Sunday, May 22, 2011

Reflections on the Nebula Award Winners 2011

The 2011 Nebula Award Winners were posted today. I thought I'd reflect on some of the winners. I am still working through the Hugo nominees, but I think I'll get through more of them by the time they are chosen than I did for the Nebulas!

It is confusing to me, because sometimes people claim that all nominees are the Nebula winners, but this list clearly names one-two winner(s) in each category. Hmmm.

Winner for short story - The Ellison didn't really stick with me, but I liked the Kij Johnson. I was probably most attached to the Vylar Kaftan story, but the Johnson was memorable with the sacrificial ponies. At least it wasn't alien rape this time around.

I unfortunately didn't get through many of the nominees for novella or novelette, but I remember Swirsky from a previous year and her mythological settings.

What I really can weigh in on is the best novel category. I enjoyed the Willis but I know a lot of people hate the inaccuracies. I was rather fond of the Okorafor, and just finished reading the Jemisin with the Sword and Laser book club, so that would have been fun to see win on some levels.

In the young adult category, there were some really strong contenders. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised when books that are not first in a series are nominated since that seems par for the (arguably confused) course for the Hugos and Nebulas, but while I enjoyed the Pratchett, I would have gone with the Collins or Bacigalupi. I liked Ship Breaker more than The Windup Girl, which was given incredible acclaim last year. And The Hunger Games was so strong!

Just some late night thoughts. I'm not surprised Inception won but I'm kind of confused as to why there is a Nebula movie award. :)

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