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james_davis_nicollCut for length.
Best First Novel
1 The Hercules Text Jack McDevitt
Bona Fide signals are picked up from space. Since the contents
are potentially revolutionary, the question becomes what to do with the
message.
I never thought about this before but was there only one copy
of the data?
I liked this when I read it but didn't care for the resolution.
This is a pattern for me with McDevitt that has continued to the present day.
McDevitt is still a successful author.
This was an Ace Special.
2 Shards of Honor Lois McMaster Bujold
Romance blooms between people serving on opposite sides of a small
war. Needless to say, neither the people from the liberal democracy nor
the people from the autocratic militarist regime are keen on this development
but it all ends on a happier note than ROMEO AND JULIET.
Cordelia is on the same list as the protagonist from FOUR HUNDRED BILLION
STARS, someone with whom one should never under any circumstances go camping.
Bujold is a successful author.
3 A Hidden Place Robert Charles Wilson
Is this his Ray Bradburyesque if Ray Bradbury wrote things
I liked" novel? I think it is.
Wilson is still getting published. He made an utterly unsurprising
move to Tor a number of years ago (Eventually, everyone ends up at Tor
or Baen. I think there's a law or something).
4 Wrack and Roll Bradley Denton
Alternate history about which I recall absolutely nothing. It's
filed next to John Shirley in my brain so the music must be angry.
5 The Cross-Time Engineer Leo Frankowski
A sex-crazed engineer is transported back in time to Poland just
pre-Mongol invasion. He has only a few years to save Poland from the Asiatic
hordes.
This is a Gary-Stu history-manipulation book and possible the
first droplet in a wave of purile books about moderns transported
back in time.
Frankowski got dumped by Baen a few years ago because his
new books no longer met their minimum stadard for quality and is now
hawking his own works online.
6 No Safe Place Anne Moroz
I missed this. This appears to have been her only novel.
7 Sentience: A Novel of First Contact Terry A. Adams
Another one that I didn't even see.
As far as I can tell, Adams had this novel and a sequel in
1989 and nothing since.
8 Windmaster's Bane Tom Deitz
I missed this as well.
I know Deitz was fairly prolific in the 1980s and 1990s but
I don't see anything more recent than 2002's WARAUTUMN.
8 The Doomsday Effect Thomas T. Thomas
In case anyone is wondering, his middle name is Thurston.
I missed this book as well.
Thomas published about eight novels in the 1980s and 1990s
but I do not see anything more recent than the late 1990s.
10 The Game of Fox and Lion Robert R. Chase
This I do have, along with the sequel and an unrelated book.
I believe that it involves a fairly pointless war between unmodified
and modified humans, as resolved by a man neither side really trusts.
As far as I can tell, Chase had this book, the sequel
and an unrelated novel. He's a Del Rey author, for what it's worth.
11 Fire Sanctuary Katharine Eliska Kimbriel
I missed this.
As far as I can tell, Kimbriel has had some low output periods
but is still getting published.
12 Warchild Richard Bowes
I did not read this.
Bowes is not especially prolific but he does produce work at
a steady pace (His personal website could be more useful re: bibliographical
material. Do agents prod writers about stuff like that?), mostly recently
2005's FROM THE FILES OF THE TIME RANGERS.
13 Daggerspell Katharine Kerr
I missed this along with the rest of her books. I have a terrible
feeling that I keep getting her mixed up with an author whose name is
somewhat similar.
She is reasonably prolific and is still getting published.
14 The Curse of Sagamore Kara Dalkey
Another book that I have not read (Although I've read and
liked later books by Dalkey). I thought she got her start in the mid-
1990s...
She has been reasonably prolific. The most recent work by her
that I can find is the 2002 Water Trilogy.
15 The Star Country Michael Cassutt
I missed this.
He has not produced a lot of novels, seemingly prefering shorter
lengths (His career as a short story writer goes back to the early 1970s).
If I am not getting my Cassutts mixed up, I believe that he is a television
writer and producer.
16 The Hounds of the Morrigan Pat O'Shea
I missed this (The odds of me reading something go way, way
down if there's even the slightest hint of Celtism about the book).
I don't think O'Shea wrote all that many books (Three, all in the
1980s, I believe) but assuming Pat and O'Shea are uncommon names
in Ireland and the UK, she's probably also the the playwright
Pat O'Shea.
She died in 2007.
17 The Burning Stone Deborah Turner Harris
I missed this as well.
She was reasonably prolific in the late 1980s and the 1990s
but the most recent book by her that I can see is her 2001 collaboration
with Katherine Kurtz, THE TEMPLE AND THE CROWN.
