The depth and breadth of what science fiction and fantasy fiction is changes with every passing year. The two dozen stories chosen for this book by award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan carefully maps this evolution, giving readers a captivating and always-entertaining look at the very best the genre has to offer.
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: 2
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Australian anthologist Strahan's second annual best of collection is too small to hold all the great speculative stories of 2007, but it provides an excellent sampler, focusing on the recent trend of interstitiality. Kelly Link's The Constable of Abal, which revolves around an unscrupulous fortuneteller and her daughter's search for home, is equal parts fantasy, coming-of-age tale and unconventional ghost story. Ken MacLeod's Jesus Christ, Reanimator, about the inglorious Second Coming of a blogging messiah from outer space, wraps social commentary in sardonic science fiction. Holly Black's poignant The Coat of Stars blends together elements of folklore and urban grit to create an unlikely and deeply moving story about love and loss. If these 24 stories are any indication, SF and fantasy are continuing their evolution—or dissolution, as Strahan calls it—just as they always have: through innovative writers re-examining conventions and redefining boundaries. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Strahan’s second best-of annual collects such varied voices as Elizabeth Bear, Mike Resnick, and Peter S. Beagle, with the result that all the contents live up to their billing. Wildly different in approach they may be, but they’re equally well realized. From Bruce Sterling’s inspired creation of a postcollapse, street-level economic revolution in “Kiosk” to Theodora Goss’ lovely “Singing of Mount Abora” with its explanation for Coleridge’s unfinished works, these stories provide one thing that short fiction is best at: affording tantalizing glimpses of intriguing worlds and people. There’s a healthy dose of humor here, too, in Charles Stross’s inspired rendering of a postsingularity heir to Bertie Wooster. Strahan has done an admirable job of winnowing a selection of stories by writers both new and firmly entrenched that reminds us of the nearly limitless possibilities encompassed in the phrase science fiction and fantasy. --Regina Schroeder
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Michele Lee
Format:Paperback
Impressive and, honestly, intimidating this tome of stellar science fiction and fantasy features masters of the genres at their best in twenty four dazzling tales of other worlds. If readers want some of the most impressive recently published tales of the SF/F genres without having to hunt them down through the multitude of anthologies and magazines printed this year this is an excellent buy.
If the first tale, Ted Chiang's "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate", is any indication then this anthology is one to savor like a fine box of chocolates. When a merchant stumbles upon a strange shop in Baghdad that is home to a gateway between the past, future and present he is treated not just to a triad of tales about what other visitors have found inside the gateway, but he also gets the opportunity to travel back to his own past, to find closure to the one event in his life that haunts him. A rare gem of a story it expertly straddles the line between fantasy and science fiction as well as tragic and hopeful.
"The Last and Only, or Mr. Moskowitz Becomes French" by Peter S. Beagle seems to be more of a philosophical study on identity than a tale that's recognizable fantasy. No one knows why, but Mr. Moskowitz began ("from the bones out") to turn French. So much so that even those born in France sought out his approval. Strange and well written, it still didn't capture my interest as much as I'd hoped.
Charles Stross' "Trunk and Disorderly", as one might guess is a humor piece. Completely out of control (much like its lead, "Ralph MacDonald Suzuki... a genuine Japanese Highland Laird from old Scotland...") "Trunk and Disorderly" is a hilarious adventure of debauchery, nobility and robots gone wrong that's best read without any drinks nearby.
"Glory" by Greg Egan sums itself up with a line from its own prose, "There's more to life than mathematics...but not much more." A hard science fiction love note to math, and the sciences that heavily rely upon them, this tale of alien exploration and archeology is at times mind boggling in level and at other times, perfection down to the last little atom. Despite the heavy importance of the math the story is told in the characters' actions, allowing the story to reach the reader and not be lost under the weight of technicality.
