1999 Hugo Award Finalists

Location: AussieCon Three in Melbourne, Australia.

Comments: Looking at the 1999 Hugo award winners alongside the other nominees they were competing against, I can only incredulously think "The Truman Show? How in the world did that overly long, pretentious, bore fest that consisted of almost nothing but Jim Carey mugging for the camera win a Hugo?" And then one looks at the competition and the mystery becomes even deeper. It should come as no surprise that in my opinion the Babylon 5 episode Sleeping in the Light should have won, but how did The Truman Show beat out Pleasantville and Dark City as well? It is just inexplicable unless one assumes that Peter Weir had pictures of the entire Hugo voting pool in compromising positions with farm animals.

And the reason for this conclusion is that with respect to the rest of the award categories, the voters seem to have done a creditable job of selecting worthwhile winners. If the other categories had had as inexplicably silly winners as the Best Dramatic Presentation category, then one could chalk The Truman Show's win up to the voters simply having lost their minds in a kind of mob mental lapse. But Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog is a fine novel, and a deserving Hugo winner, as are the winners in all the other categories, so the mystery remains.

Best Novel

Winner:
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

Other Finalists:
Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson
Distraction by Bruce Sterling
Factoring Humanity by Robert J. Sawyer

Best Novella

Winner:

Oceanic by Greg Egan

Other Finalists:
Aurora in Four Voices by Catherine Asaro
Get Me to the Church on Time by Terry Bisson
Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang
The Summer Isles by Ian R. MacLeod

Best Novelette

Winner:

Taklamakan by Bruce Sterling

Other Finalists:
Divided by Infinity by Robert Charles Wilson
Echea by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The Planck Dive by Greg Egan
Steamship Soldier on the Information Front by Nancy Kress
Time Gypsy by Ellen Klages
Zwarte Piet's Tale by Allen M. Steele

Best Short Story

Winner:

The Very Pulse of the Machine by Michael Swanwick

Other Finalists:
Cosmic Corkscrew by Michael A. Burstein
Maneki Neko by Bruce Sterling
Radiant Doors by Michael Swanwick
Whiptail by Robert Reed
Wild Minds by Michael Swanwick

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work

Winner:

The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of: How Science Fiction Conquered the World by Thomas M. Disch

Other Finalists:
The Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards by Howard DeVore
Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years by Everett F. Bleiler
Spectrum 5: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner
The Work of Jack Williamson: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide by Richard A. Hauptmann

Best Dramatic Presentation

Winner:
The Truman Show

Other Finalists:
Babylon 5: Sleeping in Light
Dark City
Pleasantville
Star Trek: Insurrection

Best Professional Editor

Winner:
Gardner Dozois

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

Best Professional Artist

Winner:
Bob Eggleton

Other Finalists:
Jim Burns
Donato Giancola
Don Maitz
Nick Stathopoulos
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 J. Maroney

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

Best Fanzine

Winner:

Ansible edited by Dave Langford

Other Finalists:
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
Mimosa edited by Richard Lynch and Nicki Lynch
Plokta edited by Alison Scott and Steve Davies
Tangent edited by David Truesdale
Thyme edited by Alan Stewart

Best Fan Writer

Winner:

Dave Langford

Other Finalists:
Bob Devney
Mike Glyer
Evelyn C. Leeper
Maureen Kincaid Speller

Best Fan Artist

Winner:

Ian Gunn

Other Finalists:
Freddie Baer
Brad W. Foster
Teddy Harvia
Joe Mayhew
D. West

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Winner:
Nalo Hopkinson

Other Finalists:
Kage Baker
Julie E. Czerneda
Susan R. Matthews
James Van Pelt

What Are the Hugo Awards?

Go to previous year's finalists: 1998
Go to subsequent year's finalists: 2000

Book Award Reviews     Home

1999 Locus Award Nominees

Location: Westercon in Spokane, Washington.

Comments: In 1999, after a one year hiatus, the Best Horror or Dark Fantasy category returned for one final hurrah before being discontinued permanently. This award, which was won in this year by Stephen King for only the second time overall, has always struck me as being somewhat confused and redundant. although I am only a casual horror fan, I can definitely see a need for a dedicated Best Horror Novel category as a large proportions of horror novels don't really fit under either the science fiction or fantasy designations. If Locus wants to recognize works from the horror genre, a dedicated category would seem like the best option.

