1986 Hugo Award Nominees

Location: ConFederation in Atlanta, Georgia.

Comments: 1986 seems to me to be the year that second-best works took home the critical victories, as there was more than one winner that I think was simply weaker than the competition it beat out. Orson Scott Card's novel Ender's Game took home the Best Novel trophy, which was an expansion of his previously nominated novelette of the same name, and the first Hugo win for the author. Although Ender's Game is a good novel, I don't think it was as good as Blood Music by Greg Bear, or Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. In the Best Dramatic Presentation category the time travel comedy Back to the Future won the prize, although both the surreal Brazil and the brilliant Enemy Mine were probably better movies. And so on.

The Hugo Awards had their first declined award in this year when Lester del Rey declined the Best Editor Hugo Award on behalf of his late wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. Apparently Judy-Lynn was opposed to the idea of posthumous awards, and he declined her posthumous victory in this category on that ground, as well as on the ground that she would not have won if she had not died earlier in the year.

Best Novel

Winner:
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Other Nominees:
Blood Music by Greg Bear
Cuckoo's Egg by C.J. Cherryh
Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
The Postman by David Brin

Best Novella

Winner:

24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai by Roger Zelazny

Other Nominees:
Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Only Neat Thing to Do by James Tiptree, Jr.
Sailing to Byzantium by Robert Silverberg
The Scapegoat by C.J. Cherryh

Best Novelette

Winner:

Paladin of the Lost Hour by Harlan Ellison

Other Nominees:
Dogfight by Michael Swanwick and William Gibson
The Fringe by Orson Scott Card (reviewed in The Folk of the Fringe)
A Gift from the GrayLanders by Michael Bishop
Portraits of His Children by George R.R. Martin

Best Short Story

Winner:

Fermi and Frost by Frederik Pohl

Other Nominees:
Dinner in Audoghast by Bruce Sterling
Flying Saucer Rock & Roll by Howard Waldrop
Hong's Bluff by William F. Wu
Snow by John Crowley

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work

Winner:

Science Made Stupid by Tom Weller

Other Nominees:
Benchmarks: Galaxy Bookshelf by Algis Budrys
An Edge in My Voice by Harlan Ellison
Faces of Fear: Encounters with the Creators of Modern Horror by Douglas E. Winter

The John W. Campbell Letters, Vol. 1 edited by Perry A. Chapdelaine, Sr., Tony Chapdelaine, and George Hay

The Pale Shadow of Science by Brian W. Aldiss

Best Dramatic Presentation

Winner:
Back to the Future

Other Nominees:
Brazil
Cocoon
Enemy Mine
Ladyhawke

Best Professional Editor

Winner:
Judy-Lynn del Rey [award declined]

Other Nominees:
Terry Carr
Edward L. Ferman
Shawna McCarthy
Stanley Schmidt

Best Professional Artist

Winner:
Michael Whelan

Other Nominees:
Frank Kelly Freas
Don Maitz
Rowena Morrill
Barclay Shaw

Best Semi-Prozine

Winner:

Locus edited by Charles N. Brown

Other Nominees:
Fantasy Review edited by Robert A. Collins
Interzone edited by Simon Ounsley and David Pringle
Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew Porter
Science Fiction Review edited by Richard E. Geis

Best Fanzine

Winner:

Lan's Lantern edited by George "Lan" Laskowski

Other Nominees:
Anvil edited by Charlotte Proctor
Greater Columbia Fantasy Costumers Guild Newsletter edited by Bobby Gear
Holier Than Thou edited by Marty Cantor and Robbie Cantor
Universal Translator edited by Susan Bridges

Best Fan Writer

Winner:

Mike Glyer

Other Nominees:
Don D'Ammassa
Richard E. Geis
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Arthur Hlavaty
David Langford

Best Fan Artist

Winner:

Joan Hanke-Woods

Other Nominees:
Brad W. Foster
Steven Fox
William Rotsler
Stu Shiffman

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Winner:
Melissa Scott

Other Nominees:
Karen Joy Fowler
Guy Gavriel Kay
Carl Sagan
Tad Williams
David Zindell

What Are the Hugo Awards?

Go to previous year's nominees: 1985
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1987

Book Award Reviews     Home

1986 Nebula Award Nominees

Location: Claremont Hotel, Berkeley, California.

Comments: 1986 was the year that Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card's one really good book, won the Nebula Award. Which is kind of a shame, because the book beat out some other great works including Bear's Blood Music, and Sterling's Schismatrix. The problem isn't that Ender's Game is an undeserving winner, the problem is that Card has had an extended career based primarily on the strength of this one book, and the rest of his career has been a pale shadow of it. And yet he still gets published. Without Ender's Game, Card's career likely would have been much shorter, and this might have paved the way for a better and less homophobic author to get a break.

One story that I have always had questions about is The Gods of Mars by Gardner Dozois, Jack Dann, and Michael Swanwick. Multiple author collaborations are fairly common, but The Gods of Mars is a short story, so one wonders why it needed three authors to write it, or how they managed to fit all their contributions into such a short tale.

Best Novel

Winner:
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Other Nominees:
Blood Music by Greg Bear
Dinner at Deviant's Palace by Tim Powers
Helliconia Winter by Brian W. Aldiss
The Postman by David Brin
The Remaking of Sigmund Freud by Barry N. Malzberg
Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling

Best Novella

Winner:

Sailing to Byzantium by Robert Silverberg

Other Nominees:
24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai by Roger Zelazny
The Gorgon Field by Kate Wilhelm
Green Days in Brunei by Bruce Sterling
Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Only Neat Thing to Do by James Tiptree, Jr.

