Synopsis
Victor Apfel, a troubled war vet, gets an odd, pre-recorded phone message, instructing him to go inside the house next door. He opens the door to find his neighbor shot through the head. But is it suicide - or murder? And is it possible that a computer is to blame? (fantasticfiction.com)
Notes
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Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Hugo Award | Best Novella | Winner |
| 1985 | Locus Poll Award | Best Novella | Winner |
| 1985 | Nebula Award | Novella | Winner |
| 1985 | SF Chronicle Award | Novella | Winner |
| 2012 | Locus Online | 20th Century Novella | Nominee/Finalist |
Publications (32)
| Date | Publication | Publisher | Type | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1984 | Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, May 1984 | Davis Publications | MAGAZINE | 110 |
| April 1985 | The Year's Best Science Fiction: Second Annual Collection | Bluejay Books | Anthology | 153 |
| April 1985 | The Year's Best Science Fiction: Second Annual Collection | Bluejay Books | Anthology | 154 |
| June 1985 | The 1985 Annual World's Best SF | DAW Books | Anthology | 151 |
| June 1985 | The 1985 Annual World's Best SF | DAW Books / New American Library of Canada | Anthology | 151 |
| July 1985 | Terry Carr's Best Science Fiction of the Year | Tor | Anthology | 11 |
| September 1985 | The 1985 Annual World's Best SF | DAW Books / SFBC | Anthology | 115 |
| October 1985 | Best Science Fiction of the Year 14 | Gollancz | Anthology | 11 |
| October 1985 | Best Science Fiction of the Year 14 | Gollancz | Anthology | |
| November 1985 | Nebula Awards 20 | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich | Anthology | 69 |
| November 1985 | Nebula Awards 20 | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich | Anthology | 69 |
| January 1986 | Blue Champagne | Dark Harvest | Collection | 319 |
| January 1986 | Blue Champagne | Dark Harvest | Collection | 319 |
| November 1986 | Blue Champagne | Berkley Books | Collection | 230 |
| September 1987 | Blue Champagne | Ace Books | Collection | 230 |
| February 1988 | The Best of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine | Ace Books | Anthology | 174 |
| December 1989 | The New Hugo Winners: Award-Winning Science Fiction Stories | Wynwood Press | Anthology | 217 |
| May 1990 | The New Hugo Winners | Wynwood / SFBC | Anthology | 217 |
| October 1990 | Press Enter ▮ / Hawksbill Station | Tor | Anthology | |
| September 1991 | The New Hugo Winners | Baen Books | Anthology | 217 |
| December 1995 | Hugo and Nebula Award Winners from Asimov's Science Fiction | Wings Books | Anthology | 155 |
| March 1997 | Press Enter ▮ | Science Fiction Book Club | Chapbook | 1 |
| October 1998 | Future on Ice | Tor | Anthology | 231 |
| January 2000 | Future on Ice | Tor | Anthology | 231 |
| September 2004 | The John Varley Reader | Ace Books | Collection | 271 |
| October 2004 | The John Varley Reader | Ace Books / SFBC | Collection | 271 |
| September 2020 | The John Varley Reader | Open Road Integrated Media | Collection | |10 |
| December 2021 | The John Varley Reader | Blackstone Publishing | Collection | |10 |
| March 2022 | The John Varley Reader | Blackstone Publishing | Collection | |10 |
| March 2022 | The John Varley Reader | Blackstone Publishing | Collection | |10 |
| March 2022 | The John Varley Reader | Blackstone Publishing | Collection | |10 |
| December 2024 | Audiobook Collection | MotionAudiobooks | Omnibus | |16.10 |