Daryl Gregory's "Dead Horse Point" is very personal, heart wrenching and incredibly interesting. Julia is a special woman. Incredibly brilliant she's breaking new ground in science and on the verge of something world changing. But her brilliance comes with a downside. She lives an autistic-like life, completely aware, capable and down right normal one moment and mentally gone, incapable of even the simplest of tasks, completely lost in a mental world of science and unbreakable concentration. Gregory captures the strength and potential inside what many others would consider to be a horrible disease in desperate need of a cure. He also shows the effects it can have on even the most loyal of caretakers, the years slowly wearing them down. It's very exciting to see a well written, thoughtful tale dealing with a neural-atypical mind, another facet of our current world that could easily lend itself to speculative futures.
"The Dreaming Wind" by Jeffrey Ford takes readers into a fairy tale, from its image invoking opening to an end that answers none of the questions. "The Dreaming Wind" is beautiful tale of the intimidating, raw power of creativity that's likely to spark a few strikes of inspiration of its own.
Continuing the streak of fantasy is "The Coat of Stars" by Holly Black. It's yet another beautiful story, a modern fairy tale of a gay man who learns his childhood love was stolen by fairies. In trying to win his love back he must also come to terms with himself and his family. Not moralistic, but the kind of story one can picture being told along side Grimm's most popular, it's stories like these that will become the classic short stories of our generation's portion of the fantasy genre.
"The Prophet of Flores" by Ted Kosmatka takes on evolution, creating a world where it's been debunked and religion rules science. This isn't a horror tale however, but a scientific one, not just about the evolution of life, but about the evolution of religion as well.
Alex Irvine's "Wizard's Six" is a delightfully classic fantasy tale, the kind you forget how much you enjoy after reading more in vogue subgenres like science fantasy and urban fantasy. Paulus, at the behest of a wizard, is traveling across the land to stop an apprentice's quest to collect "his six", six people with magical potential that the apprentice needs to become a full wizard. But this apprentice is dangerous and has been denied by the guild, which would put his six in great danger should he succeed in collecting them, and make the apprentice himself much harder to control once he gained his full power. A true example of the best of fantasy, this is the kind of story that leaves the characters and reader changed.
"The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics" by Daniel Abraham is a tale for the puzzle lovers. When bored nobleman Lord Iron approaches cambist (money exchanger) Olaf he admits that he's just bored, and that Olaf is simply in the wrong place at the right time. Destroying the cambist will provide a momentary distraction. Until Olaf manages to exchange the exotic bills from a tiny, distant, nearly unknown foreign land, stunning and impressing Lord Iron. Of course Olaf's feat of intelligence just ends up getting him pulled into greater challenges, with higher stakes. The last challenge of all lays a human soul bare with enough honesty and need to make readers shiver with its strength. Every bit as human and soul-filled as the first story, Ted Chiang's "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate", this tale is an excellent example of the best of fantasy.
"By Fools Like Me" by Nancy Kress is a tale writers and passionate readers can get behind. A Post-Apocalypse fantasy tale it centers on a young girl's discovery of old fashioned print books (the kind trees were sacrificed for), and the books' power many, many years later, to still entrap the mind. In a world where see-o-two clouds and destructive ash are among the worst hazards, not immediately destroying the books is a moral sin. But the true story in this tale is how the human spirit can corrupt all things, and even rules meant to guarantee survival in a harsh world, can go too far.
Bruce Sterling's "Kiosk" is the first miss so far. This futuristic tale strongly focuses on the socio-political-economic truths of society rather than invoking the universal human feel of the other stories. A midstream switch from telling the story from a close third view of a kiosk owner and savvy businessman to a wide, fast forward, history book feeling approach killed my interest. The story failed to regain it when it focused on the lead character again for an attempt at a tight end. Surrounded with the present day politically poisoned media this tale just didn't offer me the escape I found in other tales.
"Singing of Mount Abora" by Theodora Goss is a fairy tale at its heart. It's beautiful in imagery and language and has an exotic feel that's easy to relate to a heroine trying to earn the right to marry her love through cleverness. The story threads a delicate line between familiar and legendary.
