What do you think?
Rate this book
Nebula Awards Showcases #31
Nebula Awards 31: Sfwa's Choices for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year
Presents the winning stories for best science fiction and fantasy of 1995, featuring works by Ursula Le Guin, Dale Bailey, Harlan Ellison, Elizabeth Hand, and Kelley Eskridge
334 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1997
1 person is currently reading
85 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 2, 2019
I was quite the reader of sf as a kid and young adult, only cutting back upon obtaining an office, and the responsibilities incumbent upon it, in the SPUSA while pursuing a doctorate in philosophy. Occasionally, however, I do pick up the odd volume such as this one, acquired at the Sullivan H.S. library sale. Collections of award winners are usually safe.
This one is a bit odd. Eight portions of the eighteen selections contained within aren't fiction at all. Several are memoria for writers deceased during the previous year. A couple are reviews of the sf, literary and filmic, of the last year. One, by Gregory Benford, is autobiographical. The rest is fiction, mostly prose fiction. The kind of stuff you'd expect, some very good, some not so.
Going through the appendices, I was surprised to find that I'd read pretty much every Nebula Award winning piece from the beginning until the late seventies--such was my devotion back then! Of course, a lot of them were simply familiar titles/authors. I'd have trouble remembering much plot detail for most of them.
Herein my favorites were the pieces by LeGuin (almost always very good), Friesner, Eskridge and Kelly (all three of whom are otherwise unknown to me). All of the non-fiction stuff was interesting, filling in some of the great gap between 1979 and the present.
This one is a bit odd. Eight portions of the eighteen selections contained within aren't fiction at all. Several are memoria for writers deceased during the previous year. A couple are reviews of the sf, literary and filmic, of the last year. One, by Gregory Benford, is autobiographical. The rest is fiction, mostly prose fiction. The kind of stuff you'd expect, some very good, some not so.
Going through the appendices, I was surprised to find that I'd read pretty much every Nebula Award winning piece from the beginning until the late seventies--such was my devotion back then! Of course, a lot of them were simply familiar titles/authors. I'd have trouble remembering much plot detail for most of them.
Herein my favorites were the pieces by LeGuin (almost always very good), Friesner, Eskridge and Kelly (all three of whom are otherwise unknown to me). All of the non-fiction stuff was interesting, filling in some of the great gap between 1979 and the present.
December 8, 2014
This is the last volume of Pamela Sargent's stint as the Nebula anthology editor, which is unfortunate because she excels at editing these types of varied story collections (such as her Women of Wonder series). There's more work involved in editing a volume like this than you might think--given a limited amount of space, trying to cover an award that is for novels as well as short stories, one must carefully pick and choose. It will be interesting to see who SFWA finds to replace her.
Now as for the material itself:
"Solitude," Ursula K. Le Guin -- I am not a big Le Guin fan--in fact, you could say that I dislike most of her work excluding the Earthsea books. So, when I say that I enjoyed a Le Guin story then it must be special indeed. "Solitude" is a story of culture, one alien to our own. Le Guin posits a world in which past overpopulation has led present society to become the ultimate introverts. Not only do the women live apart from the men (as seen in many feminist SF stories in the past), but they live apart from each other. But it is the method of the story, putting a young child in the place of the observer, in which Le Guin achieves something new here.
"Death and the Librarian," Esther Friesner -- Except for the early part, in which the chameleon-like nature of Death is revealed, this story plods along. When it comes down to the talking heads at the end, I was ready to toss it across the room. Sure, Friesner can write welt enough, but this doesn't have anything Nebula-worthy to it. A disappointment.
"Alien Jane," Kelley Eskridge -- A nice SF tale, taken from the pages of Oliver Sacks, or at least, that is the way it reads to me. Well done, with a satisfying ending.
"Think Like A Dinosaur," James Patrick Kelly -- I haven't road a story this good in a long time! This is the kind of tale that can only be done in SF. Basically a study of what "true" matter transportation would be like, including what the hard choices would be. The result is the best short story I have read in two years.
"The Lincoln Train," Maureen F. McHugh -- An alternate history story with its jumping off point being the survival of Lincoln, except as a handicapped president. The concept is interesting, and the story has a nice moral center, but there was nothing that truly thrilled me here.
"The Resurrection Man's Legacy," Dale Bailey -- A baseball SF tale, reminiscent of Bradbury in its nostalgia and feeling. I was never a Bradbury fan, especially of his warmed over reminisce s of the 5O's, plus I dislike the reverence people give to sport (as opposed to games), so this one really didn't stand much of a chance with me.
"You See But You Do Not Observe," Robert J. Sawyer -- Physics and Sherlock Holmes? Okay, so it was a cute idea, but this is a best of the year. I trust that Sawyer's novel, which did win the Nebula, was much better.
"Enchanted Village," A.E. Van Vogt -- A story from the Grand Master, possibly a little long for the result, but at least it is a result worth reading for. A spaceship crashes on Mars, leaving one lone survivor, who finds a deserted Martian village. The Village may be able to provide for him, but only if he can somehow teach it his needs. Good ending.
"Old Legends," Gregory Benford -- A memoir and essay about SF's role in society, especially American government policy, this was entertaining and enlightening. Benford's goal in this essay is to justify the long held claim by SF fans that stories lead to science just as much as science leads to stories. While I have my doubts about SF's influence today (especially in these times of endless Star Trek novels), Benford shows that it was a very powerful force in the not-so-distant past.
"The Narcissus Plague," Lisa Goldstein -- Cute idea--what if there was a virus that, when you caught it, all you could do was talk about yourself? I liked the conceit, and the story showed promise, but the ending was disappointing.
"Last Summer at Mars Hill," Elizabeth Hand -- A nicely told tale of death and unknown beings. Its power comes not from the fantasy element, but from the portrayal of the characters, each well-drawn and believable. The writing and characterization was so well done that I really wanted to like this story more, but it lacked that sense of the fantastic that I expect from a fantasy story. Great mainstream work, I just want more in my fantasies.
Overall, this was a very rewarding volume. Of the stories, Kelly's "Think Like A Dinosaur" was such a gem, that I will likely be recommending it for years to come. The other highlight was Benford's essay.
Now as for the material itself:
"Solitude," Ursula K. Le Guin -- I am not a big Le Guin fan--in fact, you could say that I dislike most of her work excluding the Earthsea books. So, when I say that I enjoyed a Le Guin story then it must be special indeed. "Solitude" is a story of culture, one alien to our own. Le Guin posits a world in which past overpopulation has led present society to become the ultimate introverts. Not only do the women live apart from the men (as seen in many feminist SF stories in the past), but they live apart from each other. But it is the method of the story, putting a young child in the place of the observer, in which Le Guin achieves something new here.
"Death and the Librarian," Esther Friesner -- Except for the early part, in which the chameleon-like nature of Death is revealed, this story plods along. When it comes down to the talking heads at the end, I was ready to toss it across the room. Sure, Friesner can write welt enough, but this doesn't have anything Nebula-worthy to it. A disappointment.
"Alien Jane," Kelley Eskridge -- A nice SF tale, taken from the pages of Oliver Sacks, or at least, that is the way it reads to me. Well done, with a satisfying ending.
"Think Like A Dinosaur," James Patrick Kelly -- I haven't road a story this good in a long time! This is the kind of tale that can only be done in SF. Basically a study of what "true" matter transportation would be like, including what the hard choices would be. The result is the best short story I have read in two years.
"The Lincoln Train," Maureen F. McHugh -- An alternate history story with its jumping off point being the survival of Lincoln, except as a handicapped president. The concept is interesting, and the story has a nice moral center, but there was nothing that truly thrilled me here.
"The Resurrection Man's Legacy," Dale Bailey -- A baseball SF tale, reminiscent of Bradbury in its nostalgia and feeling. I was never a Bradbury fan, especially of his warmed over reminisce s of the 5O's, plus I dislike the reverence people give to sport (as opposed to games), so this one really didn't stand much of a chance with me.
"You See But You Do Not Observe," Robert J. Sawyer -- Physics and Sherlock Holmes? Okay, so it was a cute idea, but this is a best of the year. I trust that Sawyer's novel, which did win the Nebula, was much better.
"Enchanted Village," A.E. Van Vogt -- A story from the Grand Master, possibly a little long for the result, but at least it is a result worth reading for. A spaceship crashes on Mars, leaving one lone survivor, who finds a deserted Martian village. The Village may be able to provide for him, but only if he can somehow teach it his needs. Good ending.
"Old Legends," Gregory Benford -- A memoir and essay about SF's role in society, especially American government policy, this was entertaining and enlightening. Benford's goal in this essay is to justify the long held claim by SF fans that stories lead to science just as much as science leads to stories. While I have my doubts about SF's influence today (especially in these times of endless Star Trek novels), Benford shows that it was a very powerful force in the not-so-distant past.
"The Narcissus Plague," Lisa Goldstein -- Cute idea--what if there was a virus that, when you caught it, all you could do was talk about yourself? I liked the conceit, and the story showed promise, but the ending was disappointing.
"Last Summer at Mars Hill," Elizabeth Hand -- A nicely told tale of death and unknown beings. Its power comes not from the fantasy element, but from the portrayal of the characters, each well-drawn and believable. The writing and characterization was so well done that I really wanted to like this story more, but it lacked that sense of the fantastic that I expect from a fantasy story. Great mainstream work, I just want more in my fantasies.
Overall, this was a very rewarding volume. Of the stories, Kelly's "Think Like A Dinosaur" was such a gem, that I will likely be recommending it for years to come. The other highlight was Benford's essay.
September 20, 2011
It's hard to know how to rate this collection. Most of the stories are completely unmemorable. But if you read it correctly -- i.e. only the stories that you have marked two years before...then it is really great. In fact, there are two most excellent stories in here...heck, maybe the thing to do is just to check it out from the library and read Think Like a Dinosaur and the deservedly classic Enchanted Village by A. E. van Vogt, present in this collection due to his being named a Grand Master of SF rather tardily in 1996.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews