Exploring the Nebulas Runners-Up Edition: A Song of Ice and Fire

Always a bridesmaid never a bride: that seems to be the story of A Song of Ice and Fire, the epic High Fantasy series by American author George R.R. Martin. With five books available and two more expected after 2015, Martin has two more shots at winning a Nebula Award for Best Novel. But as of now, Martin has yet to take it and this blog entry will discuss the first three novels of the saga: A Game of Thrones (1996), A Clash of Kings (1999), and A Storm of Swords (2001) all of which were short-listed for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in the year of their publication but did not win. Welcome to the first ever "Blogging the Nebulas: Runners-up Edition"!  

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, (Bantam Spectra, 1996). This book lost the Nebula Award for Best Novel to The Slow River by Nicola Griffith.

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (Bantam Spectra, 1999). This book lost the Nebula Award for Best Novel to Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler.

A Storm of Swards by George R.R. Martin (Bantam Spectra, 2000) This book lost the Nebula Award for Best Novel to The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro. The fourth and fifth book of the series, A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons, were both nominated for the Hugo Awards but not the Nebula Awards and are not discussed in this blog entry. 

To call A Song of Fire and Ice epic is an understatement. With A Game of Thrones clocking in at over 800 pages, A Clash Of Kings at 1000, and A Storm of Swords at 1100, these books are not for the faint of heart or attention-span deficient. The series tells the story of the familial relations and geopolitics of the Seven Kingdoms, a large imperial body located on the fictional continent of Westeros, and the drive of its major houses to rule from its "Iron Throne." The principal protagonists are members of House Stark, the house paramount of the largest kingdom-province named simply and appropriately, the North. The head of House Stark at the beginning of the story is Ned Stark, the dutiful, stoic and honest "warden" of his sparse yet peaceful province. Among the Starks key rivals is the wealthy House Lannister, led by the ruthless and diabolical Tywin Lannister. Tywin is Warden of the West and rules the Westerlands, an area of the Seven Kingdoms that is rich with gold and mineral deposits. House Lannister also features the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister, who at first engenders ambivalence but soon becomes an important and entertaining protagonist in his own right. Other important houses of Westeros include the Tullys who govern the Riverlands, the Tyrells who govern the Reach, the Baratheons who govern the Stormlands (and amongst whom includes the King of the Seven Kingdoms himself), and the Martells who rule the largely independent and separate region of Dorne. The northern marches of the Seven Kingdoms is bordered by a massive 700 foot high ice wall which is manned by a quasi-monastic order called the "Night’s Watch." These brothers serve the important role of keeping the "wildlings" and others who live north of the Wall from invading the Seven Kingdoms. 

Image from George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Volume I. Adopted by Daniel Abraham with art by Tommy Patterson (Bantam Books, 2012)

Heading a large family of six children (which includes one bastard son who becomes an important character to the story), Ned and his noble wife Catelyn (née Tully) deal with the same issues that most parents do and their lives are otherwise peaceful. This all changes however when it's announced at the beginning of A Game of Thrones that Ned’s old friend and ally King Robert Baratheon, plans to visit Winterfell, the Stark's seat of power. Robert is married to Cersei, daughter of Tywin Lannister, so a visit from the king is not entirely a welcome thing for the Starks. And this proves to be exactly the case, when the Stark's second son Bran mysteriously falls and severely injures himself and the king further asks Ned to move to the capital city and serve as the "King’s Hand" a role analogous to prime minister. Robert won the throne decades earlier from the exiled House Targaryen, who themselves conquered and united the Seven Kingdoms three hundred years before after invading Westeros from the ancient (and now ruined) city of Valyria, off the larger continent of Essos. The final exiled issue of the last Targaryen king is a young woman named Daenerys and she eventually becomes a key character of the saga as she travels throughout Essos in search of an army and allies as she prepares to mount her claim for the Iron Throne. Daenerys biggest weapon is the same that were brought by her ancestor centuries earlier and a long-time key to House Targaryen's power – Dragons! 

Image from George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Volume I. Adopted by Daniel Abraham with art by Tommy Patterson (Bantam Books, 2012)

Naturally, this review has only covers a fraction of A Song of Ice and Fire but I hope it gives you a sense of the massive scope of these books. And they’re very good books too. Being a long-time fantasy reader, I really enjoyed them because they speak to me as both a lover of the fantastical, but also someone who loves fictional history too. Indeed, the quasi-medieval politics is so carefully constructed and impressively coherent that at times it often seems like real history. And I think this is what makes them so popular and accessible for mainstream readers who may be interested in modern or historical fiction too. Indeed, indelible marks of medieval France and England and Renaissance Italy are all over these tomes and despite their being dragons and other fantasy themed beasts, A Song of Ice and Fire remarkably straddles genres and cannot be boxed into a corner. I know this isn’t at all scientific, but I’d offer up as two example of readers who don't enjoy fantasy but loves these books as my -- father and sister. Both have read portions of the larger saga but are not at all interested in overtly fantasy titles like The Lord of the Rings no matter how much I tell him they should be. Each chapter is divided not by numbers but by the principal character which it discusses which also makes the book more manageable. Of course, because there is so much "history" to the book, and I do recommend having a tablet computer or map close to get a better sense of what is going on. George R.R. Martin is a remarkable world-builder and sometimes this is the most daunting part of the books!    

