Comments: 1994 reflected the renewed interest in Mars among the science fiction community. The win for Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars marked the beginning of a period in which books focused on Mars, mostly written by Robinson and Greg Bear, dotted the award ballots. Mars has always been a popular topic in science fiction, but interest in it seems to ebb and flow, and in the mid-1990s, interest seemed to flow. Personally, I preferred Nancy Kress' genetic engineering novel Beggars in Spain, but Red Mars is a fine novel and I can't fault the Nebula jurors for not sharing my taste.
In my opinion, the most well-deserved win in 1994 was for Jack Cady's The Night We Buried Road Dog. Cady's story is one of the most brilliant pieces of writing I have ever read, but his science fiction output other than this story seems to be fairly limited. Which is a shame.
Best Novel
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Other Nominees:
Assemblers of Infinity by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason
Beggars In Spain by Nancy Kress
Hard Landing by Algis Budrys
Nightside the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe
Best Novella
The Night We Buried Road Dog by Jack Cady (reviewed in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 116, No. 2 (February 2009))
Other Nominees:
The Beauty Addict by Ray Aldridge
Dancing on Air by Nancy Kress
Into the Miranda Rift by G. David Nordley
Naming the Flowers by Kate Wilhelm
Wall, Stone, Craft by Walter Jon Williams
Best Novelette
Georgia on My Mind by Charles Sheffield
Other Nominees:
Death on the Nile by Connie Willis
England Underway by Terry Bisson
The Franchise by John Kessel
The Nutcracker Coup by Janet Kagan
Things Not Seen by Martha Soukup
Best Short Story
Graves by Joe Haldeman
Other Nominees:
Alfred by Lisa Goldstein
All Vows by Esther M. Friesner
The Beggar in the Living Room by William John Watkins
The Good Pup by Bridget McKenna
The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore by Harlan Ellison
Go to previous year's nominees: 1993
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1995
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