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Nebula Awards Showcases #54
Nebula Awards Showcase 54
The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, selected by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
The latest volume of the prestigious anthology series, published annually across six decades! The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes have been published yearly since 1966, reprinting winning and nominated stories of the Nebula Awards, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
This year's editor is Nibedita Sen, a Hugo, Nebula, and Astounding Award-nominated writer and editor. This year's Nebula Award winners include Mary Robinette Kowal, Aliette de Bodard, Brooke Bolander, and P. Djèlí Clark.
Stories and Excerpts by
Mary Robinette Kowal
Aliette de Bodard
Brooke Bolander
P. Djèlí Clark
José Pablo Iriarte
Lawrence M. Schoen
Andy Duncan
Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and R.R. Virdi
Tina Connolly
Alix E. Harrow
Sarah Pinsker
A. T. Greenblatt
The latest volume of the prestigious anthology series, published annually across six decades! The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes have been published yearly since 1966, reprinting winning and nominated stories of the Nebula Awards, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
This year's editor is Nibedita Sen, a Hugo, Nebula, and Astounding Award-nominated writer and editor. This year's Nebula Award winners include Mary Robinette Kowal, Aliette de Bodard, Brooke Bolander, and P. Djèlí Clark.
Stories and Excerpts by
Mary Robinette Kowal
Aliette de Bodard
Brooke Bolander
P. Djèlí Clark
José Pablo Iriarte
Lawrence M. Schoen
Andy Duncan
Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and R.R. Virdi
Tina Connolly
Alix E. Harrow
Sarah Pinsker
A. T. Greenblatt
480 pages, Paperback
First published November 17, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 30, 2026
Review of Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island, by Nibedita Sen
“We are all cannibals at birth, and our mother-tongue is the language of the mouth.”
A short fiction disguised as excerpts from reports of anthropological expeditions to a fictional island of the real Andaman Islands, and their consequences.
It’s fundamentally about appetites of all kinds: land, power, food, and sex. The excerpts exemplify changing attitudes to empire, race, gender, sexuality, from 1891 and 2017.
While I appreciate the author's skill at creative genre-bending satire (incorporating lesbian horror), and her excoriation of patriarchy and colonialism, I didn’t particularly enjoy it.
Short story club
I read this with The Short Story Club.
You can read this story HERE.
You can join the group here.
“We are all cannibals at birth, and our mother-tongue is the language of the mouth.”
A short fiction disguised as excerpts from reports of anthropological expeditions to a fictional island of the real Andaman Islands, and their consequences.
It’s fundamentally about appetites of all kinds: land, power, food, and sex. The excerpts exemplify changing attitudes to empire, race, gender, sexuality, from 1891 and 2017.
While I appreciate the author's skill at creative genre-bending satire (incorporating lesbian horror), and her excoriation of patriarchy and colonialism, I didn’t particularly enjoy it.
Short story club
I read this with The Short Story Club.
You can read this story HERE.
You can join the group here.
January 29, 2021
This and more reviews at superstardrifter.com!~
This one had several stories that I was looking forward to reading, most specifically the stories by P. Djèlí Clark, Alix E. Harrow, and Brooke Bolander. It also includes excerpts from some of my most favorite books, including Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (Murderbot 4 lyfe) and The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal.
I’m not going to go over every story in here (I mean, some of them you’re just going to have to discover for yourselves, amirite? XD) but here are some of my most favorite entries in this anthology!
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by P. Djèlí Clark – this was a fantastic story, based on what appears to be a receipt for ‘Cash pd Negros for 9 Teeth’ dated 1784 from a ledger at the Mount Vernon plantation. This story does exactly what you’d expect it to. Each of those nine teeth came from a person, and this story tells the story of that person. What I wasn’t expecting was how magical and wondrous it got. Magic and mermen and all sorts of wonder are mixed into this story based in history.
And Yet by A. T. Greenblatt – This was an interesting story that puts you in the shoes of a person who is revisiting a haunted house from their youth. A haunted house that they have concluded has multiple universes in it. They’ve returned now, as an adult, with a degree in quantum mechanics ready to do some more solid investigation of the haunted house and what it could mean for science.
A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies by Alix E. Harrow – this was a lovely piece of writing that tells the story of a librarian who does their very best to get the right books into the right hands when they’re needed there. There are two types of librarians: the ‘ones who believe the books are their personal property and patrons are dangerous delinquents come to steal them; and witches. Our librarian here is the second type, and the books in their library seek out people. A young man in need of a portal fantasy comes to the library, and the librarian does their best to help in their way. I’ve loved everything I’ve read of Alix E. Harrow, and this is no exception!
The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander – this is a story I’ve been meaning to read for ages. It is a historical retelling (mostly?) following one of the Radium Girls, along with Topsy the elephant. In this tale, elephants are known to be intelligent, communicating with a type of trunk-sign language. It was absolutely beautifully written and immersive. I liked it a lot!
The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections by Tina Connolly – This was a super unique and well thought out story, following Saffron and her husband Danny. Danny is a baker, one who specializes in confections that immerse you in your memories. Saffron and he have more or less been kidnapped by the Regent, and forced into tasting parties and banquets showing off their confections. A really wonderful story.
Messenger by R.R. Virdi & Yudhanjaya Wijerantne – This reads like Hindu NGE (Evangelion). That’s all I’m saying. You can take that however you’d like, but I thought it was interesting AF.
The Tea Master by Aliette de Bodard (excerpt) – I am even more intrigued than I was just reading the blurb, that’s for sure. This excerpt introduces us to The Shadow’s Child, who is a sentient spaceship. Just the first chapter was enough to have me getting the full novella.
The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark (excerpt) – Wow that writing tho. Alternate Universe New Orleans steampunk about a girl with a storm god in her head. Clear my schedule because I’m definitely reading this entire novella, as soon as possible.
Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield (excerpt) – This is definitely another novella that I immediately bought for later consumption. It tells the story of a notorious highway robber named Alice Payne, and also a war across time, in which Major Prudence Zuniga is trying to change history. Very interesting idea, well executed in what I’ve read so far!
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (excerpt) – Murderbot is awesome. That is all.
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (excerpt) – I’ve already read this book, but I can tell you that this book, especially the audiobook version (which is also narrated by the author) is one of my favorite audiobooks of all time. If you’re down with some alternate history American space program with badass ladies being badass (and yet still being fallible, and human), please do read this one. Then listen to it.
So, that was the showcase, and I have to say that this anthology has made my TBR bigger as a result! Which… isn’t a bad thing at all (except for my wallet but who listens to them). It’s hard to give an anthology a star rating, because each story in it is entirely a different experience, but I’d say that overall, I had 5/5 stars of fun with this one. There are more stories in here that I loved rather than didn’t, and so that was a good time!
Thanks to all of the authors, as well as the editor, and the SFWA for the review copy!~
This one had several stories that I was looking forward to reading, most specifically the stories by P. Djèlí Clark, Alix E. Harrow, and Brooke Bolander. It also includes excerpts from some of my most favorite books, including Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (Murderbot 4 lyfe) and The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal.
I’m not going to go over every story in here (I mean, some of them you’re just going to have to discover for yourselves, amirite? XD) but here are some of my most favorite entries in this anthology!
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by P. Djèlí Clark – this was a fantastic story, based on what appears to be a receipt for ‘Cash pd Negros for 9 Teeth’ dated 1784 from a ledger at the Mount Vernon plantation. This story does exactly what you’d expect it to. Each of those nine teeth came from a person, and this story tells the story of that person. What I wasn’t expecting was how magical and wondrous it got. Magic and mermen and all sorts of wonder are mixed into this story based in history.
And Yet by A. T. Greenblatt – This was an interesting story that puts you in the shoes of a person who is revisiting a haunted house from their youth. A haunted house that they have concluded has multiple universes in it. They’ve returned now, as an adult, with a degree in quantum mechanics ready to do some more solid investigation of the haunted house and what it could mean for science.
A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies by Alix E. Harrow – this was a lovely piece of writing that tells the story of a librarian who does their very best to get the right books into the right hands when they’re needed there. There are two types of librarians: the ‘ones who believe the books are their personal property and patrons are dangerous delinquents come to steal them; and witches. Our librarian here is the second type, and the books in their library seek out people. A young man in need of a portal fantasy comes to the library, and the librarian does their best to help in their way. I’ve loved everything I’ve read of Alix E. Harrow, and this is no exception!
The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander – this is a story I’ve been meaning to read for ages. It is a historical retelling (mostly?) following one of the Radium Girls, along with Topsy the elephant. In this tale, elephants are known to be intelligent, communicating with a type of trunk-sign language. It was absolutely beautifully written and immersive. I liked it a lot!
The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections by Tina Connolly – This was a super unique and well thought out story, following Saffron and her husband Danny. Danny is a baker, one who specializes in confections that immerse you in your memories. Saffron and he have more or less been kidnapped by the Regent, and forced into tasting parties and banquets showing off their confections. A really wonderful story.
Messenger by R.R. Virdi & Yudhanjaya Wijerantne – This reads like Hindu NGE (Evangelion). That’s all I’m saying. You can take that however you’d like, but I thought it was interesting AF.
The Tea Master by Aliette de Bodard (excerpt) – I am even more intrigued than I was just reading the blurb, that’s for sure. This excerpt introduces us to The Shadow’s Child, who is a sentient spaceship. Just the first chapter was enough to have me getting the full novella.
