Discussion:
(Nebula) Nebula Finalists 1981
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James Nicoll
2024-04-29 14:07:36 UTC
Permalink
This week's Which Nebula Finalists Have You Read features 1981. I remember
it as a good year for SF but it's obvious I'd stopped following magazines
as voraciously as I did in the 1970s.

(Also, was never an F&SF fan for some reason)

Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?

Timescape by Gregory Benford
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
The Orphan by Robert Stallman
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge

All but the Tevis.

Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?

Unicorn Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas
Dangerous Games by Marta Randall
Lost Dorsai by Gordon R. Dickson
The Autopsy by Michael Shea
The Brave Little Toaster by Thomas M. Disch
There Beneath the Silky-Trees and Whelmed in Deeper Gulphs Than
Me by Avram Davidson

Only the Charnas (in a fix-up) and the Dickson.

Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novelettes Have You Read?

The Ugly Chickens by Howard Waldrop
Beatnik Bayou by John Varley
Ginungagap by Michael Swanwick
Strata by Edward Bryant
The Feast of Saint Janis by Michael Swanwick
The Way Station by Stephen King

Oddly, all of them. Albeit, I read the Swanwicks over a decade later.

Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Short Stories Have You Read?

Grotto of the Dancing Deer by Clifford D. Simak
Secrets of the Heart by Charles L. Grant
The War Beneath the Tree by Gene Wolfe
Window by Bob Leman

Just the Simak and the Wolfe. I'm surprisingly well read in Wolfe,
given that I don't think of myself as a Wolfe reader.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll
Michael F. Stemper
2024-04-29 21:12:18 UTC
Permalink
Post by James Nicoll
This week's Which Nebula Finalists Have You Read features 1981. I remember
it as a good year for SF but it's obvious I'd stopped following magazines
as voraciously as I did in the 1970s.
(Also, was never an F&SF fan for some reason)
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Timescape by Gregory Benford
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
The Orphan by Robert Stallman
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge>
All but the Tevis.
For me, all but Tevis or Stallman. I'm surprised that I'm that current,
although the Vinge is the only one that I read in the second millennium.
Post by James Nicoll
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?
Unicorn Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas
Dangerous Games by Marta Randall
Lost Dorsai by Gordon R. Dickson
The Autopsy by Michael Shea
The Brave Little Toaster by Thomas M. Disch
There Beneath the Silky-Trees and Whelmed in Deeper Gulphs Than
Me by Avram Davidson
Only the Dickson. I didn't realize that it was a novella, but looking
at my shelves, I see that my copy was one of the Ace MMPBs padded out
with "over 50 illustrations".
Post by James Nicoll
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novelettes Have You Read?
The Ugly Chickens by Howard Waldrop
Beatnik Bayou by John Varley
Ginungagap by Michael Swanwick
Strata by Edward Bryant
The Feast of Saint Janis by Michael Swanwick
The Way Station by Stephen King
--
Michael F. Stemper
A preposition is something you should never end a sentence with.
James Nicoll
2024-04-30 00:40:19 UTC
Permalink
Post by Michael F. Stemper
Post by James Nicoll
This week's Which Nebula Finalists Have You Read features 1981. I remember
it as a good year for SF but it's obvious I'd stopped following magazines
as voraciously as I did in the 1970s.
(Also, was never an F&SF fan for some reason)
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Timescape by Gregory Benford
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
The Orphan by Robert Stallman
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge>
All but the Tevis.
For me, all but Tevis or Stallman. I'm surprised that I'm that current,
although the Vinge is the only one that I read in the second millennium.
Post by James Nicoll
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?
Unicorn Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas
Dangerous Games by Marta Randall
Lost Dorsai by Gordon R. Dickson
The Autopsy by Michael Shea
The Brave Little Toaster by Thomas M. Disch
There Beneath the Silky-Trees and Whelmed in Deeper Gulphs Than
Me by Avram Davidson
Only the Dickson. I didn't realize that it was a novella, but looking
at my shelves, I see that my copy was one of the Ace MMPBs padded out
with "over 50 illustrations".
See, I knew it was a novella because I read it in Destinies.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll
Chris Buckley
2024-04-29 21:18:22 UTC
Permalink
Post by James Nicoll
This week's Which Nebula Finalists Have You Read features 1981. I remember
it as a good year for SF but it's obvious I'd stopped following magazines
as voraciously as I did in the 1970s.
(Also, was never an F&SF fan for some reason)
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Timescape by Gregory Benford
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
The Orphan by Robert Stallman
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
All but the Tevis.
A good year. The Wolfe is one of my absolute top Favorites, and the Vinge and
Benford are Favorites. The Pohl is good (sequel to _Gateway_, a Favorite.)

