Reviews – A Nebula Winner And A Nominee
Last week the Nebula Award winners were announced and I realized I had already read one of the nominees and one winner; the Novella winner, The Women of Nell Gwynne’s by Kage Baker, and a nominated novel, The Love We Share Without Knowing, by Christopher Barzak.
I read both of these last year before I started the book blog so I didn’t write up a review for them at the time. These were both very good and worth taking a few minutes for a closer look.
The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak
Genre: Science Fiction
Published: November 2008
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a difficult book to describe. Each chapter is a seemingly separate story. When taken as a whole, they are interconnecting stories of love, loss and renew linking the lives of strangers in Japan and how fate affects each of their lives. Eventually the stories make their way full circle.
The book is written in a haunting and beautiful way. Each of the stories are told in the first person giving you their perspective. When I picked this book up I was intrigued by the description on the back cover. I never thought of it as science fiction and frankly was surprised, yet pleased, to see it nominated for a Nebula. I would describe it as psychological stories in a world of illusion.
Some of these stories were quite dark and depressing but overall I liked the book and would recommend it even for those who are not fans of science fiction.
The Women of Nell Gwynne’s by Kage Baker
Genre: Science Fiction
Published: June 2009
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Nell Gwynne’s is an underground establishment, a brothel, which is working for Scotland Yard. And Lady Beatrice is no ordinary lady of the evening. When a member of the Gentlemen’s Speculative Society is missing the women of Nell Gwynne’s are called upon for assistance.
This is steampunk, a sub-genre of science fiction. As defined by Wiki, the term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used — usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era England — but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy.
This is the first book that I’ve read by Kage Baker. No reason, I just never got around to picking one up. When I saw this novelette I thought good, I’ve got time to read a shorter story. I probably should have started with one of the earlier novels of The Company. While I enjoyed the story I really couldn’t get into it and felt I was missing some background. I would recommend it, but only to those that are already familiar with some of her earlier books.
Under My Apple Tree 
Comment are welcome. Thanks for stopping by.