Best Novelette

Winner:

Portraits of His Children by George R.R. Martin

Other Nominees:
Dogfight by Michael Swanwick and William Gibson
The Fringe by Orson Scott Card (reviewed in The Folk of the Fringe)
A Gift from the GrayLanders by Michael Bishop
The Jaguar Hunter by Lucius Shepard
Paladin of the Lost Hour by Harlan Ellison
Rockabye Baby by S.C. Sykes

Best Short Story

Winner:
Out of All Them Bright Stars by Nancy Kress

Other Nominees:
Flying Saucer Rock & Roll by Howard Waldrop
The Gods of Mars by Gardner Dozois, Jack Dann, and Michael Swanwick
Heirs of the Perisphere by Howard Waldrop
Hong's Bluff by William F. Wu
More Than the Sum of His Parts by Joe Haldeman
Paper Dragons by James P. Blaylock
Snow by John Crowley

Go to previous year's nominees: 1985
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1987

Book Award Reviews     Home

1985 Locus Award Nominees

Location: Unknown.

Comments: 1985 was Frederik Pohl's year at the Locus Awards. He didn't win any, but he appears on the list of nominees eight times, far outstripping any other author. This feat is made all the more impressive when put into context, as the field of science fiction was experiencing something of a generational shift in the mid-1980s. Many of the "old guard" of writers from the 1960s and 1970s were coming to the end of their productive period, and a collection of new authors were stepping up to take their place. In Locus Award terms, this meant that by 1985 Pohl's contemporaries were appearing on the list of nominees less and less frequently, while Pohl was stepping up his productivity.

Best Science Fiction Novel
Winner:
1.   The Integral Trees by Larry Niven

Other Nominees:
2.   Demon by John Varley
3.   Heechee Rendezvous by Frederik Pohl
4.   Stars In My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany
5.   Chanur's Venture by C.J. Cherryh
6.   Across the Sea of Suns by Gregory Benford
7.   West of Eden by Harry Harrison
8.   Neuromancer by William Gibson
9.   The Final Encyclopedia by Gordon R. Dickson
10. City of Sorcery by Marion Zimmer Bradley
11. Icehenge by Kim Stanley Robinson
12. The Peace War by Vernor Vinge
13. World's End by Joan D. Vinge
14. Clay's Ark by Octavia E. Butler
15. The Adversary by Julian May
16. The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson
17. Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert
18. Emergence by David R. Palmer
19. A Day for Damnation by David Gerrold
20. Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin
21. Green Eyes by Lucius Shepard
22. Free Live Free by Gene Wolfe
23. Star Rebel by F.M. Busby
24. Dr. Adder by K.W. Jeter
25. The Man Who Melted by Jack Dann
26. The Glamour by Christopher Priest
27. The Practice Effect by David Brin
28. Steam Bird by Hilbert Schenck
29. Them Bones by Howard Waldrop
30. Circumpolar! by Richard A. Lupoff

Best Fantasy Novel
Winner:
1.   Job: A Comedy of Justice by Robert A. Heinlein

Other Nominees:
2.   Damiano's Lute by R.A. MacAvoy
3.   Raphael by R.A. MacAvoy
4.   The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
5.   The Infinity Concerto by Greg Bear
6.   Gilgamesh the King by Robert Silverberg
7.   The Ladies of Mandrigyn by Barbara Hambly
8.   Enchanter's End Game by David Eddings
9.   The Businessman by Thomas M. Disch
10. Bearing an Hourglass by Piers Anthony
11. Crewel Lye: A Caustic Yarn by Piers Anthony
12. Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings
13. Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock
14. Who Made Stevie Crye? by Michael Bishop
15. Vampire Junction by S.P. Somtow
16. Cards of Grief by Jane Yolen
17. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
18. Maia by Richard Adams
19. Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
20. Brisingamen by Diana L. Paxson
21. Moonheart by Charles de Lint
22. The Third Book of Swords by Fred Saberhagen
23. Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
24. Half a Sky by R.A. Lafferty
25. The Ceremonies by T.E.D. Klein
26. The Bishop's Heir by Katherine Kurtz
27. The Beggar Queen by Lloyd Alexander

Best First Novel
Winner:
1.   The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson

Other Nominees:
2.   Neuromancer by William Gibson
3.   Emergence by David R. Palmer
4.   Green Eyes by Lucius Shepard
5.   Them Bones by Howard Waldrop
6.   Valentina: Soul in Sapphire by Joseph H. Delaney and Marc Stiegler
7.   The Riddle of the Wren by Charles de Lint
8.   The Ceremonies by T.E.D. Klein
9.   Frontera by Lewis Shiner
10. Procurator by Kirk Mitchell
11. Palimpsests by Carter Scholz and Glenn Harcourt
12. The Alchemists by Geary Gravel
13. The Game Beyond by Melissa Scott
14. Divine Endurance by Gwyneth Jones
15. Elleander Morning by Jerry Yulsman
16. Winter's Daughter by Charles Whitmore
17. Demon-4 by David Mace

Best Novella
Winner:
1.   PRESS ENTER[] by John Varley

Other Nominees:

