The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection [Hardcover]

Gardner Dozois (Editor)

Book Description

Release date: July 3, 2012 | Series: Year's Best Science Fiction

In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world. This venerable collection brings together short stories from award winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Damien Broderick, Elizabeth Bear, Paul McAuley and John Barnes. And with an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must-read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for "The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Seventh Annual Collection"

"This smorgasbord of thought-provoking fiction ensures that any reader will likely find something appealing." --Publishers Weekly"Gardner Dozois's long-running "best of" series is rightly a favorite...The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Seventh Annual Collection, for all its bulk, is charmingly eclectic...Mr. Dozois picks fiction that deserves to be better known to a wide audience." --"The Wall Street Journal"

Praise for Gardner Dozois and "The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-sixth Annual Collection"

"This is a worthy addition to a venerable series." -"Publishers Weekly"

"For more than a quarter century, Gardner Dozois's "The Year's Best Science Fiction" has defined the field. It is the most important anthology, not only annually, but overall."

--Charles N. Brown, publisher of "Locus Magazine" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

GARDNER DOZOIS has been working in the science fiction field for more than thirty years. For twenty years he was the editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction, during which he received the Hugo Award for Best Editor fifteen times.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 704 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; Annual edition (July 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1250003547
• ISBN-13: 978-1250003546
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #837,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Really a Lot of Fun October 6, 2012

By Paul Cook

Format:Paperback

I know I'll be flamed for saying this (because everyone who reads sf is an expert in sf--and everything else on the planet} but there weren't any stories in this anthology that were any fun. I read every one of Gardner's anthologies when they come out and they do tend to reflect his preference for trope-laden, complex stories that are bereft of metaphor and satire. I started reading SF when I was eleven (in 1961) and the one thing that has always drawn me to science fiction was that it was fun to read. I couldn't wait until the next issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction came out or the latest Ace Science Fiction book by Philip K. Dick. These stories, though, don't seem to be written for readers younger than the age of 30. Nowhere in this book are stories that are as focused and as simple as those of Ray Bradbury or Isaac Asimov or Henry Kuttner or Cordwainer Smith--or even stories by Ellison, Zelazny or Delany. I think somewhere in the 1980s, when Dozois started editing Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, editors, Dozois included, started publishing stories that were complex and wordy; stories that were heavy on world-building and layered with one conceit or trope after another. Simple story-telling has fallen off the map, it seems. Some stories in this collection absolutely baffled me. There's a story by Catherynne M. Valente, evidently one of our newer luminaries that so baffled me that I read it twice and still couldn't understand it. (Of course, I read Mitchell's Cloud Atlas last year and I still am unable to tell anyone what it's about). I've taught Pynchon, Rushdie, and John Fowles and they're a delight, even when they're difficult. But the stories in this collection by Dozois are uniformly tedious and mostly unforgettable. So I'll make it easy for those of you worshipers of all things Dozois and sf: yes, the problem is with me so you can ignore this review. Nevertheless, SF just isn't fun anymore and I think it's because all the great writers are getting older and are trying to write for older audiences (older, wiser, and smarter). The simplicity of the well-told, well-focused story resonant in metaphor and brushed with a touch of humor has vanished from our literature. I wish I knew what has happened to sf over the years, but it's gotten dreary and complicated and just not a lot of fun to read. (Mostly I feel lectured in these stories and nothing, but nothing, comes as a surprise.)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dozois Duos: The Best of 2011 July 5, 2012

By John M. Ford TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

In this collection of thirty-five science fiction stories from 2011, Gardner Dozois once again identifies the best stories of the year. As is customary, he begins with a summation of the significant events and influences of the year. The big story of 2011 was the continuing growth of the e-book market, estimated to account for 40 percent of all book sales by 2012. This was accompanied by a decline of print SF magazines and corresponding growth in online magazines. Gardner is encyclopedic in his descriptions of both print and online sources.

And then there are the stories. For some reason all of my favorites in this collection featured a strong relationship between two main characters. In some cases it is based on love; in some it is clearly something else. Here are my five favorites.

Carolyn Ives Gilman's "The Ice Owl" passes on what the student Maya learns from her aging tutor, Magister Soren Pregaldin. Some is from his thoughtfully prepared lessons. More is revealed by her clandestine explorations of his rooms while he is away.

Alastair Reynold's "Ascension Day" reminds us of departure's mixed joy and sadness. Captain Lauterecken departs from the planet Rhapsody in his freighter after a ninety-six-year stay. Someone important will not be making the next leg of the journey.

Michael Swanwick's "For I have Lain Me Down on the Stone of Loneliness and I'll Not Be Back Again" is also about a departure. A man visits Ireland a few weeks before leaving Earth forever. He meets Mary with eyes "...as green as water in the well, and as full of dangerous magic."

Yoon Ha Lee's "Ghostweight" is driven by the bond between a living girl and the ghost that accompanies her. Lisse steals a war-kite and flees into the voidways of space, seeking revenge on those who nearly destroyed Earth. She learns about her ghost, and about the war-kite, and about what drives it. Yoon Ha Lee's origami imagery in this story is a treat in itself.

Chris Lawson's "Canterbury Hollow" is a love story of time spent together and choices made that might be unmade. Arlyana and Moko have both been "balloted" to help conserve their small society's limited resources. They spend their allotted time together exploring a few places they have always meant to visit. And then their times end.

Stories in this year's collection seem particularly good as well as varied. None is too similar to another in the collection. And while many stories fit neatly within an SF subgenre, each had its own voice. My cliché alarm didn't go off once as I read through them.

There was minimal story overlap with David Hartman and Kathryn Cramer's [Year's Best SF 17]. Both are worth reading, although I prefer the Dozois collection for the context provided by his Summation and the excellent story introductions. Each year I come away from this material with a list of more must-read books. This year's treat was the new 1,000-page science fiction textbook, Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction by Leigh Ronald Grossman. I recommend reading it right after you finish this collection. But not before.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best yearly anthology for your buck! July 3, 2012

By Darshan R. Phatak

Format:Paperback

I've read every one of these since the First one and the 29th edition still maintains the high level of Science Fiction that Gardner Dozois has selected since the first volume. Also worthy is the summation of science fiction in multiple media (books, tv, movies, internet) for 2011 and even an obituary section for the science fiction luminaries who have passed away. Each story has an intro about the author and doesn't give away too much about it. This is totally worth your money.