Customer Reviews

Science Fiction: The Very Best of 2005

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Apparently this book was caught up in the IBooks bankruptcy (still sad, I have read heaps of stuff they published), and Locus stepped in to give Strahan a shot at putting some of the work he had done to use, hence the obscurity and never heard of nature of this book for a lot of people.

A shame, because he has put together an outstanding group of stories, passing the magic average of 4 (4.04 here), even if it is a lot shorter than the Dozois and Hartwell variety, but similar to the previous mass market size books he was doing with Haber, I think.

He gives a quick couple of page overview of the science fiction short story situation, mentioning some collections and anthologies of interest as well as magazines.

The only quibble some might have is with Pat Cadigan's vampire story, which plenty won't see as remotely SF, and in fact appears in another Fantasy Year's Best collection. I happen to like Cadigan, and it is good, so didn't mind.

Anyway, a great book, well done, especially given it has a 5 star story, a very rare beast.

SF Best of 2005 : Triceratops Summer - Michael Swanwick
SF Best of 2005 : Little Faces - Vonda N. McIntyre
SF Best of 2005 : The Second Coming of Charles Darwin - James Morrow
SF Best of 2005 : Is There Life After Rehab? - Pat Cadigan
SF Best of 2005 : Understanding Space and Time - Alastair Reynolds
SF Best of 2005 : The Fulcrum - Gwyneth Jones
SF Best of 2005 : The Blemmye's Strategem - Bruce Sterling
SF Best of 2005 : They Will Raise You in a Box - Wil McCarthy
SF Best of 2005 : Finished - Robert Reed
SF Best of 2005 : The King of Where-I-Go - Howard Waldrop
SF Best of 2005 : The Calorie Man - Paolo Bacigalupi
SF Best of 2005 : The Fate of Mice - Susan Palwick
SF Best of 2005 : I Robot - Cory Doctorow
SF Best of 2005 : The Little Goddess - Ian McDonald

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