Hugo Award Best Novel Winner
The Snow Queen
by Joan D. Vinge
Summary
Joan D. Vinge sets a sweeping tale on the ocean world of Tiamat, where power shifts between the Summer and Winter peoples as the planet's access to the wider galaxy waxes and wanes. The ruthless Snow Queen schemes to keep her throne by transferring her identity into a young clone, while love and rebellion complicate her plans. Drawing on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, the novel mixes political intrigue, mythic structure, and richly built world.
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Historical Context & Significance
The Snow Queen won the Hugo and Locus awards and opened a quartet that Vinge continued across several decades.