Book Description

Customer Reviews (5)

The best sci-fi of 1994 - but was 1994 such a good year?
Obviously enough, there is just no possibility that in a single year there will be enough groundbreaking science fiction and fantasy written to fill a book the size of Nebula Awards 30. In fact, some of the pieces in thiscollection are downright tepid (at least in my opinion, but yours maydiffer). Included within are:

Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge by MikeResnick: an alien archeologist gets seven glimpses into the nature ofmankind (now extinct), on a progressively more radioactive Earth. May dragaround the edges. 4 stars.

Inspiration by Ben Bova: a visitor from thefuture attempts to give young Einstein the impetus to voice his beliefs onphysics (and thus, oddly enough, save the future Earth from being aradioactive dump) by giving him a copy of Well's The Time Machine. Notquite interesting. 3 stars.

Virtual Love by Maureen F. McHugh: two onlinevirtuosos, off-line nobodies, are mesmerized by each other's mastery withfalse visages. Nice imagery. 4 stars.

None So Blind by Joe Halderman:"Why aren't blind people geniuses?" A child genius falls in lovewith a blind musician and creates a greater intelligence. 3stars.

Fortyday by Damon Knight: in an alternate Roman Empire humans growbiologically older until they are forty, and then age in reverse. 4stars.

In Memoriam: Robert Bloch by Frank M. Robinson: an overview ofRobert Bloch's life (Bloch died in 1994).

The Martian Child by DavidGerrold: Not quite science fiction. A sci-fi writer father suspects thathis adopted child is a Martian. Very endearing. 4 stars.

Rhysling AwardWinners - poetry by W. Gregory Stweart and Robert Frazier, Jeff Vandermeer,and Bruce Boston: since I never enjoyed Science fiction poetry, I will notevaluate this part.

Understanding Enthropy by Barry N. Malzberg: Itdoesn't have a plot. 2 stars.

I Know What You're Thinking by KateWilhelm: A telepathic Woman can't blot out the chatter in her mind andstarts taking pictures of contemplating criminals as a hobby. It drags. 3stars.

A defense of Social Contracts by Martha Soukup: In a society wherestrife is minimized by one's marital permit - monogamous, polygamous, orfree not to marry, a woman seeks to illegally bind a"nonmonogamous" man to herself with false marital documents. Thisis the ultimate in writing about sex with absolutely no emotion whatsoever.3 stars.

From a Park Bench to the Great Beyond: The Science Fiction andFantasy Films of 1994 by Kathi Maio: an overview of exactly what the titlesays. Non-fiction.

The Matter of Segri by Ursula LeGuin: Yet anotherstory in the Ekumen series - a planet, where men are basically breederdrones and women are the only part of the organized society per se, isslowly nudged towards the "standards". Lots and lots of thef-word. Come on, she could have used a synomim!4 stars.

An Excerpt fromMoving Mars by Gregory Benford: since this is only an excerpt, I cannotgrade it.

Good, but I prefer the 2 yrs best.
If you like essays, deeply personal works, & poetry this is what youshould stick with. Otherwise the 2 yrs best are better. "The MartianChild" was a great story that didn't really need to be science fiction& I honestly don't think it was, it wasn't fantasy either. Basicallyit's about the science fiction community & becoming a father. In somerespects I think the SFFWA chose stories that are perhaps more interestingto sf authors then readers. Many of these stories are basically about theauthors themselves or the sf community at large. Consequently ,I think,some of these stories were almost too personal & "inside" foraverage readers. "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" was a goodStapledonian story, "Defense of the Social Contracts" was agenuine sociocultural speculation, & I liked Bova's. There were othergood ones too & I liked seeing the Rhysling winners. The essays werealso intriguing & provocative. It was actually a great anthology, but Ithink I'll keep up with the year's best more faithfully then the Nebulaanthologies.

