Nebula Awards Showcase 2007: Edited by Mike Resnick

Rating: Kit (3.5 stars) Tango (2.5 stars)

The Nebula Awards are chosen and voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. This year’s volume contains the Nebula winners, as well as stories from some of the runners up and poetry from the Rhysling winners. It also contains essays from various writers on publishing, film, art and the future of science fiction.

She said: It was difficult for me to choose favorites but a few of the stories did stand out. My Mother, Dancing by Nancy Kress is just beautiful. The Faery Bag by Kelly Link is funny, sly and just a little bittersweet. It reminds me of my grandmother and is definitely my favorite of the collection. The excerpt from Camouflage by Joe Haldeman is good enough I will likely hunt down the novel to read. Still Life with Boobs by Anne Harris is hilarious and I have already recommended it to my reading club.

I found my first science fiction books packed away in my grandparents’ attic. Andre Norton wrote most of them. She was directly responsible for my love of and slight addiction to science fiction and fantasy stories. She was a talented writer and a remarkable woman. Josepha Sherman talks about Norton, her distinguished career and the well-deserved award in her name in her essay, Honoring Andre: The Andre Norton Award.

He said: I love anthologies. Well written short stories can be read in a stolen moment, bringing enjoyment to a long wait, or spicing up an otherwise dull lunchtime. That being said, I was excited to begin reading the Nebula Awards Showcase – to my dismay, I was almost immediately disappointed. Nonfiction essays, even informative and well written ones, are not what I buy a Science Fiction anthology to read – and this book is chock full of them.

As for the actual stories, I found Magic for Beginners to read much more like the first chapter in a novel than an actual short story. The story had an end, of sorts, but I didn’t find it satisfying.

The End of the World As We Know It by Dale Bailey seemed preachy – it felt as though the entire story was just window dressing for the author’s point of view.

I am in full agreement with Kit on Still Life with Boobs by Anne Harris – it was absolutely hilarious and my favorite story in the collection.

Identity Theft by Robert J. Sawyer was enjoyable, if a bit on the obvious side for a sci-fi mystery. It’s another of those stories that you feel like you may have read before.

I didn’t like My Mother Dancing by Nancy Kress as well as Kit did, but it was still a good story. The author has an excellent writing style, and the ending had just the right sorrowful tone for the subject matter.

Joe Haldeman’s excerpt from Camouflage was enjoyable, (as everything I have read by this author has been) but it was still an excerpt. Between this, the assorted essays and treatises and the final novella (The Resurgence of Miss Ankle-Strap Wedgie by Harlan Ellison) it felt like the editor was desperate for filler material. No offense to Mr. Ellison – he has written some fine fiction, and this story isn’t bad, but it’s not Science Fiction or Fantasy, either.

I found The Faery Handbag by Kelly Link to be one of the most well written pieces in the collection. It had the rhythm and feel of a Old World fairy tale, just the sort of thing you’d expect to hear in Baldeziwurlekistan.

James Patrick Kelly’s Men Are Trouble started out feeling like a hard boiled detective story, with some great background and an interesting take on a world with no men, but it seemed to somehow lose its’ driving force about two thirds of the way through. The final denouement didn’t read as well as the rest of the story in my opinion.

She said: Unfortunately, I was disappointed in many of the stories. Kelly Link’s Magic for Beginners seemed unfinished and confused. I recognize the style as one that is becoming more popular but I think it worked poorly for this particular story. I Live with You by Carol Emshwiller was also confusing. I had trouble distinguishing which actions went with which character. Perhaps I was supposed to be uncertain, but that, coupled with the vaguely familiar feeling that I had read a similar story a few years ago made it unenjoyable. Men Are Trouble by James Patrick Kelly started brilliantly, but turned into a confusing mess. I kept waiting for more background on the events leading up to the crisis in his story.

By far my biggest disappointment was the inclusion of the Harlan Ellison novella The Resurgence of Miss Ankle-Strap Wedgie. Harlan is fine writer but he wrote the story decades ago and it is neither science fiction nor fantasy. It also takes up takes up one fifth of the entire anthology. I would have been much happier reading some of the other Nebula Awards entries.

He said: While there are a few good stories in the collection (four, by my count) I didn’t enjoy it enough to overcome my disappointment at how much filler material was included. I’m also surprised at the quality of some of the stories, given the nature of the collection.

She said: Although I expected more from the Nebula Award winners, there are enough good stories to cautiously recommend the book.
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Publisher: ROC – New American Library – Penguin USA
March 2007
ISBN: 13:978-0-451-461346
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