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The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Second Annual Collection
- ISBN13: 9780312336608
- Condition: Nеw
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Widely regarded аѕ thе one essential book fοr еνеrу science fiction fan, Thе Year’s Best Science Fiction (Winner οf thе 2004 Locus Award fοr Best Anthology) continues tο uphold іtѕ standard οf excellence wіth more thаn two dozen tаlеѕ representing thе previous year’s best SF writing.Thе tаlеѕ іn thіѕ collection imaginatively take readers far асrοѕѕ thе universe, іntο thе very core οf thеіr beings, tο thе realm οf thе Gods, аnd tο thе moment јυѕt аftеr now. Included аrе thе works οf masters o
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It’s the best SF of the year again,
Another year, and another set of “Year’s Best” anthologies. Even as I’ve always loved David Hartwell’s anthologies, last year was the first time that I read the more venerable one abridged by Gardner Dozois. But, I loved last year’s so much that I just had to check out this year’s, the 22nd annual edition. As was last year’s, it is an imposing book, with twenty-nine tales in it, all from acclaimed science fiction authors. Unfortunately, I find this year’s edition not reasonably as excellent as last year’s. Here were a few tales in it that just didn’t do anything for me. On the other hand, here were certainly some stand-outs.
In a rarity for me, some of my favourite tales in the book were more on the hard science side than is usual for my taste. Here is Stephen Baxter’s brilliant “Mayflower II,” which deals with a age group ship on a trip to the far reaches of the galaxy and beyond, and what happens in the meantime. On the very edge of the solar system, here is a colony that has hidden itself away the alien Qax who had conquered the Earth. Now, the Coalition of Interim Governance has freed Earth, and is on its way to the colony. Five age group ships are dispatched to save as many of the colony’s citizens as possible. On Rusel’s ship, the “Pharaoh” of the ship has chose that they are going to journey all the way across the galaxy, a trip that will take many thousands of years. The tale is Rusel’s, and how he becomes virtually immortal, and how the citizens of the ship commence to devolve as time goes on. It’s a truly horrifying tale in a way, demonstrating what isolated societies can be converted into over time. For a even as, I was beginning to get bored with the tale, as it’s not really my favourite type of tale and it was reasonably long. But, I soon got wrapped up in this society, and Rusel’s severance from his own humanity. It’s a slow tale in some ways, but the thoughts behind it just grab you and don’t let you go. It’s probably the best tale in the book.
Another fantastic tale is “The Clapping Hands of God” by Michael F. Flynn. In this one, a gate has opened to another world. Teams of scientists go through these gates to explore the worlds, but this one just happens to be inhabited by an gifted species. Hassan Maklouf is the leader of this fastidious expedition, and he is in charge of making sure they are not seen by the inhabitants, as well as making all the decisions. The studies are going well, with some progress being made on studying their language as well as their culture. Theories are presented for why they act in certain ways, especially when an apparently martial rally is seen. This is followed by what appears to be a couple spending their last night collectively. Then things really start to go incorrect, as Hassan discovers that they aren’t the only invaders here. Here are two main font in this tale, Hassan and a female anthropologist, Iman. Here are some romantic sparks between them, even as they both try to act like genteel Moslems. But, the broader tale is their conflict once things start to go incorrect, as Iman is the humanitarian scientist and Hassan is the practical one. The ending is tragic, all the more so because of the hints of their relationship before in the tale. It was very nice to see a tale everywhere the font’ religions were just part of their character, rather than a main part of the tale. Even as these two are the main font, all of the other scientists are also well done, giving the tale a broad tapestry on which to weave its key.
Even as those two tales were the best of the lot in my opinion, other strong tales included “The Tribes of Bela” by Albert Cowdrey (a series of horrible murders on a remote mining colony are symptoms of a planet that’s trying to reclaim itself and expel the invaders), “Leviathan Wept,” by Daniel Abraham (a member of a futuristic anti-terrorism squad discovers that fanaticism comes in all shapes and sizes, including possibly his own), and “Investments,” by Walter Jon Williams (a space opera that gives us unlawful affair dealings as well as a star cluster shooting out x-rays that could ruin the planet, making the investigation of the affair dealings kind of moot). Most of the other tales in this volume were also reasonably excellent, or at least readable.
Some choices I did disagree with, but. As I said higher than, “Mother Aegypt” isn’t one of Baker’s best tales. It has a strong first three-quarters, but then fell apart for me at the end. “Start the Clock,” by Benjamin Rosenbaum, was a nice small tale but I didn’t find the world that believable and thus I wouldn’t include it among the best of the year. Finally, I didn’t really care for “The Defenders,” by Colin P. Davies, when I first read it in Asimov’s. It didn’t improve when I read it again here. It was clad, but again not one of the best.
