Re: Nebula Finalists 1982

On 5/6/24 9:52 AM, James Nicoll wrote:

Another round of Nebula finalists, this time from the 1982 awards.
 Which 1982 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?
 The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe
Little, Big by John Crowley
Radix by A. A. Attanasio
Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
The Many-Colored Land by Julian May
The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas
 I have read all of them. I would have picked either the Crowley or
the Hoban over the Wolfe, but only because I don't think the Wolfe
stands on its own.

Just the Wolfe and the May here. I have tried to read the Crowley at least three times and stalled hard every time.

 Which 1982 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?
 The Saturn Game by Poul Anderson
Amnesia by Jack Dann
In the Western Tradition by Phyllis Eisenstein
Swarmer, Skimmer by Gregory Benford
The Winter Beach by Kate Wilhelm
True Names by Vernor Vinge
 I have read the Anderson, the Benford, and the Vinge.

Anderson and Vinge only

The Anderson
might well be worst novella to win both Nebula and Hugo. Stupid voters.

Yeah, it's not good, and it doesn't age well either. Not sure why it won...was there a boom in D&D/LARPing in 1981/2?

Which 1982 Nebula Finalist Novelettes Have You Read?
 The Quickening by Michael Bishop
Lirios: A Tale of the Quintana Roo by James Tiptree, Jr.
Mummer Kiss by Michael Swanwick
Sea Changeling by Mildred Downey Broxon
The Fire When It Comes by Parke Godwin
The Thermals of August by Edward Bryant
 I have only read the Swanwick and the Bryant. I am a bit surprised
I missed the Tiptree. Of all the SFF authors who murdered their
spouse, she was probably the best writer. Although one can make a
case for William S. Burroughs.
 

Just the Tiptree. Bryant's consistent appearances in these lists make me want to track down a collection of some sort.

Which 1982 Nebula Finalist Short Stories Have You Read?
 The Bone Flute by Lisa Tuttle
Disciples by Gardner Dozois
Going Under by Jack Dann
Johnny Mnemonic by William Gibson
The Pusher by John Varley
The Quiet by George Florance-Guthridge
Venice Drowned by Kim Stanley Robinson
Zeke by Timothy Robert Sullivan
 Only the Gibson, the Varley, the Florance-Guthridge, and the Robinson.

Just the Dozois, Gibson, and the Varley.
Tony