Nebula Awards 31


Nebula Awards 31 is an anthology of science fiction short works edited by Pamela Sargent, the third of three successive volumes under her editorship. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by Harcourt Brace in April 1997, and reprinted in trade paperback in July 1999.

Summary

The book collects pieces that won or were nominated for the Nebula Awards for novella, novelette and short story for the year 1996, a profile of 1996 Damon Knight Memorial [Grand Master Award|Grand Master award winner] A. E. van Vogt with a representative early story by him, and various other nonfiction pieces related to the awards, together with the Rhysling Award-winning poems for 1995 and an introduction by the editor. Not all nominees for the various awards are included.

Contents

  • "Introduction"
  • "Rumaging Through the Giant Purse"
  • "Touchstones for Gender-Benders"
  • "Planet Deseret"
  • "The British Scene"
  • "Gresham's Law and Science Fiction"
  • "Family Values"
  • "Solitude"
  • "Death and the Librarian"
  • "Alien Jane"
  • "Think Like a Dinosaur"
  • "In Memoriam: John Brunner and Roger Zelazny"
  • "The Lincoln Train"
  • "The Resurrection Man's Legacy"
  • "Pilot, Pilot"
  • "Skin of Glass"
  • "You See But You Do Not Observe"
  • "Old Legends"
  • "A. E. van Vogt: Prefatory Remarks"
  • "A. E. van Vogt: An Appreciation"
  • "Enchanted Village"
  • "It'll Float, but Can It Fly? Science Fiction and Fantasy Films of 1995"
  • "The Narcissus Plague"
  • "Last Summer at Mars Hill"

    Reception

Kirkus Reviews called the anthology "another excellent compendium," with "ine fiction along with valuable insights." The van Vogt piece and Benford essay were singled out for brief comment.
The collection was also reviewed by Gary K. Wolfe in Locus no. 436, May 1997, Michael M. Levy in The [New York Review of Science Fiction], November 1997, and Diana Jackson in Pirate Writings no. 16, 1998.

Awards

The anthology placed ninth in the 1998 Locus Poll Award for Best Anthology.