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.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
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James Nicoll 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.

I suppose this marks some sort of end of my time as as SF obsessive.
I read none of these at the time, and have caught up with very
few since.

William Hyde


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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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On 2024-04-15, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> 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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On 17/04/24 14:33, Chris Buckley wrote:

On 2024-04-15, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> 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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Titus G wrote:

On 17/04/24 14:33, Chris Buckley wrote:

On 2024-04-15, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> 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".


"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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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 <jdnicoll@panix.com> 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.ÿ While the novels are, for me,
at any rate, a mixed bag, I think that "The Golden Globe" is his best
work.ÿ 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.ÿ I enjoyed it, but haven't reread.

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