1998 Hugo Award Finalists

Location: BucConeer in Baltimore, Maryland.

Comments: Although Joe Haldeman's Best Novel winning Forever Peace sounds like it should be a sequel to his Hugo-Award winning The Forever War, it is an entirely different story, with entirely different characters. However, like Haldeman's earlier book, Forever Peace is a thoughtful and devastating examination of the consequences of war in a future more technologically advanced age.

The one category in this year that I have a quibble with is the Best Dramatic Presentation award. While it was probably inevitable that the movie Contact would win, given its big budget production and the fact that it was based upon a book written by the deservedly well-respected Carl Sagan, it seems criminal that Babylon 5 didn't even get a single nomination for any of the episodes of its stellar fourth season. Among great episodes like Falling Toward Apotheosis, Into the Fire, Intersections in Real Time, and Endgame, certainly there was one that deserved at least a slight nod. But no, the voters had to reward Veerhoeven's execrable treatment of Starship Troopers and the airy fluff of Men in Black instead. There is no justice in the world.

Best Novel

Winner:
Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman

Other Finalists:
City on Fire by Walter Jon Williams
Frameshift by Robert J. Sawyer
Jack Faust by Michael Swanwick
The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons

Best Novella

Winner:

. . . Where Angels Fear to Tread by Allen M. Steele

Other Finalists:
Ecopoiesis by Geoffrey A. Landis
The Funeral March of the Marionettes by Adam-Troy Castro
Loose Ends by Paul Levinson
Marrow by Robert Reed

Best Novelette

Winner:

We Will Drink a Fish Together . . . by Bill Johnson

Other Finalists:
Broken Symmetry by Michael A. Burstein
Moon Six by Stephen Baxter

Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream by James Alan Gardner

The Undiscovered by William Sanders

Best Short Story

Winner:

The 43 Antarean Dynasties by Mike Resnick

Other Finalists:
Beluthahatchie by Andy Duncan
The Hand You're Dealt by Robert J. Sawyer
Itsy Bitsy Spider by James Patrick Kelly
No Planets Strike by Gene Wolfe
Standing Room Only by Karen Joy Fowler

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work

Winner:

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy edited by John Clute and John Grant

Other Finalists:
Infinite Worlds: The Fantastic Visions of Science Fiction Art by Vincent Di Fate

Reflections and Refractions: Thoughts on Science-Fiction, Science, and Other Matters by Robert Silverberg

Space Travel by Ben Bova with Anthony R. Lewis

Spectrum 4: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner, with Jim Loehr

Best Dramatic Presentation

Winner:
Contact

Other Finalists:
The Fifth Element
Gattaca
Men in Black
Starship Troopers

Best Professional Editor

Winner:
Gardner Dozois

Other Finalists:
Scott Edelman
David G. Hartwell
Stanley Schmidt
Gordon van Gelder

Best Professional Artist

Winner:
Bob Eggleton

Other Finalists:
Jim Burns
Thomas Canty
David A. Cherry
Don Maitz
Michael Whelan

Best Semi-Prozine

Winner:

Locus edited by Charles N. Brown

Other Finalists:
Interzone edited by David Pringle

The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer, Ariel Haméon, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin Maroney

Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew I. Porter
Speculations edited by Kent Brewster and Denise Lee

Best Fanzine

Winner:

Mimosa edited by Dick Lynch and Nicki Lynch

Other Finalists:
Ansible edited by Dave Langford
Attitude edited by Michael Abbott, John Dallman, and Pam Wells
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
Tangent edited by David Truesdale

Best Fan Writer

Winner:

Dave Langford

Other Finalists:
Bob Devney
Mike Glyer
Andy Hooper
Evelyn C. Leeper
Joseph T. Major

Best Fan Artist

Winner:

Joe Mayhew

Other Finalists:
Brad W. Foster
Ian Gunn
Teddy Harvia
Peggy Ranson

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Winner:
Mary Doria Russell

Other Finalists:
Raphael Carter
Andy Duncan
Richard Garfinkle
Susan R. Matthews

What Are the Hugo Awards?

Go to previous year's finalists: 1997
Go to subsequent year's finalists: 1999

Book Award Reviews     Home

1998 Locus Award Nominees

Location: Westercon in San Diego, California.

Comments: Science fiction readers are, I think more than the fans of any other genre, lovers of the history of the genre. As evidence of this, I point to the 1998 nominees for Best Collection. The winner in the category was a collection by Harlan Ellison, an author who started his career in the 1960s. Closely behind Ellison were collections by Alfred Bester and Theodore Sturgeon, both of whom had been at their most prolific in the 1950s. Also on the list was a collection of the works of Cyril M. Kornbluth, an author who died in 1958. I don't know if avid readers of other fiction genres so eagerly snap up and consume the works of authors forty or fifty years after it was first produced, or honor such works with awards at such a time distance either, but I doubt they do.

It seems odd to me, however, that science fiction readers seem so fond of nostalgia. One would think that people who consume fiction that looks to the future would also look forward instead of back, but that seems not to be the case. If you ask a science fiction fan to recommend a book, they are likely to suggest something that was first published forty or fifty years ago, and even requests for recent recommendation often results in a suggestion that is twenty or more years old.

