“Annabel Lee”

by Nancy Kress (Published by Arc Manor and Phoenix Pick)

Nominated for in

Set in the near future, Nancy Kress’ story gives us a world increasingly hostile to new ideas as religious fundamentalism dictates social agenda and where the primary use of science is to bolster these very same uncompromising attitudes.

This is a world we can imagine very easily since the author takes us down the sliding slope very gently. Years pass, and attitudes change a little bit here…and a little bit there till the cumulative impact of these cultural changes becomes a thought-controlling nightmare.

Annabel Lee is a child of this society, but unique. She has been infected by a long-dormant alien parasite. But this
“infection” may be the only hope for the world, if she can survive long enough