The Nebula Awards Showcase 2011

The Nebula Awards Showcase 2011 is an anthology of science fiction short works edited by American writer Kevin J. Anderson. It was first published in trade paperback and ebook by Tor Books in May 2011. The first British edition was published in trade paperback and ebook by Robinson in February 2012 under the alternate title The Mammoth Book of Nebula Awards SF.[1]

The Nebula Awards Showcase 2011
Cover of first edition
EditorKevin J. Anderson
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesNebula Awards Showcase
GenreScience fiction
PublisherTor Books
Publication date
2011
Media typePrint (paperback & ebook)
Pages412
ISBN978-0-7653-2842-7
Preceded byNebula Awards Showcase 2010 
Followed byNebula Awards Showcase 2012 

Summary

The book collects pieces that won or were nominated for the Nebula Awards for best novella, novelette and short story for the year 2010, profiles of 2010 Grand Master winner Joe Haldeman and Author Emeritus Neal Barrett, Jr., and representative early stories by each, various other nonfiction pieces and bibliographical material related to the awards, and the three Rhysling and Dwarf Stars Award-winning poems for 2009, together with an introduction by the editor. Not all nominees for the various awards are included.

Contents

Reception

Kirkus Reviews commended the book to "readers who like their fantasy and science fiction short and punchy," calling Paolo Bacigalupi's contribution "[t]he best of a spiffy bunch," as well as singling out Kosmatka's, Bakers, Johnson's, Foster's and McIntosh's pieces for special comment, while rating the remainder "[n]o less worthy."[2]

Regina Schroeder in Booklist rated the volume "[u]nsurprisingly, ... an excellent collection of thought-provoking, entertaining, and varied work from both masters at the height of their careers and rising stars," and "a pleasing cross-section of what the genre has to offer." Haldeman's and Johnson's pieces were singled out for comment.[3]

Jackie Cassada in Library Journal, citing the anthology's "strong and varied selections," felt "this serves as a top-notch introduction to the genre for newcomers and seasoned readers alike." James Patrick's, Rachel Swirsky's, Kage Baker's and Joe Haldeman's pieces are singled out for comment.[4]

Don Sakers in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, while noting that "Nebula voters ... tend to prefer works that are mo[r]e literary and avant-garde than the average Analog story," and that only the Joe Haldeman Grand Master sample had appeared in the magazine, concluded "[n]one of that matters. Whatever the process, the Nebula Awards generally go to fine stories on the cutting edge of the field."[5]

On a down note, Tom Shippey wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "[i]f you looked at only the "Nebula Awards Showcase 2011" ..., you might think that sci-fi was on its last legs: it is almost all fantasy, and such sci-fi as it contains is ... dystopian." In an apparent oblique judgment of the anthology as a whole, he noted "[i]n Will McIntosh's "Bridesicle," cryogenic corpses are revived to be looked over by buyers, but if a corpse doesn't appeal, back in the freezer it goes."[6]

The anthology was also reviewed by Wendy Bousfield in The New York Review of Science Fiction, August 2011, Ed Carmien in SFRA Review no. 296, Spring 2011, and Paul Kincaid in Foundation no. 111, Spring 2011.[1]

Notes
  1. The Nebula Awards Showcase 2011 title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  2. Review in Kirkus Reviews v. 79, iss. 7, April 1, 2011, pp. 545-548.
  3. Schroeder, Regina. Review in Booklist v. 107, iss. 18, May 15, 2011, p. 31.
  4. Cassada, Jackie. Review in Library Journal, v. 136, iss. 9, May 15, 2011, p. 79.
  5. Sakers, Don. "Brass Tacks" in Analog v. 131, no. 7/8, July/August 2011, p. 183.
  6. Shippey, Tom. Review in Wall Street Journal, v. 258, iss. 90, October 15, 2011, p. C8.
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