Nebula Awards Showcase 2018

Nebula Awards Showcases #52

by Jane Yolen

The latest volume of the prestigious anthology series, published annually across six decades! The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes have been published annually since 1966, reprinting the winning and nominated stories of the Nebula Awards, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). The editor, selected by SFWA's anthology Committee (chaired by Mike Resnick), is Jane Yolen, an author of children's books, fantasy, and science fiction. This year's Nebula Award winners are Charlie Jane Anders, Seanan McGuire, William Ledbetter, Amal El-Mohtar, and Eric Heisserer, with David D. Levine winning the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Story Collection, Science Fiction Fantasy

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2018

About the author

Jane Yolen was a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who wrote more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lived in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

[Guillermo]

In my opinion, this is an unbalanced book because 80% of the stories and excerpts included are fantasy narratives and only 20% are science fiction stories. This is not a fault of the book itself or of the editor, as it is the fault of the compiled ballots of the members of the SFWA showcased in the publication. It seems that the writers of this association have a predilection for fantasy over science fiction, because they voted predominantly in favor of fantasy writers, at least in the 2016 Nebula Awards. For a hard science fiction fan like me, this was a disappointment.

What I am going to say now may be subject to controversy but I have to say it. Another aspect in which the selection of awards (in my opinion) is not balanced, is the proportion of female writers selected versus male writers (again 80% to 20%), and the genre of the leading characters in the stories (80% female - 20% male). I have nothing against female writers, believe me, but this book left me with the feeling (or doubt) that the SFWA may have a "little bias" in favor of female writers (or a "politically correct" position in this matter).

I hope that in the next few years the Nebula Awards showcase a more balanced group of themes, writers and characters.

[Ron]

Better than average anthology of SF, which isn't saying much since these are all supposedly award winners. But that reflects the sad state of contemporary science fiction. Not that it's bad; it's just not often really good.

[Yvette]

If you enjoy Science Fiction and Fantasy and different takes on humanity, mythology, sexuality, and even morality (see "The Long Fall Up" by William Ledbetter in particular for this) then there is likely to be something of interest here and quite possibly some stories or excerpts to object to. While reading each selection included in whole, I found several that I would have cast a vote for, and a few that I would not.

An award itself is best judged by the nominees and winners selected, so I am leaning towards giving the Nebula Awards more credence than I typically do. 2016 seems to have been a good year for SFF based on this varied and interesting collection of what was judged to be the "best," though as readers we are quite free to, and should, make our own judgments.

This review refers to an Uncorrected Advance Reader Copy won in a GoodReads giveaway. Reviews are encouraged but not required. All opinions expressed are my own. Full review originally published on my blog.

[Scout]

My favorite reads of the showcase were the novelettes "The Long Fall Up" (Ledbetter) and "You'll Surely Drown Here if You Stay" (Wong), as well as the short stories "Seasons of Glass and Iron" (El-Mohtar) and "Things with Beards" (Miller).

I thought it was interesting that not only the Andre Norton winner but also the winning Nebula novel and novella excerpts all had a young-adult vibe-- a strong year for young protagonists.

[Robin]

I really enjoyed this collection. Even though there are stories in genres I generally don't read, every selection in the book is worthy of the recognition and should be enjoyable for most sci-fi and fantasy readers.

[M.E.]

Not a terribly good year for Nebula Awards. Overall, short stories winning Nebula Awards have suffered from a stylistic and conceptual narrowing with the rising dominance of the Clarion Writers Workshop, which I gather successfully teaches a very particular pitch of writing. Never too challenging or too innovative, with just enough emotional depth but nothing gut wrenching, and somehow managing to do nothing new while turning out decent stories year after year.

