Nebula Awards Showcase 2004

Nebula Awards Showcases #38

by Vonda N. McIntyre (Editor)

Presented by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America(r), the Nebula Awards honor the extraordinary work of those authors whose stories offer fresh perspectives on the genre. Featuring the year's best, the Nebula Awards Showcase is an annual tradition bringing readers the finest science fiction from today's most respected authors.

This year's winners include New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, Richard Chwedyk, Carol Emshwiller, and Ted Chiang.

Contents

* 1 • Introduction: The Heart of the Nebula (Nebula Awards Showcase 2004) • (2004) • essay by Vonda N. McIntyre
* 4 • Bronte's Egg • [saurs] • (2002) • novella by Richard Chwedyk
* 60 • Hell Is the Absence of God • (2001) • novelette by Ted Chiang
* 86 • Remembering Damon Knight: Damon Knight • (2004) • essay by Frederik Pohl
* 89 • Remembering Damon Knight: Damon • (2004) • essay by Carol Emshwiller
* 90 • Remembering Damon Knight: I Remember Damon • (2004) • essay by James E. Gunn [as by James Gunn ]
* 93 • Remembering Damon Knight: Damon Knight the Teacher • (2004) • essay by Robin Scott Wilson [as by Robin Wilson ]
* 96 • Remembering Damon Knight: Oh You Kid! A Personal View of Damon Knight • (2004) • essay by Edward Bryant
* 99 • Remembering Damon Knight: Curious Damon Knight • (2004) • essay by Eileen Gunn
* 102 • Remembering Damon Knight: Sensei Wonder • (2004) • essay by Leslie What
* 107 • American Gods (excerpt) • (2001) • shortfiction by Neil Gaiman
* 114 • Sunday Night Yams at Minnie and Earl's • (2001) • novella by Adam-Troy Castro
* 165 • A Few Things I Know About Ursula • (2004) • essay by Molly Gloss
* 169 • Changing Planes (excerpt) • (2003) • shortfiction by Ursula K. Le Guin
* 180 • Nothing Ever Happens in Rock City • (2001) • shortstory by Jack McDevitt
* 185 • Cut • (2001) • shortstory by Megan Lindholm
* 196 • The Dog Said Bow-Wow • [Darger and Surplus] • (2001) • shortstory by Michael Swanwick
* 214 • Appreciating Katherine MacLean • (2004) • essay by Sharon Lee
* 218 • Games • (1953) • shortstory by Katherine MacLean
* 228 • Lobsters • [Macx Family] • (2001) • novelette by Charles Stross
* 255 • Creature • (2001) • shortstory by Carol Emshwiller

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

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Vonda Neel McIntyre was a U.S. science fiction author. She was one of the first successful graduates of the Clarion Science fiction writers workshop. She attended the workshop in 1970. By 1973 she had won her first Nebula Award, for the novelette "Of Mist, and Grass and Sand." This later became part of the novel Dreamsnake, which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. The novelette and novel both concern a female healer in a desolate primitivized venue. McIntyre's debut novel was The Exile Waiting which was published in 1975. Her novel Dreamsnake won the Nebula Award and Hugo Award for best novel in 1978 and her novel The Moon and the Sun won the Nebula in 1997. She has also written a number of Star Trek and Star Wars novels, including Enterprise: The First Adventure and The Entropy Effect. She wrote the novelizations of the films Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Reviews

[Franz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mix of stories, some of which I liked a lot and some not very much. The one story that stood out for me was Megan Lindholm's "Cut". I wouldn't really consider this SF, but a more a commentary. Disturbing. The other story that I quite liked was Michael Swanwick's "The Dog Said Bow-Wow". Very unusual crime story but really well-executed, and quite humorous. I suspect the author had fun writing this one. "Sunday Night Yams At Minnie and Earl's' by Adam-Troy Castro is available in various other compilations, and is one of my favorite 'modern' short stories. On the other hand, why Jack McDevitt's "Nothing Ever Happens In Rock City" was included is beyond me.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve slowly been working my way through the back catalogue of nebula showcase and I must say this is one of the best ones. All the story are fun, dynamic and interesting, and leave you frequently thinking back on them.

The tributes for Damon Knight were phenomenal and I really loved how each story was accompanied by a short explanation/contextualizing by the author. It really added a lot to the experience of reading it.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inconsistent. "Hell is the Absence of God" by Chiang is the standout story.

[Tim Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bronte's egg was good, but I preferred Sunday Night Yams. Ted Chiang's 'Hell is the Absence of God' was great. The excerpt from American Gods really didn't do justice to the book (then again, I'm not sure what excerpt would). I totally didn't follow the idea behind 'Nothing Ever Happens in Rock City', so that story was a waste to me. I greatly appreciated the writing and references to various current pop-geek material in Lobsters so this was one of my favorite stories. All in all, this collection makes me want to read more material that is shorter than a novel.

[Jason Fischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! I'm going to have to start reading more of the Nebula collections, looks like it offers a succint overview of what came out in the previous year without the need to read fifty magazines/anthologies. This edition had some great retrospectives of Damon Knight and a bit of the history of the original Clarion workshop, which I enjoyed reading as much as the fiction. LOVED "Hell is the Absence of God" amongst many others.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story is a good example of why science fiction is not a good term for what is called science fiction. Speculative fiction is nebulous but at least fitting. There is very little science in this science fiction and none that's important. Laws change and what happens next. And what's a grandma to do? Short and to the point and at least a bit frightening. And a decent display of the "Law" of Unintended Consequences.

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

{Not in PPLD or PR.}

[ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hell is an Absence of God is a fantastic short story.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grab-bag collection, mostly of works that won or were nominated for Nebula Awards in 2003 (or perhaps 2002; a pair of appendices give contradictory information there). There are novellas, short stories, a novel excerpt, a couple testimonials, and an old story by someone who won an "Author Emeritus" award.

The two longest pieces in this book- Richard Chwedyks's "Bronte's Egg" and Adam-Troy Castro's "Sunday Night Yams at Minnie and Earl's"- were both excellent; the shorter pieces, I felt, were a bit uneven. But that's the nice thing about anthologies like this; you won't like everything, but you'll come across writers you haven't read before, some of whom you'll want to keep an eye on.