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Title: The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois ISBN: 0-312-27478-5 Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Pub. Date: 18 August, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (18 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: New Writers to Watch
Comment: The only trouble with a year's best anthology is that it invariably includes some stories you don't like-and leaves out some you thought were great. Such are the vagaries of taste. That said, Gardner Dozois's seventeenth annual collection of the Years Best Science Fiction offers plenty of worthy things to read. Many of the stories feature highly imaginative settings-Robert Reed's "Winemaster" comes to mind at once, as does Kage Baker's "Son Observe the Time." And there are compelling stories from well-known writers: James Patrick Kelly uses childhood and cold war fears while Michael Swanwick integrates dinosaur fantasies with human frailty. But perhaps one of the most important thing this anthology does is introduce readers to newer and less well-known writers. Chris Lawson's "Written in Blood" impressed me when I first read it in Asimov's-such a quirky turn on what we know of DNA. "The Dragon of Pripyat" by Karl Schroeder gives us hint of a future just around the corner. And Richard Wadholm's "Green Tea" shows what a sure hand can do when combining a vivid imagination with very old concepts of love and revenge. His world includes wondrous elements chemistry hasn't yet found; his people cut commodities deals in the Bright Matter Exchange and live in worlds along the French Violet. But the part of the story that breaks my heart every time is when the narrator wonders what his friend Frances saw in him: "A man of honesty beneath the lies, compassion beneath the avarice? You will find this most amusing-because I could not bear to let her down, I would have been that man." Read this collection. Be overwhelmed by the great stories in it, and argue with your friends about the ones you think don't qualify. And mark the new writers: you're going to want to read more from them.
Rating: 4
Summary: Here is a list of the stories you should read from this book
Comment: First of all let me say that since this is a collection it is inevitable that some of it is going to be bad and some of it is going to be good, and there is bound to be a lot of mediocre. On the whole, however, I was a little disapointed at the overall quanilty in this volume. I have found that most of the stories I would have liked to read (Greg Bear, Orson Scott Card, Michael Flynn, Dan Simmons)ended up in the "Honorable Mentions," while some of the obvious losers were printed.
On with the list:
Here are the good stories:
The Suspect Genome -- Peter Hamilton
Radiant Green Star -- Lucius Shepard
Great Wall of Mars -- Alastair Reynolds
Snowball in Hell -- Brian Stableford
Patient Zero -- Tananarive Due
The Thing About Benny -- M. Shayne Bell
Tendeleo's Story -- Ian McDonald
Here are the really bad stories:
The Birthday of the World -- LeGuin
Antibodies -- Charles Stross
A Colder War -- Charles Stross
The Juniper Tree -- John Kessel
Rating: 4
Summary: Standout edition of a standout series
Comment: This is the fifteenth edition I've read, and it's one of the strongest. As always, Dozois includes a wide range of styles and themes, from the lyrical to the hardest of hard science. So...while there's always something for everybody, you can't expect to enjoy every story. My favorites:
Good:
"Going After Bobo"--Heartwrenching, poetic character study, but the plot is pretty thin.
"Crux"--Dark detective story/social commentary set in a brutal post-holocaust future dominated by the Orient. Quite violent, with a fast paced and tighty knit plot.
"The Raggle Taggle Gypsy-O"--Time travel with two amazing characters. Provocative, in-your-face prose.
"Radiant Green Star"--Another violent future world dominated by the Orient. This time it's a traditional mystery combined with a poetic coming-of-age story.
"Great Wall of Mars"--A cult of humans with networked implants battle unnetworked humans for survival. Lots of action, great speculation on the potential of the human mind.
"A Colder War"--Alternate Cold War history with aliens causing major problems for both sides. Confusing plot, but highly realistic narrative keeps it interesting anyway.
Great:
"The Suspect Genome"--Future world whodunit, set in an England where police work has been somewhat privatized. Brilliant plot construction and writing keep you engaged all the way.
"On the Orion Line"--Man versus powerful and inscrutable aliens deep in space, far in the future. Well developed characters, fast paced and straightforward plot.
"Obsidian Harvest"--Another future world detective story set in England. What makes this one extraordinary is the premise, where the Aztecs dominate the world--human sacrifices, feathered capes, lots of tequila. Add hard-boiled prose in the tradition of Dashiell Hammett (his "Red Harvest" is great) and you have something unforgettable.
"Patient Zero"--Nightmarish account of a dreadful near-future. Great plot, great characters, and makes some strong statements in only fifteen pages.
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Title: The Year's Best Science Fiction: 2001 : Nineteenth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois ISBN: 0312288794 Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Pub. Date: 23 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Year's Best Science Fiction: Twentieth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois ISBN: 0312308604 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 23 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois ISBN: 0312190336 Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Pub. Date: 15 May, 1998 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: The Year's Best Science Fiction : Fourteenth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois ISBN: 0312157037 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 May, 1997 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: The Year's Best Science Fiction : Sixteenth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois ISBN: 0312204450 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: July, 1999 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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