I would have said I read the Tevis, but this was a time when I bought
anything I read, and the only Tevis I have on my bookshelves is the
much earlier _The Man Who Fell to Earth_ (a much better movie than book IMO.)
Post by James Nicoll
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?
Unicorn Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas
Dangerous Games by Marta Randall
Lost Dorsai by Gordon R. Dickson
The Autopsy by Michael Shea
The Brave Little Toaster by Thomas M. Disch
There Beneath the Silky-Trees and Whelmed in Deeper Gulphs Than
Me by Avram Davidson
Only the Charnas (in a fix-up) and the Dickson.
The Randall in its (much) expanded form, the Dickson and the Disch
(I'm surprised you haven't read the Randall novel, James. A good book by
an early female author, from what I remember of it)
Post by James Nicoll
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novelettes Have You Read?
The Ugly Chickens by Howard Waldrop
Beatnik Bayou by John Varley
Ginungagap by Michael Swanwick
Strata by Edward Bryant
The Feast of Saint Janis by Michael Swanwick
The Way Station by Stephen King
Oddly, all of them. Albeit, I read the Swanwicks over a decade later.
Just the Varley.
Post by James Nicoll
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Short Stories Have You Read?
Grotto of the Dancing Deer by Clifford D. Simak
Secrets of the Heart by Charles L. Grant
The War Beneath the Tree by Gene Wolfe
Window by Bob Leman
Just the Simak and the Wolfe. I'm surprisingly well read in Wolfe,
given that I don't think of myself as a Wolfe reader.
Just the Wolfe. I've read a lot of Wolfe, but the amount I
adequately understand is much less.

Chris
Robert Carnegie
2024-06-06 20:34:12 UTC
Permalink
Post by Chris Buckley
Post by James Nicoll
This week's Which Nebula Finalists Have You Read features 1981. I remember
it as a good year for SF but it's obvious I'd stopped following magazines
as voraciously as I did in the 1970s.
(Also, was never an F&SF fan for some reason)
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Timescape by Gregory Benford
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
The Orphan by Robert Stallman
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
All but the Tevis.
A good year. The Wolfe is one of my absolute top Favorites, and the Vinge and
Benford are Favorites. The Pohl is good (sequel to _Gateway_, a Favorite.)
I would have said I read the Tevis, but this was a time when I bought
anything I read, and the only Tevis I have on my bookshelves is the
much earlier _The Man Who Fell to Earth_ (a much better movie than book IMO.)
_The Man Who Fell to Earth_, BBC radio recently
put on a one hour adaptation - as of June 6th
it says, "4 days left to listen" meaning here.
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001z63w>
It may come back.
Cryptoengineer
2024-06-07 20:35:58 UTC
Permalink
Post by Robert Carnegie
Post by James Nicoll
This week's Which Nebula Finalists Have You Read features 1981. I remember
it as a good year for SF but it's obvious I'd stopped following magazines
as voraciously as I did in the 1970s.
(Also, was never an F&SF fan for some reason)
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Timescape by Gregory Benford
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
The Orphan by Robert Stallman
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
All but the Tevis.
A good year.  The Wolfe is one of my absolute top Favorites, and the
Vinge and
Benford are Favorites.  The Pohl is good (sequel to _Gateway_, a
Favorite.)
I would have said I read the Tevis, but this was a time when I bought
anything I read, and the only Tevis I have on my bookshelves is the
much earlier _The Man Who Fell to Earth_ (a much better movie than book IMO.)
_The Man Who Fell to Earth_, BBC radio recently
put on a one hour adaptation - as of June 6th
it says, "4 days left to listen" meaning here.
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001z63w>
It may come back.
Thanks! Listened and saved. I haven't read the book, but did see
the David Bowie film. From the closeness of this to the film, I
suspect they are both pretty faithful adaptions.