"The Witch's Headstone" by Neil Gaiman is actually a chapter from his upcoming release, The Graveyard Book, about a boy growing up in a graveyard. In this tale Bod ventures outside of the graveyard in a quest to get a witch her very own headstone. What he finds instead is human greed and a curiously shaped curse. Gaiman is a master of creating characters readers can relate to, spinning vivid worlds and lining his fantasy with morbid curiosity. "The Witch's Headstone" is no exception.
A tale straight out of an episode of The Universe, "Last Contact" by Stephen Baxter is an exceedingly sad tale of The Big Rip, that is a wormhole swallowing the Galaxy. Told primarily through conversations between a woman and her daughter, both scientists, it's beautifully written and heart ripping at the same time. A very human take, it might be the most graceful story of The Epic End out there.
"Jesus Christ, Reanimator" by Ken MacLeod is a satirical look at the Second Coming. The world's disillusionment in Christ is equally matched by his disillusionment at the world. As he himself points out: "I am the embodiment of the Logos, the very logic of creation, or as it was said in English, `the Word made flesh.' Just because I am in that sense the entirety of the laws of nature doesn't mean I know all of them, or can override any of them." Story events unfold ironically close to the original stories, but most satisfying of all is how MacLeod, like many other authors in this book, adds a level of humanity to the character and events, using the contrast between the possible reality and the version of religion that extremists want others to believe in as a framework for the story.
"Sorrel's Heart" by Susan Palwick is a startlingly dark tale that opens up with a young girl laying in the dirt trying to cut off her own heart. It continues from there morbid bits flung casually at the reader wrapped around a surprisingly powerful love story between freaks and outcasts in a future world where normal people hunt those born different in very obvious ways.
Michael Swanwick's "Urdumheim" is a creation tale every bit as vivid as the stories found in Greek, Norse or Egyptian myths. Strange, and sometimes cruel(though no crueler that the Greek story of a god swallowing his children, or the Norse story of Odin forming the world from the blood and bones of a giant), this is an epic story of how the world came to be, solid enough to base a mythos on.
M. Read more ›
If the first tale, Ted Chiang's "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate", is any indication then this anthology is one to savor like a fine box of chocolates. When a merchant stumbles upon a strange shop in Baghdad that is home to a gateway between the past, future and present he is treated not just to a triad of tales about what other visitors have found inside the gateway, but he also gets the opportunity to travel back to his own past, to find closure to the one event in his life that haunts him. A rare gem of a story it expertly straddles the line between fantasy and science fiction as well as tragic and hopeful.
"The Last and Only, or Mr. Moskowitz Becomes French" by Peter S. Beagle seems to be more of a philosophical study on identity than a tale that's recognizable fantasy. No one knows why, but Mr. Moskowitz began ("from the bones out") to turn French. So much so that even those born in France sought out his approval. Strange and well written, it still didn't capture my interest as much as I'd hoped.
Charles Stross' "Trunk and Disorderly", as one might guess is a humor piece. Completely out of control (much like its lead, "Ralph MacDonald Suzuki... a genuine Japanese Highland Laird from old Scotland...") "Trunk and Disorderly" is a hilarious adventure of debauchery, nobility and robots gone wrong that's best read without any drinks nearby.
"Glory" by Greg Egan sums itself up with a line from its own prose, "There's more to life than mathematics...but not much more." A hard science fiction love note to math, and the sciences that heavily rely upon them, this tale of alien exploration and archeology is at times mind boggling in level and at other times, perfection down to the last little atom. Despite the heavy importance of the math the story is told in the characters' actions, allowing the story to reach the reader and not be lost under the weight of technicality.
Daryl Gregory's "Dead Horse Point" is very personal, heart wrenching and incredibly interesting. Julia is a special woman. Incredibly brilliant she's breaking new ground in science and on the verge of something world changing. But her brilliance comes with a downside. She lives an autistic-like life, completely aware, capable and down right normal one moment and mentally gone, incapable of even the simplest of tasks, completely lost in a mental world of science and unbreakable concentration. Gregory captures the strength and potential inside what many others would consider to be a horrible disease in desperate need of a cure. He also shows the effects it can have on even the most loyal of caretakers, the years slowly wearing them down. It's very exciting to see a well written, thoughtful tale dealing with a neural-atypical mind, another facet of our current world that could easily lend itself to speculative futures.
