Ramez Naam’s “Nexus” series on human augmentation and AI is excellent, though it does get a bit repetitive. It’s the best science-rooted sci-fi series I’ve read in a while. The first book in the series is probably strongest, as is often the case, but “Apex” is still a worthy book. And, as is appropriate for a book up for a PK Dick award, the nature of consciousness is a major concern.

Adam Rakunas’s “Windswept” is fun, funny, and unusual — the main character is a union recruiter, which is something we don’t see much in sci-fi. As a first novel, it’s a bit rough around the edges, but it’s still quite good. Furthermore, the protagonist has a reality-bending case of PTSD coming off a spaceflight where she was kept semi-conscious for years in a cocoon, an experience reminiscent of Dick’s short story “I Hope We Shall Arrive Soon.”

Of these two books, I’d say that “Nexus” is more worthy of recognition, but I can’t say anything about the competing books, not having read them.