Best Science Fiction Novel
Winner:
1.   The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons

Other Nominees:
2.   Antarctica by Kim Stanley Robinson
3.   Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman

4.   Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman by Walter M. Miller, Jr. with Terry Bisson

5.   Finity's End by C.J. Cherryh
6.   / Slant by Greg Bear
7.   Diaspora by Greg Egan
8.   Fool's War by Sarah Zettel
9.   Titan by Stephen Baxter
10. 3001: The Final Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
11. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton
12. God's Fires by Patricia Anthony
13. Corrupting Dr. Nice by John Kessel
14. Destiny's Road by Larry Niven
15. Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt
16. The Black Sun by Jack Williamson
17. The Family Tree by Sheri S. Tepper
18. Glimmering by Elizabeth Hand
19. Secret Passages by Paul Preuss
20. The Fleet of Stars by Poul Anderson
21. Mississippi Blues by Kathleen Ann Goonan
22. The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh
23. (tie) Dreaming Metal by Melissa Scott
      (tie) Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Charles Sheffield
25. The Dazzle of Day by Molly Gloss
26. Once a Hero by Elizabeth Moon
27. Einstein's Bridge by John Cramer
28. Deception Well by Linda Nagata

Best Fantasy Novel
Winner:
1.   Earthquake Weather by Tim Powers

Other Nominees:
2.   Jack Faust by Michael Swanwick
3.   City on Fire by Walter Jon Williams
4.   The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
5.   Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb
6.   The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntyre
7.   Freedom & Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull
8.   Trader by Charles de Lint
9.   The Gift by Patrick O'Leary
10. Winter Tides by James P. Blaylock
11. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
12. Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
13. Dogland by Will Shetterly
14. King's Dragon by Kate Elliott
15. Lord of the Isles by David Drake
16. Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn by Robert Holdstock
17. Running with the Demon by Terry Brooks
18. The Mines of Behemoth by Michael Shea
19. My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due
20. The Night Watch by Sean Stewart
21. The Stars Dispose by Michaela Roessner
22. The Blackgod by J. Gregory Keyes

Best First Novel
Winner:
1.    The Great Wheel by Ian R. MacLeod

Other Nominees:
2.   Expendable by James Alan Gardner
3.   Black Wine by Candas Jane Dorsey
4.   An Exchange of Hostages by Susan R. Matthews
5.   Mars Underground by William K. Hartmann
6.   The Art of Arrow Cutting by Stephen Dedman
7.   The Merro Tree by Katie Waitman
8.   Lightpaths by Howard V. Hendrix
9.   A Thousand Words for Stranger by Julie E. Czerneda
10. Waking Beauty by Paul Witcover
11. The Troika by Stepan Chapman
12. The Stone Prince by Fiona Patton
13. Lives of the Monster Dogs by Kirsten Bakis
14. Iron Dawn by Matthew Woodring Stover
15. The Seventh Heart by Marina Fitch
16. The Seraphim Rising by Elisabeth DeVos

Best Novella
Winner:
1.   . . . Where Angels Fear to Tread by Allen M. Steele

Other Nominees:

2.   Giant Bones by Peter S. Beagle

3.   The Dealings of Daniel Kesserich by Fritz Leiber
4.   Everything's Eventual by Stephen King
5.   Marrow by Robert Reed
6.   The Golden Keeper by Ian R. MacLeod
7.   The Vampire's Beautiful Daughter by S.P. Somtow
8.   Ecopoiesis by Geoffrey A. Landis
9.   A Cold Dry Cradle by Gregory Benford and Elisabeth Malartre
10. Messengers of Chaos by G. David Nordley
11. Quinn's Deal by L. Timmel Duchamp
12. The Black Blood of the Dead by Brian Stableford
13. Coppola's Dracula by Kim Newman
14. In the Furnace of the Night by James Sarafin
15. The Veil of Snows by Mark Helprin
16. The Funeral March of the Marionettes by Adam-Troy Castro
17. Briar Rose by Robert Coover
18. Izzy and the Father of Terror by Eliot Fintushel

Best Novelette
Winner:
1.   Newsletter by Connie Willis

Other Nominees:
2.   Moon Six by Stephen Baxter
3.   Lethe by Walter Jon Williams
4.   Galaxia by Gregory Benford
5.   Reasons to be Cheerful by Greg Egan
6.   Julie's Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
7.   Mother Grasshopper by Michael Swanwick
8.   We Will Drink a Fish Together . . . by Bill Johnson
9.   The Pipes of Pan by Brian Stableford
10. Escape Route by Peter F. Hamilton
11. Echoes by Alan Brennert
12. Beauty in the Night by Robert Silverberg
13. Blood and Judgment by John Brunner
14. Second Skin by Paul J. McAuley

15. Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream by James Alan Gardner

16. London Bone by Michael Moorcock
17. The Dragons of Springplace by Robert Reed
18. El Castillo de la Perseverancia by Howard Waldrop
19. After Kerry by Ian McDonald
20. On the Ice Islands by Gregory Feeley
21. The Undiscovered by William Sanders
22. Quinn's Way by Dale Bailey
23. The Botanist by Mary Rosenblum
24. Crossing Chao Meng Fu by G. David Nordley
25. Residuals by Paul J. McAuley and Kim Newman

Best Short Story
Winner:

1.   Itsy Bitsy Spider by James Patrick Kelly

Other Nominees:

2.   Scientifiction by Howard Waldrop

3.   Zemlya by Stephen Baxter
4.   The 43 Antarean Dynasties by Mike Resnick
5.   Get a Grip by Paul Park
6.   The Wisdom of Old Earth by Michael Swanwick
7.   On the Inside by Robert Silverberg
8.   No Planets Strike by Gene Wolfe
9.   Always True to Thee, in My Fashion by Nancy Kress
10. Standing Room Only by Karen Joy Fowler
11. The Hand You're Dealt by Robert J. Sawyer
12. Glass Earth Inc. by Stephen Baxter
13. Winter Fire by Geoffrey A. Landis
14. Gulliver at Home by John Kessel
15. An Office Romance by Terry Bisson
16. The Heart of Whitenesse by Howard Waldrop
17. Flash Company by Gene Wolfe
18. Orphanogenesis by Greg Egan
19. Booming Ice by Robert Reed

Best Collection
Winner:

1.   Slippage by Harlan Ellison

Other Nominees:

2.   His Share of Glory: The Complete Short Science Fiction of C.M. Kornbluth by Cyril M. Kornbluth

3.   Axiomatic by Greg Egan
4.   Virtual Unrealities by Alfred Bester
5.   Think Like a Dinosaur and Other Stories by James Patrick Kelly

6.   Thunder and Roses: Volume IV: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon by Theodore Sturgeon, edited by Paul Williams

7.   Giant Bones by Peter S. Beagle
8.   Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter
9.   Going Home Again by Howard Waldrop
10. The Pure Product by John Kessel
11. Barnacle Bill the Spacer and Other Stories by Lucius Shepard
12. The Forest of Time and Other Stories by Michael F. Flynn
13. A Geography of Unknown Lands by Michael Swanwick
14. Back in the U.S.S.A. by Eugene Byrne and Kim Newman

15. The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances by Peter S. Beagle

16. Exorcisms and Ecstasies by Karl Edward Wagner
17. (tie) The Arbitrary Placement of Walls by Martha Soukup
      (tie) Voyages by Starlight by Ian R. MacLeod
19. Eating Memories by Patricia Anthony
20. Fractal Paisleys by Paul Di Filippo
21. Fabulous Harbours by Michael Moorcock

Best Anthology
Winner:

1.   The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fourteenth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois

Other Nominees:

2.   The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Tenth Annual Collection edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

3.   Year's Best SF 2 edited by David G. Hartwell
4.   The Science Fiction Century edited by David G. Hartwell
5.   Millennium (aka Revelations) edited by Douglas E. Winter
6.   The Best of Interzone edited by David Pringle
7.   Black Swan, White Raven edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

8.   The Horns of Elfland edited by Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, and Donald G. Keller

9.   Nebula Awards 31 edited by Pamela Sargent
10. New Worlds edited by David Garnett
11. Bending the Landscape: Fantasy edited by Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel
12. Love in Vein II edited by Poppy Z. Brite and Martin H. Greenberg

13. The New Hugo Winners Volume IV edited by Gregory Benford and Martin H. Greenberg

14. Dying For It edited by Gardner Dozois

15. Black Mist and Other Japanese Futures edited by Orson Scott Card and Keith Ferrell

16. Modern Classics of Fantasy edited by Gardner Dozois
17. A Century of Science Fiction, 1950-1959 edited by Robert Silverberg

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Book
Winner:

1.   The Encyclopedia of Fantasy edited by John Clute and John Grant

Other Nominees:

2.   Reflections and Refractions: Thoughts on Science-Fiction, Science, and Other Matters by Robert Silverberg

3.   Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction, Revised Edition by James E. Gunn

4.   Outposts: Literatures of Milieux by Algis Budrys
5.   St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers edited by David Pringle
6.   Bram Stoker's Dracula edited by Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal
7.   Science Fiction After 1900: From the Steam Man to the Stars by Brooks Landon
8.   Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales, Children, and the Culture Industry by Jack Zipes
9.   A Subtler Magick: The Writings and Philosopy of H.P. Lovecraft by S.T. Joshi
10. Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index: 1992-1995 edited by Hal W. Hall

Best Art Book
Winner:

1.   Infinite Worlds: The Fantastic Visions of Science Fiction Art by Vincent Di Fate

Other Nominees:

2.   Spectrum 4: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner with Jim Loehr

3.   Something in My Eye: Excursions into Fear by Michael Whelan; edited by Arnie Fenner and Cathy Fenner

4.   "Repent Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellison, illustrated by Rick Berry

5.   www HRGiger com by H.R. Giger

6.   The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass by Stephen King, illustrated by Dave McKean

7.   (tie) A Treasury of Great Children's Book Illustrators by Susan E. Meyer
      (tie) The Veil of Snows by Mark Helprin, illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

Best Editor
Winner:
1.   Gardner Dozois

Other Nominees:
2.   David G. Hartwell
3.   Gordon van Gelder
4.   Ellen Datlow
5.   Stanley Schmidt
6.   David Pringle
7.   Scott Edelman
8.   Patrick Nielsen Hayden
9.   Martin H. Greenberg
10. Terri Windling
11. Kristine Kathryn Rusch
12. Shawna McCarthy

Best Magazine
Winner:
1.   Asimov's

Other Nominees:
2.   Fantasy & Science Fiction
3.   Science Fiction Age
4.   Analog
5.   Interzone
6.   Realms of Fantasy
7.   The New York Review of Science Fiction
8.   Science Fiction Chronicle