2.   The Scapegoat by C.J. Cherryh

3.   The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet by Stephen King
4.   The Blister by Frederik Pohl
5.   A Traveler's Tale by Lucius Shepard
6.   Trinity by Nancy Kress
7.   Marrow Death by Michael Swanwick
8.   Young Doctor Eszterhazy by Avram Davidson
9.   The Sweet Sad Queen of the Grazing Isles by Frederik Pohl
10. In the Sumerian Marshes by Gerald Pearce
11. The Greening of Bed-Stuy by Frederik Pohl
12. The Unconquered Country by Geoff Ryman
13. Some Are Born Great by J.A. Lawrence
14. Cyclops by David Brin
15. Floodtide by Ben Bova

Best Novelette
Winner:
1.   Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler

Other Nominees:
2.   The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule by Lucius Shepard
3.   Blued Moon by Connie Willis
4.   The Lucky Strike by Kim Stanley Robinson
5.   With a Little Help From Her Friends by Michael Bishop
6.   The Kindly Isle by Frederik Pohl
7.   Silicon Muse by Hilbert Schenck
8.   Summer Solstice by Charles L. Harness
9.   Bad Medicine by Jack Dann
10. Black Coral by Lucius Shepard
11. Foreign Skins by Tanith Lee
12. Freedom Beach by John Kessel and James Patrick Kelly
13. Trojan Horse by Michael Swanwick
14. Draco, Draco by Tanith Lee
15. Demon Lover by M. Sargent MacKay
16. Promises to Keep by Jack McDevitt
17. Slowly, Slowly in the Wind by Rob Chilson
18. A Message to the King to Brobdingnag by Richard Cowper
19. Twilight Time by Lewis Shiner
20. Three Days by Tanith Lee
21. Another One Hits the Road by Pat Cadigan
22. Five Mercies by Michael Conner
23. We Remember Babylon by Ian Watson

Best Short Story
Winner:

1.   Salvador by Lucius Shepard

Other Nominees:

2.   The Crystal Spheres by David Brin

3.   The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything by George Alec Effinger
4.   A Cabin on the Coast by Gene Wolfe
5.   Bright Burning Tiger by Tanith Lee
6.   Ridge Running by Kim Stanley Robinson
7.   Criticality by Frederik Pohl
8.   Armageddon Between Sets by Edward Bryant
9.   The Map by Gene Wolfe
10. A Troll and Two Roses by Patricia A. McKillip
11. Tourist Trade by Robert Silverberg
12. Kitemaster by Keith Roberts
13. Dinner Party by Gardner Dozois
14. Sunken Gardens by Bruce Sterling
15. Bodies by Joanna Russ
16. Out of Time by Ben Bova
17. At the Embassy Club by Elizabeth A. Lynn
18. Fears by Pamela Sargent
19. New Rose Hotel by William Gibson
20. Heat of Fusion by John M. Ford
21. When the Music's Over. . . by Michael Swanwick
22. Morning Child by Gardner Dozois
23. The Affair by Robert Silverberg
24. The Gods in Flight by Brian W. Aldiss
25. Strangeness, Charm and Spin by Kate Wilhelm
26. The Eichmann Variations by George Zebrowski
27. On Cannon Beach by Marta Randall
28. Helpless, Helpless by Howard Waldrop
29. The Scent of Silverdill by Richard Cowper
30. Crow by James Patrick Kelly
31. Barking Dogs by Terence M. Green

Best Collection
Winner:

1.   The Ghost Light by Fritz Leiber

Other Nominees:
2.   Pohlstars by Frederik Pohl
3.   Tamastara by Tanith Lee
4.   Extra(ordinary) People by Joanna Russ
5.   One Winter in Eden by Michael Bishop
6.   The Years of the City by Frederik Pohl
7.   Daughter of Regals and Other Tales by Stephen R. Donaldson
8.   Rhialto the Marvelous by Jack Vance
9.   Utopia Hunters by Somtow Sucharitkul
10. Is That What People Do? by Robert Sheckley
11. Red Dreams by Dennis Etchison
12. The Fire When It Comes by Parke Godwin
13. Clive Barker's Books of Blood, Vols. I-III by Clive Barker
14. Seasons in Flight by Brian W. Aldiss
15. Viriconium Nights by M. John Harrison

16. Robots, Androids, and Mechanical Oddities: The Science Fiction of Philip K. Dick by Philip K. Dick

17. The Lunatics of Terra by John Sladek
18. Signs and Portents by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
19. The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party by Robert Silverberg
20. Watchers at the Strait Gate by Russell Kirk
21. The Opium General by Michael Moorcock

Best Anthology
Winner:

1.   Light Years and Dark edited by Michael Bishop

Other Nominees:
2.   Universe 14 edited by Terry Carr
3.   The Best Science Fiction of the Year #13 edited by Terry Carr
4.   The Year's Best Science Fiction: First Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois
5.   Wings of Omen edited by Robert Lynn Asprin and Lynn Abbey
6.   The 1984 Annual World's Best SF edited by Donald A. Wollheim with Arthur W. Saha
7.   Alien Stars edited by Elizabeth Mitchell
8.   Elsewhere, Vol. III edited by Terri Windling and Mark Alan Arnold
9.   Faery! edited by Terri Windling
10. Habitats edited by Susan Shwartz
11. (tie) The John W. Campbell Awards, Volume 5 edited by George R.R. Martin
      (tie) Shadows 7 edited by Charles L. Grant
13. More Magic edited by Larry Niven

14. Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories: 11 (1949) edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg

15. Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories: 12 (1950) edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg

16. Far Frontiers edited by Jerry Pournelle and Jim Baen
17. The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series XII edited by Karl Edward Wagner
18. Night Visions 1 edited by Alan Ryan
19. (tie) The Clarion Awards edited by Damon Knight
      (tie) Masques edited by J.N. Williamson
21. The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 10 edited by Arthur W. Saha
22. The Nebula Awards #19 edited by Marta Randall

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Book
Winner:

1.   Sleepless Nights in the Procrustean Bed by Harlan Ellison

Other Nominees:

2.   The Dune Encyclopedia edited by Dr. Willis E. McNelly

3.   The Faces of Science Fiction by Patti Perret
4.   An Atlas of Pern by Karen Wynn Fonstad
5.   Wonder's Child: My Life in Science Fiction by Jack Williamson
6.   Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction by David G. Hartwell
7.   Castles by David Day, art by Alan Lee
8.   A Separate Star by Frank Kelly Freas
9.   Philip K. Dick: In His Own Words by Gregg Rickman
10. Starboard Wine by Samuel R. Delany

11. Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections 1977-1983 by William G. Contento

12. The Science Fiction Source Book edited by David Wingrove
13. Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature (5 vol's) edited by Frank N. Magill
14. Concordance to Cordwainer Smith by Anthony R. Lewis
15. Two-Bit Culture: The Paperbacking of America by Kenneth C. Davis
16. Hallelujah Anyway by Patrick Woodroffe

Best Magazine or Fanzine
Winner:
1.   Locus

Other Nominees:
2.   Fantasy & Science Fiction
3.   Asimov's
4.   Analog
5.   Amazing Stories
6.   Science Fiction Review
7.   Omni
8.   Twilight Zone
9.   Science Fiction Chronicle
10. Interzone
11. Starlog
12. Fantasy Review
13. File 770
14. Fantasy Book
15. Whispers

Best Publisher
Winner:
1.   Ballantine/Del Rey

Other Nominees:
2.   Ace
3.   DAW
4.   Bantam
5.   Bluejay
6.   Tor
7.   Berkley/Putnam
8.   Baen
9.   Pocket/Timescape
10. Berkley/Ace
11. Underwood-Miller
12. Donald M. Grant
13. Scream/Press
14. Arkham House
15. Gollancz
16. Mark V. Ziesing
17. Phantasia
18. Doubleday

Best Artist
Winner:
1.   Michael Whelan

Other Nominees:
2.   Frank Kelly Freas
3.   Rowena Morrill
4.   Don Maitz
5.   Barclay Shaw
6.   Boris Vallejo
7.   Jim Burns
8.   Darrell Sweet
9.   Victoria Poyser
10. Carl Lundgren
11. James Gurney
12. Val Lakey Lindahn
13. David Mattingly
14. Alicia Austin
15. Stephen Fabian
16. J.K. Potter
17. Vincent Di Fate
18. Tom Kidd
19. Alan Lee
20. Phil Foglio

Go to previous year's nominees: 1984
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1986

Book Award Reviews     Home

1985 Mythopoeic Award Nominees

Location: Unknown.

Comments: In 1985, two things happened that were more or less unprecedented for the Mythopoeic Awards. First, 1985 appears to be the first year in which women didn't make up at least half of the total nominees. Second, this appears to be the first time that a work written by J.R.R. Tolkien was nominated but did not win. I'm not sure if the occurrence of either event is particularly significant, but it was the first time for either.

Best Adult Fantasy Literature

Winner:
Cards of Grief by Jane Yolen

Other Nominees:
The Book of Lost Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Damiano Trilogy (Damiano, Damiano's Lute, and Raphael) by R.A. MacAvoy

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
Moonheart by Charles de Lint

Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies

Winner:

Reason and Imagination in C.S. Lewis by Peter J. Schakel

Other Nominees:
None

Go to previous year's nominees: 1984
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1986

Book Award Reviews     Home

1985 Prometheus Award Nominees

Location: Unknown.

Comments: 1985 was the first, and as far as I know, only, year in which the Libertarian Futurist Society returned a "No Winner" result for any category of the Prometheus Awards.There doesn't appear to be any discernible reason for the lack of a winner, as there appear to have been several quite worthy nominees - Prometheus Award regulars L. Neil Smith and F. Paul Wilson both had books nominated, while Vernor Vinge, Lee Correy, and Gordon R. Dickson all had good books make the finalist list as well. Maybe the judges were too busy reminiscing over the Poul Anderson and Eric Frank Russell books that were selected for the Hall of Fame to spend any time judging the then-current entries for the Best Novel category.

Best Novel

Winner:

No Award

Other Nominees:

The Final Encyclopedia by Gordon R. Dickson

Manna by Lee Correy
The Peace War by Vernor Vinge
Tom Paine Maru by L. Neil Smith
The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson

Hall of Fame

Winner:

The Great Explosion by Eric Frank Russell

Trader to the Stars by Poul Anderson

Other Nominees:
None

Go to previous year's nominees: 1984
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1986

Book Award Reviews     Home

1985 Campbell Award Nominees

Location: Campbell Conference Awards Banquet at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.

Comments: 1985 is another year in which the Campbell Award result, in retrospect, seem wrong, mostly because we now know what a pervasive influence William Gibson's novel Neuromancer has had upon the field of science fiction. Essentially heralding the coming of age of the "cyberpunk" subgenre, Gibson's work inspired and shaped the way science fiction developed from the day it was published forward. It is now almost impossible to find a science fiction novel that doesn't draw upon the ideas found in Neuromancer. And yet, in 1985, it came in third in the Campbell Awards, behind two good novels that have simply not turned out to be turning points in the history of science fiction.