Good, but mildly disappointing.
Don't misunderstand this is a good collection. Some of these stories werea little too personal, but they were good. My problem's that the 2 yearsbest anthologies A. Choose stories that cover the same ground (sometimesthe exact stories that get Nebula nominations) & ,in some instances,cover it better & B. Cover more ground & have a better variety.Neither of the year's best have poetry so it does have that advantage. Theessays are also an advantage, except I think Dozois does a good job in hissummation. The essays do show a variety of opinions though. I didn't likegriffith's because she seemed to say lesbian sf is the best sf about women.I think there are many great women sf authors who don't write lesbian oreven feminist stories. The winners are ,of course among the best, but theMcHugh, Bova, & the Wilhelm I also enjoyed. I've noticed that Wilhelmis somewhat unusual in science fiction in that I think her work deal withthe concerns of middle aged women to a large extent. I liked her story eventhough I'm a 21 yr. old man, but it'd probably make more sense to the groupI mentioned. I think Haldeman's won the hugo. In shot stick with the 2 yr'sbest unless you want essays or poetry.

Good, but mildly disappointing.
Don't misunderstand this is a good collection. Some of these stories werea little too personal, but they were good. My problem's that the 2 yearsbest anthologies A. Choose stories that cover the same ground (sometimesthe exact stories that get Nebula nominations) & ,in some instances,cover it better & B. Cover more ground & have a better variety.Neither of the year's best have poetry so it does have that advantage. Theessays are also an advantage, except I think Dozois does a good job in hissummation. The essays do show a variety of opinions though. I didn't likegriffith's because she seemed to say lesbian sf is the best sf about women.I think there are many great women sf authors who don't write lesbian oreven feminist stories. The winners are ,of course among the best, but theMcHugh, Bova, & the Wilhelm I also enjoyed. I've noticed that Wilhelmis somewhat unusual in science fiction in that I think her work deal withthe concerns of middle aged women to a large extent. I liked her story eventhough I'm a 21 yr. old man, but it'd probably make more sense to the groupI mentioned. I think Haldeman's won the hugo. In shot stick with the 2 yr'sbest unless you want essays or poetry.

A perfect score is too low!
How can anyone rate a book that is made up of the very best of the best in speculative fiction?A perfect score is too low. The Nebula Awards represent the highest accolade in science fiction, and the 30th Anniversary issue represents perhaps the finest collection to date.From the engaging work of David Gerrold in "The Martian Child," to the tightly worded and frighteningly real "None So Blind", this book shines with pure genius. I've waited a decade for a collection of fiction this original...and here it is ... Read more

Book Description
For Cheryl, a telephone can be the most frightening thing of all. A tale of psychological suspense from Pamela Sargent, described by the Washington Post Book World as "a consummate professional who exhibits an unswerving consistency of craft." ... Read more

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In the future women are so scarce that society is turned upside-down. Year's Best Science Fiction Pick ... Read more

Book Description
Catherine Lemaitre is a full-blooded Mohawk living with her adopted French family in Montreal. She goes to school and learns her tribe had been murderers, pagans, and eaters of human flesh, but Nawisga, who works in the family kitchen, secrectly tells her legends of the proud people who once ruled the forests. When Catherine's visions beckon her to step through to a world where the houses have vanished into the trees and buffalo cover the plains, she begins to understand the destiny of her life. ... Read more

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This historical fantasy is set in late 12th century Mongolia. A young shamaness must battle the ghost of her grandmother. (Several characters in this story also appear in Sargent's novel Ruler of the Sky. ... Read more

Book Description
This fascinating alternate history story is set a few hundred years ago in an America that has been colonized primarily by Mongolians (who, by the way, have taken over most of Europe). A Mongolian settler who was raised by Native American Indians finds he must try to bridge the gap between cultures to counter threats from English settlements (England is one of the few remaining independent countries in Europe). In so doing, he seeks to re-unite the Native American peoples and the peoples of Mongolia, whom he thinks are distantly related. Gripping action, compelling ideas. ... Read more