Nebula Awards Showcase 2002 | ||||||||
edited by Kim Stanley Robinson | ||||||||
Roc Books, 292 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Greg L. Johnson
A large part of that has to do with a substantial portion
of Nebula Awards Showcase 2002 being devoted to non-fiction. There are appreciations
of Philip José Farmer, and a series of essays by Gwyneth Jones, Gene Wolfe, Ken MacLeod, and others, on the
general question of where does science fiction go now that so much of the world looks like a science fiction novel?
And, of course, there are a few good stories included. The anthology begins and ends with stories that are critical
reassessments of the ideas of virtual reality and computer memory storage; Walter Jon Willams' "Daddy's World," and
"A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" by Gardner Dozois. Both stories tap into primal feelings involving life and death, strongly
suggesting that the price to pay for living in a machine is a deep, emotional one. This year's volume also includes
the Nebula Award winners at each story length, plus an excerpt from Greg Bear's Darwin's Radio, the winning
novel. Besides the Dozois, Eleanor Arnason's "Stellar Harvest" is included from the list of nominees. "Stellar Harvest" is
a good example of the reason for the revival of Arnason's career, it continues the serious concerns of her novels, but
places them in an adventure story with a smart, wise-cracking heroine.
While the essays offer one answer to the question of where does SF go now, the stories show that science fiction writers
continue to re-examine their vision of the future. It's a continuing dialogue, and by including critical essays along
with the stories, the Nebula Awards Showcase 2002 does more to present the SF field as an on-going
conversation and discussion of ideas than any of the other best of the year anthologies. It's a worthy contribution
and a good volume to have on your shelf.
Reviewer Greg L. Johnson reads and lives to tell about it in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His reviews also appear in The New York Review of Science Fiction. |
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