My favorite story in the collection was Amal El-Mohtar's "Seasons of Glass and Iron." In a reframing of familiar fairy-tale tropes, the story actually manages to become genuinely romantic. The heart-grabbing romantic element is familiar to readers of the short-lived era of lesbian feminist fiction, which coming into feminist consciousness of recognizing for the first time one's mistreatment at the hands of men, being genuinely seen as a full person by another, and discovering love can all happen simultaneously. We need to bring back a lot more lesbian feminist sci-fi, and this story is a good place to start. Similarly, Sarah Pinkser's "Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea," depicts a plausible and bleak apocalyptic world where the rich continue to circulate on ocean liners as society and ecology collapse. The characters are two women, both seemingly lesbians, washed up and traumatized in isolated area. They more or less hate each other, and are both thoroughly fucked up as people, but learn to live together painfully and gradually. It is well done, convincing, and memorable. Neither story was earth-shaking or boldly new; they were well-executed genre.

I can't say the same for many other stories in the collection. It's a little hard for me to be genuinely mean, as they all seem to mean well, but there were at least six stories in this collection I wished I hadn't bothered to read, and offered very little new and did it in a trite, gimmicky and predictable way.

Science fiction is experiencing some incredible work right now, but it isn't showing up in the Nebulas. (It is, bizarrely, appearing in the "Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy" series, but that is another review.)

[Laura]

When I put one of these collections or showcases on my reading list it's usually because there's one particular thing in it that I want to read, but then by the time I read it I forget what it is. I'm pretty sure this time it was “Seasons of Glass and Iron” by Amal El-Mohtar, author of This Is How You Lose the Time War, which was a fabulous story. I really liked that there seemed to be a bit of a theme through all the selections in this, whether it was intentional or not. Most of the stories had elements of interesting partnerships, such as friendships, sisterhoods, or non-traditional romantic relationships. Also many of the stories had a strong sense of ecological concerns, or a partnership with place in addition to people. They were all very satisfying stories.

[Andrew Gibbs]

This volume contains all the short story nominees and winner all but one of the novelette nominees and the winner. Unusually for these volumes, and rather disappointingly it contains only an excerpt from the novella winner. Note that the missing novelette and winning novella can be found free online on tor.com - having read them elsewhere I would put them in the good category.

That said most of the stories here are good to very good. There is a lot of slipstream fiction, and only a couple of science fiction stories (including the novelette winner). I thought the short story winner, a fairy tale/greek myth about two women on a glass hilltop was especially moving.

[Scott Campbell]

A couple stories in the book are science fiction, while the rest are fantasy. And most of those stories seem more like folk stories. On the whole I preferred the short stories rather than the novelettes. In fact, the only novelette that I thought was above average was "The Long Fall Up" by William Ledbetter, which was the winner for Best Novelette. Overall, I find it hard to believe these were really the best stories of the genre for that year. Interestingly, I also own the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology for the same year and the two books only share two stories in common. Maybe I will like that book more.

[Brian]

There were some excellent stories here and some mediocre ones. I was especially impressed by Alyssa Wong. My biggest disappointment is that the last three are excerpts. I read the first before realizing it wasn't the entire thing. I skipped the others. I don't buy this kind of book expecting anything but complete stories. I expect novels to be recommended without taking up space with excerpts.

[C.L. Phillips]

It's like any other anthology, some really cool stories, some not so great. Two great stories that stood out: Welcome tot he Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station and Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies.
The first is a choose your adventure style story that made me laugh a bunch of times. If a story makes me laugh (in a positive way), that's automatic 5 stars.

Our Talons...is a great fast-paced story told in a strong voice. Very good.

Everything else, while coolish, is just ok.

[Gopal Sadagopal]

This is mostly crap. Most do not qualify as science fiction as there is no imagination of a future/past society/technology/anything. It is mostly rambling fantasies and bellyaching. Some of them are ok as stories to read but are not as science fiction.

When you let writers judge other writers, what they judge is not storytelling; it is about who wrote it and if it is something different and bold even though there is no story or imagination.

Terribly disappointed.

[Shyan]

A cool conglomeration of premises, that ultimately overall were less compelling to me than the tales I have seen in other collections.

The short stories “Things With Beards” and “Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies” stood out to me as the best among the set.

[Tony]

these stories were just terrible. Safe, feel-good stories, poorly written.

As if the authors (or the editors who chose the stories) were afraid to challenge anyone's sensibilities.
That is the exact opposite of what great sci-fi is about.

profoundly disappointing.