One thing that stands out is how many of the inventions that
Tevis predicts in his 1963 book have come to pass.

pt
Robert Carnegie
2024-06-27 08:39:28 UTC
Permalink
Post by Cryptoengineer
Post by Robert Carnegie
Post by James Nicoll
This week's Which Nebula Finalists Have You Read features 1981. I remember
it as a good year for SF but it's obvious I'd stopped following magazines
as voraciously as I did in the 1970s.
(Also, was never an F&SF fan for some reason)
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Timescape by Gregory Benford
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
The Orphan by Robert Stallman
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
All but the Tevis.
A good year.  The Wolfe is one of my absolute top Favorites, and the
Vinge and
Benford are Favorites.  The Pohl is good (sequel to _Gateway_, a
Favorite.)
I would have said I read the Tevis, but this was a time when I bought
anything I read, and the only Tevis I have on my bookshelves is the
much earlier _The Man Who Fell to Earth_ (a much better movie than book IMO.)
_The Man Who Fell to Earth_, BBC radio recently
put on a one hour adaptation - as of June 6th
it says, "4 days left to listen" meaning here.
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001z63w>
It may come back.
Thanks! Listened and saved. I haven't read the book, but did see
the David Bowie film. From the closeness of this to the film, I
suspect they are both pretty faithful adaptions.
One thing that stands out is how many of the inventions that
Tevis predicts in his 1963 book have come to pass.
The radio play seemed to include the iPod and
I thought that was possibly not in the book.
And there was some kind of Polaroid camera;
there actually was a color Polaroid camera
and film appearing in 1963, but I think I
remember from later that it involved waiting
and then peeling your printed picture out of
a bundle of chemical placental packaging.
The "inventions" seemed to exist just for the
alien "Man" to raise funds for his rocket project.

I'm uncertain when it's set; the Cold War is on,
the story takes place over years, and at one point,
the "Man" says that his dying planet believes that
humans will destroy themselves in, I think he said
five years, unless they intervene. The inventions
do also get "borrowed" for U.S. "defence" somehow -
mentioned in the radio version - which presumably
doesn't help with the "end of civilisation" business.

David Duffy
2024-04-30 02:59:43 UTC
Permalink
Post by James Nicoll
This week's Which Nebula Finalists Have You Read features 1981. I remember
I had never heard of _The Orphan_, but I see a pdf at the archive.org -
"I want very much to slip out and grab a late rabbit" right now.
Cryptoengineer
2024-04-30 16:24:30 UTC
Permalink
Post by James Nicoll
This week's Which Nebula Finalists Have You Read features 1981. I remember
it as a good year for SF but it's obvious I'd stopped following magazines
as voraciously as I did in the 1970s.
(Also, was never an F&SF fan for some reason)
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Timescape by Gregory Benford
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
The Orphan by Robert Stallman
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
All but the Tevis and Stallman
Post by James Nicoll
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?
Unicorn Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas
Dangerous Games by Marta Randall
Lost Dorsai by Gordon R. Dickson
The Autopsy by Michael Shea
The Brave Little Toaster by Thomas M. Disch
There Beneath the Silky-Trees and Whelmed in Deeper Gulphs Than
Me by Avram Davidson
McKee and Disch
Post by James Nicoll
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Novelettes Have You Read?
The Ugly Chickens by Howard Waldrop
Beatnik Bayou by John Varley
Ginungagap by Michael Swanwick
Strata by Edward Bryant
The Feast of Saint Janis by Michael Swanwick
The Way Station by Stephen King
First 3.
Post by James Nicoll
Which 1981 Nebula Finalist Short Stories Have You Read?
Grotto of the Dancing Deer by Clifford D. Simak
Secrets of the Heart by Charles L. Grant
The War Beneath the Tree by Gene Wolfe
Window by Bob Leman
Can't remember any.

pt
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