"The Dreaming Wind" by Jeffrey Ford takes readers into a fairy tale, from its image invoking opening to an end that answers none of the questions. "The Dreaming Wind" is beautiful tale of the intimidating, raw power of creativity that's likely to spark a few strikes of inspiration of its own.
Continuing the streak of fantasy is "The Coat of Stars" by Holly Black. It's yet another beautiful story, a modern fairy tale of a gay man who learns his childhood love was stolen by fairies. In trying to win his love back he must also come to terms with himself and his family. Not moralistic, but the kind of story one can picture being told along side Grimm's most popular, it's stories like these that will become the classic short stories of our generation's portion of the fantasy genre.
"The Prophet of Flores" by Ted Kosmatka takes on evolution, creating a world where it's been debunked and religion rules science. This isn't a horror tale however, but a scientific one, not just about the evolution of life, but about the evolution of religion as well.
Alex Irvine's "Wizard's Six" is a delightfully classic fantasy tale, the kind you forget how much you enjoy after reading more in vogue subgenres like science fantasy and urban fantasy. Paulus, at the behest of a wizard, is traveling across the land to stop an apprentice's quest to collect "his six", six people with magical potential that the apprentice needs to become a full wizard. But this apprentice is dangerous and has been denied by the guild, which would put his six in great danger should he succeed in collecting them, and make the apprentice himself much harder to control once he gained his full power. A true example of the best of fantasy, this is the kind of story that leaves the characters and reader changed.
"The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics" by Daniel Abraham is a tale for the puzzle lovers. When bored nobleman Lord Iron approaches cambist (money exchanger) Olaf he admits that he's just bored, and that Olaf is simply in the wrong place at the right time. Destroying the cambist will provide a momentary distraction. Until Olaf manages to exchange the exotic bills from a tiny, distant, nearly unknown foreign land, stunning and impressing Lord Iron. Of course Olaf's feat of intelligence just ends up getting him pulled into greater challenges, with higher stakes. The last challenge of all lays a human soul bare with enough honesty and need to make readers shiver with its strength. Every bit as human and soul-filled as the first story, Ted Chiang's "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate", this tale is an excellent example of the best of fantasy.
"By Fools Like Me" by Nancy Kress is a tale writers and passionate readers can get behind. A Post-Apocalypse fantasy tale it centers on a young girl's discovery of old fashioned print books (the kind trees were sacrificed for), and the books' power many, many years later, to still entrap the mind. In a world where see-o-two clouds and destructive ash are among the worst hazards, not immediately destroying the books is a moral sin. But the true story in this tale is how the human spirit can corrupt all things, and even rules meant to guarantee survival in a harsh world, can go too far.
Bruce Sterling's "Kiosk" is the first miss so far. This futuristic tale strongly focuses on the socio-political-economic truths of society rather than invoking the universal human feel of the other stories. A midstream switch from telling the story from a close third view of a kiosk owner and savvy businessman to a wide, fast forward, history book feeling approach killed my interest. The story failed to regain it when it focused on the lead character again for an attempt at a tight end. Surrounded with the present day politically poisoned media this tale just didn't offer me the escape I found in other tales.
"Singing of Mount Abora" by Theodora Goss is a fairy tale at its heart. It's beautiful in imagery and language and has an exotic feel that's easy to relate to a heroine trying to earn the right to marry her love through cleverness. The story threads a delicate line between familiar and legendary.
"The Witch's Headstone" by Neil Gaiman is actually a chapter from his upcoming release, The Graveyard Book, about a boy growing up in a graveyard. In this tale Bod ventures outside of the graveyard in a quest to get a witch her very own headstone. What he finds instead is human greed and a curiously shaped curse. Gaiman is a master of creating characters readers can relate to, spinning vivid worlds and lining his fantasy with morbid curiosity. "The Witch's Headstone" is no exception.
