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james_davis_nicollCut for length. The usual disclaimer applies re: comments to the effect that I am not familiar with a paricular work or body of work.
Best First Novel
1 War for the Oaks Emma Bull
Hey, remember when fantasy set in modern cities seemed new
and interesting? This dates from that period. In fact, I think this
was one of the earliest examples of the revival of this sort of thing.
I enjoyed it at the time and do not reread it to preserve
my memories of it.
Bull is not particularly prolific and there seems to be a
ten year gap between consecutive novels at one point (I also recall
some problem getting the rights for WftO back from Ace). She is still
getting published both at novel and short story lengths.
2 Mindplayers Pat Cadigan
I missed this.
Cadiagan is reasonably successful as a novelist and short
story writer. I believe that she is also a catalyst, someone whose
name often pops up in the backstory to other people's careers.
3 In Conquest Born C. S. Friedman
I was inadvertantly conditioned to react badly to Friedman:
someone raved to me about her while repeatedly accidentally nudging
my leg whose knee I had destroyed a few days earlier. It took decades
before I could look at her name without feeling a twinge in my leg.
Friedman is still with us and in fact I think she has a novel
coming out early next year.
4 Liege-Killer Christopher Hinz
This is the first book in the Paratawa trilogy. Earth is toast
and humanity lives in space (a frequent scenario for SF written during
this period. See, for example, the Eight Worlds or John McLoughlin's
THE HELIX AND THE SWORD). The Paratawa, legendary assassins, are
supposed to be as dead as Earth but evidence surfaces that at least
one of them is still active.
As far as I know, Hinz only published four novels. I see nothing
past 1991.
5 The Net Loren J. MacGregor
I am embarassed to say it has been long enough since I read this
and my ability to overlook copies to replace the one that I lost that
I cannot comment on this book.
I believe Loren has had writer's block since this book was
published.
This was an Ace Special.
6 Arrows of the Queen Mercedes Lackey
I did not read this.
Lackey is prolific and very successful.
7 Becoming Alien Rebecca Ore
This was the first in a trilogy about a young man from a
disfunctional background who inavertently is an accessory to the
murder an alien observer. He is given the chance to atone by working
for the aliens, something that lets him rebuild his life.
Ore is not prolific but she is still getting published.
8 After the Zap Michael Armstrong
Is this the one where an event erases everyone's memories?
As far as I can tell, Armstrong's most recent novel (of
three) was in the early 1990s. His most recent short story appears
to have been in the late 1990s.
9 Reindeer Moon Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
If I recall correctly, this is about prehistoric Siberian
nomads and it was fairly successful in its day.
I believe that she had two or three more novels but that she
is better known for her non-fiction, anthropoligical and otherwise.
10 Swordspoint Ellen Kushner
I did not read this. Yes, I am a horrible person.
She isn't as prolific as some of her fans would like but
she has published fairly steadily since her first book appeared.
11 Memoirs of an Invisible Man H. F. Saint
An accident renders a business man invisble. I don't think
I finished this.
I think this was Saint's only book (Unless he published under
another name). I have a terrible feeling this was made into a Chevy
Chase movie, before EPA regulations banned that sort of thing (I
assume).
12 Napoleon Disentimed Hayford Peirce
A conman is drawn across time into an alternate universe,
where he tries to prosper by applying his ability to bilk people.
I was a big fan of his in the 1970s but I remember being cool
to this novel.
Peirce has published a respectable number of novels over the
years, both SF and mystery, and somehow I have managed to miss seeing
almost all of them. Curse you, sucky Canadian book distribution!
13 A Death of Honor Joe Clifford Faust
This was an SF noir mystery set in a US readying itself, IIRC,
for the Inevitable Soviet Victory That Must Inevitably Come, Inevitably.
Faust was moderately prolific in the late 1980s and mid-1990s
but I don't see anything past 1998.
14 The American Book of the Dead Stephen Billias
I missed this.
As far as I can tell, Billias wrote a few books in his own
worlds and more written in other people's worlds (in particular
R. Talsorian and FASA's) but I don't see anything by him past the
mid-1990s.
15 The Architects of Hyperspace Thomas R. McDonough
I missed this.
As far as I can tell, McDonough was not very prolific and he
has had no SF published since the early 1990s.
