About the Book
It is extremely difficult to win a Hugo award. It is also
extremely difficult to win a Nebula. These are like the Oscars and Golden
Globes on the science fiction/fantasy writing side, and just like it is the extremely
rare movie that gets both the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Movie,
it is only stories of the highest caliber that get awarded both the Nebula and
the Hugo.
The Hugo is awarded at the annual Worldcon, voted on by
fans. The Nebula is awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
(SFWA) voted on by its member, primarily professional writers. A piece that wins
both, signifies that it had wide-spread fan appeal (fan votes) and also the highest
regard by professionals in the field (voted on by exclusively by SFWA member).
A novella is something just short of a novel (in word-count),
and many of the worlds outstanding series started off as novellas, including Orson
Scott Card's Ender's Game (the novella is the one that won all the awards, and
then was extended into a novel, and finally a series). Some consider the
novella the perfect size for a story...large enough to develop it, but with a
wordcount constrain that still imposes writing discipline.
This anthology reprints four novellas, each of which has
stood the test of time and each of which won both the Nebula and the Hugo. Some
went on to win a plethora of other awards from around the world. For example, Mike
Resnick's "The Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" may be one of the most awarded
stories in science fiction, having won not only the Hugo and Nebula, but also
the HOMer award, the SF Chronicle Award, and awards from countries like as
Spain, France and Croatia.
Here then are four of the most outstanding and most
acclaimed novellas in science fiction, penned by Joe Haldeman, Lois McMaster
Bujold, Mike Resnick and Nancy Kress.
Beggars in Spain take place in a future where genetic
engineering has become a reality, and society and culture face the consequences
of genetic modifications. The story revolves around the existence of the
"Sleepless" individuals genetically modified to not need sleep, who
have greater potential for intelligence and accomplishment than ordinary
humans, called "Sleepers".
The Hemingway Hoax weaves together a story of an
attempt to produce a fake Ernest Hemingway manuscript with themes concerning
time travel and parallel worlds. The story is based on the real-life incident
in Hemmingway's life when his first wife Hadley lost a suitcase with his manuscripts.
The Mountains of Mourning explores the concepts of
justice and mercy when Miles Vorkosigan is sent to represent the empire in a
far-flung rural village where a woman demands justice for the murder of her
baby who was born healthy, but with a cleft lip and palate.
The Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge explores the meaning
of human progress and decline, long after humans have disappeared from the Earth.
An alien archeological expedition is sent to explore humanities rise and fall
in its birthplace of Olduvai Gorge where seven recounted stories based on artifacts
found tell the tale of how they rose and how they fell, but also leave the aliens
with an uneasy feeling of what the future may hold.
