Nebula Finalists 1989

[James Nicoll]

1989! Tim Berners-Lee lays the foundations for the World Wide Web,
Communism has an unshakable grasp on the Warsaw Bloc, and Pons and
Fleischmann free the world from energy shortages forever.

Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?

Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
Deserted Cities of the Heart by Lewis Shiner
Drowning Towers by George Turner
Great Sky River by Gregory Benford
Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card
The Urth of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

I have read all of them. Note that Drowning Towers also appeared as The
Sea and Summer (which is the version I have).


Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?

The Last of the Winnebagos by Connie Willis
Journals of the Plague Years by Norman Spinrad
Surfacing by Walter Jon Williams
The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians by Bradley Denton
The Devil's Arithmetic (Excerpt) by Jane Yolen
The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter by Lucius Shepard

All but the Denton and the Yolen.


Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novelettes Have You Read?

Schroedinger's Kitten by George Alec Effinger
Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance? by Howard Waldrop
Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus by Neal Barrett, Jr.
Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick
Peaches for Mad Molly by Steven Gould
The Hob by Judith Moffett
Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh by Ian McDonald

All but the McDonald.


Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Short Stories Have You Read?

Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge by James Morrow
Dead Men on TV by Pat Murphy
Mrs. Shummel Exits a Winner by John Kessel
The Color Winter by Steven Popkes
The Fort Moxie Branch by Jack McDevitt
Voices of the Kill by Thomas M. Disch

All but the Morrow (!) aand the Popkes. As far as I can tell, the
Popkes was never reprinted.

[Robert Woodward]

Post by James Nicoll
1989! Tim Berners-Lee lays the foundations for the World Wide Web,
Communism has an unshakable grasp on the Warsaw Bloc, and Pons and
Fleischmann free the world from energy shortages forever.
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
Deserted Cities of the Heart by Lewis Shiner
Drowning Towers by George Turner
Great Sky River by Gregory Benford
Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card
The Urth of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
I have read all of them. Note that Drowning Towers also appeared as The
Sea and Summer (which is the version I have).

Bujold, Card, and Wolfe

Post by James Nicoll
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?
The Last of the Winnebagos by Connie Willis
Journals of the Plague Years by Norman Spinrad
Surfacing by Walter Jon Williams
The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians by Bradley Denton
The Devil's Arithmetic (Excerpt) by Jane Yolen
The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter by Lucius Shepard
All but the Denton and the Yolen.

Maybe the Shepard.

Post by James Nicoll
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novelettes Have You Read?
Schroedinger's Kitten by George Alec Effinger
Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance? by Howard Waldrop
Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus by Neal Barrett, Jr.
Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick
Peaches for Mad Molly by Steven Gould
The Hob by Judith Moffett
Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh by Ian McDonald
All but the McDonald.

None (which will be repeated in many of the subsequent years in more
than one category)

Post by James Nicoll
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Short Stories Have You Read?
Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge by James Morrow
Dead Men on TV by Pat Murphy
Mrs. Shummel Exits a Winner by John Kessel
The Color Winter by Steven Popkes
The Fort Moxie Branch by Jack McDevitt
Voices of the Kill by Thomas M. Disch
All but the Morrow (!) aand the Popkes. As far as I can tell, the
Popkes was never reprinted.

None.

[Chris Buckley]

Post by James Nicoll
1989! Tim Berners-Lee lays the foundations for the World Wide Web,
Communism has an unshakable grasp on the Warsaw Bloc, and Pons and
Fleischmann free the world from energy shortages forever.
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
Deserted Cities of the Heart by Lewis Shiner
Drowning Towers by George Turner
Great Sky River by Gregory Benford
Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card
The Urth of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
I have read all of them. Note that Drowning Towers also appeared as The
Sea and Summer (which is the version I have).

Read all. All are good, but no Favorites. (Probably the Card is closest; the
first couple in that series were very good before it tailed off).

Post by James Nicoll
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?
The Last of the Winnebagos by Connie Willis
Journals of the Plague Years by Norman Spinrad
Surfacing by Walter Jon Williams
The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians by Bradley Denton
The Devil's Arithmetic (Excerpt) by Jane Yolen
The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter by Lucius Shepard
All but the Denton and the Yolen.

