5th Annual SFR Galaxy Awards: Round Three by Lee Koven

Best Post-Apocalyptic Paranormal

Nobody’s Hero by Bec McMaster

This setting fuses Mad Max elements with some government experiments gone awry and maybe a bit of magic. The result is delicious: bands of raiders on dirt bikes, giant killer cats, beast-men, rocs, and revenants prowl the desert. Riley and Lucius have to find a way through them to save some loved ones…even though Lucius is one of the monsters himself. 

Best Promise

Crash and Burn (Cyborg Sizzle #3) by Cynthia Sax

Safyre promised her friend Nymphia she wouldn’t die alone, and she'll sacrifice anything against impossible odds. Thankfully, she has help, but the lengths Safyre and Crash go to fulfill that promise are heartrending.

Best Lady Cyborg

Jumper’s Hope by Carol Van Natta

I love cybernetics, and Kerzanna's have plenty of advantages and drawbacks. Just like organic parts, cybernetics require maintenance and repair. Also, their use has a cost physically and monetarily. Kerzanna often has to weigh her short-term success against her long-term health, which presents fascinating conflict.

Best Swordplay

The Champion of

Barésh 

by Susan Grant

Bahja is a sport that I can best liken to sensory-deprivation fencing. Jemm’s matches bring the reader into her senses, whether it be an arena, a raucous crowd in a bar, or a sparring room. 

Best Mother-Daughter Dynamic

Vellmar the Blade by Fletcher DeLancey

Fianna Vellmar is leery of showing up her mother, the best blade thrower in Alsea, at the annual Games. Her mother, however, would be delighted to be surpassed by her best student and only daughter. That said, she'll give no quarter in the competition.