Best Novel

Winner:

The Years of the City by Frederik Pohl

Second Place:

Green Eyes by Lucius Shepard

Third Place:

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Go to previous year's nominees: 1984
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1986

Book Award Reviews     Home

1985 World Fantasy Nominees

Location: World Fantasy Convention, Tuscon, Arizona.

Comments: 1985 saw not one, but two different ties in the World Fantasy Awards, with Barry Hughart and Robert Holdstock sharing the award for Best Novel, and Alan Ryan and Scott Baker tying for Best Short Story. 1985 was also a good year for Clive Barker, who won in the Best Anthology or Collection category and garnered another nomination in the Best Novella category. This was also the year that the World Fantasy Awards finally got around to recognizing Theodore Sturgeon for his illustrious career.

But this year also seems like something of a step backwards. The only women who received nominations this year were Diane Wynne Jones and Shawna McCarthy. Evangeline Walton won the Special Convention Award, which I am happy to see, given that she's one of my favorite fantasy authors. But the fact remains that one win and two other nominations seems to me to be a rather thin representation for half of the human race.

Best Novel

Winner:
(tie) Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
(tie) Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock

Other Nominees:
Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones
The Ceremonies by T.E.D. Klein
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub

Best Novella

Winner:
The Unconquered Country by Geoff Ryman

Other Nominees:
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet by Stephen King
In the Sumerian Marshes by Gerald Pearce
Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament by Clive Barker
The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule by Lucius Shepard

Best Short Fiction

Winner:
(tie) The Bones Wizard by Alan Ryan
(tie) Still Life with Scorpion by Scott Baker

Other Nominees:
Bad Medicine by Jack Dann
Nightcrawlers by Robert R. McCammon

Best Anthology or Collection

Winner:
Clive Barker's Books of Blood, Volumes I-III by Clive Barker

Other Nominees:
The Fire When It Comes by Parke Godwin
Masques edited by J.N. Williamson
Night Visions 1 edited by Alan Ryan
The Songbirds of Pain by Garry Kilworth
Viriconium Nights by M. John Harrison

Lifetime Achievement

Winner:
Theodore Sturgeon

Other Nominees:
None

Best Artist

Winner:
Edward Gorey

Other Nominees:
Thomas Canty
Alan Lee
J.K. Potter
Michael Whelan

Special Award, Professional

Winner:
Chris van Allsburg

Other Nominees:
Robert H. Boyer and Kenneth J. Zahorski
T.E.D. Klein
Pat LoBrutto
Shawna McCarthy
Tim Underwood and Chuck Miller

Special Award, Non-Professional

Winner:
Stuart David Schiff

Other Nominees:
Jeff Conner
W. Paul Ganley
Paul Mikol and Scot Stadalsky

Special Convention Award

Winner:
Evangeline Walton

Other Nominees:
None

Go to previous year's nominees: 1984
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1986

Book Award Reviews     Home

1985 Hugo Award Finalists

Location: Aussiecon Two in Melbourne, Australia.

Comments: Cyberpunk crashed into the Hugo Awards in full force in 1985, with William Gibson's novel Neuromancer, the most famous, and probably the best example of the subgenre taking home the Best Novel prize. And not only did Gibson storm the gates of the Hugo establishment with his novel, he climbed over long time Hugo stalwarts Robert A. Heinlein and Larry Niven to get there.

This year's Best Dramatic Presentation field was an odd collection. With two light and fluffy comic pieces in Ghostbusters and The Last Starfighter, the bloated monstrosity of David Lynch's Dune, and the somewhat turgid 2010, the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, as competition, this seems like it should have been the year that Star Trek III: The Search for Spock broke through with a victory for Star Trek movies. But even though they embraced cyberpunk in the Best Novel category, Hugo voters are somewhat conservative, and they selected 2010 as the winner instead, probably as an homage to Arthur C. Clarke.

Best Novel

Winner:
Neuromancer by William Gibson

Other Finalists:
Emergence by David R. Palmer
The Integral Trees by Larry Niven
Job: A Comedy of Justice by Robert A. Heinlein
The Peace War by Vernor Vinge

Best Novella

Winner:

PRESS ENTER[] by John Varley

Other Finalists:
Cyclops by David Brin
Elemental by Geoffrey A. Landis
Summer Solstice by Charles L. Harness
Valentina by Joseph H. Delaney and Marc Stiegler

Best Novelette

Winner:

Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler

Other Finalists:
Blued Moon by Connie Willis
The Lucky Strike by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule by Lucius Shepard
Return to the Fold by Timothy Zahn
Silicon Muse by Hilbert Schenck
The Weigher by Eric Vinicoff and Marcia Martin

Best Short Story

Winner:

The Crystal Spheres by David Brin

Other Finalists:
The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything by George Alec Effinger
Ridge Running by Kim Stanley Robinson
Rory by Steven Gould
Salvador by Lucius Shepard
Symphony for a Lost Traveler by Lee Killough

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work

Winner:

Wonder's Child: My Life in Science Fiction by Jack Williamson

Other Finalists:
The Dune Encyclopedia edited by Dr. Willis E. McNelly
The Faces of Science Fiction by Patti Perret
In the Heart or in the Head: An Essay in Time Travel by George Turner
Sleepless Nights in the Procrustean Bed by Harlan Ellison