16 The Shadow of His Wings Bruce Fergusson
I missed this.
I can only find a handful of books by him, all in the early 1990s.
I am not sure if this is just a sign that that's he's badly documented.
I could swear that he had an anti-nuclear war novel but I don't see any
mention of it.
17 Pennterra Judith Moffett
This is on the short list of SF novels about quakers and the
even shorter list of SF novesls about Quakers that I missed (I did
read a later one by her).
I don't think Moffett was particularly prolific and I don't
see any novels by her past the mid-1990s.
18 The Leeshore Robert Reed
I missed this (Although I've read a fair amount of Reed since
then).
Reed is a fairly prolific SF writer whose career continues to
this day.
19 A Rose-Red City Dave Duncan
Mera is inhabited by people gathered from every era in time.
I remember a crack team being sent out to deal with some problem but
not what that problem was.
Duncan is fairly prolific but he dumped SF in favour of fantasy,
possibly out of some quixotic desire to live indoors.
20 The Movement of Mountains Michael Blumlein
I missed this.
Blumlein does not appear to be prolific at the novel level
and there seems to be a roughly decade-long gap between his most recent
novel and the one before it. He has been more prolific at shorter lengths.
21 Station Gehenna Andrew Weiner
I missed this.
Weiner is far more prolific at the shorter lengths than at the
novel length. In fact, I think that this is one of two novels that he
has published so far.
22 Soldiers of Paradise Paul Park
As I recall, this is set on a world with a very long year
many years in our future. The local society has been highly stratified
for a long, long time but in this book things begin to fall apart.
I loved this when I read it but I liked each book less,
particularly when the French Revolution was suddenly recapitulated.
Park has had a reasonably prolific career thus far.
23 Teot's War Heather Gladney
Not only did I miss this, I didn't even hear rumours about it.
As far as I can tell, she had this book, a sequel and at
least one short story but nothing since about 1996.
24 Soulstring Midori Snyder
I missed this.
She appears to have been reasonably prolific but I think 2002's
HANNAH'S GARDEN may have been her most recent novel.
25 Frame of Reference Jerry Oltion
I missed this as well.
Oltion appears to have been reasonably prolific at novel and
shorter lengths.
Best First Novel
1 War for the Oaks Emma Bull
Hey, remember when fantasy set in modern cities seemed new
and interesting? This dates from that period. In fact, I think this
was one of the earliest examples of the revival of this sort of thing.
I enjoyed it at the time and do not reread it to preserve
my memories of it.
Bull is not particularly prolific and there seems to be a
ten year gap between consecutive novels at one point (I also recall
some problem getting the rights for WftO back from Ace). She is still
getting published both at novel and short story lengths.
2 Mindplayers Pat Cadigan
I missed this.
Cadiagan is reasonably successful as a novelist and short
story writer. I believe that she is also a catalyst, someone whose
name often pops up in the backstory to other people's careers.
3 In Conquest Born C. S. Friedman
I was inadvertantly conditioned to react badly to Friedman:
someone raved to me about her while repeatedly accidentally nudging
my leg whose knee I had destroyed a few days earlier. It took decades
before I could look at her name without feeling a twinge in my leg.
Friedman is still with us and in fact I think she has a novel
coming out early next year.
4 Liege-Killer Christopher Hinz
This is the first book in the Paratawa trilogy. Earth is toast
and humanity lives in space (a frequent scenario for SF written during
this period. See, for example, the Eight Worlds or John McLoughlin's
THE HELIX AND THE SWORD). The Paratawa, legendary assassins, are
supposed to be as dead as Earth but evidence surfaces that at least
one of them is still active.
As far as I know, Hinz only published four novels. I see nothing
past 1991.
5 The Net Loren J. MacGregor
I am embarassed to say it has been long enough since I read this
and my ability to overlook copies to replace the one that I lost that
I cannot comment on this book.
I believe Loren has had writer's block since this book was
published.
This was an Ace Special.
6 Arrows of the Queen Mercedes Lackey
I did not read this.
Lackey is prolific and very successful.
7 Becoming Alien Rebecca Ore
This was the first in a trilogy about a young man from a
disfunctional background who inavertently is an accessory to the
murder an alien observer. He is given the chance to atone by working
for the aliens, something that lets him rebuild his life.
Ore is not prolific but she is still getting published.
8 After the Zap Michael Armstrong
Is this the one where an event erases everyone's memories?
As far as I can tell, Armstrong's most recent novel (of
three) was in the early 1990s. His most recent short story appears
to have been in the late 1990s.
9 Reindeer Moon Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
If I recall correctly, this is about prehistoric Siberian
nomads and it was fairly successful in its day.
I believe that she had two or three more novels but that she
is better known for her non-fiction, anthropoligical and otherwise.
10 Swordspoint Ellen Kushner
I did not read this. Yes, I am a horrible person.
She isn't as prolific as some of her fans would like but
she has published fairly steadily since her first book appeared.
11 Memoirs of an Invisible Man H. F. Saint
An accident renders a business man invisble. I don't think
I finished this.
I think this was Saint's only book (Unless he published under
another name). I have a terrible feeling this was made into a Chevy
Chase movie, before EPA regulations banned that sort of thing (I
assume).
12 Napoleon Disentimed Hayford Peirce
A conman is drawn across time into an alternate universe,
where he tries to prosper by applying his ability to bilk people.
I was a big fan of his in the 1970s but I remember being cool
to this novel.
Peirce has published a respectable number of novels over the
years, both SF and mystery, and somehow I have managed to miss seeing
almost all of them. Curse you, sucky Canadian book distribution!
13 A Death of Honor Joe Clifford Faust
This was an SF noir mystery set in a US readying itself, IIRC,
for the Inevitable Soviet Victory That Must Inevitably Come, Inevitably.
Faust was moderately prolific in the late 1980s and mid-1990s
but I don't see anything past 1998.
14 The American Book of the Dead Stephen Billias
I missed this.
As far as I can tell, Billias wrote a few books in his own
worlds and more written in other people's worlds (in particular
R. Talsorian and FASA's) but I don't see anything by him past the
mid-1990s.
15 The Architects of Hyperspace Thomas R. McDonough
I missed this.
As far as I can tell, McDonough was not very prolific and he
has had no SF published since the early 1990s.
16 The Shadow of His Wings Bruce Fergusson
I missed this.
I can only find a handful of books by him, all in the early 1990s.
I am not sure if this is just a sign that that's he's badly documented.
I could swear that he had an anti-nuclear war novel but I don't see any
mention of it.
17 Pennterra Judith Moffett
This is on the short list of SF novels about quakers and the
even shorter list of SF novesls about Quakers that I missed (I did
read a later one by her).
I don't think Moffett was particularly prolific and I don't
see any novels by her past the mid-1990s.
18 The Leeshore Robert Reed
I missed this (Although I've read a fair amount of Reed since
then).
Reed is a fairly prolific SF writer whose career continues to
this day.
19 A Rose-Red City Dave Duncan
Mera is inhabited by people gathered from every era in time.
I remember a crack team being sent out to deal with some problem but
not what that problem was.
Duncan is fairly prolific but he dumped SF in favour of fantasy,
possibly out of some quixotic desire to live indoors.
20 The Movement of Mountains Michael Blumlein
I missed this.
Blumlein does not appear to be prolific at the novel level
and there seems to be a roughly decade-long gap between his most recent
novel and the one before it. He has been more prolific at shorter lengths.
21 Station Gehenna Andrew Weiner
I missed this.
Weiner is far more prolific at the shorter lengths than at the
novel length. In fact, I think that this is one of two novels that he
has published so far.
22 Soldiers of Paradise Paul Park
As I recall, this is set on a world with a very long year
many years in our future. The local society has been highly stratified
for a long, long time but in this book things begin to fall apart.
I loved this when I read it but I liked each book less,
particularly when the French Revolution was suddenly recapitulated.
Park has had a reasonably prolific career thus far.
23 Teot's War Heather Gladney
Not only did I miss this, I didn't even hear rumours about it.
As far as I can tell, she had this book, a sequel and at
least one short story but nothing since about 1996.
24 Soulstring Midori Snyder
I missed this.
She appears to have been reasonably prolific but I think 2002's
HANNAH'S GARDEN may have been her most recent novel.
25 Frame of Reference Jerry Oltion
I missed this as well.
Oltion appears to have been reasonably prolific at novel and
shorter lengths.
