Nebula Awards 26


Nebula Awards 26 is an anthology of science fiction short works edited by James Morrow, the first of three successive volumes published under his editorship. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in May 1992.

Summary

The book collects pieces that won or were nominated for the Nebula Awards for novella, novelette and short story for the year 1991, various nonfiction pieces related to the awards, and tributes to recently deceased editor Donald A. Wollheim and 1991 Damon Knight Memorial [Grand Master Award|Grand Master award winner] Lester del Rey, together with the two Rhysling Award-winning poems for 1990 and an introduction by the editor. Not all nominees for the various awards are included.

Contents

  • "Introduction"
  • "'Democrazy,' the Marketplace, and the American Way: Remarks on the Year 1990 in Science Fiction"
  • "The Shobies' Story"
  • "Bears Discover Fire"
  • "Tower of Babylon"
  • "In Memoriam: Donald A. Wollheim"
  • "A Tribute to Lester del Rey"
  • "Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates"
  • "1/72nd Scale"
  • "Lieserl"
  • "Epitaph for Dreams"
  • "Dear Spacemen"
  • "Science Fiction Movies of 1990: Spiders, Scissors, and Schwarzenegger"
  • "Over the Long Haul"
  • "The Coon Rolled Down and Ruptured His Larinks, A Squeezed Novel by Mr. Skunk"
  • "The Hemingway Hoax"
  • "About the Nebula Awards"
  • "Selected Titles from the 1990 Preliminary Nebula Ballot"
  • "Past Nebula Award Winners"

    Reception

Kirkus Reviews noted that "revious high standards maintained" in this volume, with "plenty of varied, absorbing fiction," with "ost of already quite famous"–citing the contributions of Le Guin, Bisson, Chiang, Murphy and Haldeman. Cramer's overview of 1990 SF was called "useful" and Warren's piece on the year's films "best of all,... splendid, cleareyed... the nonfictional benchmark."
The anthology was also reviewed by Gary K. Wolfe in Locus no. 376, May 1992, and Tom Easton in Analog [Science Fiction and Fact], December 1992.

Awards

The book placed ninth in the 1993 Locus Poll Award for Best Anthology.