Nebula Awards 31: SFWA's Choices For The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Of The Year (Nebula Awards Showcase (Paperback)) (No 31)

The prestigious Nebula Awards are the Oscars of science fiction and fantasy, the only SF awards bestowed annually by the writers' own demanding peers, the Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Just as the Nebula Awards honor only the finest science ficiton and fantasy, the Nebula Awards series showcases only the best of the ballot, offering as well fiction and nonfiction not collected elsewhere and a dazzling selection of essays written expressley for each volume. No other best-of-year anthology represents the achievement of the Nebula Awards so well. Nebula Awards 31 is, as Publishers Weekly said of a previous volume, "essential reading for anyone who enjoys science fiction."

Publishers Weekly

As in previous years, this excellent 1993 collection of Nebula Award winners covers a broad range of styles, treatments and subjects. Selected SF authors, in short essays, bemoan the state of the genre, yet these stories and novellas (and even a poem or two) give the lie to any pessimism. Connie Willis's ``Death on the Nile'' describes a bizarre vacation to Egypt in which a group of tourists gains firsthand knowledge of the Pyramids' original purpose. ``Georgia on My Mind'' shines with the excitement of scientific discovery as Charles Sheffield rewrites computer history to introduce another inventor of Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine. And for those who love their cars more than they do people, Jack Cady's novella ``The Night We Buried Road Dog'' offers a psychological and supernatural mystery celebrating the freedom of the road. Sargent also includes memorial tributes to SF greats Avram Davidson, Lester del Rey and Chad Oliver. Essential reading for anyone who enjoys science fiction, this collection goes a long way toward demonstrating that, now and then, those who engage in the sometimes thankless task of bestowing writing awards really do know how to pick winners. (Apr.)