Nebula Award Stories Seven

Nebula Awards Showcases #7

by Lloyd Biggle Jr. (Editor), Stephen Goldin (Contributor), Doris Pitkin Buck (Contributor)

Contents:

Introduction (Nebula Award Stories Seven), essay by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
1971: The Year in Science Fiction, essay by Damon Knight
The Queen of Air and Darkness, novella by Poul Anderson
The Last Ghost, shortstory by Stephen Goldin
The Encounter, novelette by Kate Wilhelm
Sky, shortstory by R. A. Lafferty
Mount Charity, novelette by Edgar Pangborn
Good News from the Vatican, shortstory by Robert Silverberg
Horse of Air, shortstory by Gardner R. Dozois
Heathen God, shortstory by George Zebrowski
Poor Man, Beggar Man, novelette by Joanna Russ
The Giberel, shortstory by Doris Pitkin Buck
The Missing Man, novella by Katherine MacLean
Nebula Award Science Fiction, 1965-1970, The Science, essay by Poul Anderson
Nebula Award Science Fiction, 1965-1970, The Fiction, essay by Theodore Sturgeon
In Memoriam, essay by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
Award-Winning Science Fiction, 1965-1971, essay by uncredited

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

234 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1972

About the author

Biggle was born in 1923 in Waterloo, Iowa. He served in World War II as a communications sergeant in a rifle company of the 102nd Infantry Division; during the war, he was wounded twice. His second wound, a shrapnel wound in his leg received near the Elbe River at the end of the war, left him disabled for life.

After the war, Biggle resumed his education. He received an A.B. Degree with High Distinction from Wayne State University and M.M. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan. Biggle taught at the University of Michigan and at Eastern Michigan University in the 1950s. He began writing professionally in 1955 and became a full-time writer with the publication of his novel, All the Colors of Darkness in 1963; he continued in the writing profession until his death.

Reviews

[Craig]

This seventh annual anthology collects the winners and several runners-up for the short fiction Nebula Awards as selected by vote of the Science Fiction Writers of America for stories published in 1971. This volume has more stories by women than any of the previous volumes, with stories by Kate Wilhelm, Doris Pitkin Buck, Joanna Russ, and Katherine MacLean, who won for her novella The Missing Man. Poul Anderson's The Queen of Air and Darkness won the best novelette award, and Robert Silverberg's Good News from the Vatican (my favorite in the volume) was voted the best short story. There are also stories by Stephen Goldin, R.A. Lafferty, Edgar Pangborn, Gardner R. Dozois (Horse of Air, another favorite), and George Zebrowski, along with essays by Poul Anderson, Theodore Sturgeon, Damon Knight, and a short introduction by Biggle. I believe this year was also the first where more of the stories appeared in original anthologies rather than in the traditional digest-sized newsstand magazines.

[Alien]

Die Nebula Awards werden ja von den "Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America" vergeben.

Unterscheidet sich eine Anthologie, wo die Stories quasi von Schriftstellern ausgesucht wurden, von einer anderen? Sind die Geschichten vielleicht anspruchsvoller? Schwerer konsumierbar?
Schwer zu sagen. In dieser Anthologie gab es jedenfalls schon eine Menge eher rätselhafter Stories.

Mit einigen davon konnte ich wenig anfangen, nämlich denen von Joanna Russ, Katherine Maclean und Doris Pitkin Buck. Andere gefielen mir recht gut, nämlich die von Edgar Pangborn, Gardner R. Dozois und Kate Wilhelm. Auch wenn ich mir bei den letzteren 2 nicht so sicher war, was mir die Auroren sagen wollten.

P.S: die "gute Nachricht aus dem Vatikan" aus der titelgebenden Story von Robert Silverberg ist die, dass zum ersten Mal ein Roboter zum Papst gewählt wurde.

[Denise]

As I continue winnowing my collection of 1970s sci-fi, I just read this collection of prize-winning short stories and novelettes from the year 1971. No classics here, in my opinion, but the best of the bunch are Poul Anderson's "Queen of Air & Darkness" and Kate Maclean's "The Missing Man."

[Robert Wright]

These anthologies are still-frame snapshots of moments in SF/Fantasy.

I always enjoy revisiting well-known classics and forgotten gems. Add in the dwindling sources of good short fiction in the modern era, and these annual collections become treasures.

Not every year's crop holds up, but this is better than most, so far. (I have almost all of these collections, accepting a few from the mid-80s.) The year's winners certainly hold up, though why Poul Anderson and Robert Silverberg are fairly well-remembered and Katherine MacLean has faded to obscurity is beyond me. All three are worth re-reading, even by today's standards.

Sadly, out of print and likely to remain so. But if you can find a used or library copy, it is a very satisfying read.

[Rena Sherwood]

Eh.



I was going to try and write an insightful and witty review but this book just isn't worth the effort. I will mention that the stories that did NOT win the Nebula that are presented here I liked better than the stories that DID win.

And one last thing -- about Gardner Dozois' "Horse of Air." If you're gonna give it a title like that, you better have a horse in the story somewhere, DAMMIT.

[Timothy]

11 stories:

(6/11 read)

**** The Queen of Air and Darkness (1971) • Poul Anderson
** The Last Ghost (1971) • Stephen Goldin
The Encounter (1970) • Kate Wilhelm
**** Sky (1971) • R. A. Lafferty
Mount Charity (1971) • Edgar Pangborn
*** Good News from the Vatican (1971) • Robert Silverberg
Horse of Air (1970) • Gardner Dozois
Heathen God (1971) • George Zebrowski
Poor Man, Beggar Man (1971) • Joanna Russ
**** The Giberel (1971) • Doris Pitkin Buck
**** The Missing Man (1971) • Katherine MacLean

[Ed]

For 2 paperback copies: ISFDB 191493. OCLC 9949605.

For hardback copy: ISFDB 255992. OCLC 12790143.

[Ed]

For 2 paperback copies: ISFDB 191493. OCLC 9949605.

For hardback copy: ISFDB 255992. OCLC 12790143.

[Janis Ian]

This is a surprisingly difficult-to-read collection. I suspect it may have more to do with the times, and my own age, than anything else. But I found most of the pieces unwieldy. Good for a staunch fan of the genre, but I recommend it other than that.

[Jonathan]

From the 1972 Nebula-winning novella The Missing Man by Katherine Maclean:
"The people they passed were holding portable TV screens like magazines, watching in the same way that people used to read ..."

[Patrick]

8/19/09: "The Queen of Air and Darkness" by Poul Anderson
4/4/11: "The Last Ghost" by Stephen Goldin
4/7/11: "Good News from the Vatican" by Robert Silverberg
4/10/11:
"The Giberel" by Doris Pitkin Buck
"Heathen God" by George Zebrowski

[Ari]

This was an interesting story. It explores the notion that even contradictory changes in an idea can still be looked on as a change for the hopefull...I think

[Andrew]

One of the best early award collections in my opinion.

[Erik Graff]

I read this decent collection of stories by established writers during winter break of the 1981/82 Loyola University Chicago school year--a welcome relief from a semester's study!

[Thom Dunn]

NOT A REVIEW ( Q 1725). 7-20-2010

[Philip Hollenback]

Well, sci-fi was a little different in 1971. Overall a pretty enjoyable collection.