On the other hand, the "dark fantasy" half of the category is, in my view, more problematic. Although the lines between genres are often blurred and indistinct, the distinction between "fantasy" and "dark fantasy" is not so much indistinct as nonexistent. The is simply so much overlap between these two that trying the to determine which category a particular book fits into is something of a fool's errand. This dichotomy between the two halves of the category means that although it was probably for the best that this is the last year it was awarded, its loss was also not an entirely happy event.

Best Science Fiction Novel
Winner:
1.   To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

Other Nominees:
2.   Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson
3.   The Alien Years by Robert Silverberg
4.   Distraction by Bruce Sterling
5.   The Golden Globe by John Varley
6.   Cosm by Gregory Benford
7.   Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
8.   Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
9.   Ports of Call by Jack Vance
10. Starfarers by Poul Anderson
11. (tie) Dinosaur Summer by Greg Bear
      (tie) Six Moon Dance by Sheri S. Tepper
13. Maximum Light by Nancy Kress
14. Moonseed by Stephen Baxter
15. Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
16. Mission Child by Maureen F. McHugh
17. Vast by Linda Nagata
18. Child of the River by Paul J. McAuley
19. Deepdrive by Alexander Jablokov
20. Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem
21. Otherland: River of Blue Fire by Tad Williams
22. Earth Made of Glass by John Barnes
23. The Children Star by Joan Slonczewski
24. Bloom by Wil McCarthy
25. Noir by K.W. Jeter
26. Moonfall by Jack McDevitt
27. Prisoner of Conscience by Susan R. Matthews
28. Kirinya by Ian McDonald
29. The Cassini Division by Ken MacLeod
30. The Shapes of Their Hearts by Melissa Scott

Best Fantasy Novel
Winner:
1.   A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Other Nominees:
2.   Stardust by Neil Gaiman
3.   Mockingbird by Sean Stewart
4.   Heartfire by Orson Scott Card
5.   Fortress of Eagles by C.J. Cherryh
6.   Newton's Cannon by J. Gregory Keyes
7.   Song for the Basilisk by Patricia A. McKillip
8.   (tie) Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay
      (tie) Someplace to Be Flying by Charles de Lint
10. Dragon's Winter by Elizabeth A. Lynn
11. Prince of Dogs by Kate Elliott
12. Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
13. The One-Armed Queen by Jane Yolen
14. Changer by Jane Lindskold
15. Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary by Pamela Dean
16. The Gilded Chain by Dave Duncan
17. The Innamorati by Midori Snyder
18. (tie) Bhagavati by Kara Dalkey
      (tie) The Book of Knights by Yves Meynard

20. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (aka Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) by J.K. Rowling

Best Horror or Dark Fantasy Novel
Winner:
1.   Bag of Bones by Stephen King

Other Nominees:
2.   Flanders by Patricia Anthony
3.   The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce
4.   Galilee by Clive Barker
5.   Darker Angels by S.P. Somtow
6.   Homebody by Orson Scott Card
7.   Irrational Fears by William Browning Spencer
8.   Faces Under Water by Tanith Lee
9.   Judgment of Tears: Anno Dracula 1959 by Kim Newman
10. Fog Heart by Thomas Tessier
11. Santa Steps Out by Robert Devereaux

Best First Novel
Winner:
1.    Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

Other Nominees:
2.   Halfway Human by Carolyn Ives Gilman
3.   In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker

4.   Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (aka Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) by J.K. Rowling

5.   Green Rider by Kristen Britain
6.   Silk by Caitlín R. Kiernan
7.   The Last Dragonlord by Joanne Bertin
8.   The Iron Bridge by David Morse
9.   Dawn Song by Michael Marano
10. The High House by James Stoddard
11. Nameless Magery by Delia Marshall Turner
12. A Scientific Romance by Ronald Wright
13. Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop
14. Anvil by Nicholas van Pallandt
15. The Wild Hunt: Vengeance Moon by Jocelin Foxe

16. Dragonclaw: Book One of The Witches of Eileanan (aka The Witches of Eileanan) by Kate Forsyth

Best Novella
Winner:
1.   Oceanic by Greg Egan

Other Nominees:

2.   Dragonfly by Ursula K. Le Guin

3.   The Hedge Knight by George R.R. Martin

4.   The Boss in the Wall, A Treatise on the House Devil by Avram Davidson and Grania Davis

5.   The Summer Isles by Ian R. MacLeod
6.   Aurora in Four Voices by Catherine Asaro
7.   Get Me to the Church on Time by Terry Bisson
8.   A Second Chance at Eden by Peter F. Hamilton
9.   A Princess of Helium by R. Garcia y Robertson
10. (tie) The Colonel in Autumn by Robert Silverberg
      (tie) Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang
12. Ancestral Voices by Gardner Dozois and Michael Swanwick
13. Reading the Bones by Sheila Finch
14. Mother Death by Robert Reed
15. Sea Change, with Monsters by Paul J. McAuley
16. Jumping Off the Planet by David Gerrold
17. Coolhunting by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
18. The Days of Solomon Gursky by Ian McDonald
19. The Bradshaw by Judith Moffett
20. Grist by Tony Daniel
21. The Cuckoo's Boys by Robert Reed

Best Novelette
Winner:
1.   (tie) The Planck Dive by Greg Egan
      (tie) Taklamakan by Bruce Sterling

Other Nominees:
3.   All the Birds of Hell by Tanith Lee
4.   Echea by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
5.   Lovestory by James Patrick Kelly
6.   Waiting for the End by Robert Silverberg
7.   Divided by Infinity by Robert Charles Wilson
8.   Steamship Soldier on the Information Front by Nancy Kress
9.   A Dance to Strange Musics by Gregory Benford
10. Starfall by R. Garcia y Robertson
11. Lost Girls by Jane Yolen
12. Approaching Perimelasma by Geoffrey A. Landis
13. Zwarte Piet's Tale by Allen M. Steele
14. The Barrier by Stephen Baxter
15. Rules of Engagement by Michael F. Flynn
16. Brown Dust by Esther M. Friesner
17. A Life on Mars by G. David Nordley
18. The Picture Business by Walter Jon Williams
19. The Flying Dutchman by John Varley
20. The Rainmaker by Mary Rosenblum
21. The Eye of God by Mary Rosenblum
22. The Allies by Mark S. Geston
23. The Gardens of Saturn by Paul J. McAuley
24. Down in the Dark by William Barton
25. Home Time by Ian R. MacLeod
26. Getting to Know You by David Marusek
27. The Mercy Gate by Mark J. McGarry
28. Transit by Stephen Dedman
29. (tie) The GUAC Bug by Charles L. Harness
      (tie) Time Gypsy by Ellen Klages

Best Short Story
Winner:

1.   Maneki Neko by Bruce Sterling

Other Nominees:

2.   Radiant Doors by Michael Swanwick

3.   Mr. Goober's Show by Howard Waldrop
4.   Moon-Calf by Stephen Baxter
5.   Dante Dreams by Stephen Baxter
6.   Wild Minds by Michael Swanwick
7.   Every Angel Is Terrifying by John Kessel
8.   First Fire by Terry Bisson
9.   Whiptail by Robert Reed
10. 17 by Paul J. McAuley
11. The Very Pulse of the Machine by Michael Swanwick
12. The Year of the Mouse by Norman Spinrad
13. US by Howard Waldrop

14. Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation by K.N. Sirsi and Sandra Botkin by Raphael Carter

15. Microcosmic Dog by Michael Swanwick
16. Savior by Robert Reed
17. The Stubbornest Broad on Earth by Janet Kagan
18. The Wire Continuum by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter
19. (tie) Out of Space, Out of Time by David Langford
      (tie) Radio Praha by Tony Daniel
21. Tiger, Tiger by Severna Park
22. (tie) Options by Hal Clement
      (tie) Wrapper by Gene Wolfe
24. While You Wait by Kathy Oltion

Best Collection
Winner:

1.   The Avram Davidson Treasury by Avram Davidson, edited by Robert Silverberg and Grania Davis

Other Nominees:

2.   Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman

3.   Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick
4.   Luminous by Greg Egan
5.   Beaker's Dozen by Nancy Kress
6.   First Contacts: The Essential Murray Leinster by Murray Leinster
7.   Last Summer at Mars Hill by Elizabeth Hand

8.   The Perfect Host: Volume V: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon by Theodore Sturgeon, edited by Paul Williams

9.   An Ornament to His Profession by Charles L. Harness
10. Traces by Stephen Baxter
11. One Day Closer to Death by Bradley Denton
12. Black Glass by Karen Joy Fowler
13. The Night We Buried Road Dog by Jack Cady
14. The Invisible Country by Paul J. McAuley
15. A Second Chance at Eden by Peter F. Hamilton
16. Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges
17. The Moon Maid and Other Fantastic Adventures by R. Garcia y Robertson
18. Lost Pages by Paul Di Filippo
19. Are You Loathsome Tonight? by Poppy Z. Brite
20. Frankensteins and Foreign Devils by Walter Jon Williams
21. Extremities by Kathe Koja
22. Black Butterflies: A Flock on the Dark Side by John Shirley