The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark (excerpt) – Wow that writing tho. Alternate Universe New Orleans steampunk about a girl with a storm god in her head. Clear my schedule because I’m definitely reading this entire novella, as soon as possible.
Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield (excerpt) – This is definitely another novella that I immediately bought for later consumption. It tells the story of a notorious highway robber named Alice Payne, and also a war across time, in which Major Prudence Zuniga is trying to change history. Very interesting idea, well executed in what I’ve read so far!
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (excerpt) – Murderbot is awesome. That is all.
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (excerpt) – I’ve already read this book, but I can tell you that this book, especially the audiobook version (which is also narrated by the author) is one of my favorite audiobooks of all time. If you’re down with some alternate history American space program with badass ladies being badass (and yet still being fallible, and human), please do read this one. Then listen to it.
So, that was the showcase, and I have to say that this anthology has made my TBR bigger as a result! Which… isn’t a bad thing at all (except for my wallet but who listens to them). It’s hard to give an anthology a star rating, because each story in it is entirely a different experience, but I’d say that overall, I had 5/5 stars of fun with this one. There are more stories in here that I loved rather than didn’t, and so that was a good time!
Thanks to all of the authors, as well as the editor, and the SFWA for the review copy!~
May 7, 2021
I thought the content was a bit above average this year, however: I do not understand the wild inconsistency year to year in the packaging of this showcase.
In prior years, stories are often broken into sections -- short stories, novellas, etc. At the start of each story is often a blurb about the author. It's clear as you read that you're reading the winner or a finalist, etc. One year some poems were even included.
This particular edition was the laziest. The forward was three milquetoast pages of "I'm so lucky to be an editor. Look how diverse we are now", which is the same sentiment as the year prior's but less passionately written. After that it's a table of contents, no sections or clear organization, no denoting the winners, and all short author blurbs in the back.
And no Kindle edition for some reason?
In prior years, stories are often broken into sections -- short stories, novellas, etc. At the start of each story is often a blurb about the author. It's clear as you read that you're reading the winner or a finalist, etc. One year some poems were even included.
This particular edition was the laziest. The forward was three milquetoast pages of "I'm so lucky to be an editor. Look how diverse we are now", which is the same sentiment as the year prior's but less passionately written. After that it's a table of contents, no sections or clear organization, no denoting the winners, and all short author blurbs in the back.
And no Kindle edition for some reason?
August 3, 2024
Some excellent stories here BUT there is no listing of whcih stories / novelettes/ novellas won what award!!! Also, FAR too much of the book is taken up with excerpts!! If I am interested in reading the novella - then I don't want to spoil it by reading an excerpt. And if I'm not interested in reading the entire novella, then why on earth would I waste time reading an excerpt???
A long string of 6 excerpts seems to me very much like a Lose / Lose proposition!
Let's go back to the good old days, when the only excerpt was from the winning novel!
My rating system:
Since Goodreads only allows 1 to 5 stars (no half-stars), you have no option but to be ruthless. I reserve one star for a book that is a BOMB - or poor (equivalent to a letter grade of F, E, or at most D). Progressing upwards, 2 stars is equivalent to C (C -, C or C+), 3 stars (equals to B - or B), 4 stars (equals B+ or A -), and 5 stars (equals A or A+). As a result, I maximize my rating space for good books, and don't waste half or more of that rating space on books that are of marginal quality.
My rating for this collection / anthology was "B - ", which translates to a Goodreads score of 3 stars. A score of 2 1/2 stars would be more accurate, but Goodreads says that half-stars are politically incorrect.
A long string of 6 excerpts seems to me very much like a Lose / Lose proposition!
Let's go back to the good old days, when the only excerpt was from the winning novel!
My rating system:
Since Goodreads only allows 1 to 5 stars (no half-stars), you have no option but to be ruthless. I reserve one star for a book that is a BOMB - or poor (equivalent to a letter grade of F, E, or at most D). Progressing upwards, 2 stars is equivalent to C (C -, C or C+), 3 stars (equals to B - or B), 4 stars (equals B+ or A -), and 5 stars (equals A or A+). As a result, I maximize my rating space for good books, and don't waste half or more of that rating space on books that are of marginal quality.
My rating for this collection / anthology was "B - ", which translates to a Goodreads score of 3 stars. A score of 2 1/2 stars would be more accurate, but Goodreads says that half-stars are politically incorrect.
April 29, 2023
2 Stars. Based on rating each story. Only a handful (30%) being decent. A very mixed bag. And what's with the excerpts?? To wet my appetite? I expect a complete story in an Award's compendium.
March 12, 2025
Didn’t finish. Re-confirmed sci-fi/fantasy is not a genre I enjoy reading (though I loved The Sparrow).
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews