The Locus Awards: Thirty Years of the Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy [Paperback]

Charles N. Brown (Author), Jonathan Strahan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2004

Now, for the first time, the best of the Locus Awards for short fiction are gathered in one volume. Spanning the absolute finest in science fiction and fantasy short fiction for the last thirty years, this anthology is an indispensable guide to speculative fiction from the classic to the outrageous by the leaders of the field.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 18 Locus Award–winning novelettes and short stories selected for this solid anthology by Brown, the longtime editor/publisher of the influential SF/fantasy news magazine, and Strahan, the mag'sreviews editor, show how SF and fantasy have matured from the 1970s to the present. Standouts include Harlan Ellison's nostalgic tale of unchanging age, "Jeffty Is Five"; Octavia E. Butler's boundary-stretching "Bloodchild," in which an intelligent alien race uses human beings both as pets and as repositories for their grubs; John Kessel's poignant, semi-autobiographical "Buffalo," about a meeting of Kessel's blue-collar father with his idol, H.G. Wells, in 1934; and Neil Gaiman's wistful homage to Ray Bradbury, "October in the Chair." Gene Wolfe's "The Death of Doctor Island" and Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Day Before the Revolution" are also fine stories, but others don't succeed as well. The youngster who wants to fly the space-lanes in James Tiptree Jr.'s "The Only Neat Thing to Do" inevitably reflects the larger-than-life heroics of earlier genre fiction. Connie Willis's "Even the Queen" tries to be both feminist and humorous, but comes off as a sitcom pilot, while Bruce Sterling's "Maneki Neko" is too cute by a Pokémon and a half. The volume concludes with a list of previous winners in a wide range of categories.
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From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–This outstanding anthology presents "the best of the best," culled from 30 years of awards. It includes many of the now-classic stories that have become emblematic of major developments in the genre, such as James Tiptree, Jr.'s "The Only Neat Thing to Do" (still a must-read for any serious teenage science-fiction reader) and Terry Bisson's remarkable "Bears Discover Fire." The most recent awards present the brilliant new writer Ted Chiang and the popular and critically acclaimed Neil Gaiman. Other masters of science fiction and fantasy short fiction represented here: Gene Wolf, Ursula K. LeGuin, Harlan Ellison, John Varley, George R.R. Martin, Joanna Russ, Octavia E. Butler, Pat Murphy, Lucius Shepard, Connie Willis, John Kessel, John Crowley, Bruce Sterling, and Greg Egan. A brief introduction to the author's career precedes each story. Whether readers are catching up on legendary science fiction and fantasy, becoming reacquainted with old favorites, or grazing the field in hopes of discovering new ones, this anthology delivers some of the finest science fiction and fantasy ever written.–Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager; 1 edition (July 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060594268
• ISBN-13: 978-0060594268
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,177,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Australian SF Reader, July 31, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Locus Awards : Thirty Years of the Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy (Paperback)

Another of those big fat fun science fiction anthologies. The editors try and choose a slightly different batch of stories to get some that are not published as often, in general, and seem to do a pretty good job. The intro about the start of Locus is interesting, but fairly brief.

Bears Discover Fire, Border Guards, and others can be found here. Multiple 5 star stories here, but also a couple of duds, that drag it down a bit.

Neil Gaiman with so many fans in different media and genres could probably publish a tricked out shopping list and get an award.

The Death of Doctor Island by Gene Wolfe
The Day before the Revolution by Ursula K. Le Guin
Jeffy is Five by Harlan Ellison
The Persistence of Vision by John Varley
The Way of Cross and Dragon by George R.R. Martin
Souls by Joanna Russ
Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler
The Only Neat Thing to Do by James Tiptree Jr.
Rachel in Love by Pat Murphy
The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter by Lucius Shepard
Bears Discover Fire by Terry Bisson
Buffalo by John Kessel
Even the Queen by Connie Willis
Gone by John Crowley
Maneki Neko by Bruce Sterling
Border Guards by Gred Egan
Hell Is the Absence of God by Ted Chiang
October in the Chair by Neil Gaiman


Isolated mental adjustment.

3.5 out of 5


Political extroversion is tiring.

4 out of 5


Parents eventual terminal lack of patience with kid with the brilliant new old stuff.

5 out of 5


Communication fuller but lots weirder with fewer senses.

4.5 out of 5


Judas Star Knights.

3.5 out of 5


Nun of that Viking stuff here.

4.5 out of 5


Parasite pregnancy punishing for people.

3 out of 5


Far Traveller broken by bitty brainbiter, makes combo decision to go out in early Pink Floyd style.

5 out of 5


The life of a superintelligent chimp, the result of scientific experimentation into sign language. She is helped by some humans.

3.5 out of 5


Rape escapee dragon prisoner junkie.

3.5 out of 5


Hibernatin's a big ol' waste of time.

4 out of 5


H.G's yankeeland tour shows he is no fan of E.R.B. but pleased with the average Jack thinking about the future.

4 out of 5


Angels are uninsurable, and the Underworld lacks all the really cool torments.

3.5 out of 5


The bleeding right to live how you like, mate.

4 out of 5


Alien dishwasher's other use.

3 out of 5


Network of favors.

4 out of 5


It is about human immortals, and how they deal with people and society when living so long. One man joins back into life, and meets the best quantum soccer player going around, and loses a friend.

The discovery is made is that she is one of the earliest immortals, instrumental in posthuman travel to other planets, and knows what death is actually like, and has to work out how to relate to the new people.

Now, I can't get this story out of my head, like happens with songs sometimes, so, I am upgrading this, 5 stars, given I reread it recently and hadn't read it for quite a wihle.

And, as far as Australian goes, as far as pixel-stained technopeasant wretches, well, I'd hate to be caught paraphasing the Devil Went Down to Georgia, but, he's the best there's even been.

5 out of 5


Monthly avatar stories that most of them don't even like.

2 out of 5

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great collection of SciFi and Fantasy Stories -- But...., March 6, 2005

By 

HARRISON CHUA (Melbourne, AUSTRALIA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Locus Awards: Thirty Years of the Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy (Paperback)

This is a great collection of SciFi and Fantasy Stories -- BUT.... some of the stories written in the 1970s and 1980s have a nostalgic quality about them...

The great thing about new SciFi stories are the fact that the stories have improved leaps and bounds as each year goes by... The sensibilities of stories change, and so does the sensibilities of the science behind them. Styles of writing changes too -- think about the style of writing as the years have progressed: Isaac Asimov's writing, Philip K. Dick's writing, Orson Scott Card's writing, Tad Williams' writing, Ted Chiang's writing etc. -- all have progressed in terms of their prose and sensibility behind the stories.

Personally, I think some of the earlier stories are a bit dated. They're good... but nothing to tell your friends about.

Buy it if you're curious about which stories won the awards....

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Collection, February 19, 2008

By 

George L. Duncan "verogolfer" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Locus Awards : Thirty Years of the Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy (Paperback)

Very good science fiction tales except the editor has a soft spot for anti-religious (or anti-God, anti-Christian stories, no anti-Islam stories here). But I've found them rather superficial, and not really thought-provoking. But other stories are excellent examples of the field.