The Willis, Spinrad, and Williams.

Post by James Nicoll
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novelettes Have You Read?
Schroedinger's Kitten by George Alec Effinger
Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance? by Howard Waldrop
Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus by Neal Barrett, Jr.
Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick
Peaches for Mad Molly by Steven Gould
The Hob by Judith Moffett
Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh by Ian McDonald
All but the McDonald.

None.

Post by James Nicoll
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Short Stories Have You Read?
Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge by James Morrow
Dead Men on TV by Pat Murphy
Mrs. Shummel Exits a Winner by John Kessel
The Color Winter by Steven Popkes
The Fort Moxie Branch by Jack McDevitt
Voices of the Kill by Thomas M. Disch
All but the Morrow (!) aand the Popkes. As far as I can tell, the
Popkes was never reprinted.

The Morrow, Murphy, Mcdevitt, and Disch. I made a rare (in this time
frame) anthology purchase that year, and all 4 (plus the novella
Spinrad) appeared in _Full Spectrum_. A good anthology!

Chris

[Michael F. Stemper]

Post by James Nicoll
1989! Tim Berners-Lee lays the foundations for the World Wide Web,
Communism has an unshakable grasp on the Warsaw Bloc, and Pons and
Fleischmann free the world from energy shortages forever.
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
Deserted Cities of the Heart by Lewis Shiner
Drowning Towers by George Turner
Great Sky River by Gregory Benford
Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card
The Urth of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

Bujold, Gibson, and Card

[Tony Nance]

Post by James Nicoll
1989! Tim Berners-Lee lays the foundations for the World Wide Web,
Communism has an unshakable grasp on the Warsaw Bloc, and Pons and
Fleischmann free the world from energy shortages forever.
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
Deserted Cities of the Heart by Lewis Shiner
Drowning Towers by George Turner
Great Sky River by Gregory Benford
Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card
The Urth of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
I have read all of them. Note that Drowning Towers also appeared as The
Sea and Summer (which is the version I have).

Just the Bujold and the Wolfe. We've reached the vast expanse of years
where I have read very few of the nominees.[1]

Post by James Nicoll
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?
The Last of the Winnebagos by Connie Willis
Journals of the Plague Years by Norman Spinrad
Surfacing by Walter Jon Williams
The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians by Bradley Denton
The Devil's Arithmetic (Excerpt) by Jane Yolen
The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter by Lucius Shepard
All but the Denton and the Yolen.

Just the Williams, and I forget what it was about. :(

Post by James Nicoll
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novelettes Have You Read?
Schroedinger's Kitten by George Alec Effinger
Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance? by Howard Waldrop
Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus by Neal Barrett, Jr.
Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick
Peaches for Mad Molly by Steven Gould
The Hob by Judith Moffett
Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh by Ian McDonald
All but the McDonald.

The Effinger and the Resnick.

Post by James Nicoll
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Short Stories Have You Read?
Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge by James Morrow
Dead Men on TV by Pat Murphy
Mrs. Shummel Exits a Winner by John Kessel
The Color Winter by Steven Popkes
The Fort Moxie Branch by Jack McDevitt
Voices of the Kill by Thomas M. Disch
All but the Morrow (!) aand the Popkes. As far as I can tell, the
Popkes was never reprinted.

None, which does not surprise me.
- Tony
[1] I'm surprised at how many of the nominees I've never heard of,
mostly in the non-novel categories, but that's surely a "me" thing.

[Garrett Wollman]

Post by James Nicoll
Which 1989 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
Deserted Cities of the Heart by Lewis Shiner
Drowning Towers by George Turner
Great Sky River by Gregory Benford
Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card
The Urth of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

I started a project maybe ten years ago to read all of the
Vorkosiverse as then existed, and FALLING FREE was the only one of the
early titles that I just couldn't get into and didn't finish.
(Checking my database, it appears that I bought all of the NESFA Press
editions back in 2015, so I guess that was nine years ago.) At some
point I should resume that project (I think I stopped with MIRROR
DANCE).

Of the other nominees, the Wolfe is the only title I've even heard of,
and I haven't read it.

-GAWollman