[cgw]

Is the Harry Potter book the best book from the year 2000???
I read the first one (because it was sitting around the house). It was a good childrens book. I couldn't get past the first chapter of the second book. Was Goblet of Fire that much better?

The only of the nominees I have read was the Storm of Swords which was great but is part of a series and does not really stand alone.

What about the other nominees; Calculating God, Midnight Rbber, The Sky road??????

[Alucard]

The third and fourth Harry Potter books are excellent, IMO. The first two were good, but three and four were fantastic. The mood is notably darker, the plots are far more complex, and the character development really takes off in those. I couldn't put them down. And a good friend of mine, who usually reads a lot of horror and dark fantasy, was not crazy about the first two but loved the others. I reccomend you give them a try.

I haven't read some of the other Hugos, but I did enjoy Storm Of Swords. I've heard that the Sky Road was good, but I haven't picked up a copy yet. But all in due time.