Best Anthology
Winner:

1.   Legends edited by Robert Silverberg

Other Nominees:

2.   The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois

3.   Starlight 2 edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
4.   Year's Best SF 3 edited by David G. Hartwell

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

6.   The Good Old Stuff edited by Gardner Dozois

7.   Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction edited by Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel

8.   Lord of the Fantastic: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny edited by Martin H. Greenberg

9.   Nebula Awards 32 edited by Jack Dann
10. The Best of Crank! edited by Bryan Cholfin
11. The Fantasy Hall of Fame edited by Robert Silverberg
12. The Playboy Book of Science Fiction edited by Alice K. Turner
13. Nanotech edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

14. The Road to Science Fiction Volume 5: The British Way edited by James E. Gunn

15. Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
16. Dreaming Down-Under edited by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb
17. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror: Volume Nine edited by Stephen Jones
18. Dark Terrors 4 edited by Stephen Jones and David Sutton

19. The Road to Science Fiction Volume 6: Around the World edited by James E. Gunn

20. Tesseracts6 edited by Robert J. Sawyer and Carolyn Clink

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Book
Winner:

1.   The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of: How Science Fiction Conquered the World by Thomas M. Disch

Other Nominees:

2.   Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years by Everett F. Bleiler

3.   The Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Awards by Howard DeVore
4.   Lovecraft Remembered edited by Peter Cannon

5.   The Work of Jack Williamson: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide by Richard A. Hauptmann

6.   The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy: The Definitive Illustrated Guide edited by David Pringle

7.   (tie) Northern Dreamers: Interviews with Famous Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Writers by Edo van Belkom

      (tie) St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost, and Gothic Writers edited by David Pringle
9.   Windows of the Imagination by Darrell Schweitzer
10. Alternative Alices edited by Carolyn Sigler

Best Art Book
Winner:

1.   Spectrum 5: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner

Other Nominees:

2.   Icon: A Retrospective by the Grand Master of Fantastic Art, Frank Frazetta by Frank Frazetta

3.   Pulp Culture: The Art of Fiction Magazines by Frank M. Robinson and Lawrence Davidson

4.   Stardust by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess
5.   Barlowe's Inferno by Wayne Douglas Barlowe
6.  Good Faeries/Bad Faeries by Brian Froud
7.   Dustcovers: The Collected Sandman Covers by Dave McKean
8.   To Every Thing There Is a Season by Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon
9.   H.R. Giger's Retrospective 1964-1984 by H.R. Giger
10. Imagination Fully Dilated edited by Alan M. Clark and Elizabeth Engstrom

Best Editor
Winner:
1.   Gardner Dozois

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

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.   The New York Review of Science Fiction
8.   Science Fiction Chronicle

Best Publisher
Winner:
1.   Tor

Other Nominees:
2.   Bantam Spectra
3.   Avon Eos
4.   DAW
5.   HarperPrism
6.   Del Rey
7.   Baen
8.   Ace
9.   St. Martin's
10. NESFA Press
11. Roc
12. Warner Aspect
13. White Wolf
14. Science Fiction Book Club

Best Artist
Winner:
1.   Michael Whelan

Other Nominees:
2.   Bob Eggleton
3.   Wayne Douglas Barlowe
4.   Thomas Canty
5.   Jim Burns
6.   Dave McKean
7.   Don Maitz
8.   Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon
9.   Alan M. Clark
10. Frank Frazetta
11. Charles Vess
12. David A. Cherry
13. Vincent Di Fate
14. Brian Froud

Go to previous year's nominees: 1998
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2000

Book Award Reviews     Home

1999 Nebula Award Nominees

Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Comments: In 1999, Joe Haldeman won the Best Novel Nebula for his almost but not quite sequel to The Forever War titled Forever Peace. Both are excellent novels, but neither is actually connected to one another except thematically. As a result, Haldeman won two Nebula Awards with two novels with very similar titles but which are not related to one another in any meaningful way. I'm not sure how this achievement stacks up in terms of notable Nebula Award victories, but I think it is interesting.

From my perspective, however, the real story of this year's awards is that the SFWA dusted off the Ray Bradbury Award so that they could award it to the greatest television show of all time: Babylon 5. While the Hugo Awards got around to honoring Babylon 5 first, they only bestowed awards upon two individual episodes. The SFWA, on the other hand, handed Straczynski and award for the entire run of the series, recognizing the triumphant achievement that it was.