Image of the Iron Throne from the hit HBO program Game of Thrones. Image from HBO's website.

In recent years A Song of Ice and Fire has exploded onto other mediums, most notably the highly popular HBO television program Game of Thrones. This show which recently entered its fourth season in April 2014 has exposed the source material to legions of fans who might otherwise may have missed it in the late 90s. Evidence of this is the fact that A Game of Thrones made it onto the New York Bestseller list in 2011 – 15 years after its original publication. Game of Thrones has proven popular across a number of key demographics and has increased viewership for its premier episode each year going forward, with women also making up a significant portion of its audience.  Less scientifically, it has also been the source of a number of Twitter trends and been cause of a number of pop-culture, perhaps most significantly the (in)famous "Red Wedding" which occurred in the penultimate episode of the third season in 2013. A Song of Ice and Fire has also spawned comic books, video games and a number of time wasting online activities, my favourite being linked here.

On the whole A Song of Ice and Fire is a very good read. They’re long books and take time for average-speed readers like you humble blogger. But they’re worth it and watching the characters and geopolitics unfold is a truely enjoyable experience. So if you've seen the HBO show but have yet to read the source material, I highly recommend you give these books a shot. They may be Nebula runners-ups, but they're all fantastically good books regardless!

Exploring the Nebulas: 1978 winner Vonda N. McIntyre's Dreamsnake

Taking place in the distant future, Dreamsnake by American writer Vonda N. McIntyre, tells the story of "Snake" a Healer on a post-apocalyptic, radioactive, unforgiving Earth. Healers in this period are highly respected and equipped to handle health emergencies in a place that has largely forgotten modern medicine. When Snake's only dreamsnake is accidentally killed while helping a patient, she is professionally hobbled and embarks on a quest to find a new one. Along the way McIntyre details a quest riddled with hazards, hostiles, odd sexual mores and a decimated landscape all of which leads to a fascinating and provocative story. Unlike so much science-fiction, the story has no obvious “offworlders” but does make it clear that there has been contact with extra-terrestrials and this becomes an important part of the story by the end of the book. Along with winning the 1978 Nebula award, Dreamsnake was also the recipient of the 1979 Hugo award from the international science-fiction community.

Dreamsnake, Vonda N. McIntyre, Houghton Mifflin, 1978, pp. 277

Dreamsnake has the heavy undertone of drug use and culture that one might expect from a book published in the 1970s. Indeed, Snake’s primary method of creating medicine is by three snakes and the alchemy that comes from mixing their venom. The primary antagonist is also very much akin to a drug lord and it’s the magic-turned-science of the Dreamsnake that gives this book has much a fantasy feeling to it as a science-fiction one. So while strictly speaking I would label it a science-fiction novel, it has some intense fantastical elements to it and at times could almost be integrated into the elaborately constructed worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien or George R.R. Martin. The characters are both well developed and richly detailed and their convincing motivations do well to drive the story forward. With a number of the sub-plots, the story is also somewhat layered and gives the readable characters a humanity that makes the story as much about them as it does the odd new world.

This is not really the type of science-fiction I would normally buy and honestly I only read it because of the Nebula quest I'm currently on. But I’m glad I did. It was a worthy winner of the award for best novel from the Science-Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for 1978 and a very Good read overall.     

Exploring the Nebulas: 2013 winner Kim Stanley Robinson's 2312

Welcome to the first edition of Exploring the Nebulas, a new ongoing series from WGTB. In this series we will briefly review novels that have won the Nebula Award, the prize awarded by the Science-Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America as the best novel of that genre each year. The scale used to rate each book is one of three: Good, Great or Legendary and the first winner to be reviewed is also the most recent; 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson.

