Stations of the Tide

The unnamed main character has a long drug trip on a colonized planet where technology is proscribed. Recurring elements of magic and sex add very little. This wasn't for me, and I found it hard to believe it won the 1991 Nebula award.

So I didn't like it. Was it the author? I've really enjoyed his short stories. Was it early in his career? No, he'd been writing for more than 10 years and this was his third novel nominated. Other reviews refer to cyberpunk, and it was that era - but this doesn't fit that genre in my opinion.

This novel was originally serialized in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in two parts, the first in mid-December 1990. Maybe those parts were better than the whole. I didn't go back to look at what was different.

Other nominees for the 1991 Nebula award include Barrayar, Bone Dance, The Difference Engine, all of which I enjoyed a lot (4 stars out of 5). I haven't read Orbital Resonance or Synners, but plan to.