Comments: I don't think it is any secret that I love Ursula K. Le Guin's writing. So it should surprise no one that I am entirely happy with the fact that Tehanu won the Nebula this year. Granted, a lot of criticisms have been leveled at the novel, mostly because it isn't exactly the same as the three Earthsea novels that preceded it, but whether those criticisms are valid or not is beside the point. Every piece of Le Guin's writing manages to be both enjoyable and thought-provoking, and Tehanu is no exception. Also granted, the other nominees this year were somewhat underwhelming. None of that matters. Le Guin won another Nebula, and as a result, I am happy.
In a mildly ironic twist, the subtitle of Tehanu, declaring it to be The Last Book of Earthsea, is a little dated now, as The Other Wind has since been published.
Best Novel
Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Other Nominees:
The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin
Only Begotten Daughter by James Morrow
Redshift Rendezvous by John E. Stith
White Jenna by Jane Yolen
Best Novella
The Hemingway Hoax by Joe Haldeman
Other Nominees:
Bones by Pat Murphy
Fool to Believe by Pat Cadigan
Mr. Boy by James Patrick Kelly
Weatherman by Lois McMaster Bujold
Best Novelette
Tower of Babylon by Ted Chiang
Other Nominees:
1/72nd Scale by Ian R. MacLeod
The Coon Rolled Down and Ruptured His Larinks, A Squeezed Novel by Mr. Skunk by Dafydd ab Hugh
Loose Cannon by Susan M. ShwartzThe Manamouki by Mike Resnick
Over the Long Haul by Martha Soukup
The Shobies' Story by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Time for Every Purpose by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Best Short Story
Bears Discover Fire by Terry Bisson
Other Nominees:
Before I Wake by Kim Stanley Robinson
Lieserl by Karen Joy Fowler
Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates by Pat Murphy
The Power and the Passion by Pat Cadigan
Story Child by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Go to previous year's nominees: 1990
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1992
Book Award Reviews Home