6) Stations of the Tide, by Michael Swanwick

Only three Nebula winners left to read now, Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin, A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg and The Terminal Experiment by Robert J Sawyer.

I found the surface narrative engaging enough – though I did wonder why the protagonist (“the bureaucrat”) is never actually named. There’s obviously lots going on below the surface too. But this was up against Bujold’s Barrayar for both Nebula and Hugo; and my vote (as was the Hugo voters’) is for Bujold.