2312, Kim Stanley Robinson, Orbit, 2012, pp. 576, C$ 29.00

2312 is Kim Stanley Robinson’s second Nebula win for Best Novel (his previous being Red Mars in 1993) and continues in a similar vein as a more 'high' or even literary science-fictional work. The book is set in the eponymous year and envisions the Solar System as a place where humans have moved to almost every major planet or planetoid available including Mercury, the home of our protagonist Swan Er Hong. Space travel is achieved through massive hollowed-out asteroid-ships called Terrariums that also serve as giant nature reservations or specialised theme parks. Other technological and societal advancements include space elevators on Earth and Mars; a moving city on Mercury; a free and independent Martian republic; a massive Venetian blind-like heat shield above Venus; the insertion of animal genetic material into human beings; as well as changes to human sexual organs. Despite all these amazing achievements, perhaps the most significant advancement is artificial intelligence that has both augmented the human brain and is on the verge of becoming its own political force. The Earth of 2312 is much less amazing and has become the "sad planet" with years of abuse and environmental degradation having left it a poverty stricken mess. Indeed, the damage caused by humanity has led to near extinction for many of its species and this is a major theme of the story. 

For the most part this Nebula winner is good, but is not without its problems. The book is interspersed with quasi-scientific "Excerpts” and “Lists” that provide insight into our future and at times are very interesting. But I also found that they could be distracting and towards the end of the story found them to disrupt the flow of the story which made the book feel longer than it needed to be. In 2312 Robinson also doesn't hide his politics and heartfelt belief that the prevailing economic system that we know, namely "capitalism", needs to be eliminated and the story has an economy of 2312 effectively extinquishing it by use of powerful computers. Personally, I'm highly skeptical that the future will confine capitalism to the domain of hobbyists and collectors as Robinson has, but the author is entitled to his opinion and – while having a significant political aspect to it – 2312 can be enjoyed by someone who doesn't agree with the author's politics.

The biggest problem I have with the book is that while it was very long, the ending was too Deus ex machina for my taste and appeared (paradoxically) rushed. I don't want to spoil the story for those who have not read it, but it's essentially a "who did it" caper, yet ends so abruptly and easily that it gnaws away at the suspension of disbelief every reader carries. Of course, it's likely that the intention of the book was that the journey was to be its own reward, and to this end it was speculative science-fiction done well. Not great, and by the final hundred pages I was ready to move on, but good. As such, it gets that exact rating: 2312 is a Good Nebula winner.   

*At the time of posting 2312 was the most recent recent Nebula Award winner for best novel. The ceremonies for the 2013 books take place in San Jose, at the San Jose Marriott, May 15-18, 2014.  

Exploring the Nebulas: A New Series from WGTB

This year I’m starting a new blog series called: “Exploring the Nebulas”. Being a sci-fi fan, I’ve long understood the importance the Nebula Awards have to readers and writers of science-fiction and fantasy. Yet, while I’ve read a lot of these books, I haven’t yet read them all and have wanted to do so for many years. So to start 2014, I'm setting out to accomplish this goal and will write a short review for this blog after each book.  

Logo of the Nebula Awards.

As I'm not a particularly fast reader, this is a significant time commitment and I may not get it accomplished before the natural life of this blog comes to an end. But I’m going to give it my best and may even cheat by posting reviews of winners I've read within recent memory. I've also decided not to keep any specific time commitment (a book per week for example) or to read them in chronological order, so this should make things a little more manageable. Also, reviews will not be long, and given that each book has already been well received, I will won’t pick them apart. I will however point out where I think they might have been better and note how the genre has evolved from the first winner Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) to its most recent, 2312 (2012) by Kim Stanley Robinson. I’ll also note any sequels, prequels, comics, television shows, films, etc. that are related and of interest to readers of this blog.

As well as documenting winners, I’ll also read and review significant runners-up or books that with 20/20 hindsight might have won the prize instead. The best example of these would be George R.R. Martin’s, A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords which were nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1996, 1997 and 2001 respectively but did not win. These novels are now (arguably) more famous than any other winner or nominee thanks in large part to the popular HBO television series Game of Thrones. 

Title card of HBO's popular television show Game of Thrones. This led to a resurgence of George R.R. Martin's books with A Game of Thrones reaching #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers List in July 2011, 15 years after its initial release.  

What are the Nebula Awards? 

The Nebula Awards stand at the pinnacle of American science-fiction and fantasy writing. They are voted on each year by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a professional association that works to advance the interests of its members. To qualify for membership, one must have sold one novel or script or three short stories and membership is not exclusive to Americans. The SFWA's Nebula Awards are – along with their International cousins the Hugo Awards – presented each year to the winner. The five categories for the Nebulas include: Best Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story and Script. Perhaps unsurprisingly, while the first Nebula for Best Novel was awarded in 1966 and the first Hugo in 1954, there has since been considerable overlap, with the winner of the Nebula Award having won the corresponding Hugo on 22 occasions. 

The Nebula Awards for 2013 will be awarded In San Jose, California in May 2014 and I'll certainly follow that contest closely. In the meanwhile, I hope you enjoy Exploring the Nebulas and when the reviews are up, please feel free to voice any opinions you have about the reviewed book. And as always, thanks for reading WGTB.