• Nebula finalist 1979

    From James Nicoll@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 15 13:33:09 2024
    Onwards to 1979! On the one hand, finalists lists seem truncated compared to past years and movies were dropped entirely. On the other, I'd not only
    read but reviewed a lot of these.

    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?

    Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
    The Faded Sun: Kesrith by C. J. Cherryh
    Blind Voices by Tom Reamy
    Kalki by Gore Vidal
    Strangers by Gardner Dozois

    I've read (and reviewed) the McIntyre, Cherryh, and the Reamy.


    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?

    The Persistence of Vision by John Varley
    Seven American Nights by Gene Wolfe

    Read (and reviewed) both. I find it hard to believe there were only
    two noteworthy novellas this year.


    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Novelettes Have You Read?

    A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye by Charles L. Grant
    Mikal's Songbird by Orson Scott Card
    Devil You Don't Know by Dean Ing

    Read the Card and the Ing, reviewed the Card.


    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Short Stories Have You Read?

    Stone by Edward Bryant
    Cassandra by C. J. Cherryh
    A Quiet Revolution for Death by Jack Dann

    Read the Bryant and the Cherryh. Have not reviewed either. As
    I recall, most of Bryant's award nominated stories from this
    era ended up in Particle Theory, which I have upstairs.
    --
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  • From David Duffy@21:1/5 to All on Tue Apr 16 07:19:18 2024
    Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
    The Faded Sun: Kesrith by C. J. Cherryh
    Kalki by Gore Vidal

    I think I've read all of Vidal's SF incl the script for _Visit to a Small Planet_ (?!)

    Maybe I should try and find the Reamy...

    The Varley and the Wolfe

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  • From Chris Buckley@21:1/5 to James Nicoll on Wed Apr 17 02:33:05 2024
    On 2024-04-15, James Nicoll <[email protected]> wrote:

    Onwards to 1979! On the one hand, finalists lists seem truncated compared to past years and movies were dropped entirely. On the other, I'd not only
    read but reviewed a lot of these.

    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Novels Have You Read?

    Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
    The Faded Sun: Kesrith by C. J. Cherryh
    Blind Voices by Tom Reamy
    Kalki by Gore Vidal
    Strangers by Gardner Dozois

    I've read (and reviewed) the McIntyre, Cherryh, and the Reamy.

    Cherryh and Reamy are both on my Favorite bookcase,
    the McIntyre was good and I read the Dozois.

    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?

    The Persistence of Vision by John Varley
    Seven American Nights by Gene Wolfe
    Read (and reviewed) both. I find it hard to believe there were only
    two noteworthy novellas this year.

    Read both. _The Persistence of Vision_ collection is on my Favorites bookcase and may be my top collection there.

    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Novelettes Have You Read?

    A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye by Charles L. Grant
    Mikal's Songbird by Orson Scott Card
    Devil You Don't Know by Dean Ing

    Read the Card and the Ing, reviewed the Card.

    Read the Card (good)


    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Short Stories Have You Read?

    Stone by Edward Bryant
    Cassandra by C. J. Cherryh
    A Quiet Revolution for Death by Jack Dann

    Read the Bryant and the Cherryh. Have not reviewed either. As
    I recall, most of Bryant's award nominated stories from this
    era ended up in Particle Theory, which I have upstairs.

    Read the Cherryh. I read it in the bookstore in the original SF magazine,
    and immediately purchased the magazine - the only magazine I've
    purchased like that (had a subscription to Analog for a couple of years
    early on.)

    Chris

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  • From Titus G@21:1/5 to Chris Buckley on Wed Apr 17 15:43:57 2024
    On 17/04/24 14:33, Chris Buckley wrote:
    On 2024-04-15, James Nicoll <[email protected]> wrote:

    snip
    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?

    The Persistence of Vision by John Varley
    snip

    Read both. _The Persistence of Vision_ collection is on my Favorites bookcase and may be my top collection there.


    I was annoyed with The Persistence of Vision rating it 2 stars (Just
    OK). It felt empty to me, a meandering woffle. I have read Press Enter
    and The Pusher which I rated 3 stars (Enjoyable) but nothing else by
    him. This is strange because I usually agree with your reading opinions.

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  • From Titus G@21:1/5 to William Hyde on Tue Apr 23 16:37:16 2024
    On 18/04/24 07:38, William Hyde wrote:
    Titus G wrote:
    On 17/04/24 14:33, Chris Buckley wrote:
    On 2024-04-15, James Nicoll <[email protected]> wrote:

    snip
    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?

    The Persistence of Vision by John Varley
    snip

    Read both. _The Persistence of Vision_ collection is on my Favorites
    bookcase
    and may be my top collection there.


    I was annoyed with The Persistence of Vision rating it 2 stars (Just
    OK). It felt empty to me, a meandering woffle. I have read Press Enter
    and The Pusher which I rated 3 stars (Enjoyable) but nothing else by
    him. This is strange because I usually agree with your reading opinions.

    With most SF writers we retreat to the "The short stories are better
    than the novels" cliche.

    With Varley I am not sure that is true.  While the novels are, for me,
    at any rate, a mixed bag, I think that "The Golden Globe" is his best
    work.  I am also fond of the loosely related "Steel Beach" and "The
    Ophiuchi Hotline".


    I was surprised to discover that I obtained a copy of The Ophiuchi
    Hotline in Feb 2023 but have not read it. I suspect that it was probably recommended here. It has now joined the queue on the Kindle.



    "Millenium" is in a very different style, almost as if it was by a
    different writer.  I enjoyed it, but haven't reread.

    I'm not a fan of his other novels.  But Lynn tells us that if you like Heinlein homages (for my money the worst part of "The Golden Globe", thankfully short) he does  them very well.

    I passed TGG on to an actor friend, who gave it his approval, though I
    have not yet convinced him to take lessons in swordsmanship.


    William Hyde

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