One thing I do have to say about the…
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|Excellent and Terrible,
A hard edition to rate. Here’s an dreadful lot of obscurity and doom, but the atmosphere and font are generally vivid and plots tight with unambiguous endings.
“Inappropriate Behavior” by Pat Murphy. Spot the looney! A mental patient must overcome her sane doctor to save a shipwrecked anthropologist. B
“Start the Clock” by Benjamin Rosenbaum. In a future USA everywhere reality, time and the Internet freely mingle, some kids never grow up-literally. C
“The Third Party” by David Moles. Planet resembling early 20th century Earth beset by space faring capitalists and socialist missionaries, with the hero getting caught in the crossfire huge time. Stunning font and atmosphere. A
“The Voluntary State” by Christopher Rowe. Life on this chaotic every second Earth is only vaguely less perplexing to the font than to me. D
“Shiva in Shadow” by Nancy Kress. The dark nether regions of their own minds prove more baffling and perilous than even the anomalous black hole being explored by two space scientists and a ship captain. Brilliant juxtaposition of infinite space and interior man. A+
“The Public of Sand and Slag” by Paolo Bacigalupi. Bioengineered super humans render the animal kingdom obsolete, but a surprising visitor disturbs their illusions of grandeur. Poignantly questions, will science make us more than men, or less? A
“The Clapping Hands of God” by Michael F. Flynn. Scientists travel through wormhole to secretly observe a planet inhabited by gentle humanoids, yet danger fills the air. The artfully drawn aliens are fascinating. A
“Tourism” by M. John Harrison. Gritty lowlifes hang out in a unpleasant otherworld bar with nothing much to do but generate more atmosphere. C
“Scout’s Honor” by Terry Bisson. Elegantly plotted time travel tale in which a scientist becomes best buds with a Neanderthal. A
“Men Are Distress” by James Patrick Kelly. Earth is dominated by avian aliens who have plucked away all the men. Hard-boiled detective tale just can’t get off the impose a curfew. C
“Mother Aegypt” by Kage Baker. Font leap off the page in this medieval spellbinder about black key right and fake. A
“Synthetic Serendipity” by Vernor Vinge. Baby boomers flounder in the new Net society. This one rings uncomfortably right. B
“Skin Deep” by Mary Rosenblum. Tender interplay between a horribly disfigured boy and a general practitioner with new techniques and mysterious motives. B
“Delhi” by Vandana Singh. The author captures the mood of Delhi as dwellers past and future come alive for a current day resident who can’t reasonably know what he sees. C
“The Tribes of Bela” by Albert E. Cowdrey. The natives are restless, to say the least, on a distant planet being mined by a companionship from Earth. And some natives they are! Superb space adventure with lots of action and a fantastic ending. A
“Sitka” by William Sanders. The call of the wily. Grim and fatalistic every second description with Lenin and Jack London up to no excellent in Sitka. B
“Leviathan Wept” by Daniel Abraham. Dismal picture of life in our near future, when terrorism rules as if by point. Chilling, real, nearly unbearable to read. A
“The Defenders” by Colin P. Davies. Ancient man teaches his granddaughter a bitter life lesson in this complex and mystical vignette. A
“Mayflower II” by Stephen Baxter. The entire religious and political evolution and devolution of Western culture play out in microcosm on the train a starship everywhere generations of humans are escaping to a new home twenty thousand years away-all related, alas, with the rationalistic and cynical vigor so typical in this edition. Still, mesmerizing and elegantly crafted in all respects, so reluctantly, A+
“Riding the White Bull” by Caitlin R. Kiernan. A profanity-laced narrative seriously detracts from this already marginal tale, a tangled nightmare of social collapse and personal despair in the face of a gruesome alien attack. D
“Falling Star” by Brendan Dubois. Technology collapses and society reverts to the “Ancient Ways”, which Mr. Dozois describes as “bigotry, intolerance, and dread.” Apparently this is the totality of his conception of faith, yet he serves up tale after tale dramatizing the futility of science–a rather hopeless vision. C
“The Dragons of Summer Gulch” by Robert Reed. A fantasy world resembling the Ancient West has all sorts of font scrambling for hegemony of some relics–for all sorts of reasons. B
“The Mass of the Blind” by James L. Cambias. This first friend tale has three wonderful elements: snappy shifts in point of view between the aliens and humans, a perfect balance of humor and horror, and fascinating alien adaptation at the bottom…
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