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Nebula Report: Novels Nov 08
The following is a list of works recommended for the Nebula Awards, data current within the last available month.
NOTE: This is not the Preliminary Ballot. This is a list of all works in the applicable category that have received at least one nomination from an Active SFWA voting member and are currently still eligible. Please refer to the Rules section for a more detailed explanation.
The Persistence of the numinous
On the bluff in Long Beach, facing the Pacific across busy Ocean Boulevard, there’s a well-kept shrine to the Virgin Mary.
A Basic Introduction to Maya Mythology
Similar to my previous article on Aztec mythology, this article is intended as an introduction into some basic ideas of Maya religion and mythology. I’ve appended a list of the sources I used at the end, should you be interested in finding out more.
For want of a genre
What if... — There is, perhaps, no genre more closely identified with answering that question than that of alternate history. But what exactly is meant by “alternate history”? And is it in fact a genre unto itself or merely a subgenre? If the latter, then to what wider classification is it subordinate?
The Power of Words
The Apostle John wrote in the bible, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” I’ve always found that sentence interesting, because John uses “the Word” as a metaphor for Jesus. It’s an interesting choice of metaphors. It suggests that in his pre-mortal life Jesus was somehow linked as the source of God’s power, including the creative power that he used to create the universe when he said, “Let there be light.” Indeed, John would have contended that Jesus did create the universe through words.
SFWA statement on Google/Author’s Guild settlement
CHESTERTOWN, Md.—The announcement on Oct. 28, 2008, of a potential settlement between Google and the Author’s Guild is significant news for many authors, including no few members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). At this time, SFWA has no official standing as an organization in the suit, but it is critical to our mission that we advise our affected members and potential members to the best our ability until more information about the outcome of this suit is known.
I know it when I read it
Numerous people far more knowledgeable than I have taken a crack at defining science fiction without pinning the subject down to everybody’s satisfaction. Norman Spinrad seemed to throw his hands up in despair, claiming, “Science fiction is anything published as science fiction.” This is rather like the Supreme Court judge who claimed to know porno when he saw it. Lately I’ve been reading a number of books that weren’t published as science fiction yet seem to me to slide across the border when the critics weren’t looking. But what makes the difference?
Dark SF in the modern world
I find a pleasing irony in the concept that while the mother of dark SF, Mary Shelley, wrote with such insight into human nature that it still holds meaning today, it is the popular misconception of Frankenstein that holds a lesson for the modern world: Shelley’s Dr. Frankenstein was the man who created the monster, but Hollywood made the uninformed believe that Frankenstein was the monster’s name, not the man’s.
SFWA, SFRA announce liaison agreement
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America and the Science Fiction Research Association will work together more closely in the future, thanks to a new liaison positions established jointly by those two organizations.
