NEBULA AWARDS 27

Morrow returns as editor of the Nebula anthology for 1991. In addition to the award winners, he includes a sample of other finalists in the short-fiction categories, overviews of the year's fiction and film, a critical essay, and four tributes to the late Isaac Asimov. The fiction here is first-rate, especially the winners: ``Beggars in Spain'' is Nancy Kress's exploration of the unsettling social implications of genetic engineering; Mike Conner's ``Guide Dog'' asks how human beings might relate to a superior intelligence; and Alan Brennert's ``Ma Qui'' sends the ghost of an American soldier to a Vietnamese afterlife. Michael Swanwick's Stations of the Tide is represented by three excerpts- -a choice that might not work for every novel, but that captures Swanwick's hallucinatory future to good effect. Terry Bisson's bare-bones comic dialogue ``They're Made Out of Meat'' and Gregory Stewart's long poem ``the button, and what you know'' effectively illustrate the unusually wide variety of approaches- -and general excellence—of the rest. Bill Warren's summary of the year in film is knowledgeable, and Bruce Sterling's attempt to foresee the fictional shape of the 90's is suitably provocative. For many readers, the lists of other recommended books and stories will be the most valuable feature here. An excellent way for the occasional reader to get a sample of the current trends in sf, especially since only two entries here are in other ``best-of-the-year'' collections for 1991.