A tale straight out of an episode of The Universe, "Last Contact" by Stephen Baxter is an exceedingly sad tale of The Big Rip, that is a wormhole swallowing the Galaxy. Told primarily through conversations between a woman and her daughter, both scientists, it's beautifully written and heart ripping at the same time. A very human take, it might be the most graceful story of The Epic End out there.
"Jesus Christ, Reanimator" by Ken MacLeod is a satirical look at the Second Coming. The world's disillusionment in Christ is equally matched by his disillusionment at the world. As he himself points out: "I am the embodiment of the Logos, the very logic of creation, or as it was said in English, `the Word made flesh.' Just because I am in that sense the entirety of the laws of nature doesn't mean I know all of them, or can override any of them." Story events unfold ironically close to the original stories, but most satisfying of all is how MacLeod, like many other authors in this book, adds a level of humanity to the character and events, using the contrast between the possible reality and the version of religion that extremists want others to believe in as a framework for the story.
"Sorrel's Heart" by Susan Palwick is a startlingly dark tale that opens up with a young girl laying in the dirt trying to cut off her own heart. It continues from there morbid bits flung casually at the reader wrapped around a surprisingly powerful love story between freaks and outcasts in a future world where normal people hunt those born different in very obvious ways.
Michael Swanwick's "Urdumheim" is a creation tale every bit as vivid as the stories found in Greek, Norse or Egyptian myths. Strange, and sometimes cruel(though no crueler that the Greek story of a god swallowing his children, or the Norse story of Odin forming the world from the blood and bones of a giant), this is an epic story of how the world came to be, solid enough to base a mythos on.
M. Read more ›
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Blue Tyson
Format:Paperback
The second volume in this series is slighly down on the first, 3.67 as compared to 3.71.
Or to put it another way, 17 above average stories compared to 18, 6 average stories compared to 4, and 1 dodgy story compared to 2.
In an anthology of science fiction and fantasy, it delivers as advertised, as half the stories are science fiction, and half are fantasy. In fact, in somewhat of a surprise, it appears I have rated the fantasy stories 1 point higher as a group than the SF.
So, looking at the separately, each half of this anthology rates as high or around 4, as opposed to rounding up to get there.
There's a broad range in both genres, from the fluffy and completely disposable Goss speculation, to the is it or isn't it fantasy-but-quite-possibly-twisted horror of Rickert, and from Egan's space blasting posthuman mathematicians to Sterling's not too far future dodgy Eastern Europeans.
Three standout stories here, and perhaps I might get asked to give up my no-membership in the Greg Egan fan club by first comparing him to Kelly Link in the Starry Rift, and now going on to suggest that perhaps Daniel Abraham has the best tale here.
Anyone got a new excerpt from Incandescence to help banish the stench of da fairy pollution? :)
SF and F Best 02 : The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate - Ted Chiang
SF and F Best 02 : The Last and Only or Mr. Moskowitz Becomes French - Peter S. Beagle
SF and F Best 02 : Trunk and Disorderly - Charles Stross
SF and F Best 02 : Glory - Greg Egan
SF and F Best 02 : Dead Horse Point - Daryl Gregory
SF and F Best 02 : The Dreaming Wind - Jeffrey Ford
SF and F Best 02 : The Coat of Stars - Holly Black
SF and F Best 02 : The Prophet of Flores - Ted Kosmatka
SF and F Best 02 : Wizard's Six - Alex Irvine
SF and F Best 02 : The Cambist and Lord Iron A Fairy Tale of Economics - Daniel Abraham
SF and F Best 02 : By Fools Like Me - Nancy Kress
SF and F Best 02 : Kiosk - Bruce Sterling
SF and F Best 02 : Singing of Mount Abora - Theodora Goss
SF and F Best 02 : The Witch's Headstone - Neil Gaiman
SF and F Best 02 : Last Contact - Stephen Baxter
SF and F Best 02 : Jaysus Christ Reanimator - Ken Macleod
SF and F Best 02 : Sorrel's Heart - Susan Palwick
SF and F Best 02 : Urdumheim - Michael Swanwick
SF and F Best 02 : Holiday - M. Rickert
SF and F Best 02 : The Valley of the Gardens - Tony Daniel
SF and F Best 02 : Winter's Wife - Elizabeth Hand
SF and F Best 02 : The Sky is Large and the Earth is Small - Chris Roberson
SF and F Best 02 : Orm the Beautiful - Elizabeth Bear
SF and F Best 02 : The Constable of Abal - Kelly Link
Wormhole time tender's raconteur replay.