Best Dramatic Presentation

Winner:
2010

Other Finalists:
Dune
Ghostbusters
The Last Starfighter
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Best Professional Editor

Winner:
Terry Carr

Other Finalists:
Edward L. Ferman
Shawna McCarthy
Stanley Schmidt
George Scithers

Best Professional Artist

Winner:
Michael Whelan

Other Finalists:
Vincent Di Fate
Tom Kidd
Val Lakey Lindahn
Barclay Shaw

Best Semi-Prozine

Winner:

Locus edited by Charles N. Brown

Other Finalists:
Fantasy Review edited by Robert A. Collins
Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew I. Porter
Science Fiction Review edited by Richard E. Geis
Whispers edited by Stuart David Schiff

Best Fanzine

Winner:

File 770 edited by Mike Glyer

Other Finalists:
Ansible edited by Dave Langford
Holier Than Thou edited by Marty Cantor and Robbie Cantor
Mythologies edited by Don D'Ammassa
Rataplan edited by Leigh Edmonds

Best Fan Writer

Winner:

Dave Langford

Other Finalists:
Leigh Edmonds
Richard E. Geis
Mike Glyer
Arthur Hlavaty

Best Fan Artist

Winner:

Alexis Gilliland

Other Finalists:
Brad W. Foster
Steven Fox
Joan Hanke-Woods
William Rotsler
Stu Shiffman

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Winner:
Lucius Shepard

Other Finalists:
Bradley Denton
Geoffrey A. Landis
Elissa Malcohn
Ian McDonald
Melissa Scott

What Are the Hugo Awards?

Go to previous year's nominees: 1984
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1986

Book Award Reviews     Home

1985 Nebula Award Nominees

Location: Warwick Hotel, New York City, New York.

Comments: The cyberpunk subgenre arrived in force in 1985 with William Gibson's Neuromancer, a brilliant book that promptly won the Hugo Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Nebula Award. Meanwhile, in the short story category Gardner Dozois won for the second year in a row for his story Morning Child. Although Dozois has since come to be known mostly as an editor, his writing is also top notch, and it is kind of unfortunate that it has been so overshadowed by his editing.

But all was not rosy for the SFWA in 1985. The science fiction field seems to have been sliding backwards rather than forwards with respect to its treatment of women. After the shameful ballots of 1983 and 1984 in which only four nominees in each year were for works penned by female authors, 1985 was even worse, with only two nominations for stories written by women.

Best Novel

Winner:
Neuromancer by William Gibson

Other Nominees:
Frontera by Lewis Shiner
The Integral Trees by Larry Niven
Job: A Comedy of Justice by Robert A. Heinlein
The Man Who Melted by Jack Dann
The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson

Best Novella

Winner:

PRESS ENTER[] by John Varley

Other Nominees:
The Greening of Bed-Stuy by Frederik Pohl
Marrow Death by Michael Swanwick
A Traveler's Tale by Lucius Shepard
Trinity by Nancy Kress
Young Doctor Eszterhazy by Avram Davidson

Best Novelette

Winner:

Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler

Other Nominees:
Bad Medicine by Jack Dann
The Lucky Strike by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule by Lucius Shepard
Saint Theresa of the Aliens by James Patrick Kelly
Trojan Horse by Michael Swanwick

Best Short Story

Winner:
Morning Child by Gardner Dozois

Other Nominees:
The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything by George Alec Effinger
A Cabin on the Coast by Gene Wolfe
The Eichmann Variations by George Zebrowski
Salvador by Lucius Shepard
Sunken Gardens by Bruce Sterling

Go to previous year's nominees: 1984
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1986

Book Award Reviews     Home

1984 Locus Award Nominees

Location: Unknown.

Comments: One side effect of award lists is placing stories into context by lining them up with other, contemporaneous;y published stories. And sometimes, in comparison, stories don't seem to hold up all that well. As an example, I would contrast David Brin's Startide Rising, this year's Best Science Fiction novel winner with Norman Spinrad's The Void Captain's Tale, which appears in the same category a few places down the list. Startide Rising is pretty much eactly what I would expect of mid-1980s science fiction - a dynamic story of a discovery by the human and dolphin crew of the starship Streaker and the galactic upheaval that ensues. The Void Captain's Tale, on the other hand, seems like a novel from the early 1970s, replete with sexual politics that seem drawn directly from the 1960s. That these two novels were published in the same year seems almost impossible, and yet there they are.

Best Science Fiction Novel
Winner:
1.   Startide Rising by David Brin

Other Nominees:
2.   The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov
3.   Millennium by John Varley
4.   Helliconia Summer by Brian W. Aldiss
5.   The Void Captain's Tale by Norman Spinrad
6.   Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
7.   Thendara House by Marion Zimmer Bradley
8.   Against Infinity by Gregory Benford
9.   Orion Shall Rise by Poul Anderson
10. The Nonborn King by Julian May
11. Superluminal by Vonda N. McIntyre
12. Welcome, Chaos by Kate Wilhelm
13. The Crucible of Time by John Brunner
14. Worlds Apart by Joe Haldeman
15. Valentine Pontifex by Robert Silverberg
16. Gods of Riverworld by Philip José Farmer
17. The Citadel of the Autarch by Gene Wolfe
18. Forty Thousand in Gehenna by C.J. Cherryh
19. A Matter for Men by David Gerrold
20. The Birth of the People's Republic of Antarctica by John Calvin Batchelor
21. Wall Around a Star by Jack Williamson and Frederik Pohl
22. Golden Witchbreed by Mary Gentle
23. Broken Symmetries by Paul Preuss
24. Roderick at Random by John Sladek
25. There Is No Darkness by Joe Haldeman and Jack C. Haldeman II
26. Code of the Lifemaker by James P. Hogan
27. Tik-Tok by John Sladek
28. Transformer by M.A. Foster

