Nebula Awards 2007 - short stories: Brief summaries & my rankings

List below is based on the results of preliminary ballot, final ballot, & the official winners announcement.

Note that naming convention of Nebula Awards can be confusing. "2007" awards are actually the ones to be given in the year "2008"! And they refer to not only the stories published during 2007, but in 2006 as well, & can also include stories published in 2008 (but don't in the list below). They have something called 2-years rolling rule - I never bothered to learn its particulars.

List below is ordered by my preference - best first. My rating is in brackets (ABC: A = worth your time; C = don't bother). Where I have posted a separate review of the entry, link on story title takes you there. Where I am aware an authorized copy of the story is available online, I provide the download link too.

I am among those who actually cares about science fiction as distinct from rest of what goes as speculative fiction. And my classification is intentionally simplistic: if it is not science fiction, it's fantasy! Except when it is not even fantasy - I call that "non-genre". Occasionally, I add other tags to clarify what to expect when you pick up a story.

Story list (best first).

1. [prelim] Mary Robinette Kowal's "For Solo Cello, op. 12" (B); download; Cosmos, February/March 2007; science fiction: A man is forced to make an impossible choice - get his hand lost in accident in return for the life of his unborn child!
2. [final, prelim] Andy Duncan's "Unique Chicken Goes In Reverse" (B); download; Jonathan Strahan (Ed)'s "Eclipse 1: New Science Fiction And Fantasy", October 2007; non-genre, humor: A little child has met an avatar of Jesus Christ!
3. [final, prelim] David D Levine's "Titanium Mike Saves the Day" (B); download; F&SF, April 2007; science fiction: An ordinary mortal becomes a hero in fantastic space legends. Organized as 5 separate stories that trace the evolution of the legends over a century. For me, most important take was a reminder in one the stories - when you want someone's attention, selling a dream works better than selling data.
4. [winner, final, prelim] Karen Joy Fowler's "Always" (B); download; Asimov's, April/May 2007; non-genre: Description of life in a quasi-religious commune. Protagonist comes across as a loser, but otherwise a readable story - occasionally humorous.
5. [final, prelim] Vera Nazarian's "The Story of Love" (B); download; (probably author's own collection titled) "Salt of the Air", September 2006; non-genre: Father/daughter estrangement, & finally patch up.
6. [final] Mary Turzillo's "Pride" (B); download; Fast Forward 1, Pyr, February 2007; non-genre: Joys & pains of raising a big wild carnivore from a little cub. There is a very minor sf element, but it's essentially a non-genre story. Note this wasn't there on preliminary list (is probably a jury nominee).
   
7. [prelim] Melanie Fletcher's "The Padre, the Rabbi, and the Devil His Own Self" (B); download; Helix #2 (Fall 2006); fantasy, humor: Justice is meted out to a conman priest. There are parts related to prejudices among Catholic, Protestant, & Jewish sects that you will probably enjoy more than me if you are familiar with these religions. Not very original plot - there are probably a half dozen Hindi movies that include threads with its theme, & innumerable local tales in India (may be elsewhere too). But I still liked the story.
8. [final, prelim] Jennifer Pelland's "Captive Girl" (C); download; Helix #2 (Fall 2006); science fiction, horror: Gross abuse of three little girls by an agency of the State.

Related.

1. 2007 Nebula Awards novelettes, novellas.
2. 2008 Hugo Awards short stories.
   

Karen Joy Fowler's "Always" (short story, non-genre): Description of life in a quasi-religious commune

I would not have made a separate post on this story if it had not made past the Nebula Awards 2007 preliminary round.

Quite a readable story - even sometimes amusing, but a) it's non-genre, & b) it's the story of a loser - not my cup of tea. I did not know Nebula allowed just any story, even those not speculative fiction.

Full text of this story is available for download.

Story summary.

One Brother Porter has been running the self-sufficient commune called the city of "Always" since his early twenties. His USP is - those who enter the city are granted immortality! You need to have faith in his word; don't demand a proof, please!

Year is 1938. Commune is located somewhere in Santa Cruz area of California, US.

There are separate hostels for men & women, & a big house for Brother Porter. Even married couples need to live separately. And women need to provide sexual services to Brother Porter regularly, whenever he demands. For Brother Porter, it's business - there are tourists, a "petting zoo", probably other things too.

Story describes life in commune from the perspective of an unnamed girl, the narrator. She was 17 when she entered the commune, with her boyfriend Wilt Loomis. Cut off from world, she will soon become a dull woman.

Wilt will leave after a while, as do some other people. Eventually, Brother Porter will be murdered by Frankie, an inmate. Other inmates are confused, but stay put. Yet another inmate will gun down 4 during dinner. Government gets active. Eventually, the commune is vacated - save for narrator.

She doesn't know what else to do. Lot of years have passed. She doesn't even know if her own mother is still alive, & is not interested in really finding out. Sole ghost in Always - tending to things the best she can.

Collected in.

1. David Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer (Ed)'s "Year's Best SF 13" (2008).
   

Fact sheet.

"Always", short story, review
First published: Asimov's Science Fiction, April/May 2007.
Rating: B
Winner of Nebula Awards 2007 in short story category.