4 out of 5
Going fairy froggy.
3 out of 5
Dwarf mammoths are heavy. Supreme planetary overlords have bloody big houses. Multigendered metalflesh relations are jolly complex, old chap.
4 out of 5
Antimatter lightspeed starblast instantiation means mathematical archaeology discovery decision.
4.5 out of 5
Girl, Interrupted keeper drained.
3 out of 5
Not much wizardry here.
2.5 out of 5
Fairy boyfriend rescue.
3.5 out of 5
Hobbit descent discovery doctrine defiance.
3.5 out of 5
Kid pack kill decision.
3 out of 5
Life exchange rate.
4.5 out of 5
Vegetation shortage book bashers.
3.5 out of 5
Fabrication pirates.
3.5 out of 5
Khan Alph the weather here, mum!
3 out of 5
Visibly grave talk.
4 out of 5
Ripped off.
4 out of 5
Second coming, blogging, shooting.
3 out of 5
Time to get my kitten killing Freak on.
3.5 out of 5
Learn your letters, Nimrod.
4 out of 5
Dead kid clowning just like the old man.
4 out of 5
Extrauniversal octopus minds are all grabby-blasty-tentacle, but slow to choke.
4 out of 5
A rocky end for local entrepreneur's saga.
4 out of 5
Chinese Mexican astronomical intelligence.
3.5 out of 5
The last dragon makes a deal with a museum.
4.5 out of 5
Just a sweet transs3xual goddess, like mum.
3.5 out of 5
Or to put it another way, 17 above average stories compared to 18, 6 average stories compared to 4, and 1 dodgy story compared to 2.
In an anthology of science fiction and fantasy, it delivers as advertised, as half the stories are science fiction, and half are fantasy. In fact, in somewhat of a surprise, it appears I have rated the fantasy stories 1 point higher as a group than the SF.
So, looking at the separately, each half of this anthology rates as high or around 4, as opposed to rounding up to get there.
There's a broad range in both genres, from the fluffy and completely disposable Goss speculation, to the is it or isn't it fantasy-but-quite-possibly-twisted horror of Rickert, and from Egan's space blasting posthuman mathematicians to Sterling's not too far future dodgy Eastern Europeans.
Three standout stories here, and perhaps I might get asked to give up my no-membership in the Greg Egan fan club by first comparing him to Kelly Link in the Starry Rift, and now going on to suggest that perhaps Daniel Abraham has the best tale here.
Anyone got a new excerpt from Incandescence to help banish the stench of da fairy pollution? :)
SF and F Best 02 : The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate - Ted Chiang
SF and F Best 02 : The Last and Only or Mr. Moskowitz Becomes French - Peter S. Beagle
SF and F Best 02 : Trunk and Disorderly - Charles Stross
SF and F Best 02 : Glory - Greg Egan
SF and F Best 02 : Dead Horse Point - Daryl Gregory
SF and F Best 02 : The Dreaming Wind - Jeffrey Ford
SF and F Best 02 : The Coat of Stars - Holly Black
SF and F Best 02 : The Prophet of Flores - Ted Kosmatka
SF and F Best 02 : Wizard's Six - Alex Irvine
SF and F Best 02 : The Cambist and Lord Iron A Fairy Tale of Economics - Daniel Abraham
SF and F Best 02 : By Fools Like Me - Nancy Kress
SF and F Best 02 : Kiosk - Bruce Sterling
SF and F Best 02 : Singing of Mount Abora - Theodora Goss
SF and F Best 02 : The Witch's Headstone - Neil Gaiman
SF and F Best 02 : Last Contact - Stephen Baxter
SF and F Best 02 : Jaysus Christ Reanimator - Ken Macleod
SF and F Best 02 : Sorrel's Heart - Susan Palwick
SF and F Best 02 : Urdumheim - Michael Swanwick
SF and F Best 02 : Holiday - M. Rickert
SF and F Best 02 : The Valley of the Gardens - Tony Daniel
SF and F Best 02 : Winter's Wife - Elizabeth Hand
SF and F Best 02 : The Sky is Large and the Earth is Small - Chris Roberson
SF and F Best 02 : Orm the Beautiful - Elizabeth Bear
SF and F Best 02 : The Constable of Abal - Kelly Link
Wormhole time tender's raconteur replay.
