Generally the contenders for the Nebula Award are fairly easy to identify on the Nebula Reading List at the SFWA Website. The way this list works is that authors/editors/publishers/agents can provide copies or links to works for the SFWA membership to read and recommend. Often the recommenders leave their names, which is interesting because you can see who likes what. Anders’ All the Birds in the Sky was an early favorite. The page is down now, but this novel ended up with 18 recommendations, which I think put it at the top of the list. Lee’s Ninefox Gambit fell much lower, with 7 recommendations as far as I can tell through the Wayback Machine. Jemisin’s novel put in a strong showing, too, but since she won last year, voters might have discounted this year’s follow-up as more of the same. That leaves Ninefox Gambit as the outstanding contender.
If you look back through my reviews, you’ll see that I thought Anders’ novel was just average—I gave it three stars. I rated Lee’s Ninefox Gambit at four and half, which means I thought it was above average. Both these authors are strongly diverse, and this was the first novel for both. So why was Anders’ book such a strong favorite? Let’s look at the strengths and weaknesses of the novels again.
Anders’ novel starts off very strong with a presentation of how talented children are bullied and persecuted. In Part II, it abandons this theme to present an apocalyptic situation where nature and science are at odds and the humans end up impotent. The ending is predictable. The writing is interestingly quirky and absurdist, but the novel sags badly in the middle and never recovers. What it ends up saying is murky, maybe that we are at odds with nature and on a path to destruction.
Lee’s novel starts off with a space battle clearly based on an alien system of reality. The protagonist works her way through an understanding of the politics related to who will establish the reigning system, and ends up finding herself attached to a highly talented, dead subversive. Besides having a strong plot, a strong action line and a twist ending, this work also has excellent characterization, imagery and artistic effects. The question it asks is about the nature of reality. It has a slightly tongue-in-cheek quality that detracts, which is all that kept me from giving it 5 stars.
In my humble opinion, Lee’s novel is the more entertaining. It has a great plot and a strong action line. The underlying philosophical questions and the world-building are first rate. It’s highly professional as a first effort, and should hold up much better in the coming years. So why was it passed over? Does Anders’ work look to be more important?
greghullender
Jun 17, 2017 @ 10:10:32
I think the problem is that Ninefox Gambit is a much harder book to get into. I abandoned it myself after two or three chapters. Only when someone suggested I read the excellent novella “The Battle of Candle Arc” first did I get into it, and after that intro, Ninefox was a fun read.
But I’ll bet lots of people weren’t willing to give it another chance.
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Lela E. Buis
Jun 17, 2017 @ 11:27:30
You’re probably right. The initial battle was enough for me to judge it something with high potential, so I kept reading. Clearly the SFWA membership as a whole judged it a well-written work, because of the way it came from behind in the finalist vote. That’s the signal for people to give it a second look before making their final choice.
I suspect this is another symptom of SF’s decline as the literature of ideas. The broadened fan base means that STEM geeks are a smaller percentage of the readership. I thought the math content was highly interesting and entertaining, but the average fantasy fan might not think so.
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greghullender
Jun 17, 2017 @ 12:09:37
Except that there isn’t any real math content. Yoon Ha Lee has been very clear that the story is future fantasy, not hard SF at all.
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greghullender
Jun 17, 2017 @ 15:13:24
We can go by the author’s own words: “You might enjoy these books if you like immersion that throws you in the deep end, with minimal exposition (it’s a technique I enjoy myself), cracky science fantasy based in consensus reality, handwavy magic powers in space, and military action.” (Bold not in original.) An interview with Yoon Ha Lee
I suppose you can argue that space opera is a kind of science fantasy (especially if it has something like “the force” in it). Anyway, I don’t remember any real math in the story. Are you thinking of something specific or just the general tone of it?
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Lela E. Buis
Jun 17, 2017 @ 16:15:06
Just the general tone of the novel. Their battle formations are mathematically calculated and their reality is based on a mathematical system. Lee’s protagonist is the strong math talent that Jedao has been looking for that will allow him to challenge the political system.
I agree that space opera is generally science fantasy. Magic allows you to get around all those awkward things like faster than light space travel.
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Lela E. Buis
Jun 17, 2017 @ 12:17:19
Well, no. It’s clearly space opera. She’s not tried to explain how the ships work, etc. However, the math and philosophy content make it above average in the rating of ideas. The philosophical content may fall below most readers’ radar, but the math is right out there. If you can’t grapple with that, then it’s a difficult read. Let’s hear it for mathematicians that write SF. 🙂
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