Best First Novel
1 The Hercules Text Jack McDevitt
Bona Fide signals are picked up from space. Since the contents
are potentially revolutionary, the question becomes what to do with the
message.
I never thought about this before but was there only one copy
of the data?
I liked this when I read it but didn't care for the resolution.
This is a pattern for me with McDevitt that has continued to the present day.
McDevitt is still a successful author.
This was an Ace Special.
2 Shards of Honor Lois McMaster Bujold
Romance blooms between people serving on opposite sides of a small
war. Needless to say, neither the people from the liberal democracy nor
the people from the autocratic militarist regime are keen on this development
but it all ends on a happier note than ROMEO AND JULIET.
Cordelia is on the same list as the protagonist from FOUR HUNDRED BILLION
STARS, someone with whom one should never under any circumstances go camping.
Bujold is a successful author.
3 A Hidden Place Robert Charles Wilson
Is this his Ray Bradburyesque if Ray Bradbury wrote things
I liked" novel? I think it is.
Wilson is still getting published. He made an utterly unsurprising
move to Tor a number of years ago (Eventually, everyone ends up at Tor
or Baen. I think there's a law or something).
4 Wrack and Roll Bradley Denton
Alternate history about which I recall absolutely nothing. It's
filed next to John Shirley in my brain so the music must be angry.
5 The Cross-Time Engineer Leo Frankowski
A sex-crazed engineer is transported back in time to Poland just
pre-Mongol invasion. He has only a few years to save Poland from the Asiatic
hordes.
This is a Gary-Stu history-manipulation book and possible the
first droplet in a wave of purile books about moderns transported
back in time.
Frankowski got dumped by Baen a few years ago because his
new books no longer met their minimum stadard for quality and is now
hawking his own works online.
6 No Safe Place Anne Moroz
I missed this. This appears to have been her only novel.
7 Sentience: A Novel of First Contact Terry A. Adams
Another one that I didn't even see.
As far as I can tell, Adams had this novel and a sequel in
1989 and nothing since.
8 Windmaster's Bane Tom Deitz
I missed this as well.
I know Deitz was fairly prolific in the 1980s and 1990s but
I don't see anything more recent than 2002's WARAUTUMN.
8 The Doomsday Effect Thomas T. Thomas
In case anyone is wondering, his middle name is Thurston.
I missed this book as well.
Thomas published about eight novels in the 1980s and 1990s
but I do not see anything more recent than the late 1990s.
10 The Game of Fox and Lion Robert R. Chase
This I do have, along with the sequel and an unrelated book.
I believe that it involves a fairly pointless war between unmodified
and modified humans, as resolved by a man neither side really trusts.
As far as I can tell, Chase had this book, the sequel
and an unrelated novel. He's a Del Rey author, for what it's worth.
11 Fire Sanctuary Katharine Eliska Kimbriel
I missed this.
As far as I can tell, Kimbriel has had some low output periods
but is still getting published.
12 Warchild Richard Bowes
I did not read this.
Bowes is not especially prolific but he does produce work at
a steady pace (His personal website could be more useful re: bibliographical
material. Do agents prod writers about stuff like that?), mostly recently
2005's FROM THE FILES OF THE TIME RANGERS.
13 Daggerspell Katharine Kerr
I missed this along with the rest of her books. I have a terrible
feeling that I keep getting her mixed up with an author whose name is
somewhat similar.
She is reasonably prolific and is still getting published.
14 The Curse of Sagamore Kara Dalkey
Another book that I have not read (Although I've read and
liked later books by Dalkey). I thought she got her start in the mid-
1990s...
She has been reasonably prolific. The most recent work by her
that I can find is the 2002 Water Trilogy.
15 The Star Country Michael Cassutt
I missed this.
He has not produced a lot of novels, seemingly prefering shorter
lengths (His career as a short story writer goes back to the early 1970s).
If I am not getting my Cassutts mixed up, I believe that he is a television
writer and producer.
16 The Hounds of the Morrigan Pat O'Shea
I missed this (The odds of me reading something go way, way
down if there's even the slightest hint of Celtism about the book).
I don't think O'Shea wrote all that many books (Three, all in the
1980s, I believe) but assuming Pat and O'Shea are uncommon names
in Ireland and the UK, she's probably also the the playwright
Pat O'Shea.
She died in 2007.
17 The Burning Stone Deborah Turner Harris
I missed this as well.
She was reasonably prolific in the late 1980s and the 1990s
but the most recent book by her that I can see is her 2001 collaboration
with Katherine Kurtz, THE TEMPLE AND THE CROWN.