4 out of 5
Going fairy froggy.
3 out of 5
Dwarf mammoths are heavy. Supreme planetary overlords have bloody big houses. Multigendered metalflesh relations are jolly complex, old chap.
4 out of 5
Antimatter lightspeed starblast instantiation means mathematical archaeology discovery decision.
4.5 out of 5
Girl, Interrupted keeper drained.
3 out of 5
Not much wizardry here.
2.5 out of 5
Fairy boyfriend rescue.
3.5 out of 5
Hobbit descent discovery doctrine defiance.
3.5 out of 5
Kid pack kill decision.
3 out of 5
Life exchange rate.
4.5 out of 5
Vegetation shortage book bashers.
3.5 out of 5
Fabrication pirates.
3.5 out of 5
Khan Alph the weather here, mum!
3 out of 5
Visibly grave talk.
4 out of 5
Ripped off.
4 out of 5
Second coming, blogging, shooting.
3 out of 5
Time to get my kitten killing Freak on.
3.5 out of 5
Learn your letters, Nimrod.
4 out of 5
Dead kid clowning just like the old man.
4 out of 5
Extrauniversal octopus minds are all grabby-blasty-tentacle, but slow to choke.
4 out of 5
A rocky end for local entrepreneur's saga.
4 out of 5
Chinese Mexican astronomical intelligence.
3.5 out of 5
The last dragon makes a deal with a museum.
4.5 out of 5
Just a sweet transs3xual goddess, like mum.
3.5 out of 5
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Let me preface by stating that I don't often read the science fiction and fantasy genre, so I can't explain what drew me to this particular anthology. While the book cover wasn't particularly attractive the featured authors listed upon it was intriguing. I picked up the book, read Johnathan Strahan's introduction and the first three pages of the first story, "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang.
I was hooked, so I then took the book home.
Having just finished the anthology, Chiang's story is one of my five favorites along with "The Prophet of Flores" by Ted Kosmatka; "Winter's Wife" by Elizabeth Hand; "The Coat of Stars" by Holly Black and "Dead Horse Point" by Daryl Gregory. While I enjoyed many of the other 19 stories I must confess a couple stories had me scratching my head as I worked through unfamiliar terminology (less the story's fault than my own ignorance of the genre).
In summary, "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Vol. 2" provides a good value for your entertainment dollar. I found almost all 24 stories accessible to a newcomer. I intend to recommend this book to friends of mine who have a longer history with science fiction and fantasy stories. Rating: 4 stars.
I was hooked, so I then took the book home.
Having just finished the anthology, Chiang's story is one of my five favorites along with "The Prophet of Flores" by Ted Kosmatka; "Winter's Wife" by Elizabeth Hand; "The Coat of Stars" by Holly Black and "Dead Horse Point" by Daryl Gregory. While I enjoyed many of the other 19 stories I must confess a couple stories had me scratching my head as I worked through unfamiliar terminology (less the story's fault than my own ignorance of the genre).
In summary, "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Vol. 2" provides a good value for your entertainment dollar. I found almost all 24 stories accessible to a newcomer. I intend to recommend this book to friends of mine who have a longer history with science fiction and fantasy stories. Rating: 4 stars.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
thank you
i was very pleased with the speed and condition of the book. thank you so much and will watch for more of your sales.
Published 23 months ago by babs
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Lovers
I loved this anthology. It and Vol. 1 were two of the best anthologies I have ever read and I have read hundreds of them. The selected writings are exceedingly well written.
Published on May 19, 2008 by D. H. Murray