Best Publisher
Winner:
1.   Tor/St. Martin's

Other Nominees:
2.   Bantam/Dell
3.   HarperCollins (U.S.)
4.   Putnam/Ace
5.   Random House/Del Rey
6.   Baen
7.   Avon/Morrow
8.   DAW
9.   Penguin/Roc
10. Warner
11. White Wolf
12. Mark V. Ziesing
13. NESFA Press

Best Artist
Winner:
1.   Michael Whelan

Other Nominees:
2.   Bob Eggleton
3.   Vincent Di Fate
4.   Thomas Canty
5.   (tie) H.R. Giger
      (tie) Don Maitz
7.   Jim Burns
8.   Rick Berry
9.   Dave McKean

Go to previous year's nominees: 1997
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1999

Book Award Reviews     Home

1998 Nebula Award Nominees

Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Comments: The 1998 Nebula awards are more notable for who didn't win the Best Novel Award than for who did. Vonda N. McIntyre won for her excellent novel The Moon and the Sun, but sitting on the list of losing nominees is George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. Now, A Game of Thrones isn't the first book from a wildly popular series to lose an award, but looking back at this list it seems almost funny that it wasn't the winner, just because given the acclaim that the series has since garnered, one would assume that it had. It is also interesting to see how long ago this was: books eligible for this cycle of the Nebula Awards were published in 1997. That's sixteen years ago, and Martin just recently published volume five in the series for an average pace of less than one book every three years.

However, the 1998 Nebula awards were interesting for a happier although not entirely untarnished reason: writing by women seems to have been getting recognized more regularly in more recent years. Three of the four Nebula Awards went to works written by women, although only nine total entries were. This is a better situation, but not ideal, since the implication is that women could get on the ballot if their work is truly superior - resulting in the high winning percentage among female authors - but the bar for a woman to get on the ballot was still higher than it was for men.

Best Novel

Winner:
The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntyre

Other Nominees:
Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt
Bellwether by Connie Willis
City on Fire by Walter Jon Williams
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
King's Dragon by Kate Elliott
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold

Best Novella

Winner:

Abandon in Place by Jerry Oltion

Other Nominees:
. . . Where Angels Fear to Tread by Allen M. Steele
Chrysalis by Robert Reed
The Funeral March of the Marionettes by Adam-Troy Castro
Loose Ends by Paul Levinson
Primrose and Thorn by Bud Sparhawk

Best Novelette

Winner:

The Flowers of Aulit Prison by Nancy Kress

Other Nominees:
The Copyright Notice Case by Paul Levinson
The Dog's Story by Eleanor Arnason
The Miracle of Ivar Avenue by John Kessel

Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream by James Alan Gardner

The Undiscovered by William Sanders
We Will Drink a Fish Together . . . by Bill Johnson

Best Short Story

Winner:
Sister Emily's Lightship by Jane Yolen

Other Nominees:
Burning Bright by K.D. Wentworth
The Crab Lice by Gregory Feeley
The Dead by Michael Swanwick
The Elizabeth Complex by Karen Joy Fowler
Itsy Bitsy Spider by James Patrick Kelly

Go to previous year's nominees: 1997
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1999

Book Award Reviews     Home

1997 Mythopoeic Award Nominees

Location: Unknown.

Comments: For no real apparent reason, in 1997 the Mythopoeic Awards temporarily merged the Best Children's Fantasy Literature category with the Best Adult Fantasy Literature category. There doesn't seem to have been any particular shortage of fantasy literature published in 1997 that would have spurred such a change, but all the same the Mythopoeic Society seems to have decided that having two categories was just too much trouble for this year, and condensed them into a single one.

The other unusual element of the 1997 Mythopoeic Awards is that the Inklings Studies category was won by a book about Charles Williams, breaking the long string of wins by books about Tolkien and Lewis. This year was sort of a high-water mark for non-Lewis and Tolkien books, as one of the three non-winning nominees was also about Williams.

Best Adult Fantasy Literature

Winner:
The Wood Wife by Terri Windling

Other Nominees:

The Book of the Long Sun (Nightside of the Long Sun, Lake of the Long Sun, Caldé of the Long Sun, and Exodus from the Long Sun) by Gene Wolfe

Fair Peril by Nancy Springer
One for the Morning Glory by John Barnes
Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip

Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies

Winner:

The Rhetoric of Vision: Essays on Charles Williams edited by Charles A. Huttar and Peter Schakel

Other Nominees:
C.S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide by Walter Hooper
Charles Williams: A Celebration edited by Brian Horne
The Hobbit: A Journey Into Maturity by William H. Green

Myth and Fantasy Studies

Winner:

When Toys Come Alive: Narratives of Animation, Metamorphosis, and Development by Lois Rostow Kuznets

Other Nominees:

Lord Dunsany: Master of the Anglo-Irish Imagination by S.T. Joshi

The Supernatural and English Fiction by Glen Cavaliero

The Water of the Wondrous Isles edited by William Morris with notes by Norman Talbot

Go to previous year's nominees: 1996
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1998

Book Award Reviews     Home

1997 Prometheus Award Nominees

Location: Unknown.

Comments: In 1997 the Libertarian Futurist Society continued their idolization of Robert A. Heinlein by inducting fourth of his novels overall and the second one in two years into their Hall of Fame. This seems appropriate, as many of Heinlein's novel display something of a libertarian streak. But as more and more of Heinlein's novels are inducted into the Prometheus Awards' Hall of Fame, it becomes increasingly apparent just how much the subgenre of "libertarian science fiction" is defined by Heinlein's work - to the extent that what many people consider "libertarian science fiction" to be is "what Robert A. Heinlein wrote", despite the fact that this would be a terribly flawed definition.

