New Hugo Winners: III

This was the first Hugo collection since the death of Isaac Asimov, the series' original editor. With big shoes to fill, Connie Willis does a wonderful job of setting up the short story, novella, and novelette winners for 1989-91. And the writing is quite good. This is one of my favorite collection of Hugo Winners, as it shows just how much the genre has matured. Stories like "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson and Ms. Willis' own "The Last of the Winnebagos" show an amazing, heart-wrenching depth. Others, like "Boobs" (Suzy McKee Charnas) and "Enter a Soldier. Later, Enter Another" reveal a fresh sense of humor. Lois Bujold contributes a detective story to her Miles Vorkosigan series in "The Mountains of Mourning," Mike Resnick adds a pair of stories set in his much-celebrated neo-Kenyan settlement of Kirinyaga, and the alternative-worlds hypothesis of quantum physics is intriguingly explored by both Joe Haldeman ("The Hemingway Hoax") and George Alec Effinger ("Schrodinger's Kitten"). The full contents: 1989 Novella: "The Last of the Winnebagos" by Connie Willis Novelette: "Schrodinger's Kitten" by George Alec Effinger Short Story: "Kirinyaga" by Mike Resnick 1990 Novella: "The Mountains of Mourning" by Lois McMaster Bujold Novelette: "Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another" by Robert Silverberg Short Story: "Boobs" by Suzy McKee Charnas 1991 Novella: "The Hemingway Hoax" by Joe Haldeman Novelette: "The Manamouki" by Mike Resnick Short Story: "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson