2007 Nebula recap

I didn’t quite manage to read the Nebula ballot before they announced the winners. Here are the stories, anyway, ordered very roughly by how much I enjoyed them. I definitely want to read more from Nalo Hopkinson, Ted Chiang, and Vera Nazarian. I was so disappointed by the Nancy Kress stories, I want to go back and find the ones I do like.

If I could vote (someday!), naturally I would have voted for my favorites, but I can’t. So it’s not like my opinion matters, but I had fun trying to handicap them as I went. And I’m amused to see I wrong was.

Novels

• In The New Moon’s Arms, by Nalo Hopkinson
• The Accidental Time Machine, by Joe Haldeman
• The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by Michael Chabon
• Ragamuffin, by Tobias Buckell
• Odyssey, by Jack McDevitt

What I suspected would win: The Yiddish Policeman’s Union.

What did win: The Yiddish Policeman’s Union. (Yay! I get to be right.)

Novellas

• “Kiosk,” by Bruce Sterling
• “Stars Seen through Stone,” by Lucius Shepard
• “The Helper and his Hero,” by Matthew Hughes
• “Memorare,” by Gene Wolfe
• “Awakening,” by Judith Berman
• “Fountain of Age,” by Nancy Kress

What I suspected would win: “Memorare.”

What did win: “Fountain of Age.” (Boo! I get to be irritated.)

Novelettes

• “The Merchant and The Alchemist’s Gate,” by Ted Chiang
• “The Fiddler of Bayou Teche,” by Delia Sherman
• “Pol Pot’s Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy),” by Geoff Ryman
• “Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change,” by Kij Johnson
• “Safeguard,” by Nancy Kress
• “Child, Maiden, Woman, Crone,” by Terry Bramlett
• “Children’s Crusade,” by Robin Wayne Bailey

What I suspected would win: “Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change.”

What did win: “The Merchant and The Alchemist’s Gate.” (Yay! I get to be happy.)

Short Stories

• “Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse,” by Andy Duncan
• “Pride,” by Mary Turzillo
• “The Story of Love,” by Vera Nazarian
• “Always,” by Karen Joy Fowler
• “Titanium Mike,” by David D. Levine
• “Captive Girl,” by Jennifer Pelland

What I suspected would win: “Captive Girl.”

What did win: “Always.” (I can’t say Boo. They were all good stories. I almost picked “Always” for its subtlety, but that’s easy for me to say now, isn’t it?)

Tomorrow: Let’s start on the Hugos.