Best Fantasy Novel
Winner:
1.   The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Other Nominees:
2.   The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
3.   The Armageddon Rag by George R.R. Martin
4.   Lyonesse by Jack Vance
5.   White Gold Wielder by Stephen R. Donaldson
6.   Christine by Stephen King
7.   Pet Sematary by Stephen King
8.   The Dreamstone by C.J. Cherryh
9.   Damiano by R.A. MacAvoy
10. Neveryóna by Samuel R. Delany
11. Dragon on a Pedestal by Piers Anthony
12. Hart's Hope by Orson Scott Card
13. (tie) Cugel's Saga by Jack Vance
      (tie) The Sword of Winter by Marta Randall
14. Tea with the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy
15. Magician's Gambit by David Eddings
16. The Tree of Swords and Jewels by C.J. Cherryh
17. On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony
18. Floating Dragon by Peter Straub
19. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
20. Anackire by Tanith Lee
21. The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford
22. Sung in Shadow by Tanith Lee
23. 'Ware Hawk! by Andre Norton
24. The Silent Gondoliers by S. Morgenstern
25. The Sword Is Forged by Evangeline Walton

Best First Novel
Winner:
1.   Tea with the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy

Other Nominees:
2.   The Blackcollar by Timothy Zahn
3.   A Rumor of Angels by M. Bradley Kellogg
4.   King's Blood Four by Sheri S. Tepper
5.   Starrigger by John DeChancie
6.   The Shadow of the Ship by Robert W. Franson
7.   Harpy's Flight by Megan Lindholm
8.   Anvil of the Heart by Bruce T. Holmes
9.   The Forest of App by Gloria Rand Dank
10. Ratha's Creature by Clare Bell

Best Novella
Winner:
1.   Her Habiline Husband by Michael Bishop

Other Nominees:

2.   Cascade Point by Timothy Zahn

3.   Seeking by David R. Palmer
4.   Homefaring by Robert Silverberg
5.   Hardfought by Greg Bear
6.   Hurricane Claude by Hilbert Schenck
7.   The Gospel According to Gamaliel Crucis by Michael Bishop
8.   The Lord of the Skies by Frederik Pohl
9.   The Curse of the Smalls and the Stars by Fritz Leiber
10. In the Face of My Enemy by Joseph H. Delaney
11. Gilpin's Space by Reginald Bretnor
12. Aquila Meets Bigfoot by Somtow Sucharitkul
13. Eszterhazy and the Autogóndola-Invention by Avram Davidson

Best Novelette
Winner:
1.   The Monkey Treatment by George R.R. Martin

Other Nominees:
2.   Black Air by Kim Stanley Robinson
3.   Slow Birds by Ian Watson
4.   Blood Music by Greg Bear
5.   Street Meat by Norman Spinrad
6.   The Sidon in the Mirror by Connie Willis
7.   Multiples by Robert Silverberg
8.   (tie) The Black Current by Ian Watson
      (tie) The Invasion of the Church of the Holy Ghost by Russell Kirk
10. The Final Report on the Lifeline Experiment by Timothy Zahn
11. The Monkey's Bride by Michael Bishop
12. The Mind of Medea by Kate Wilhelm
13. Blind Shemmy by Jack Dann
14. And the Marlin Spoke by Michael Bishop
15. Remembering Siri by Dan Simmons
16. Cicada Queen by Bruce Sterling
17. Into Whose Hands by Karl Edward Wagner
18. Belling Martha by Leigh Kennedy
19. Red Star, Winter Orbit by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson
20. (tie) In Whose Name Do We Seek the Quark? by Thomas Dulski
      (tie) Nunc Dimittis by Tanith Lee
      (tie) A Simple Case of Suicide by Marc Stiegler
23. The Hills Behind Hollywood High by Avram Davidson and Grania Davis
24. Deep Song by Reginald Bretnor
25. Life on the Tether by Mark Wheeler
26. A Day in the Life of Justin Argento Morrell by Greg Frost

Best Short Story
Winner:

1.   Beyond the Dead Reef by James Tiptree, Jr.

Other Nominees:

2.   The Peacemaker by Gardner Dozois

3.   Spending a Day at the Lottery Fair by Frederik Pohl
4.   Servant of the People by Frederik Pohl
5.   Speech Sounds by Octavia E. Butler
6.   Spook by Bruce Sterling
7.   The Geometry of Narrative by Hilbert Schenck
8.   Wong's Lost and Found Emporium by William F. Wu
9.   Her Furry Face by Leigh Kennedy
10. Brothers by Richard Cowper
11. Amanda and the Alien by Robert Silverberg
12. Solitario's Eyes by Lucius Shepard
13. Needle in a Timestack by Robert Silverberg
14. Stone Eggs by Kim Stanley Robinson
15. Golden Gate by R.A. Lafferty
16. Potential by Isaac Asimov
17. Man-Mountain Gentian by Howard Waldrop
18. La Ronde by Damon Knight
19. Revisions by Gordon Eklund
20. Basileus by Robert Silverberg
21. The Man Outside by O. Niemand
22. $CALLLINK4(CATHY) by Cherie Wilkerson

Best Single Author Collection
Winner:

1.   Unicorn Variations by Roger Zelazny

Other Nominees:
2.   Red as Blood by Tanith Lee
3.   The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke
4.   The Wind From a Burning Woman by Greg Bear
5.   The Zanzibar Cat by Joanna Russ
6.   Hoka! by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson
7.   The 57^th Franz Kafka by Rudy Rucker
8.   (tie) Midas World by Frederik Pohl
      (tie) The Saint-Germain Chronicles by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
10. The Worlds of H. Beam Piper by H. Beam Piper, edited by John F. Carr
11. Sector General by James White
12. The Winds of Change and Other Stories by Isaac Asimov
13. Time Patrolman by Poul Anderson
14. Ringing Changes by R.A. Lafferty
15. Golden Gate and Other Stories by R.A. Lafferty
16. Fire from the Wine-Dark Sea by Somtow Sucharitkul

Best Anthology
Winner:

1.   The Best Science Fiction of the Year #12 edited by Terry Carr

Other Nominees:
2.   The Face of Chaos edited by Robert Lynn Asprin and Lynn Abbey
3.   Universe 13 edited by Terry Carr

4.   The 1983 Annual World's Best SF edited by Donald A. Wollheim with Arthur W. Saha

5.   Whispers IV edited by Stuart David Schiff
6.   Heroic Visions edited by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
7.   Magic for Sale edited by Avram Davidson
8.   Changes edited by Michael Bishop and Ian Watson
9.   Shadows 6 edited by Charles L. Grant

10. Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories: 10 (1948) edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg

11. Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories: 9 (1947) edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg

12. New Worlds edited by Michael Moorcock

13. The Arbor House Treasury of Science Fiction Masterpieces edited by Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg

14. The Fantasy Hall of Fame edited by Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg

15. The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 9 edited by Arthur W. Saha
16. Nebula Award Stories 17 edited by Joe Haldeman
17. The Nebula Awards #18 edited by Robert Silverberg

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Book
Winner:

1.   Dream Makers, Volume II by Charles Platt

Other Nominees:

2.   The High Kings by Joy Chant

3.   The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Vol. 3 by Donald H. Tuck
4.   The Fantastic Art of Rowena by Rowena Morrill
5.   Staying Alive: A Writer's Guide by Norman Spinrad

6.   Worlds Beyond: The Art of Chesley Bonestell by Frederick C. Durant III and Ron Miller; art by Chesley Bonestell

7.   Philip K. Dick edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander
8.   Amber Dreams: A Roger Zelazny Bibliography by Daniel J.H. Levack
9.   The Science Fiction Book of Lists by Maxim Jakubowski and Malcolm Edwards
10. The Guide to Supernatural Fiction by Everett F. Bleiler

11. Uranian Worlds: A Reader's Guide to Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction and Fantasy by Eric Garber and Lyn Paleo

12. De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography by Charlotte Laughlin and Daniel J.H. Levack

13. The Entropy Exhibition: Michael Moorcock and the British 'New Wave' in Science Fiction by Colin Greenland

Best Magazine
Winner:
1.   Locus

Other Nominees:
2.   Fantasy & Science Fiction
3.   Analog
4.   Asimov's
5.   Amazing Stories
6.   Omni
7.   Science Fiction Review
8.   Twilight Zone
9.   Science Fiction Chronicle
10. Starlog
11. Fantasy Newsletter/Fantasy Review
12. Whispers
13. File 770
14. Fantasy Book
15. Interzone

Best Publisher
Winner:
1.   Ballantine/Del Rey

Other Nominees:
2.   Pocket/Timescape
3.   DAW
4.   Ace
5.   Berkley
6.   Bantam
7.   Tor
8.   Doubleday
9.   Underwood-Miller
10. Donald M. Grant
11. Phantasia
12. Science Fiction Book Club
13. Atheneum
14. Arkham House
15. Houghton Mifflin

Best Artist
Winner:
1.   Michael Whelan

Other Nominees:
2.   Rowena Morrill
3.   Don Maitz
4.   Barclay Shaw
5.   Boris Vallejo
6.   Darrell Sweet
7.   Victoria Poyser
8.   Val Lakey Lindahn
9.   Frank Kelly Freas
10. Carl Lundgren
11. Alicia Austin
12. Vincent Di Fate
13. Jim Burns
14. David Mattingly
15. Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon
16. Stephen Fabian
17. Frank Frazetta
18. Tom Kidd
19. Phil Foglio
20. (tie) Alexis Gilliland
      (tie) Kevin Johnson

Go to previous year's nominees: 1983
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1985

Book Award Reviews     Home

1984 Campbell Award Nominees

Location: Campbell Conference Awards Banquet at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.

Comments: In 1984, the Campbell Award judges rectified their previous error by handing the Best Novel award to Gene Wolfe's Citadel of the Autarch, the stellar concluding volume of the magnificent Urth of the New Sun series. It seems almost criminal that the Campbell Award judges gave so little attention to the previous books in the series, with only Shadow of the Torturer getting any recognition at all, but at least they recognized the quality of Wolfe's achievement in the end.

Best Novel

Winner:

The Citadel of the Autarch by Gene Wolfe

Second Place:

The Birth of the People's Republic of Antarctica by John Calvin Batchelor

Third Place:

Tik-Tok by John Sladek

Go to previous year's nominees: 1983
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1985

Book Award Reviews     Home