Customer Reviews

Nebula Awards Showcase 2001

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Celebrating their 35th anniversary, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) collect the final award-winning short fiction of the old millennium in Nebula Awards Showcase 2001, edited by SF legend Robert Silverberg. This volume gathers together the winning short story, novella, and novellette - plus selected runners-up and non-fiction commentaries. Highlights include:

"Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang (Best Novella), in which a woman learns to break away from her time-constrained thinking while deciphering the language of visiting aliens.

"Mars is No Place for Children" by Mary A. Turzillo (Best Novellette), the heart-rending tale of a young girl growing up on Mars, where the ever-present solar radiation is tragically lethal to kids.

"The Cost of Doing Business" by Leslie What (Best Short Story), telling of a future where "surrogates" agree to act as stand-ins, enduring whatever unpleasantness their wealthy employers wish to avoid.

Two excellent runners-up are included: David Marusek's "The Wedding Album," a story told from the point of view of holographic simulacrums who experience a virtual revolt against their flesh-and-blood progenitors; and Michael Swanwick's "Radiant Doors," set in a huge refugee camp which exists as the result of a time-war.

The anthology also includes the epilogue from Octavia E. Butler's Nebula-winning novel Parable of the Talents, an early short story from Brian W. Aldiss (who was proclaimed a Grand Master last year), and an excerpt from Daniel Keyes's Charlie, Algernon and I, his non-fiction account of how the much-celebrated novella Flowers for Algernon came to be.

The fiction in this collection is truly first-class (as one would expect). Some of the non-fiction, with the exception of Keyes's entry, is of little interest to anyone but SFWA insiders and hardcore followers.

All in all, this is an excellent continuation of the fine tradition of the Nebula Awards.

I remember earlier sci fi collections having stories with a variety of outcomes; positive and negative. There's nothing uplifting in this collection. Makes me wonder if the the writers and the judges are all a bunch of depressed souls. Unless you're looking for that last book to read before you off yourself, I'd skip this one.

why publishing this book ? it says 2001, but include stories from the 90's. it's more bibilographic stuff and comentery then literature. for the stories :

"story of your live" - ted chiang - 4 stars - the best story in the book, enlightning and entertaining.

"mars is not place for children" - mary turizilo - 3 stars, written by influence of the nasa sojourn and the rover , that landed on mars, more like kid's story with publicity to NASA then SF.

"the cost of doing buisiness" - i realy don't think this is SF story (this follow the line of kony willis nebula showcase that included many "un-ortodox" SF stories - 3 stars.

"epilogogue from parable of the talents" - i also don't think this is SF story, or any relation for SF - 3 stars.

i'll skip on the "unhidden agendas" article...

"the weding album" by david marusek - was the best story in "the years best acience fiction edited by gardner dozois" from 99 - did i mentioned "luck of material". - 4 stars.

"radiant doors" - 3 stars - kind of terminator short story.

judas danced - didn't like the writing at all - 2 stars.

"algernon charlie and i" by daniel keyes - bibiliographic borring stuff.

so what we have her - not much of interesting reading, more like item for collectors and SFWA members. i want to recomend on the 2000 showcase edited by gergory benford which was much better and homourious, probebly since benford is not part of the SFWA system like willis and silverberg.