Best Novel

Winner:
Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman

Other Nominees:
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
How Few Remain by Harry Turtledove
The Last Hawk by Catherine Asaro
Moonfall by Jack McDevitt
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

Best Novella

Winner:

Reading the Bones by Sheila Finch

Other Nominees:
Aurora in Four Voices by Catherine Asaro

The Boss in the Wall, A Treatise on the House Devil by Avram Davidson and Grania Davis

Ecopoiesis by Geoffrey A. Landis
Izzy and the Father of Terror by Eliot Fintushel
Jumping Off the Planet by David Gerrold

Best Novelette

Winner:

Lost Girls by Jane Yolen

Other Nominees:
Echea by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Lethe by Walter Jon Williams
The Mercy Gate by Mark J. McGarry
Time Gypsy by Ellen Klages
The Truest Chill by Gregory Feeley

Best Short Story

Winner:
Thirteen Ways to Water by Bruce Holland Rogers

Other Nominees:
Fortune and Misfortune by Lisa Goldstein
Standing Room Only by Karen Joy Fowler
Tall One by K.D. Wentworth
When the Bow Breaks by Steven Brust
Winter Fire by Geoffrey A. Landis

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

Winner:
Babylon 5 by J. Michael Straczynski

Other Nominees:
None

Go to previous year's nominees: 1998
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2000

Book Award Reviews     Home

1998 Prometheus Award Nominees

Location: Unknown.

Comments: In 1998 the Libertarian Futurist Society reached into its bag of tricks and decided to hand out a Special Prometheus Award for the Free Space anthology edited by Brad Linaweaver and Edward E. Kramer. That the Libertarian Futurist Society would want to honor such a book is completely unsurprising, given the subject matter of the book and the stature of the writers contributing to it. But the fact that they had to go outside of the normal process and honor the book with a "Special Award" points towards the limitations of the Prometheus Awards - they only normally honor novels and "classic" works of libertarian thought in any media form (as would become apparent a few years after this in which the Society would honor the BBC television program The Prisoner). But if there is a current work of libertarian fiction that isn't a novel, there is no way to honor the work other than the ad hoc method of giving it a special award.

Best Novel

Winner:

The Stone Canal by Ken MacLeod

Other Nominees:

Bretta Martyn by L. Neil Smith

Finity's End by C.J. Cherryh
The Fleet of Stars by Poul Anderson
Nanotime by Bart Kosko

Hall of Fame

Winner:

Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein

Other Nominees:
The Mirror Maze by James P. Hogan
Orion Shall Rise by Poul Anderson
A Planet for Texans (aka Lonestar Planet) by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire
Wasp by Eric Frank Russell

Special Award

Winner:

Free Space edited by Brad Linaweaver and Edward E. Kramer

Other Nominees:
None

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

Book Award Reviews     Home

1998 Clarke Award Nominees

Location: United Kingdom.

Comments: The most interesting thing about the 1998 Clarke Awards is not that Mary Doria Russell won for The Sparrow, her novel about first contact with aliens gone wrong, because there is no question that her work is a deserving winner. No, the interesting thing is that Stephen Baxter was nominated yet again and didn't win. Baxter seems to be nominated almost every year, and yet he has never won a Clarke Award, and must hold some sort of record for the most nominations without a victory.

Winner
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Shortlist
Days by James Lovegrove
The Family Tree by Sheri S. Tepper
Glimmering by Elizabeth Hand
Nymphomation by Jeff Noon
Titan by Stephen Baxter

What Are the Arthur C. Clarke Awards?

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

Book Award Reviews     Home

1998 Mythopoeic Award Nominees

Location: Unknown.

Comments: As quickly as they had been merged together in 1997, the Best Adult Fantasy Literature and Best Children's Fantasy Literature categories were once again split apart in 1998. Given that one of the nominees this year in the Children's Fantasy Literature category was Jane Yolen's three part Young Merlin series, which had an installment published in 1996 (and which as a result would have been eligible for nomination in 1997), the decision to merge the two categories seems all the more mystifying.

