Only two battles in this last part of Round Two, but one of them involves three books, because I find it impossible to read enough books to exactly make this match even tournament numbers.
So, to end off Round Two, we have:
The Habitation of the Blessed vs. Diplomatic Immunity
Winner: Habitation of the Blessed
Catherynne Valente vs. Lois McMaster Bujold. Two of the writers I have most enjoyed reading the last little while. Both of whom have won previous battle in this round. So how do they fare up against each other? While I liked Diplomatic Immunity quite a lot, it wasn't my favourite of the Miles books I read this year. And The Habitation of the Blessed was a strange book, but it was just my kind of strange. Plus, I found a quote in it that perfectly sums up the fraught relationship between my character and another PC in our pulp Seven Stars of Atlantis game. So, Valente wins this one.
Malice of Fortune vs. The Broken Kingdoms vs. Dawn
Winner: The Broken Kingdoms
Michael Ennis is out of the running right away, as I liked Malice of Fortune, but didn't love it. Then we come down to two books I really did like quite a lot, both genre books, both written by Black women. And it's hard to choose! Butler knocks me on my ass quite a bit, although I didn't find Dawn as affecting as The Parable of the Sower. And I loved the work N.K. Jemisin is creating, and the characters she's populating it with. I think Broken Kingdoms gets it here, but it's a close one.
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