''Stardance'' is a science fiction novel by

Spider Robinson Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948) is an American-born Canadian list of science fiction authors, science fiction author. He has won a number of awards for his hard science fiction and humorous stories, including the Hugo Award 1977 and 198 ...

and

Jeanne Robinson Jeanne Robinson (March 30, 1948 – May 30, 2010) was an American-born Canadian choreographer who co-wrote three science fiction novels, ''The Stardance Saga'', with her husband Spider Robinson. ''Stardance'' won the Hugo Award for Best Novella ...

, published by

Dial Press The Dial Press was a publishing house founded in 1923 by Lincoln MacVeagh. The Dial Press shared a building with ''The Dial'' and Scofield Thayer worked with both. The first imprint was issued in 1924. Authors included Elizabeth Bowen, W. R. Bu ...

in 1979 as part of its Quantum science fiction line. The novel's opening segment originally appeared in ''

Analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

'' in 1977 as the novella "Stardance", followed by the serialized conclusion, "Stardance II", in ''Analog'' in 1978. After the Dial hardcover appeared in 1979, ''Stardance'' was reprinted in paperback by

Dell Books Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and s ...

in 1980, followed by reissues from

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...

and

Baen Books Baen Books () is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher an ...

over the next decade. Baen compiled the novel, together with its sequel, '' Starseed'', in a mass market paperback omnibus, ''The Star Dancers'', in 1997; in 2006, Baen published a hardcover omnibus, ''The Stardance Trilogy'', adding a third novel, '' Starmind''.

Reception

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), John ...

declared ''Stardance'' to be "a reading experience which genuinely evokes a basic human feeling ... that within each of us dwells something glorious that is beyond mortal error, is the seed of an angel," concluding that "''Stardance'' sweeps over the reader with the uncommon power attainable only by the social extrapolations of SF, and then rarely."

Awards

The novella "Stardance" won both the

Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

and

Nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...

awards as well as the annual ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

'' Poll. The novel ''Stardance'' placed fourth in the ''Locus'' Poll two years later.The ''Locus'' Index to SF Awards

References

External links

Stardance official movie website (archived 13 January 2016)

Stardance movie blog

Canadian science fiction novels Dial Press books English-language novels 1979 Canadian novels 1979 science fiction novels Nebula Award for Best Novella-winning works Hugo Award for Best Novella winning works {{1970s-sf-novel-stub