Best Adult Fantasy Literature

Winner:
The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by A.S. Byatt

Other Nominees:

Giant Bones by Peter S. Beagle

The Gift by Patrick O'Leary
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Trader by Charles de Lint

Best Children's Fantasy Literature

Winner:
Young Merlin (Passager, Hobby, and Merlin) by Jane Yolen

Other Nominees:
The Boggart and the Monster by Susan Cooper
A Dark Horn Blowing by Dahlov Ipcar
Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley

Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies

Winner:

A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien's Road to "Faërie" by Verlyn Flieger

Other Nominees:
C.S. Lewis Index: Rumours from the Sculptor's Shop by Janine Goffar
C.S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide by Walter Hooper
Charles Williams: A Celebration edited by Brian Horne

Finding the Landlord: A Guidebook to C.S. Lewis's The Pilgrim's Regress by Kathryn Lindskoog

Myth and Fantasy Studies

Winner:

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy edited by John Clute and John Grant

Other Nominees:

Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination by Richard Mathews

Lord Dunsany: Master of the Anglo-Irish Imagination by S.T. Joshi
The Supernatural and English Fiction by Glen Cavaliero

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

Book Award Reviews     Home

1998 Cambpell Award Nominees

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

Comments: Although Forever Peace is not his best novel, the fact that Haldeman didn't win for The Forever War couldn't be remedied in 1998 in any way other than by honoring the similarly named although not really connected current novel. It didn't hurt that the competition was not particularly stellar, although as has been the case for many of the Campbell Award ballots, it was exclusively male. I wonder if the result might have been a little tighter if the judges had considered the books written by other half of the human species.

Best Novel

Winner:

Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman

Second Place:

/ Slant by Greg Bear

Third Place:

Secret Passages by Paul Preuss

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

Book Award Reviews     Home

1998 World Fantasy Award Nominees

Location: World Fantasy Convention, Monterey, California.

Comments: The 1998 World Fantasy awards had some minor controversy when it was discovered that Arturo Pérez-Reverte's novel The Club Dumas was not actually eligible for the award, as it had been first translated and published in English in 1996. The novel was withdrawn from the ballot and replaced by Eric S. Nylund's Dry Water, so all ended up more or less as it should have been. But this raises a couple of questions, the first of which is don't the World Fantasy Awards have people who are supposed to check on these sorts of issues before they announce the final slate of nominees? This problem was caused by an apparent inability to check dates, which seems like a reasonably easy thing to do. The second question that is raised is how would anyone think that a replacement entry on the ballot would have a chance of winning? I'm sure Dry Water is a fine book, but the judges were essentially being told "this book wasn't good enough to get on the same slate as the four other remaining nominees, but now that we need a replacement for a withdrawn nominee, try to give it a fair shake even though you know we originally considered it to be inferior to them all". Obviously, it didn't win, but the fact that it was on the ballot at all seems to have been supremely unfair to Nylund given the circumstances of its placement there.

Best Novel

Winner:
The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford

Other Nominees:
American Goliath by Harvey Jacobs
Dry Water by Eric S. Nylund
The Gift by Patrick O'Leary
Trader by Charles de Lint
The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte [nomination withdrawn]

Best Novella

Winner:
Streetcar Dreams by Richard Bowes

Other Nominees:
Coppola's Dracula by Kim Newman
The Dripping of Sundered Wineskins by Brian Hodge
The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman
The Zombies of Madison County by Douglas E. Winter

Best Short Fiction

Winner:
Dust Motes by P.D. Cacek

Other Nominees:
Audience by Jack Womack
Fortune and Misfortune by Lisa Goldstein
Get a Grip by Paul Park
The Inner Inner City by Robert Charles Wilson

Best Anthology

Winner:

Bending the Landscape: Fantasy edited by Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel

Other Nominees:
Dark Terrors 3 edited by Stephen Jones and David Sutton
Modern Classics of Fantasy edited by Gardner Dozois
Northern Frights 4 edited by Don Hutchison
Revelations (U.K. title: Millennium) edited by Douglas E. Winter

Best Collection

Winner:

The Throne of Bones by Brian McNaughton

Other Nominees:
Driving Blind by Ray Bradbury
Fractal Paisleys by Paul Di Filippo
A Geography of Unknown Lands by Michael Swanwick
Giant Bones by Peter S. Beagle

Lifetime Achievement

Winner:
Edward L. Ferman
Andre Norton

Other Nominees:
None

Best Artist

Winner:
Alan Lee

Other Nominees:
Rick Berry
Jim Burns
Don Maitz
Dave McKean

Special Award, Professional

Winner:
John Clute and John Grant

Other Nominees:
Ellen Datlow
Gardner Dozois
Stephen Jones
Gordon van Gelder

Special Award, Non-Professional

Winner:
Fedogan & Bremer

Other Nominees:
Richard Chizmar
Chris Logan Edwards
Barry Hoffman
Jeff VanderMeer and Tom Winstead

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

Book Award Reviews     Home

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