[Dan Vogel]

More Horror than SciFi

All the stories were excellent. It's just i was looking for more hard scifi. Only really one of them. Maybe I should broaden my reading to horror. It seems to be popular now. "Get Out" and "Us" as recent examples in the movies

[Heidi]

Well curated literary collection. Great way to just enjoy some Science Fiction without committing to full novels. Pleasant way get to know some contemporary fantasy and Science Fiction writers while just enjoying well crafted short stories.

[Alan Maxwell]

Nice list of Nebula nominees, some winners. A little heavy on the fantasy stories (I personally prefer si-fi) but that seems to be the direction of the awards in the more recent years. Still, worth reading.

[Aryanna Tunstall]

Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0 is an incredibly long title but incredibly well done. I enjoy create your own adventures but this one was amazing.

[Naomi Downing]

This anthology was uneven. I struggled through the short stories but when I hit the novelettes it grabbed my interest.

[Sandra]

I won this book off Goodreads. I was told it would be well worth reading. Glad I did. An awesome book. A must read.

[Chloe Russell]

BONNIE ✨ JO ✨ STUFFLEBEAM


The Orangery was my favorite. I look forward to the rest of her work!

[M. Winslow]

This was an amazing collection of award-winning short stories. My compliments to the editor!

[Amy]

Another win from First Reads. I really enjoyed the variety of the stories in this collection. The list of Nebula Award winners in the back has added to my reading list.

[Shiv]

Some cool ideas. Motivated checking out at least one full novel based on the excerpt.

[anne]

interesting collection of stories. as with most, some better than others, but i enjoyed them.

[Roxie Klinksiek]

Wow! I was hard pressed to pick favorites out of such a superb collection. If you like sci fie get this anthology because you will read some of the best out there. There is something for everyone.

[Mark Catalfano]

I liked "Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours since Last Patient Death: 0" by Caroline M. Yoachim.

[Frank Ashe]

Another collection of high standard.

[Scott DuJardin]

I made it through the short stories. Of the 7, I really liked only 1.

[Mkittysamom]

#Popsugar2020 Anthology

There are many treasures to be found in 2018’s edition of the Nebula Award Winners & Nominees!

Welcome to the Medical Center at the Interplanetary Relay Station... by Caroline M. Yoachim, was a great story! It was a mix of choose your own adventure, and the frustration of a phone tree when you call a 1-800 number with plenty of humor all wrapped up in one! It really does replicate the futility of health care! That was one of my favorites!

I also plan to finish by Charlie Jane Anders (There was an excerpt). I had no idea that it involved a witch and animals..specifically birds, and now I want to know what happens!

I loved ‘You’ll Surely Drown Here if You Stay” by Alyssa Wong It was a Urban Fantasy story about two orphaned children, magical powers, the desert and dreams of the future! And so much more, but I really liked the shape shifting, magic wielding Ellis!
She also had “A FIST OF PERMUTATIONS IN LIGHTNING AND WILDFLOWERS” included as a story as well! I didn’t quite get it.. (as it seemed two magical sisters were trying to outsave each other..) & I’m not quite sure that one’s sacrifice was needed? Or why?

“THINGS WITH BEARDS” by Sam J. Miller was another Short Story, and it was pretty weird but enjoyable. It’s deep, for sure.. I need to read it again. MacReady threw me for a loop.
I haven’t read his books: or or . All of which I wanna read!

The Winner for Short Story is “SEASONS OF GLASS AND IRON” by Amal El-Mohtar. It was a fractured fairy tale and I thought it was great the heroines paired up together & it really explained my own frustrations with men! I’ve never heard anything like it before! I want to read as well!

One of my fav Novelettes was “THE ORANGERY” by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam. It’s mythology orientated with trees, Greek Goddesses & 1 God. I really loved it! Especially the ending!

I liked “ SOONER OR LATER EVERYTHING FALLS INTO THE SEA” by Sarah Pinsker too. Rock stars and the apocalypse!

The winner for Novelette was “THE LONG FALL UP” by William Ledbetter. That one was certainly deserving, it won my ❤️!

I’ve already read , ❤️❤️❤️❤️!

So that about covers it except which I want to finish as well since it ended on a cliffhanger after Ashley’s Mom took her to England from Mars.