Best Novel

Winner:

Kings of the High Frontier by Victor Koman

Other Nominees:

Firestar by Michael F. Flynn

Paths to Otherwhere by James P. Hogan
Sliders by Brad Linaweaver
Wildside by Steven Gould

Hall of Fame

Winner:

Methuselah's Children by Robert A. Heinlein

Other Nominees:
Emphyrio by Jack Vance
Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper
Oath of Fealty by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
A Planet for Texans (aka Lonestar Planet) by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire

Go to previous year's nominees: 1996
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1998

Book Award Reviews     Home

1997 World Fantasy Award Nominees

Location: World Fantasy Convention, London, United Kingdom.

Comments: 1997 is a year that is interesting not because of who won, but rather because of who didn't win. Specifically, George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones lost in the Best Novel category to Rachel Pollack's Godmother Night. Given the popularity of Martin's series now, it seems almost inconceivable that it would not have won the Best Novel Award when it was published, but this reminds us that things that become heralded later are sometimes not regarded with quite as much adoration when they first hit the market. And the comparative current obscurity of Rachel Pollack's novel reminds us that sometimes things that are strong examples of a genre are not remembered as well as they should be.

On an entirely unrelated note, in 1997 the World Fantasy Awards dusted off the category of Special Convention Award and bestowed it upon Hugh. B. Cave. This award is in recognition of "peerless contributions to the fantasy genre", and had not been awarded since 1987, and has not been awarded since. Although Cave seems like a worthy recipient, it seems odd that the judges would pull this award out of mothballs to hand it to him rather than simply giving him a Lifetime Achievement Award, for which he also would have been well-qualified.

Best Novel

Winner:
Godmother Night by Rachel Pollack

Other Nominees:
The 37^th Mandala by Marc Laidlaw
The Bear Went Over the Mountain by William Kotzwinkle
Devil's Tower by Mark Sumner
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott
Shadow of Ashland by Terence M. Green

Best Novella

Winner:
A City in Winter by Mark Helprin

Other Nominees:
Beauty and the Opéra or The Phantom Beast by Suzy McKee Charnas
Blood of the Dragon by George R.R. Martin
GI Jesus by Susan Palwick
Hell Hath Enlarged Herself by Michael Marshall Smith

Best Short Fiction

Winner:
Thirteen Phantasms by James P. Blaylock

Other Nominees:
The Dead Cop by Dennis Etchison
Underbed by Graham Masterton

Best Anthology

Winner:

Starlight 1 edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Other Nominees:
Dark Terrors 2 edited by Stephen Jones and David Sutton
The Shimmering Door edited by Katharine Kerr and Martin H. Greenberg

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Ninth Annual Collection edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Best Collection

Winner:

The Wall of the Sky, the Wall of the Eye by Jonathan Lethem

Other Nominees:
Bad Intentions by Norman Partridge
Bible Stories for Adults by James Morrow
Conference with the Dead by Terry Lamsley
Midnight Promises by Richard T. Chizmar
The Nightmare Factory by Thomas Ligotti
The Pavilion of Frozen Women by S.P. Somtow

Lifetime Achievement

Winner:
Madeleine L'Engle

Other Nominees:
None

Best Artist

Winner:
Moebius (aka Jean Girard)

Other Nominees:
Thomas Canty
H.R. Giger
J.K. Potter

Special Award, Professional

Winner:
Michael J. Weldon

Other Nominees:
Diana Wynne Jones
Stephen Jones
David Pringle
Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Special Award, Non-Professional

Winner:
Barbara Roden and Christopher Roden

Other Nominees:
Fedogan & Bremer
Paula Guran

Special Convention Award

Winner:
Hugh B. Cave

Other Nominees:
None

Go to previous year's nominees: 1996
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1998

Book Award Reviews     Home

1997 Clarke Award Nominees

Location: United Kingdom.

Comments: Time and again the Clarke Awards have made other genre awards look bad through the simple expedient of actually regarding women as half of the human race and selecting nominees and winners on that basis. And in 1997, the Clarke Award once again made other genre awards look bad by recognizing the existence of science fiction written by non-white authors, handing the award to The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh. While other awards were still exclusionary clubs dominated by white male writers, the Clarke Awards were busy handing out half of their awards to women, and now, handing awards to the superlative fiction being written by people with darker skin tones.

Winner
The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh

Shortlist
Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt
Gibbon's Decline and Fall by Sheri S. Tepper
Looking for the Mahdi by N. Lee Wood
Voyage by Stephen Baxter

What Are the Arthur C. Clarke Awards?

Go to previous year's nominees: 1996
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1998

Book Award Reviews     Home

1997 Campbell Award Nominees

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

Comments: Coming in third in 1997, behind McAuley's Fairyland and Robinson's Blue Mars, was Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow, one of the very few books by women that had even been nominated for the award. Whenever I need to be reminded of the pervasive sexism in the science fiction community, I need look no further than the history of its awards. By 1997, the Campbell Awards had been a going concern for twenty-four years. And in that time, only two women had won the award. Twenty-two men had earned the top honor compared with just a single pair of women. And a female nominee was almost as rare as a female victor. I'm sure that the panels of judges were not consciously discriminating against fiction by women, but the institutional bias is readily apparent.

Best Novel

Winner:

Fairyland by Paul J. McAuley

Second Place:

Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

Third Place:

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Go to previous year's nominees: 1996
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1998

Book Award Reviews     Home

1997 Hugo Award Finalists

Location: LoneStarCon 2 in San Antonio, Texas.

Comments: I think 1997 wins the award for the winning entry with the longest title, as Connie Willis' The Soul Selects Her Own Society: Invasion and Repulsion: A Chronological Reinterpretation of Two of Emily Dickinson's Poems: A Wellsian Perspective took home the prize for Best Short Story.

1997 was also the year that the final book in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy won the award for Best Novel. An interesting note to this victory is that although the first book in the series, Red Mars, didn't win a Hugo award, the second and third books, Green Mars and Blue Mars, both did.

Also in 1997, Babylon 5 earned its second Hugo Award, this time for the stunningly brilliant episode Severed Dreams. Personally, I would have picked the two part story War Without End as the best of that season, but if they did that, the Hugo voters would have had to confront the fact that they ignored Babylon Squared and the rest of the first season of the series. And one could also make a case for the excellent episodes And the Rock Cried Out No Hiding Place and Zha'ha'dum. Given the overall strength of the third season of Babylon 5, one could list several more worthy episodes too and all would have been good choices, which makes it odd that only one was nominated. As a side note, Babylon 5's win this year meant that the show beat out not one, but two iterations of the Star Trek franchise, topping the Deep Space Nine episode Trials and Tribble-ations and the Next Generation movie First Contact, a fairly impressive feat.

Best Novel

Winner:
Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

Other Finalists:
Holy Fire by Bruce Sterling
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
Starplex by Robert J. Sawyer

Best Novella

Winner:

Blood of the Dragon by George R.R. Martin

Other Finalists:
Abandon in Place by Jerry Oltion
The Cost to Be Wise by Maureen F. McHugh
Gas Fish by Mary Rosenblum
Immersion by Gregory Benford
Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt

Best Novelette

Winner:

Bicycle Repairman by Bruce Sterling

Other Finalists:
Age of Aquarius by William Barton
Beauty and the Opéra or The Phantom Beast by Suzy McKee Charnas
The Land of Nod by Mike Resnick
Mountain Ways by Ursula K. Le Guin

Best Short Story

Winner:

The Soul Selects Her Own Society: Invasion and Repulsion: A Chronological Reinterpretation of Two of Emily Dickinson's Poems: A Wellsian Perspective by Connie Willis

Other Finalists:
The Dead by Michael Swanwick
Decency by Robert Reed
Gone by John Crowley
Un-Birthday Boy by James White

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work

Winner:

Time & Chance: An Autobiography by L. Sprague de Camp

Other Finalists:
The Faces of Fantasy by Patti Perret
Look at the Evidence by John Clute
The Silence of the Langford by David Langford
The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones

Best Dramatic Presentation

Winner:
Babylon 5: Severed Dreams

Other Finalists:
Independence Day
Mars Attacks!
Star Trek - Deep Space Nine: Trials and Tribble-ations
Star Trek: First Contact

Best Professional Editor

Winner:
Gardner Dozois

Other Finalists:
Scott Edelman
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Stanley Schmidt

Best Professional Artist

Winner:
Bob Eggleton

Other Finalists:
Thomas Canty
David A. Cherry
Don Maitz
Michael Whelan

Best Semi-Prozine

Winner:

Locus edited by Charles N. Brown

Other Finalists:
Interzone edited by David Pringle

The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer, Tad Dembinski, Ariel Haméon, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin Maroney

Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew I. Porter
Speculations edited by Kent Brewster

Best Fanzine

Winner:

Mimosa edited by Dick Lynch and Nicki Lynch

Other Finalists:
Ansible edited by Dave Langford
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
Nova Express edited by Lawrence Person
Tangent edited by Dave Truesdale

Best Fan Writer

Winner:

Dave Langford

Other Finalists:
Sharon Farber
Mike Glyer
Andy Hooper
Evelyn C. Leeper

Best Fan Artist

Winner:

William Rotsler

Other Finalists:
Ian Gunn
Joe Mayhew
Peggy Ranson
Sherlock

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Winner:
Michael A. Burstein

Other Finalists:
Raphael Carter
Richard Garfinkle
Katya Reimann
Sharon Shinn

What Are the Hugo Awards?

Go to previous year's finalists: 1996
Go to subsequent year's finalists: 1998

Book Award Reviews     Home

1997 Locus Award Nominees

Location: Westercon, in Seattle, Washington.

Comments: Every world-wide phenomenon has to have a starting point, and for George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, that starting point was more or less here, at the 1997 Locus Awards where The Game of Thrones won the award for Best Fantasy Novel. The salient point to remember about this event is that it took fifteen years to get from the publication of the novel to the HBO television series. Even though the book was obviously fairly well-regarded when it was published, the series didn't become the titanic hit that it has become until much later. Things take time to build up steam, and A Song of Ice and Fire is a clear demonstration of this fact.

Best Science Fiction Novel
Winner:
1.   Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

Other Nominees:
2.   Endymion by Dan Simmons
3.   Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
4.   Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold
5.   Holy Fire by Bruce Sterling
6.   Idoru by William Gibson
7.   Inheritor by C.J. Cherryh
8.   Night Lamp by Jack Vance
9.   Fairyland by Paul J. McAuley
10. Exodus from the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe
11. Voyage by Stephen Baxter
12. Beggars Ride by Nancy Kress
13. Excession by Iain M. Banks
14. The Ringworld Throne by Larry Niven
15. Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card
16. Otherland: City of Golden Shadow by Tad Williams
17. Dreamfall by Joan D. Vinge
18. Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
19. Distress by Greg Egan
20. Pirates of the Universe by Terry Bisson
21. River of Dust by Alexander Jablokov
22. Night Sky Mine by Melissa Scott
23. The Other End of Time by Frederik Pohl
24. Gibbon's Decline and Fall by Sheri S. Tepper
25. The Tranquillity Alternative by Allen M. Steele
26. Oaths and Miracles by Nancy Kress
27. Infinity's Shore by David Brin

Best Fantasy Novel
Winner:
1.   A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Other Nominees:
2.   Lunatics by Bradley Denton
3.   Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip
4.   Blameless in Abaddon by James Morrow
5.   Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
6.   A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan
7.   Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett
8.   Nadya: The Wolf Chronicles by Pat Murphy
9.   The Prestige by Christopher Priest
10. The Wood Wife by Terri Windling
11. One for the Morning Glory by John Barnes
12. Walking the Labyrinth by Lisa Goldstein
13. Ancient Echoes by Robert Holdstock
14. Clouds End by Sean Stewart
15. The Golden Compass (aka Northern Lights) by Philip Pullman
16. Mother of Winter by Barbara Hambly
17. Fair Peril by Nancy Springer
18. Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind
19. Firebird by Mercedes Lackey
20. The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott
21. The Dragon and the Unicorn by A.A. Attanasio
22. Sea Without a Shore by Sean Russell

Best Horror or Dark Fantasy Novel
Winner:
1.   Desperation by Stephen King

Other Nominees:
2.   Sacrament by Clive Barker
3.   Unknown Regions (aka The Fetch) by Robert Holdstock
4.   The Hunger and Ecstasy of Vampires by Brian Stableford
5.   Requiem by Graham Joyce
6.   The 37^th Mandala by Marc Laidlaw
7.   Servant of the Bones by Anne Rice
8.   The Green Mile by Stephen King
9.   The Pillow Friend by Lisa Tuttle
10. Stainless by Todd Grimson

Best First Novel
Winner:
1.   (tie) Reclamation by Sarah Zettel
      (tie) Whiteout by Sage Walker

Other Nominees:
3.   The Waterborn by J. Gregory Keyes
4.   The Fortunate Fall by Raphael Carter
5.   Celestial Matters by Richard Garfinkle
6.   Looking for the Mahdi by N. Lee Wood
7.   Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling
8.   Mordred's Curse by Ian McDowell
9.   Mainline by Deborah Christian
10. Wind from a Foreign Sky by Katya Reimann
11. Shade and Shadow by Francine G. Woodbury
12. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
13. Mage Heart by Jane Routley
14. Commencement by Roby James
15. First Dawn by Mike Moscoe

Best Novella
Winner:
1.   Bellwether by Connie Willis

Other Nominees:

2.   Blood of the Dragon by George R.R. Martin

3.   Human History by Lucius Shepard
4.   The Unicorn Sonata by Peter S. Beagle
5.   Kilroy Was Here by Jack Cady
6.   Gas Fish by Mary Rosenblum
7.   Immersion by Gregory Benford
8.   The Tree that Grew from the Sky by Robert Silverberg
9.   Chrysalis by Robert Reed
10. The Cost to be Wise by Maureen F. McHugh
11. Abandon in Place by Jerry Oltion
12. The Littlest Jackal by Bruce Sterling
13. Verglas by Ian R. MacLeod
14. Saddle Point Sequence by Stephen Baxter
15. Fugue on a Sunken Continent by G. David Nordley
16. (tie) Primrose and Thorn by Bud Sparhawk
      (tie) Saddle Point Dreamtime by Stephen Baxter

Best Novelette
Winner:
1.   Mountain Ways by Ursula K. Le Guin

Other Nominees:
2.   The Edge of the Universe by Terry Bisson
3.   The Land of Nod by Mike Resnick
4.   Bicycle Repairman by Bruce Sterling
5.   Beauty and the Opéra or The Phantom Beast by Suzy McKee Charnas
6.   The Dog's Story by Eleanor Arnason
7.   A Dry, Quiet War by Tony Daniel
8.   The Flowers of Aulit Prison by Nancy Kress
9.   Radio Waves by Michael Swanwick
10. The Man in the Pepper Mill by Gene Wolfe
11. Age of Aquarius by William Barton
12. The First Law of Thermodynamics by James Patrick Kelly
13. Amends by John Brunner
14. After a Lean Winter by Dave Wolverton
15. Martian Valkyrie by G. David Nordley
16. Try and Kill It by Gene Wolfe
17. Kronos by Allen M. Steele
18. The Peacock Throne by Charles Sheffield
19. Out of the Mouths by Sheila Finch
20. Diana of the Hundred Breasts by Robert Silverberg
21. The Longer Voyage by Michael Cassutt
22. The Three Labors of Bubba by Bud Webster
23. Nonstop to Portales by Connie Willis
24. In the Upper Room by Terry Bisson

Best Short Story
Winner:

1.   Gone by John Crowley

Other Nominees:

2.   Counting Cats in Zanzibar by Gene Wolfe

3.   The Last Homosexual by Paul Park
4.   The Dead by Michael Swanwick

5.   The Soul Selects Her Own Society: Invasion and Repulsion: A Chronological Reinterpretation of Two of Emily Dickinson's Poems: A Wellsian Perspective by Connie Willis

6.   Forget Luck by Kate Wilhelm
7.   On Sequoia Time by Daniel Keys Moran
8.   Decency by Robert Reed
9.   Strings by Maureen F. McHugh
10. Appointment in Sinai by Ben Bova
11. Community by Gardner Dozois
12. A Silurian Tale by Steven Utley
13. Columbiad by Stephen Baxter
14. Un-Birthday Boy by James White
15. Invasion by Joanna Russ
16. The Spacetime Pit by Stephen Baxter and Eric Brown
17. Breakaway, Backdown by James Patrick Kelly
18. First Tuesday by Robert Reed
19. Death Do Us Part by Robert Silverberg
20. Under Pressure by Sarah Zettel

Best Collection
Winner:

1.   None So Blind by Joe Haldeman

Other Nominees:

2.   Unlocking the Air and Other Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin

3.   Quicker than the Eye by Ray Bradbury
4.   Bible Stories for Adults by James Morrow
5.   Dreamweaver's Dilemma by Lois McMaster Bujold
6.   All One Universe by Poul Anderson
7.   The Wall of the Sky, the Wall of the Eye by Jonathan Lethem

8.   Killdozer!: Volume III: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon by Theodore Sturgeon, edited by Paul Williams

9.   Microcosmic God: Volume II: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon by Theodore Sturgeon, edited by Paul Williams

10. The Panic Hand by Jonathan Carroll

11. Over the River and Through the Woods: The Best Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak by Clifford D. Simak

12. At the City Limits of Fate by Michael Bishop
13. Standard Candles by Jack McDevitt
14. Ribofunk by Paul Di Filippo
15. Schismatrix Plus by Bruce Sterling
16. Minor Arcana by Diana Wynne Jones
17. The Nightmare Factory by Thomas Ligotti
18. Before . . . 12:01 . . . After by Richard A. Lupoff
19. The Invisible Country by Paul J. McAuley
20. Synthesis and Other Virtual Realities by Mary Rosenblum

Best Anthology
Winner:

1.   The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirteenth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois

Other Nominees:

2.   The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Ninth Annual Collection edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

3.   Year's Best SF edited by David G. Hartwell
4.   Starlight 1 edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
5.   War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches edited by Kevin J. Anderson
6.   Nebula Awards 30 edited by Pamela Sargent
7.   Visions of Wonder edited by David G. Hartwell and Milton T. Wolf
8.   Off Limits: Tales of Alien Sex edited by Ellen Datlow

9.   Intersections: The Sycamore Hill Anthology edited by John Kessel, Mark L. Van Name, and Richard Butner

10. American Gothic Tales edited by Joyce Carol Oates

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Book
Winner:

1.   Look at the Evidence by John Clute

Other Nominees:

2.   Time & Chance: An Autobiography by L. Sprague de Camp

3.   The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones
4.   H.P. Lovecraft: A Life by S.T. Joshi
5.   St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers edited by David Pringle
6.   Ash of Stars: On the Writing of Samuel R. Delany edited by James Sallis
7.   Jules Verne: An Exploratory Biography by Herbert R. Lottman
8.   The Jules Verne Encyclopedia by Brian Taves and Stephen Michaluk, Jr.

Best Art Book
Winner:

1.   Spectrum 3: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner, with Jim Loehr

Other Nominees:
2.   The Faces of Fantasy by Patti Perret
3.   The World of Edward Gorey by Clifford Ross and Karen Wilkin; artist Edward Gorey
4.   Neurotica: The Darkest Art of J.K. Potter by J.K. Potter
5.   H.R. Giger's Film Design by H.R. Giger

6.   Maxfield Parrish: A Retrospective by Laurence S. Cutler and Judy Goffman Cutler; artist Maxfield Parrish

7.   Animal Farm: 50^th Anniversary Edition by George Orwell, illustrated by Ralph Steadman

8.   A City in Winter by Mark Helprin, illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg
9.   The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by Alan Lee

Best Editor
Winner:
1.   Gardner Dozois

Other Nominees:
2.   Kristine Kathryn Rusch
3.   Ellen Datlow
4.   David G. Hartwell
5.   Stanley Schmidt
6.   Patrick Nielsen Hayden
7.   Scott Edelman
8.   Terri Windling
9.   David Pringle

Best Magazine
Winner:
1.   Asimov's

Other Nominees:
2.   Fantasy & Science Fiction
3.   Analog
4.   Science Fiction Age
5.   Interzone
6.   Realms of Fantasy
7.   Century

Best Publisher
Winner:
1.   Tor/St. Martin's

Other Nominees:
2.   Bantam/Doubleday/Dell
3.   Ballantine/Del Rey/etc.
4.   Baen
5.   DAW
6.   Putnam Berkley/Ace
7.   HarperCollins/HarperPrism
8.   Avon/Morrow
9.   White Wolf
10. Warner
11. Penguin/Roc

Best Artist
Winner:
1.   Michael Whelan

Other Nominees:
2.   Bob Eggleton
3.   Don Maitz
4.   Thomas Canty
5.   Jim Burns
6.   J.K. Potter
7.   W.J. Hodgson

Go to previous year's nominees: 1996
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1998

Book Award Reviews     Home