Peter F Hamilton
2,509
4.46
63
4.32
The Last Human by Zack Jordan
1,473
3.71
99
3.54
The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky
1,581
3.92
82
4.39
Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott
932
4.03
116
4.08
88 Names by Matt Ruff
1,046
3.44
66
3.21
Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow
736
4.11
73
4.13
Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang
574
3.43
83
3.5
Light of Impossible Stars by Gareth L. Powell
847
3.95
56
3.65
Beneath The Rising by Premee Mohamed
437
3.68
60
3.67
The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison
308
3.75
57
3.56
Mordew by Alex Pheby
220
3.92
54
3.4
Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston
183
3.75
58
3.5
Bridge 108 by Anne Charnock
274
3.58
27
3.44
Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen
245
3.85
29
3.17
War of the Maps by Paul McAuley
194
3.8
35
3.5
Space Station Down by Ben Bova & Doug Beason
270
3.39
18
3.33
Ghost Species by James Bradley
330
3.84
11
3.75
Comet Weather by Liz Williams
81
4.46
38
4.25
Noumenon Ultra by Marina J. Lostetter
164
3.94
11
-
Chosen Spirits by Samit Basu
143
3.73
5
4.25
Saving Lucia by Anna Vaught
87
4.01
8
-
Liquid Crystal Nightingale by Eeleen Lee
39
3.56
17
4.25
The Breach by M.T. Hill
86
3.52
7
3.25
People of the Canyons by Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear
71
4.13
8
-
The Evidence by Christopher Priest
49
3.37
11
5
Threading the Labyrinth by Tiffani Angus
47
4.04
10
5
Fearless by Allen Stroud
51
4.04
7
4.25
Dark Angels Rising by Ian Whates
35
3.86
9
4.33
King of the Rising by Kacen Callender
75
3.59
3
-
Greensmith by Aliya Whiteley
23
4.13
6
3.5
Analogue/Virtual by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
13
4.31
7
-
Water Must Fall by Nick Wood
8
4.25
8
1.75
Ivory’s Story by Eugen Bacon
7
4.29
6
4.67
Club Ded by Nikhil Singh
3
4.67
2
-
This is of limited predictive value, but does give a sense of how far these books have penetrated the wider market.
Three books are in the upper quartile of all four metrics - Piranesi, Network Effect and The Empire of Gold. Striking how poorly The Silence seems to have landed with readers.
Last year's winner was 5th out of 46 in the equivalent table, which is rather better than 16th out of 45 on the corresponding ranking of the 2018 long list; 27th out of 48 in 2017, and 26th out of 34 in 2016, So this table is of limited predictive value.